Madolyn had just stormed off from her confrontation with Darby. She decided to use this time to go check on her company's equipment in the luggage carts. When she reached the cart where all the equipment was being kept, she pushed open the door and walked inside. It was completely dark inside the cart. Because it was a luggage car and was mainly for storage, all the windows were shuttered and the only light was streaming in through the open door. The aisle leading down through all the crates and boxes stacked high on either side was extremely dark and eerie. As she walked along, squinting, trying to make out where her company's crates were located, she was beginning to regret coming to check on the luggage. She could hardly see a thing and the further she walked into the darkness of the storage car the darker it became and the creepier it felt to her. But Madolyn was not one to admit to being scared, so even though it felt quite eerie and a bit scary to her, she pushed on, determined to inspect her luggage before she went back. She could barely make out the labels on the crates. She was struggling to read when suddenly she caught a glimpse of a shadow moving out of the corner of her eye. Already feeling a bit frightened, she jumped a little and whipped her head around, but it was too dark to actually make anything out. Madolyn strained her eyes, trying to see anything in the darkness, but all she could see was shadows and more darkness. Trying to keep calm, she said shakily
"E-Excuse me, is anyone there?!" She waited anxiously in the dark but there was no response. Not wanting to feel weak and prove to herself that she was imagining things, she took a step in the direction of the movement earlier. There was a creaking noise. But Madolyn wasn't sure if that was from her own footsteps or something else. She carefully walked to the edge of a crate to peek around the corner, just to put her own mind to rest, so that she could say she was overreacting and being paranoid. Suddenly there was a loud thump! And Madolyn screamed.
Darby and Jack had almost reached the storage car when they heard a loud and shrill scream. Jack looked around, thinking perhaps it was the whistle of the train or conductor, but Darby quickly said
"I think that is Madolynn! She has screamed at me enough for me to recognize it!" They were only a cart away and hurried in the direction of the scream. Just as they were about to rush across to the luggage car, Madolyn came barreling out of the cart as fast and as frantic as Darby had ever seen her run. Madolyn was running so fast that she almost crashed into Darby and Jack, who were rushing in her direction. As she bumped into Darby, her head shot up as she realized who was in front of her.
"YOU!!" Madolyn cried with overwhelmed and accusing eyes as she spied Darby. Darby grabbed Madolyn by the shoulders to help balance her as she was reeling from the shock.
"What is going on Madolyn? What happened?" Darby asked, trying to figure out why the young woman was so distraught. Madolyn hissed angrily
"Don't try to act innocent, Miss Herrington! It was you, wasn't it?!" Darby looked completely perplexed and confused and said "Madolyn, what are you talking about?" Madolyn screeched
"You know exactly what happened! You were the one tampering with the crates and trying to sabotage me!" Just as Darby was about to respond to Madolyn's accusation, Mr Weinburg and others from other groups entered the cart. They were making their way to the luggage car as well. As they came in they saw Darby, Madolyn and Jack. Darby is holding Madolyn's arms, Madolyn yelling, trying to grab Darby, and Jack looking completely stressed, trying to keep Madolyn from gouging and scratching Darby. Mr. Weinberg quickly entered the scene and tried to break up the struggle that was going on and get some order and find out what was going on here. Seeing Madolyn completely distraught and kicking up a fuss, he got in between the two. Mr Weinburg was in charge of this expedition. All the people involved would be reporting to him.
"There, there, Miss Browning, is it? What seems to be the trouble?" Madolyn came to her senses a bit as she realized who was speaking to her and how uncivilized she must look. She shouted very upset
"Someone was in there before me, deeper into the cart and tampering with the crates! It was dark. I didn't see much but it looked like they were trying to pry open some crates. It was pitch dark in there and it all happened so suddenly that I screamed and ran out as fast as I could! I was so terrified!" Mr. Weinburg took Madolyn's hand and patted it, saying in a soothing tone
"There, there. It is completely natural for a woman in your situation to be frightened." Madolyn went on
"Just as I was running out I ran into Miss Herrington! She is always doing strange things, I think she did this all to mess up my first expedition and scare me off!" Darby scoffed and said
"Haha! Oh Madolynn, you must have been very frightened. You're not thinking clearly. You left the dining cart to come here before Mr. Clemins and I even finished eating. There is only one route to get here, so how could I have gotten here before you? Hmm?" Madolyn yelped, stuttering
"W-well it has to be you! You're the only one here who would do something so suspicious!!" The sun shone through the window and made the shadows longer. The sun shone brightly but no warmth was felt. Darby's shadow seemed to become even bigger as she stepped closer towards Madolyn and it cast a shade over her. Darby spoke coolly
"Really Madolyn, that is a very serious accusation." Darby's shadow now completely engulfed Madolyn and she fidgeted anxiously. Suddenly Mr. Weinberg interjected, saying
"Now, now! Two lovely young ladies shouldn't quarrel like this. It breaks my heart to see the more delicate creatures argue! Since we all saw Miss Herrington leave the restaurant car later, I am sure it wasn't her, probably some big misunderstanding. The world can be a scary place for womenfolk. Are you sure you saw anyone? Maybe you were just scared in the dark and thought you saw something." As he spoke trying to comfort Miss Browning, Mr. Weinberg tried not to roll his eyes as he inwardly thought that he knew having the first female archeologists on this expedition was going to be a bother. Madolyn looked at Mr. Weinberg, in disbelief, shocked at what she was hearing, speechless she sputtered out
"I- - -" Abruptly Darby interrupted saying
"I believe she saw someone. And though I would love to take credit for this, I can't. But I do believe her when she says she saw someone tampering with the equipment." Jack looked at Darby in amazement, that she was agreeing with Madolyn even though she had just accused her of being the culprit and main suspect. Even Madolyn, who would normally get annoyed, looked stunned to have Darby take her side. Mr. Weinburg sighed and said
"Well, ladies do tend to be a bit dramatic, so you can understand why I am skeptical." For the first time, Jack was sure he actually saw Darby's eyes flash with anger. She slowly and coldly spoke
".....Ha... Ha...Why don't we keep an eye out and look around? Just to help Madolyn feel better." Jack, wanting to help Darby with the situation, quickly added
"We can all look around and check the cart to see if we find something or if anyone is here." The group agreed, gathered some lights and crossed to the luggage car to all began searching.