In a sleepover train running on the track going straight towards the hills, Morgan was sitting on a bed. Charles was on the bed above that of his.
The train was currently in the middle of the never-ending farm. Long and swaying brown crops were giving the countryside vibe to the passengers of the train.
The track was lifted by concrete and acted as a border for the two sides of never-ending farms. Charles gazed outside the train, and so did Morgan.
They rode the train a few hours ago, but it seemed like forever. The train was almost empty with only a countable number of passengers.
Most of the compartments were empty. Even the non-empty ones consisted of 2 to 4 people. When they rode the train, Morgan thought that more passengers would ride the train later, but the train never stopped.
Morgan had never rode a sleepover train. Every time he rode a train before, he used to stand all the way. But now, the almost empty train made him realise one more time that his life had changed.
They were going to the Golden Frost Village. But the train didn't reach there. The train they rode stopped only at 2 stations (Charles told him later). One was the Eternal City, and the other was Interpol Training Grounds - Ka.
As Charles explained all the details, he mentioned answers to most of Morgan's questions. They would reach the station in 2 days. This train wasn't one of those scheduled trains.
This train and track was specially designed for Interpol and was used only when Interpol ordered it to be operated. At the end of their conversation, when Morgan asked Charles why they were going to the village.
But Charles told him that he would know it later. He sat on the train with the suspense in his mind. He was thinking about what must be the reason for going there.
Night came and they slept. The next day, when Morgan looked out of the window, they were in the middle of the hills. At their left was a greenish-blue river, and at their right were tall, dark green trees with almost black stems.
The weather was getting cold. In no more than a few hours, snow began appearing on the trees and the rail track. The coolers of the train were turned off.
The snow on the track evaporated as the hot train glided on the frozen track. The AC inside the train cooled them before. But now, the same temperature of the AC was making it hotter inside the trains.
Morgan had no work to do inside the train. Charles had been sleeping for about 20 hours now. Morgan had also checked once to see if Charles was dead or alive.
He was alive but was as good as a living dead body or a paralysed person. Morgan did manage to spend about half an hour wondering how could this guy sleep this long.
For Morgan, even if he slept, his soul would come out, and he would be free and not be able to waste or pass any time. Till now, he had explored every compartment of the train.
From the locked storage compartments to the driver compartments not leaving the compartments of other passengers. In each passenger compartment, there were 12 beds.
Six on the ground and six above the former six. There were 2 driver compartments. Each at one end of the train. The compartments nearest to the driver compartments were the ones that were the most expensive.
The compartments in the middle were the storage rooms. The compartments behind the storage room were empty. They were in the cheapest compartment on the train.
The washroom inside the train was just behind their compartment. Morgan even went above the roof of the train. It may sound crazy but there were several trapdoor leading above the roof of the train.
He went up only while in soul form. Going up any other time was suicidal. He only took a day to explore the train. He felt a lot more bored than he would ever feel.
That was the case especially because he didn't have a phone and no other thing to pass his time. Even sleeping is useless for him because his soul comes out whenever he sleeps, and he has a stack of 8 or more free hours than a normal person.
He opened the windows of the train a little. A wave of cold air was enough to make him realise that he was going to hell for no reason at all.
At least he thought so. Charles just said that oh, you're going to the super cold place for dying because, fuck it. I won't tell you the reason.
Soon, after a day and a half, they were in the white and icy mountains covered with snow. The snow had increased so much that the AC didn't work at all.
But some time before that, Morgan had already got the intuition of the coldness coming ahead. He slept and got into soul form just in time.
He was safe from the cold for now. But he knew that he had to return inside his body soon. After some more hours, an announcement was to be heard from the train.
The sound of a woman came from the speakers of the train saying, "We will arrive at the station in almost half an hour. I repeat we will arrive at the station in almost half an hour."
Morgan thought, "I'm getting bad vibes from the looks of the outer scenery. How can humans survive in this much cold, let alone make railway tracks and buildings?"
Charles woke up and stretched for a few minutes. He relaxed for a few more minutes. He checked his luggage one last time and went down. He said to Morgan, "Hey, why are you sleeping for so long? It's time to go."
Morgan got back inside his body and said to Charles, "What?"
Charles replied, "Well, I'm not surprised. Newbies often tend to sleep a lot more than pros like me. I'll forgive you this time."
Morgan shouted back, "It is you who slept a lot more than me!"
Charles ignored Morgan and said after looking out of the window, "We are here."
Morgan looked out of the window. It was a dead end. The train tracks went straight till it was just in front of a tall mountain.
They were very near the mountain. Even if the brake was applied now, the train would still crash. There was no way of survival.
To be Continued...