“What do you mean?” Mackenzie asked.
“We are part of the serpent now,” Archie reported. “A great and wondrous creature that inhabits these waters for many, many years.”
“A part of the serpent?” Mackenzie asked, needing a little more explaining.
“Yes. I… I don’t know the name. I just know what it is.”
“And how is that, Archie?” Leland asked.
“Why…” the conductor turned his head to face the gang leader. “Because I’m part of the serpent as well. I know what it knows.”
That was met with shocked silence.
“What’s happened to you, Archie?” Mackenzie probed. “And the other passengers? What’s happened to the Majestic? Before… you became part of the serpent.”
“I don’t know. I remember moving through the cars, before entering the tunnel. I remember holding my, my ticket punch. And then darkness. Total darkness. I mean, we had lamps, but even they seemed to expire. At the same time. That was worrying, let me tell you. After that, I remember people talking. Screaming. And I recall helping passengers leave their cars in droves. I don’t know why. In any case, I strove to maintain order, and directed them onwards, to the next car, while I moved forward.”
Archie stopped then, his black eyes staring. “I remember opening one of the car doors and seeing… light. Then darkness, and becoming incredibly weary. And then… and then swimming, you see. Under the water. Going deep. Seeing sights you wouldn’t believe. And I was part of the serpent then. Seeing things through its eyes, yet my eyes as well. It all had a…a dream quality, you understand. Until I felt a pull, and opened my eyes to all of you.”
The conductor studied himself then. “All of this.”
“Steady now, Archie,” Leland said, holding the man’s shoulder.
“Oh, I’m all right. My apologies for losing my composure earlier. My memory comes and goes. The serpent—and let me be clear, I don’t know its real name, it’s just what I call it—the serpent is, or has, made me its conductor of sorts. Of all of this. Even now, a part of it calms me. Somehow. As we swim through these waters.”
Nathan looked from Leland’s concentrating face to Mackenzie’s and saw not a trace of disbelief.
“We’re inside the serpent?” Mackenzie asked.
“We are,” Archie said. “You most certainly are. But if I close my eyes and allow myself to drift, and by which I mean relax, as if to fall asleep, then I’m at the front. With the great creature. It doesn’t mean to hurt us. It won’t hurt you. Not with me aboard. My job is still the same, to ensure the welfare and safety of the passengers.”
Another round of stunned silence. Shorty Charlie Williams took off his hat and massaged his face and forehead. Gilbert stood speechless as if he’d taken two hooves to the skull. Eli said not a word, perhaps not wanting to be told to shut up again. Jimmy, Leland, and Mackenzie all remained calm and contemplative. It wasn’t so hard to believe in Nathan’s mind, once you accepted it and dealt with it.
“Where are the other passengers now?” Nathan asked.
Archie frowned. “Gone. I don’t know where, or what’s become of them.”
Nathan had an idea where they’d gone. He’d shot enough of them just a short time ago.
“Archie,” Leland asked. “Where are we going?”
That question seemed to confuse the conductor. “Why, anywhere we like. Anywhere you like.”
“We’d like to go back,” Leland said. “To our rightful place.”
“I see. That’s understandable.”
“Can you help us?”
“I’ll certainly try, sir,” Archie answered. “It’s my job, after all. Even though you were looking to rob a train.”
“Not this one.”
“Any train, sir,” Archie said. “Though I do sense a rather… crooked nobility about you. For the sake of the world you left behind. The one I left behind. And shall never return to. I’ll see what I can do… to get you back.”
Leland patted the man’s shoulder. “Thank you, Archie.”
“Allow me to consult with the serpent’s memory,” the conductor said. “Perhaps she has seen something.”
“You can do that?” Leland asked.
“I most certainly can,” Archie smiled. “In the meantime, enjoy your journey aboard her. Us. You’ll not have this opportunity ever again.”
Nathan didn’t doubt that.
24
The men gathered just beyond Archie’s throne, their demeanor downcast. They didn’t even look at Leland anymore, but glanced at the watery world outside the numerous membranes. Curls of light played upon the walls, and the smell of wet clothing and body odor overwhelmed all else.
“You all heard what Archie said,” Leland informed them. “We’re aboard the serpent.”
“I guessed it first,” Eli said.
“You said ‘whale’,” Nathan corrected.
Eli scowled at him as if taking a whiff off a shithouse door.
“None of that matters,” Leland interrupted before more words were exchanged. “We have an idea of where we are, and Archie’s going to help us get on our way.”
That produced a series of harsh looks, wondering if the conductor could be trusted, especially since he knew they were train robbers.
“We don’t have a choice,” Leland said, reading those faces. “Not really. So keep calm. Stay alert. And try and enjoy the ride.” He ended that with a smile.
“Look outside,” Archie suddenly exclaimed. “You’ll see a plethora of underwater flowers underneath us.”
“The fuck’s a goddamn plethora?” Eli muttered.
“An abundance,” Mackenzie explained. “A wide variety.”
“Why the hell didn’t he say that, then?”
Mackenzie didn’t answer, and the other men became much more interested in what was transpiring beyond those clear membranes, if only to occupy their minds.
They weren’t disappointed.
Refracted sunbeams lit up a garden of colors spread out across the ocean floor. All manner of alien vegetation covered mounds and shallow valleys in a diverse and awesome display of life. Tall pillars of stone and coral held up orange streamers that swayed with the currents, reminding Nathan of parades in the summertime. Nebulae of purple and gold expanded and contracted as if possessing a life of their own, and perhaps they did. Fish darted throughout, in galaxies of silver and pink. Along the seafloor, white things scuttled and fed among pillowy swards of green.
“Are those crabs?” Jimmy asked.
“Those are crabs,” Mackenzie answered. “Big crabs.”
“And they’re incredibly delicious,” Archie announced from his throne. “The meat is as succulent as… as… well, anything, I suppose.”
“How the hell do you know?” Eli asked.
“Well, I’ve eaten them, obviously. We, I mean. The serpent and I.”
As accepting as Nathan could be about their predicament, he found the idea of Archie and the serpent being one and the same absolutely mind-twisting.
“Have you discovered anything about finding the way home?” Leland asked.
Archie became silent then. “Not yet, I’m afraid,” he replied. “Oh look… the lava flows!”
The vast garden had ended, replaced with more ominous sights in the distance. Bubbles of fiery orange burped from a concealed fissure as great blue-white plumes of smoke churned and coiled with an intestinal life. Magma flashed to the surface as water underneath heaved up the molten rock, resulting in a series of explosions resembling underwater cannon fire. Bubbles and smoke clouded the waters above it all.
“What’s this?” Mackenzie asked.
“Underwater volcano,” Archie said. “I’ve seen several in my time with the serpent. You have no idea how hot the water is issuing from those cracks in the planet’s crust.”
The conductor sighed then.
“So…” Leland asked. “You’ve known that you’re part of this creature for some time now, Archie?”
Nathan shared a look with Leland, and they both suspected the same thing. Archie’s mind had become more than a touch unstable, perhaps because of his predicament, or simply to better cope with it.
“This is incredible,” Mackenzie whispered, his hands planted on either side of a portal, studying the event.
“Isn’t it, though?” Archie said and brightened.
“What ocean is this? The Atlantic? The Pacific?”
“I’m sorry, sir. I’m afraid I don’t rightly know.”
Nathan didn’t quite like that. He quickly lost interest in the volcanic show.
Archie and the serpent took them over a world the men had never dreamed existed. Most had never seen an ocean for that matter, and the numerous species of plant and sea life were lost upon them. Only Mackenzie seemed to fully appreciate the wonders of the deep, as he rarely appeared to blink.
Nathan only wished they were headed home.
The oceanic bottom receded then, and the floor tilted at a sharp incline, causing the men to grab onto organic knobs and other solid fixtures offered by the walls.
“What’s happening, Archie?” Leland asked.
“We’re ascending,” the conductor said. “We need to take a breath, it seems.”
“The serpent needs air?” Mackenzie asked in a voice of wonder.
“She most certainly does. She’s capable of holding her breath for a very long time. A very long time. Tens of minutes upon a full breath. We believe that it might be best to get you to land. Any land. And from there you might best find your way home.”
Nathan didn’t quite agree with that. In fact, he was growing aware of a subtle tug, like one from a very weak magnet, drawing him towards the rear of the chamber.
“How would we get out of the serpent?” Mackenzie asked.
That befuddled Archie. “Good question, sir. Haven’t the foggiest. Seems to me, however, you have two options, and neither one especially pleasant. You may exit through the rear of this chamber, or exit through the front. However, exiting through the front might cause us to… ah… forcefully eject you. If you gather my meaning.”
“You mean vomit?”
“Precisely, sir.”
“Hold on,” Eli said, “so we have to get thrown up to leave the front of this thing? That mean we’re going to get shit out if we go the other way?”
“Crudely put,” Archie said. “But accurate enough.”
Eli looked at Leland. “I ain’t crawlin’ out of some snake’s shitty asshole, Leland. I’ll cut my way out before that.”
“You’ll do nothing of the sort,” Leland shot back. “Disregard that last thought of his, Archie.”
A pause from the conductor. “I’ll try, sir. And I’m glad. Any, ah, cutting, would greatly hurt us. Not to mention allow the water inside. Whereupon you’d surely perish. I’d suggest you focus on whether or not you wish to disembark from the front or the rear.”
“I vote for the front, then,” Eli said.
“Me too,” Gilbert added.
Leland, however, glanced to the rear. Nathan realized then that the gang leader felt that same gentle tug.
“I don’t understand any of this,” Eli muttered, as wild lassos of light swept over his features. The higher they ascended, the stronger those beams became. Outside, the water gently shifted from blue to green.
“We were walking through a train before we got here,” Eli stressed. “Now we’re caught in the guts of this thing?”
“It’s incredible,” Mackenzie said.
“It’s goddamn insane, is what it is.”
Nathan ignored the debate, hearing that deep note stretch overhead, sung by an immense creature. Archie had bent his head back, his expression hidden, but he appeared to be gazing at the portal above him.
“We’re almost there,” the conductor whispered with a smile. “Once we surface, we’ll make for the nearest land. We’ll head for the shallows, as I’m not sure how we’ll fare on dry land. We don’t wish to beach ourselves.”
“Land,” Mackenzie said. “That could be anywhere.”
“And it could be Port Moody,” Leland said. “Or nearby.”
“It would take a lot of luck to—”
Sunlight streamed in through upper portal membranes, throwing back most of the shadows. Light entered through some of the side portals as well, only briefly, before the rise and fall of the surface obscured the view.
“We’ve reached the surface,” Archie informed them, sounding pleased.
The men crowded the nearest windows.
“Can’t see a damn thing,” Jimmy said.
“We’re floating,” Nathan said, “but not quite above the water line.”
“Probably only the back is showing above the water line.” Mackenzie said. “Like a whale. Or eel.”
“Give us a moment,” Archie announced. “We’ll be taking a breath. Out with the bad air, in with the good, and all that.”
“Do you wish to come with us, Archie?” Leland abruptly asked.
Archie didn’t think long upon it. “Thank you but no. That’s quite all right, sir. I actually enjoy this. When I drift, my… consciousness becomes one with her. I see what she sees, but in a dreamy way, as I mentioned before. In fact, once I’ve seen you men to safety, or what I hope is safety, I’ll probably go right on back to, well, drifting. It’s so wonderfully peaceful, you see. And time holds no power. And certainly no meaning. Regardless, I’m fascinated with what I’ve seen, and genuinely look forward to seeing more. So, once again, thank you for the offer but—”
A shudder went through the great beast then, and the once indifferent but sadly melodious whine became a frightening screech.
It took Nathan a second to realize it was Archie doing the screaming.
Two more shudders passed through the chamber, prompting the men to hug the walls despite the unhealthy rust color. Leland hurried to Archie’s side, who paused only to reload his chest before screaming again. The gang leader reached the conductor’s shoulder when a mighty force yanked the entire chamber sideways.
The unexpected lurch slammed Nathan against the wall. He collapsed, and cold water immediately soaked his coat and chilled his ass. The others floundered, slipping and sliding as they struggled for firm footing. Men grunted and called out. Another quake rumbled through the chamber, however, heaving them all into unyielding walls.
Archie screamed again.
“What is it, Archie?” Leland yelled, grabbing the conductor’s shoulder. “What is it?”
But Archie only continued to shriek, great wheezy peals of pain that might’ve frayed his capacity for speech.
“Look,” a horrified Jimmy said. “Out the window.”
Nathan did and balked.
Against the serpent’s membrane, beads of water had turned and foamed into a bright spawny red.
25
“What’s going on?” Leland shouted over the cacophony erupting from Archie and the great serpent.
Nathan struggled to see outside, but couldn’t see past the bloody water smearing the membrane. The serpent’s mass dipped underneath the waves, clearing the gore off, but only for a second as fresh color sprayed the portal. A mighty force hauled the entire chamber sideways, pushing waves up and over the membranes and washing away the blood. Nathan leaned forward, discovering he had greater balance in doing so, and strained to see outside. Beyond the watery smears was a violent plane of blue, where a great black mass bobbed, and long heavy lines extended from its side and stretched towards the crippled serpent.
Then the mass was gone in a cleansing wave, and the whole of the interior tipped again. The men yelled out before crashing into walls in a sharp list. Shorty Charlie Williams tipped forward, mashing his face against the rust-colored confines in a grunt of pain and a spurt of red. Gilbert and Eli were on their backs, thrashing like a couple of pond trout feeling the heat of a frying pan. The others were behind Nathan, but h
e could hear Jimmy and Mackenzie fighting to steady themselves.
“What’s happening out there?” Leland yelled, holding onto the throne.
Archie was no longer screaming.
“I can’t see,” Nathan shouted back. “I think there’s a ship out there.”
“A ship?”
The floor leveled out and Nathan sprang to the portal, bracing himself for any other surprising rolls. Water dribbled in thick rivulets over the membrane, distorting the outside world. There was a powerful undulation then, from the struggling serpent itself. The force drove Nathan to his knees while his face pitched into the portal. A spasmodic shiver ripped through the entire length of the room, further impeding the men. Darkness doused light, only to be beaten back again. Nathan swore, grabbed onto meaty protrusions on either side of his window, and pulled his face to the transparent membrane.
There was a ship out there, disappearing at times behind the onrush of water.
“I can see it,” Gilbert yelled as he stuck his face up to a portal—a split second before the serpent shook itself and plastered the gun runner against the window’s firm surface. He slumped to the floor, stunned by the blow.
“Could be a whaler,” Jimmy suggested while the floor steadied itself somewhat.
“We’re not in a whale,” Leland yelled back.
“Is it a whaler?” Jimmy asked.
“Can’t rightly see what it is,” Nathan replied.
Mackenzie staggered to a portal and gazed outside. “It looks like a whaler. Three masts. Black sails.”
That struck Nathan as odd, but he soon saw that Mackenzie was right. The sails fluttered above the ship, as black as pitch and matching the hull. The entire vessel rocked and rolled upon the waves, glimpsed just above the surging waterline slapping against the serpent. There were at least four lines running from the whaler, connecting ship to serpent. Lengthy strands that were perhaps chains, ending at points in the great beast’s hide.
“Black sails?” Jimmy asked.
“What manner of ship is that?” Leland added.
But no one answered him.
The four lines seemed strange to Nathan and he couldn’t understand why. No sooner did the thought enter his head when the whaler fired a dark bolt of lightning in their direction. Nathan scowled in puzzlement, a split second before a harpoon punched a hole through the serpent’s side in a startling explosion of meat and scarlet streamers.
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