by R. R. Banks
"Actually, here it is," I heard Graham say from inside the train. "I guess I don't need to go back there after all."
"Not a problem at all, sir. We're sorry again and look forward to having you travel with us again as soon as the train has been restored."
Graham stepped out of the train and gathered the bags that he had set down. The doors to the train closed and I started toward the platform, confident now that the conductor couldn't see me.
"What the hell was that all about?" he called from behind me.
"Excuse me?" I asked, turning around to face him.
"What were you doing creeping around in the train?"
"I had to go back in for my phone."
"What did you think they were going to do to you? Throw you in train jail?"
I felt heat burn across my cheeks and was thankful for the darkness, so he couldn't see. I turned back around and pushed ahead toward the platform. Everything was quiet now and I had an unpleasant feeling about approaching the station. The doors were locked when I pulled on them and I peered inside to see that it was totally empty and dark. Doing my best to hold out hope in my heart, I walked around the side of the building toward the front, telling myself that I was going to get there and that there would be a clean, well-maintained car with a properly identified driver waiting for me. I reached the front sidewalk only to find the drop-off and pick-up lane in front of the station empty.
"Dammit!" I shouted, then let out a growl of frustration.
"What's wrong?" Graham asked as he came around to me.
"What's wrong?" I asked, looking around. "Seriously? What's wrong? There are no cars. No cabs. No anything. How are we supposed to get anywhere tonight?"
He looked at me with an incredulous expression and pulled out his phone. He looked down at it and I saw his expression change.
"Shit. No signal."
"Great. Now what’s your plan?”
"Well, I don't see you jumping to our rescue."
I pulled out my phone and looked down at it, immediately noticing that I also had no service.
"We must seriously be in the middle of nowhere."
"What are we supposed to do now?"
"We?" I asked. "We? What makes you think that there's a 'we'?"
"Because the two of us are the only people in the immediate area and it just seems to make sense that we should try to figure out a solution together rather than both of us looking for options separately."
"Well, I'll have you know that I am perfectly fine looking for solutions on my own and I don't need you to help me."
"Fine."
I gathered my bags and started away from the station, having literally no idea where I was going or what I was going to do when I got there. The cold night air was closing in around me and I ducked my head down to try to keep my face out of it. I was nearing the edge of the illumination that was cast by the meager parking lot lights when I heard something scream in the distance. It sounded like an animal, but I couldn't identify it. The second scream was distinctly louder, and I jumped, turning to run back toward the station. Maybe I could fashion a shelter out of a bench and my bathing suits.
Graham was standing only a few steps behind me and he smirked when he saw me run.
"It's certainly a good thing that you are so in control and don't need any help."
"Shut up."
"Look, neither of us is thrilled with this situation, but there's no reason to make it any worse than it already is. So why don't you grow up, shut your mouth, and just start walking. If they called out cabs, there has to be a town somewhere. We'll find it and then we can get hotel rooms for the night and move on."
"Fine."
I tightened my grip on my bags, feeling them slip on my cold fingers even through my gloves as we made our way down a road that had shifted from pavement to gravel.
"Do you want me to carry those for you?" he asked.
"No, I don't need you to carry them for me."
"I didn't ask if you needed me to, I asked if you wanted me to. I'm trying to be nice, but you are making it really fucking hard. This is already a pretty shitty night. You could at least make an effort."
"It's not like my image of the perfect evening is trudging through the freezing cold weather with a pissed off near-stranger."
"Of course, I'm pissed off. Why wouldn't I be pissed off? I am supposed to be on my way to see my son for Christmas, and instead I'm wandering around in Bumfuck, Egypt."
"Oh, that's not how that's pronounced."
The slow drawl seemed to come out of nowhere behind me and I turned around to see a dark-haired man sitting on the seat of a tractor that was hitched to a small hay-filled wagon. I had to blink to make sure that I was actually seeing him and not some strange cold-induced mirage.
"What?" Graham asked.
"That's not how that's pronounced. It's Boo-Ma-Foo-Kwa." He drew out each syllable carefully as if to make sure that we could get it into our minds for the next time that we needed to say it. "They get real testy when people pronounce it incorrectly. They say it comes from some sort of cultural heritage, but I think that's a load of foo-kwa myself, if you know what I mean. If you ask me, they just made it up trying to sound all sophisticated. Anyway, if that's where you're going, it's just up the road a piece. Now, Egypt, that's nowhere around here." He gave a deep belly laugh for a few seconds, then stopped suddenly silent, his face assuming a sternly serious expression. "It's in Africa. I don't know if they have their own Boo-Ma-Foo-Kwa themselves, but if that's where you're heading, I dare say you got yourself turned around quite a bit."
"Who are you?" I asked.
It came out rougher than I had intended, but the man on the tractor didn't seem to notice. He gave me a pleasant smile.
"I'm Boom Boom Badge."
I blinked a few times, unsure if I had actually just heard what I thought that I did.
"I'm Graham Castle," Graham said.
"Castle?" I asked, glancing over at him. "Seriously?"
"Is there something wrong with that?"
"Nope, and what might your name be?"
I looked back at the man.
Boom Boom? Did he seriously say Boom Boom? He had to be fucking kidding me.
"Holly Abbott."
"Holly," he said with a grin. "This must be your favorite time of the year."
I smiled through my gritted teeth, not wanting to lash out at the one living person we had encountered since leaving the train.
"Boom Boom, was it?"
"Yes, ma'am. Named after my grandpa."
"That's lovely. So, Boom Boom, the thing is, we really don't know where we are. We were on a train and it broke down and all the cabs were taken and…"
I felt myself talking faster and faster, as if my words were tumbling down a hill and I wasn't able to get control of them. I felt Graham step up beside me and I fell silent.
"We've found ourselves in a little bit of a lurch, you see," Graham said. "We both have places that we're trying to get to, but it seems like we won't be able to get there tonight. We're looking for somewhere to stay for the night, so we can head back out tomorrow."
"You two aren't traveling together?" Boom Boom asked, eyeing us with a slight edge of suspicion in his voice.
"No," both of us said at the same time.
I shook my head.
"No," I repeated. "We just happened to be on the same train. We're headed in two different places."
"Well, the only place that's close by here is Whiskey Hollow, but lucky for you that's where I'm from and I was getting ready to head back there now. You are welcome to come along with me and see if you can get yourself a room at the motel."
I gave a sigh of relief.
"That sounds great. Thank you so much."
"Hop aboard," he said with a wider grin.
"Oh," I said. "On the wagon?"
"Sure. You see a better way? Climb on."
"You heard him," Graham said. "Hop aboard."
I picked up my bags an
d followed Graham toward the wagon. Tossing them over the side, I sent up a quick prayer of thanks that I hadn't gone for a travel dress, and swung my leg up and over to climb into the hay. I slipped as I brought my other leg up and landed hard on my ass, giving me a brief moment of panic that I might have broken through the seemingly aged wood. Fortunately, it held and Boom Boom cranked the tractor.
"This is cozy," I muttered as we started chugging our way toward a darkened field ahead.
"What was that?" Boom Boom asked over his shoulder.
"Nothing," I called back.
"Alright." He turned his attention back ahead of him for a moment then leaned back again. "You didn't happen to run into a man named BillyBob while you were on that train, did you?"
"BillyBob?" Graham asked.
"Yeah. Looks exactly like me. Just older and taller. Blond hair. Blue eyes. A scar down one cheek. Got about 50 pounds on me."
So exactly like you, but nothing at all like you. Perfect.
"No, I'm sorry. I don't think I met anyone by that name or description on the train."
Boom Boom gave a sigh.
"Didn't think so. He wasn't ever too much for trains. Rode them occasionally, but I don't think that he'd do it by choice if he didn't have to."
"BillyBob?"
Boom Boom nodded.
"My brother."
He didn't explain any further and neither of us asked anymore. I had a feeling that was a story that I just didn't have the time or patience to deal with now that I was dedicating all of my energy to clinging to the wagon and shivering until my teeth chattered.
Chapter Five
Graham
"The motel is just right up ahead here," the man who called himself Boom Boom said from the tractor.
"Are you sure?" I asked.
We had been riding for what already seemed like far too long and had long since passed through all of the buildings that I assumed made up the hollow. I had a sinking feeling that hopping into the back of a hay wagon driven by a man I had never met and who was apparently named for the sound of explosions was one of those things that I probably should have learned not to do when I was a child. That whole stranger danger thing was alarming loud and clear, but Boom Boom nodded reassuringly.
"Absolutely," he said. "It's just up a bit more. The Hollow Day Inn."
I looked at Holly, whose eyes lifted to mine. We stared at each other for a beat, her expression looking about as incredulous as I felt.
"Really?" I asked. "There's one of those all the way out here?"
"Sure. It's been here for a couple of generations. I didn't know that there were any other of them anywhere, though."
I was getting ready to ask him what he could possibly mean by that when we approached a sign.
"Hollow Day Inn," I said, letting the words sink into my mind. "That fucking says Hollow Day Inn."
"Now I don't know for sure that you're going to be able to get a room. Business has been pretty high over the last few days."
I honestly couldn't tell if he was kidding or if maybe he thought one or two wayward travelers stopping by the motel counted as business being high.
"What's been happening?" I asked.
"It must be the big doings going on in the hollow this weekend. All sorts of people coming in. But there might still be something. You just go right on in the lobby and talk to Day. She'll be there. She has to be. She lives in 1, 2, and 3A. "
"Day?" I asked.
"She's the owner."
"Of course, she is."
"Hopefully she'll be able to find you something even with all the ruckus. It is Christmas season, after all. People who are having trouble finding room in the inn have a pretty good track record around this here holiday."
He laughed boisterously as he pulled the wagon to a stop.
Perfect.
"I know that you said that you didn't want any help with your bags," I said. "But I'll go ahead and offer again."
"Sounds great, thanks!"
I looked up and Holly had already hopped out of the wagon and run toward the front door to the main building.
"Hey!" I shouted after her. I looked over at Boom Boom. "Keep an eye on these for a second, will you?"
"Sure can."
I chased after Holly and got into the lobby just in time to see Holly accept a key from an older woman at the desk. The woman I assumed must be Day smiled at me as I approached.
"That was fucking low," I muttered to Holly as I approached, then turned my attention to Day. "I'm going to need a room, please."
"That's just fine," Day said, gesturing at Holly. "Your wife already got one."
"She is not my wife," I said nearly before she got the entire sentence out of her mouth. "We are not together."
Day looked startled.
"Oh," she said. "I'm sorry. Miss Abbott here had just mentioned that there was a problem with the train, so I just assumed that you were traveling companions."
I shook my head.
"No. Not companions. Right, Holly?"
She glared at me and Day looked confused.
"Holly?"
She glanced at the registration card that Holly was filling out.
"It looks like you wrote down 'Hollister'."
I leaned over to peer down at the card.
"Nope. Holly. See," I pointed arbitrarily at the name, "it's just her handwriting. That right there is a 'y' and then maybe her middle initials."
"Huh," Day said as though fascinated by the decoded name. "Well, why don't you go ahead and fill out a new card. It will make it easier." She took the card and replaced it with an empty one. "Holly," she said with a grin as she watched her fill out the new card. "You must just love this time of year."
I grinned as I saw Holly's hand tighten on the pen.
"I'll take one of those cards, too," I said.
"For what?" Day asked.
"My room," I said, looking at her quizzically.
"Oh," she said, drawing out the word and looking at me regretfully. "I'm sorry, but that's just not possible. She got the last room."
I looked at Holly and my eyes dropped to the key that she had put down on the counter. We both snatched for it at the same time, but she got it into her hand first.
"Look who has the fancy sleeper car now," she said mockingly.
I glared at her and turned back to Day.
"You're sure that there is nothing else available?"
"I'm sorry, but the renovations aren't done yet, so we don't have any suites available."
I couldn't tell if she was being sarcastic or if someone had possibly punched a hole in a wall and they were making the most of it by turning both rooms into one. She didn't blink, and I stepped back from the counter.
"Perfect."
I started toward the door and heard Holly calling after me.
"Where are my bags?"
"Outside," I called back. "You can bring in your own bags."
Boom Boom was still sitting on his tractor, staring at the luggage, when I got back.
"Where's the next hotel?" I asked.
He drew in a breath and let it out with a heavy, loud exhalation like he was thinking through what I had asked.
"It seems to me that there's one up in Elton, but that's a good hour or two up the way. They're a mite bigger than Whiskey Hollow, so they might not have any rooms, either. You better call ahead."
I took my phone out of my pocket and checked it. There was enough service to make a phone call, but I wasn't holding out hope that I was going to be able to do much browsing.
"Do you happen to know any of the phone numbers?"
"Not right off the top of my head, no," Boom Boom said.
"Can you wait for just another minute?"
"Sure. I don't have anywhere else to be. Usually about this time after visiting the train station I just go riding around the woods, but that hasn't done me any good yet, so I might as well shake things up a bit."
I nodded at him and went back into the lobby. Hol
ly was just finishing up her registration card and shot me a smug look as she walked out of the building.
"Can you get a phone number for me?" I asked.
"What number would that be?" Day asked.
"Any hotel in Elton."
"Now, I don't make it a habit of supporting my competition."
"Fine."
I walked back out of the building and saw Holly lugging one of her bags out of the wagon and heading toward the rooms. I pointed toward her over my shoulder.
"She only has one of her bags."
"I hid the other one. I figured you might need to buy some time. Or that you'd just like to aggravate her some."
"Good work."
I scrolled through the contacts on my phone and selected Bryan's number.
"How's the train?" he asked by way of answering.
"It's not."
"What do you mean?"
"It's kind of a long, deeply infuriating story that I don't have the patience to tell you right now. I need you to do something for me."
"OK."
"Look up hotels in some place called Elton. I need a room."
"For how long?"
"I hope to all that is only one night."
"Give me a second, but when you get back, I want the whole story."
"It's not as interesting as you would want it to be."
I heard what sounded like Bryan putting the phone down and glanced up to see Holly stomping away from a room door and into the lobby. I waited a few seconds and then she came stomping back out, stalking down to the wagon.
"What did you do with it?" she demanded.
"With what?" I asked.
"My other bag."
"I didn't do anything to your bag."
"What bag?" Bryan asked.
"Not you," I said. "What did you find out?"
"You said you were going to carry my bags in."
"Yeah, and then I didn't."
"Didn't what?" Bryan asked.
"Not you."
"All three hotels in Elton are full," he said.
"Shit."
"Was that for me?"
"Yes. There's nothing available?"
"What did you do with it?"
"Nothing," Bryan stated.
"I didn't do anything with your bag."
"Who are you talking to?"