Choo-Choo
The concept of space, I love it. The thrill of moving outside of one's home planet, to another. To be able to go from one star to another at any time, just like taking a train to the next town, awesome. The concept whereby it wouldn't just be one's home country that would be needed on their birth certificate, but also their home planet.
Thrilling right?
Yeah!… that's why I became a scientist.
I stood at one side of the moving rain, my white lab coat dancing in the smooth motion of the train. In my left hand, I held a black leather suitcase and in my right I held a novel.
The novel was faced at me, my eyes capturing every word like it was the first time I was reading it.
As I was reading, I could feel the gaze of someone piercing through my skin as though I owed them money. I turned, only to see that it wasn't just a single person, but everyone on the train.
They all gazed at me with an expression of disgust, and frankly I could understand why.
At the time I entered the train, it had already been half-full, however as soon as I brought out my novel and began reading, some people dropped off—before the train started moving, while the others left their seats and moved to another seat—far away from where I stood.
Why did they move? You may ask. Well it was obvious, and not because I was smelling of chemicals and decayed specimens, but rather because of the novel I was reading.
It's was called Chronicles of Aeloria, which could be seen on the front cover. However, the name wasn't the reason why they all stared at me, but the cover photo itself.
It was a 2D image of two half-naked beautiful ladies with different hair colors, clinging together in a lewd manner. Their hips barely covered with any clothes. Actually, they weren't covered. They were practically naked, except for their private areas.
You could say it gave off an erotic and creepy vibe. So, I don't blame them.
Frankly I had the same thoughts when I encountered the novel at first, but my thoughts changed after reading it.
I know what you might be thinking. It's a sexual novel, but that's not the case.
Chronicles of Aeloria is a world full of magic, mana, kingdoms, villains, and legendary heroes. Nothing sexual at all, but I still don't know what the author and his team were thinking when they decided to use such a cover photo.
With half my right palm, I adjusted my glasses before continuing reading the novel. It was a technique I learnt from an anime character whose name I can't remember.
My name is Hitori Korr by the way. I know, it's a weird name, but spare me. My parents picked it, and I don't know what they were thinking when they gave me such a name. I have been living a peaceful life, but never escaped bullying during my school days—which was one of the reasons I became a scientist, so I could find a way to leave this world and its people.
But I know that's just a fantasy, which is why I read novels, to escape the high burdens of work and life. It's where I truly find peace.
Chronicles of Aeloria is the, if not the best novel that gives me that closure. Although I don't know why the author never finished the novel. He left it with a massive cliffhanger and said there was a change in the story and would continue after a couple of months, but it had been nearly two decades since then.
I can't count how many times I have read it, 499 perhaps? With every piece of the story engraved into my memory, I'm positive I could end the story myself with the countless finale arcs I've already cooked up.
As I continued reading the novel with my focus on every word, a sudden sound erupted across the train and everyone became startled the one by one they left their seats to find out what that was about. For all they knew it could be the train trashing.
However, I didn't flinch. I wasn't ready to leave the best scene of the novel for something that wouldn't even worth my time to check. Which was what I thought until two minutes later, a large crowd had already gathered at the far end of the train, causing an scene.
The noise that came from the crowd grew by the second, not allowing me to read my novel in peace. It was as though they were saying I should come take a look by force.
"If I just stay here, I'm sure they would finish quickly and go back to their seats. It's probably just a minor thing."
I mumbled, my eyes still stuck at the single page that I hadn't flipped since the beginning of this chapter.
Just when I was about to give in, a young-old lady around her early forties rushed to the part of the train where I stood. She knelt down and placed both her hands on he head.
'This is a moving train!'
As she knelt, she began chanting something that felt like a prayer.
I stared at the lady puzzled.
'Is she saying a prayer or casting a spell?'
'Maybe both?'
Then a thought hit me and a frown played on my face. I knew the lady wasn't going to leave anytime soon, and I won't be able to continue my novel.
I turned and faced the crowd.
"What's exactly going on over there?" I asked, and turned back to the lady, but she didn't respond nor react to the question.
"Tch."
I left the lady and walked towards the crowd, while I picked up on various murmurings.
"Is it a fight?!"
"No, I heard it's a quarrel?!"
"No, I think there was a clash out between the two of them."
Ain't those the same things?
"Actually I heard the first guy attacked the other guy first, then the other guy brought out his gun and shot him."
Gun? Shot him?
What exactly is going on?
I pushed my way past the crowd and made it out—to the front of the crowd where the main event was going on.
Before me were two men. One standing holding a gun with a silencer, while the other was on the ground holding his leg that was bleeding.
"Did you hear what I said?" The man holding the gun yelled. "I said if you don't give me a raise I would fuck your family up."
Just by looking at the scene before me and what the man just said, I had already analyzed the entire situation.
It would seem that the man who held the gun is a co-worker of the man on the ground—who was his boss or manager.
And it seemed like the man with the gun had been begging for a raise in his job but was ignored by the boss. Then he waited for the right day to take him out.
It was the perfect plan, in the perfect place and it was well executed. Frankly I would have done something similar but this guy's move is kind of a bitch move.
While both men had their conversation on who was going to die if a raise wasn't granted, I looked around the crowd and was shocked by their faces. Nobody was panicking at all, it was as if a shot never happened.
I get that the man used a silencer, so the shot wasn't that loud, however what's with this reaction? None of them looked frightened by the scene before them.
And that was then it hit me. I looked at all their clothes and noticed they were identical. Navy blue suit, up and down both the males and females.
It looked like a corporate cloth for a company.
I turned back to both men and noticed they were also wearing the same cloths.
"Are they all from the same company?" I mumbled.
Then it hit me. I turned back to look at the lady who was praying.
'She isn't wearing the same uniform as them. A cleaner perhaps?'
I got curious and decided to go ask her a couple questions but had to pass through the tight spot within this crowd.
"Damn, how are there so many? I never even considered it when I first passed."
Finally, I made it through and began walking towards the lady. She was still on her knees, but this time her hands were clenched together, her head raised with her eyes closed.
'Now she looks more like someone who's praying.'
Upon reaching her, I stood at her back and began contemplating on what I was going to say to her. The lady was praying so was it right to disturb her?
My mind went blank and before I knew it.
"Excuse me madam." My hand had already tapped her shoulder.
The lady stopped praying for a while, and after a few seconds she continued without ever turning back.
'What just happened?'
I tapped her again, and she stopped praying for a moment, then resumed again as if nothing happened.
'What's wrong with this lady?'
I tapped her once more and she paused; this time a little longer. At this point I already had hoped that she was going to react, however she resumed again like nothing happened.
I grew impatient and decided to go back to the crowd to get some information out of somebody, however the expressions they were all given weren't encouraging.
"Are they excited that someone got shot?"
I knew that going to them was no good, so I went back to the lady. However this time I wasn't just going to tap on her shoulder, but confront her head on.
I walked to the front of the lady, my legs moving in precision. I stood before her, and saw her face was filled with tears which instantly melted my heart.
"W-What is wrong Ma'am? Are you okay?" I asked, as I bent down and began consoling her.
"Tell me, what happened?"
I gazed deeply at the lady's beautiful eyes and could see the fear in them. She was frightened, more of the right reaction than the other people.
"Is it because of gunshot?" I asked, taking into account that was the reason.
And just as predicted, she nodded.
"Yes it is…sob." the lady said, while cleaning her cheeks.
"It's okay. Everything is going to be fine. You wouldn't get hurt by it."
I tried reassuring the lady that she wasn't going to get hurt, however she shook her head like she didn't agree with me.
"No, I'm not worried about that." the lady sobbed.
"Is there some other reason?" I asked.
The lady pointed backwards at the scene and muttered.
"M-M-My son…"
"Your son?" I asked, "Is he over there?"
She nodded.
I raised my head and scanned through the crowd to see if I was going to spot a child but I couldn't.
"There is no child there." I said, while looking at her again.
However, that lady shook her head. At this point I didn't understand what was going on anymore.
"Is your son there?" I asked again to confirm I heard right, and she nodded.
"But there's no child there."
"No!" The lady proclaimed, as she violently shook her head.
"My son is not a child." She muttered, and I just became even more confused. "He isn't a child, but an adult. He's the one on the ground."
As the words left her mouth, my gaze quickly shifted to the man on the floor.
"What? The person who got shot is your son?!" I proclaimed, and she nodded as tears rolled down her eyes to her cheek.
'Damm. I thought it was actually a child she was referring to. But her child is the boss who got shot? I see why she ran here and began praying.'
"P-Please help him. You are a doctor right? Do something!"
The lady dragged my lab coat, her eyes locked into mine, and I could see myself in there. The me, who was constantly bullied in school and needed help.
'I can't let this lady's son die.'
"I have decided!"
I stood up, away from the lady's grasp. Dropped my suitcase on the ground with my novel on top of it.
"I will save your son madam."
I acted like a hero and moved past her with an aura just like I had seen in the movies.
"Hey!" I yelled out, and everyone including the man with the gun all turned to my direction.
"Leave that woman's son alone!"
I walked gracefully to the crowd, my coat dancing in rhythm like a cape, as if I was some kind of a hero.
"What?"
"Who is he?"
"What does he think he's doing?"
"Does he want to die?"
"Isn't that guy the who was reading that sexual novel?"
Murmurs began swirling, although that last one was actually uncalled for.
"Huh?!"
The man with the gun looked at me puzzled.
And I proclaimed once more.
"I said leave that man alone!"
"Stay away from it young man!" A voice deep within the crowd shouted.
"Yeah, go back and read your lewd book!"
I didn't listen to their words and passed through the crowd with the space they all created. At least I didn't have to fold myself through.
I reached the two men and immediately went to the man on the ground.
"Are you alright sir?" I asked, as I bent down and tried lifting him up.
"Ow ow! Don't!" The man cried. "I can't walk, just leave me."
He laid back on the ground and I had no choice but to respect his wishes.
"But sir, your mother!"
"My mother?" the man reacted.
"Yes she, she's right over there."
I pointed at the lady who was supposed to be kneeling down at the far end of the train but was now nowhere to be found.
"Where did she go?" I mumbled.
The man held my hand tightly and said:
"I was supposed to visit my mother's grave today. Today marks one year since her death. However my car broke down and I had to take the train. But now I can't go anymore because I'm injured."
'What?! What does he mean; supposed to visit his mother? She was just right there. Where did she go?'
"Hey! Weird guy!"
The man with the gun shouted, and my attention was drawn towards him.
"What do you think you are doing, hm? That man over there is a fraud, a liar and a cheater. He was supposed to give me a raise when I moved up to a higher position. And after I worked my butt off and got that position, he acted as if he never promised me a raise."
I stared at the man, baffled. Then back at the man who was on the ground. His face showing the pain he was going through.
Then back to the shooter.
"And does that give you the right to gun him?"
I stood up ready to take matters into my own hands. This wasn't about the request from the lady earlier, whoever she was. Or the man on the ground.
This was personal. It reminded me of how I was bullied in school and how nobody ever tried to step in. That was the exact same thing happening here, and I'm not gonna let it slide.
I took a step forward.
"Even if he was in the wrong, that doesn't give you a reason to put a bullet in his leg."
"This world is already messed up as it is, and you shouldn't partake in its foolish acts, but try to cure and make it a better place.
I took another step, as I approached the man like I had something up my sleeve
"Who is this guy? He's crazy."
"He's totally nuts."
"I won't contain that anymore." I exclaimed. "I won't let such things grow even anymore. I won't-"
Tah!!
'Oh Shit!'
Tah!!
'What was I thinking? That was dumb of me.'
I fell to the ground, my white coat completely soaked in the blood that flowed out from the two bullet holes in my chest.
'This wasn't how it was supposed to go.'
The bullet pierced through me like a burning fire and I could feel the pain, so intense my heartbeat became very audible.
'Is this it? Is this how I'm going to die? I haven't even achieved one third of my dream—to go to space. To live in a different world.'
Knowing that this was going to be my last moments, I began crawling to the other side of the train—where my suitcase and novel were.
The train was still moving. How could it stop? It's a built in technology vehicle and wouldn't, only stop from the head office. There was no way it would stop because of a gunshot.
As I crawled, a trail was created, left behind by the blood coming out of my body.
"What is he thinking?"
"Isn't he dead?"
"Hey Alvo! Shouldn't you give him another shot to make sure he dies?"
"That's what you get for messing with what you don't understand."
'What? Did they just call the shooter's name? What I don't understand? Wait, are they saying they are together? Ah~ Now I see why they weren't frightened, they all planned it.'
'It's just like before, they're exactly like those students who didn't give a shit about me getting bullied.'
"Damn!"
I stretched my hand as I got closer to the novel, however not close enough as a bullet was fired at my back, then another, and another, until there were five bullet holes in my body.
At this point, I couldn't move anymore. But, I wanted to take a peek, a little peek of my favorite novel—maybe I could escape this harsh world one more time, maybe I could find closure once again.
My hands were stretched, just a few inches away from the novel. However, I had already lost all strength and my consciousness was already fading away. But in that moment, with the last strength I could muster, a single finger moved and I felt a slight contact with the novel.
Then, in that moment… I died.