The Dream Train

Together in Darkness and Light

This is it.  For better or worse this is how this story ends.

Special thanks to everyone who read this far--Especially CEBronk for your insightful, hilarious, and occasionally flattering comments!

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

As the lights of Traum faded behind them, Ana wondered if they would hear the fireworks. She suspected they would not. After a minute, they were out of the reach of the lights. It was dark. The moon was still shining but the forest felt exceptionally dark. Ana stopped walking. Sam stopped, too, and turned to check on her.

"Ana?" Sam's voice was soft.

"I'm scared, Sam."

"We could go back."

Ana shook her head. "No. We can't."

Ana could feel her eyes prick and, though she fought it, tears began to trickle down her face. She sat down on the forest floor, put her head between her knees, and cried. Sam crouched behind her and rubbed her back. "It'll be OK," Sam said, trying to sound reassuring.

Ana sniffed and wiped furiously at her eyes and nose. "We have to assume that someone is looking for us. We've been missing for more than a day. Gran probably has the Army Rangers out here." Ana straightened her spine. "We need to pay attention, listen, and look around, and someone will find us." She marched off in the direction they had been heading.

Ana had gone no more than ten paces when she froze. Again Sam stopped and looked at her. "Did you hear that?" she whispered.

Sam listened.

Ana heard it again. "Come on," she gasped and took off.

Ana could hear a voice, no voices and in a moment she spotted light from a fire. She glanced at Sam and could see he heard it, too. More voices and the sounds of people moving around. Tires on rocks and feet on gravel.

Into Ana's mind flashed stories of cannibals and cultists and people who hunted humans for sport but she pushed all of the thoughts away. She knew she could only hope that whoever was ahead would be benign and helpful.

The trees thinned and there was some sort of building silhouetted against the lights from lanterns and fires. It was boxy and made of concrete with metal beams on the corners and across the roof.

Ana's heart leaped. It was a campground bathroom! They'd wandered into a campground They broke into a jog and in no time were standing on a path surrounded by tents and campers and cars. Indistinct voices laughed and talked from dimly lit campsites.

Ana's eyes grew wider and wider as she turned in a circle. Then she sprinted off down the path to the right. There was the car! There were the two tents! And there. . .THERE. . . ducking out from under a tent flap was- "Gran!" Ana yelled. She dashed to her grandmother and threw her arms around her. Sam came up behind them and put his arms around them both.

Gran grunted from the impact and then laughed. "I'm so glad you are back," she took a step back and looked at them both. Her brow wrinkled and she pushed Ana's hair behind her ear. "I was just starting to get worried about you!"

Sam straightened up. "Just starting to?"

Gran gave him a sharp look and nodded. "Yes." She looked intently at Sam. "That friend of yours came back about five minutes ago crying and bleeding from the nose. He didn't even look at me. He stormed into your tent and a minute later came out whining about no phone reception. I tried to ask him what happened but he must have gotten a signal because I heard wringing and then moaning to someone, I assumed his mom, about how she needed to come and pick him up because you were a . . . well, I won't use the word he used."

Sam and Ana both stared at her open-mouthed.

Gran continued. "I guessed that you two had gotten in a fight over something or other and that you'd come back, storming, in a few minutes. Then a few minutes passed and neither of you came back and, yes I know you aren't little kids, and I assumed you were probably together, but I was still feeling worried so I grabbed my flashlight and was just heading out to hunt you both down."

Ana did an impressive fish impression and opened and closed her mouth several times before she could speak. "Gran, we've been. . ." She hesitated and looked at Sam.

Sam's face reflected her own confusion. "When we left, I mean. . ." He looked at Ana.

"Gran, what day is it? I mean, day of the week."

Gran looked back and forth between them with concern all over her face. "It's Friday, sweetie, remember?"

Ana shut her eyes and put her head into her hands. She rubbed at her eyes and temples for a full thirty seconds-- trying to get her brain straight. Then she began to laugh.

The sound was startling and Sam and Gran both took a step away from her but Gran recovered quickly and touched Ana's shoulder. She took Ana's face in her hands. "Are you okay, Analise?"

Ana nodded and kept laughing. "I am, Gran, I promise. I had a scare but I'm okay." She looked at Sam. "Are you, okay, Sammy?"

Sammy blew his breath out and shrugged. "I don't know. I'm confused and my heart is pounding."

Ana pulled away from Gran and hugged her brother. "It's okay, Sam. None of it was real. I. . .I don't know what happened, but it wasn't real." Sam squeezed her tight and nodded.

Gran studied them. "Did something happen? Are you hurt?"

Ana and Sam looked at each other and then turned to reassure their grandmother. "No Gran," Sam said, "We're fine. Derek was being an ass to Ana and I hit him. We went into the woods to get away from him and we got a little . . . turned around. We're okay, though."

Ana nodded. Gran glared down the path toward the dark shape of a teenage boy sitting on a split-log fence. She took a step toward Ana. Her eyes were flashing dangerously. "Did he hurt you?"

Ana shook her head. "He grabbed my arms and was a little rough but mostly he just scared me. Sam knocked him away from me."

Gran looked at Sam. "I don't approve of fighting." Her face was stern but softened quickly. "BUT, you see a guy pushing around a girl and you have my blessing to bloody his nose any day. Especially if it is your sister being harassed."

Sam grinned at her. "You got it, Gran."

Gran turned back toward the tent. "I'm gonna put my flashlight away and grab the s'mores supplies. The three of us will sit here toasty around the fire and watch until that little prick gets picked up by his mother."

Sam and Ana gasped at Gran's language and then cracked up with laughter. Gran winked at them and ducked back into her tent.

Ana sat in her camping chair and put her hands out to the fire. She wondered if any of it had been real. Thinking about it here, safe, in the light of the fire, it didn't seem like it. She wondered if she and Sam would ever understand what happened to them. When she got home, she knew she would Google it. She'd look for Traum and see if kids named Josh and Danielle had gone missing around here in the last ten years. She shivered.

Sam stood up, grabbed some firewood, and put a few more logs on the fire. The flames blazed and Ana felt very comfortable.

"Thanks, Sam."

Sam grinned and tilted his head to the side. "It's my pleasure."