Cassidy looked strangely at Wes, and broke out in a wide toothy smile “OTHERS!” she leaned forward “You mean you’re not ‘townsfolk?” This pretty girl that had acted so grownup, now acted like a child much younger than her age. She clapped her hands and giggled “You mean there are others…nice people like you?”
Her face saddened and her voice softened to nearly a whisper “But I’m a little whore…they won’t like me.”
Wes was stunned and sputtered so loud and fast Cassy had to duck the flying spittle. “Where…why do you…WHO TOLD YOU THAT?” he frowned as he wiped his lips.
Cassidy looked like she was going to cry “That’s …that’s what the married men in the town called me…and their women…the fancy ones. No one but other whores would talk to me when I went into town and my mates made me sit out on the steps when they went inside to get fucked.”
Wes frowned “Well young lady, one of the first things we’re going to have to do…is stop all this cussing.”
Cassy shrugged and continued “When the first mate got killed I had to take another real quick for protection and he needed my cave so we could hunt and sell hides and meat. It worked out good. But he used to call me his little whore too…”
Wes frowned and looked at the girl with trembling lips as she was about to start crying.
“Look honey, no one is going to call you a whore, you’re the farthest thing from one. All you did was be abused by a bunch of bastards and…” Wes tried to contain his rage at the way this tiny little slip of a girl had been treated, he took a deep breath and smiled.
“Isn’t bastard a bad word too? And you said…”
Wes rolled his eyes in frustration until it became obvious this young lass was trying desperately to learn ‘Wes’s rules of behavior.’ He smiled softly and gently clasped her hand.
“Look honey, the people I’m with are great. I’m sure they’ll love to meet you and have you join us. Just don’t blurt out everything we’ve talked about, there’ll be time enough for that…ok?”
Wes gently touched her trembling chin and smiled…“Ok?” In return got a huge smile…and two arms around his neck. She held him for several seconds and knelt back in front of him.
“And I look forward to meeting them…and nothing about what we talked about until you tell me it’s ok.”
Wes smiled and told her about their train and could see the excitement of not just the train, but the thought of meeting new people…and also the fear and hesitation in her eyes. Finally he asked if she thought it was safe enough to go, and she nodded as she slid to the cave entrance and smiled back.
“Around here we soon learn where all the caves are, as you see they come in handy.”
Wes smiled and nodded, and then that strange look appeared once again.
“Cassidy? Just where is here? Do you know?” It dawned on him, she had not told him where they were, or had he told her where he was from.
She looked back at him in a puzzled look.
“Why Pangea of course silly, everyone knows that.”
Chapter 10.
By the time Wes and Cassidy reached the heavy brush atop the bluffs, the train was a little south from their location, but as excited as she was to see it, the lass kept as professional as a soldier on a deadly mission. Slowly they worked their way along the crest to where Wes had found the path up earlier. As they got closer he could see the guards on top keeping watch and people standing around on the ground at the front of the passenger car…and they were looking at something on the bluff.
Closer yet Wes could see Sarge standing on a large boulder with his binoculars looking in the direction Wes had gone the last time he had seen him. He shouted to Sarge and Sarge broke out in a huge grin of relief…and then puzzlement as the pretty blonde teen walked out of the brush behind him.
Sarge had a myriad of questions, but Wes kept telling him to wait until they got back to the train. Of course Wes’s idea of Cassidy keeping most of what she had told him quite, became impossible, so reluctantly he told Cassy to tell everything that she had told him.
Like Wes, there was anger at the way other men had treated this teenager, and then she let the group have some information none of them were ready for.
“Thank you for accepting me into your group.” she smiled at Wes “and of course the man you tell me is your leader, Wes. I was riding my bike and brought here, I told you all that much, but my bike ride was in 1932.” She could see the puzzled looks going around and smiled as she continued.
“I’m not exactly sure about how things here work, you’d have to talk to the Professor in Boulder, but I arrived here three years ago, but the old man said I’d never age until whatever this time is, catches up to 1932…but later I learnt…er, learned, we do age, just slower.” she giggled at the puzzled looks “I know, I don’t understand it either. I’ve learned things, but I haven’t grown…and the old man said I’d most likely remain emotionally at my age as well, or at least extremely slow growth emotionally. I think my mates changed a lot of that too.”
Missy laid her hand on Cassidy’s hand as she sat next to the girl.
“Cassy honey, with the life you’ve had since coming to this Pangea place, I’d say that you’ve more than matured.” Cassy smiled at Missy as her smile turned to more of a puzzled look as she looked at Wes.
“So ok, we’re where?”
Cord chuckled nervously “Pangea was what people called the continents when they all came together about two hundred million years ago. You see…”
There were gasps, grunts, and startled looks from nearly everyone.
“You see all the continents formed one huge landmass and if I recall correctly, it was during, or around, the Jurassic age or toward the end of it…I think. Some scientists think that the continents began to separate shortly thereafter because the Earth became unbalanced and wobbled.” he grinned “So nature sort of fixed itself by moving the continents around to balance the planet…or so one theory goes. It also could explain why our moon is so much bigger now, but that’s just a guess.” he winked at the pretty blonde “Personally I think it’s a good thing that Cassy found Wes.”
Red scratched his head “Well, correct me if I’m wrong, but the tyrannosaurus rex was a bit earlier…or at least didn’t exist alongside of the allosaurus.”
Cord nodded in agreement “Guys look, those dinos out there were a childhood hobby, but half of the ones I’ve seen belong to other ages. It’s as if someone has dumped dinosaurs from all ages to this age. To be honest, I’ve even seen some of those big mothers out there, that weren’t in the books.”
“Different breeds?” Bryce asked.
“Doubt if it is different breeds. Most likely more of a case of them just not being discovered. Some of the species could have existed in their times.” he chuckled “This place shouldn’t even exist, so I’m not drawing any conclusions.” Cord just shook his head because he had more questions than answers like most of the rest.
Mary and Missy took Cassy by the hand and led her to the small dinning nook and began putting all kinds of food in front of her. The shouts of ‘yummy’ and ‘goodie’ reinforced the old man’s theory of her stunted emotions and body maturing. Wes watched the gun toting teen that had saved his life sitting there giggling and clapping her hands every time something new was given to her. The child still lived within.
But it was Bryce that interrupted the distant enjoyment by the leaders of the group as he shouted from several rows away.
“Wes, Red, Sarge…that Cassy girl said something about a professor and another city called Boulder? Maybe we should think about asking her where it is and how to get there?”
Cassy turned and with food falling from her lips, sputtered…
“Ooh I don’t know how to get there…” she pushed more falling food back into her mouth and swallowed “Never been there, the old man said it was too far and dangerous, but…” her hand darted out over the burnt prairie south of the engine “…it’s in that direction
….somewhere.”
She looked at Mary “can I have another of that diet soda stuff?”
Wes smiled and walked toward the front of the car as the others followed.
“On the way back Cassy told me of this other town that was closer to them. It sounds like they have some crude form of oil wells. She said it’s a dirty place and reeks of oil, or at least the parts of town she was allowed in.
The town is called Blackwood and from the description she gave, it sounded like they have an old west style of fort-wall built around a town of five, six hundred, or at least that’s what the old man told her.” he frowned “Doesn’t sound very hospitable though. She said it has dino protection in the form of spikes and poles buried in the ground of various sizes to keep dinos away. The last time she was there they also had a damned trench filled with tar and crude oil that smelled. I’m guessing they will light it if dinos stampede in their direction. She said the old man said all the wood is something like teakwood so that means it’s hard to burn or break…a damned fortress.”
They jumped as a tiny voice added “And they don’t like strangers.” They spun to see Cassy.
“The first time the old man took me inside, they asked him if he brought me to sell and when he said no, they made me sit outside the gates. The old man told me to find a hiding spot and wait for him to come out.”
Sam had come up from the caboose and asked Cassy how she found Wes just out of curiosity. She laughed “He was easy to stumble across, you see I saw your smoke. I thought it was a prairie fire and feared it was set by the Boulder people, the old man said they do that now and then to keep ‘grazers’ away from their city. I figured maybe I could scout them out…it was in the right direction, although a might close.”
Again Bryce interjected himself into the conversation.
“This professor you mentioned…and this city, how big is it? Did the old man ever tell you?”
Cassy grinned “He said it had huge stone walls made from stones the size of trucks, but I never saw many trucks out where we lived. Anyhow, he said it looked like something the Mayan’s would build, but the city itself has…” she rolled her eyes upward trying to remember “Two thousand people I think he said.”
Jaws dropped and glances of hope shot around the gathering crowd as Cassy spoke “Anyhow, he said inside the city things looked just like the town I came from…you know wooden houses, windmills to pump water, stores and shops.”
Both Missy and Mary looked at one another and smiled “SHOPS?”
Cassy grinned at the two “I don’t know what they have in them, he never said, but he did say they had huge farms inside the walls and even the Blackwood people don’t mess with them anymore.”
Wes nodded hopefully “Well if the bad guys don’t mess with them, maybe they’re the good guys?” he grinned “Either way, I’m going to figure on contacting them as our next plan of action. If we can set up some sort of trade, or get information…”
Red nodded “And maybe have them show us a way out of this nightmare.”
Bryce’s brother John was drunk as usual, staggered over to the bunch and in his slurred speech ruined the moment.
“Jeezusss…you all…thimk…if theyzz…had a way home…theyzzz stilsh be here?” he flopped back on the seat and passed out.
Bryce sighed and nodded “Even drunk he has a valid point people. I fear at best we may find safety, but returning to our time…assuming Cord and the old man was right and this is Pangea…” he slowly sat on the seat across from his brother “I would think that home is out of the question.”
Wes nodded “Could damned well be, but before anyone’s bubble pops, what say we just concentrate on things one step at a time. Tomorrow we try to figure out where this Boulder City is. Then we decide on how to get there, how many will go, and once there how to make contact as we don’t even know if they speak English.” Everyone nodded in agreement.
Cassy had said it took her a day before she ran into Wes to arrive on the bluffs, and if this Boulder was further…Wes didn’t like the idea of leaving the train, but here, where they were, they were going nowhere. Boulder held hope.
Chapter 11.
Evening neared and before the light faded, it occurred to Wes that he nor Red knew what was in the box cars. The two tanker cars held two types of fuel. Diesel, which they had used nearly a third burning the prairie for over twenty miles, and gasoline which Bryce had mentioned was full. The brothers had planned to use it in their plans to create this one hundred mile train line for dinner theaters and mystery train evenings and other social events. They had purchased the old buildings along the line and planned to create museums and other tourist highlights to make a return on their investment.
However the two boxcars were another story.
Red said he knew one contained a lot of old railroad things like tools, manual log splitters, old iron spikes, and the ilk, things used in the days of the old steam engine pulled trains. Exactly what he wasn’t sure of…and the second boxcar was a mystery. All his invoice said was “see owner for inventory” and he knew it wasn’t dangerous, but beyond that, it was a mystery.
“Headed for Houston somewhere” was all the older brother had told him and that delivering it there paid for all the special permits they needed to move their smoke belching train to Texas. They were to stop in Baton Rouge to have something added to the boxcar, but that was all Bryce knew. Now it was time to find out if there was something in there that might help with their survival.
As the rest gathered at the boxcar that Bryce and his brother John owned. John pulled out a pair of wire cutters and clipped the seal on the door. He pulled it open and Wes saw it was as they had told them; full of old railroad gear and equipment loaded to the rear of the boxcar. To the front however sat a large diesel generator and some smaller gasoline ones…and then there was the matter of a large series of tarps in between that blocked entry into the boxcar.
Bryce climbed up and undid the tie down straps and ripped off the tarps to reveal three, four-wheel drive utility vehicles tightly crammed into the middle section.
Sarge grinned at Wes “Now those fuckin’ things will come in handy.”
“We thought so.” John chuckled.
Cassy elbowed Wes and leaned into his ear and whispered.
“How come Sarge gets to cuss and I can’t.” Wes turned and glared at his young charge and she quickly gave him a shrug and a sweet smile.
“I know, he’s a grownup and I’m not.”
The ‘Quads’ as he called them sat four people easily and had roll-cages that had canvas tops that could be pulled back, and the best thing they had powerful engines and hitches for pulling; two even had winches. Wes knew these were powerful, but wondered if they would be up to what he had in mind.
He glanced to the west to see the sun reaching the tops of the rolling hills to the other side of the plains they were on.
“Ok guys, everyone inside, all guards to their posts for first watch. I have some ideas I have to work on and will speak to everyone in the morn.”
Since arriving in this nightmare it seemed that everyone had staked out their own little corner of the passenger car, while Sarge and his men seemed to prefer the caboose along with Sam’s brother Jack. They’d laughed about it being crowded, but each had mentioned to Wes that they preferred it rather than being around all the rich people, and then walked off chuckling that Wes and Red were stuck there. However one guard did come and patrol their luxurious passenger car until another came to relieve him. None of Sarge’s men cared for the well to do owners.
Red just laughed at how uncomfortable Wes was stuck in the car with all the chatter of the wealthy and pulled something to make a soft pad within the protective steel cab of the engine. It was open to the rear, but there was also a guard stationed on the gondola right behind him. He was well hidden in a blind made of the brush near the bluffs. So Red left to grab some sleep before it was his watch…and Wes snorted a “G’night” and climbed in with th
e rich folks to chuckles of the guys.
Wes had staked a row of seats to the very rear of the car, tossed a pillow on the plush leather arm rest and became very thankful that the brothers had purchased a luxury passenger car.
Just as his eyes closed there was a soft voice and in the glow of the rising moon Wes could see Missy standing in between the seats that faced each other.
“You know that I know that you don’t like me…and it seems to bother me for some strange reason.” She nodded to the opposing seats and Wes nodded for her to sit as he slowly sat back up and snorted. Once again his solitude had been interrupted.
He rubbed his face with both hands and peeked through his fingers.
“Could be because people that disturb my sleep tend to annoy me?” he lowered his hands and frowned “Look Missy, I neither like, nor dislike you. I don’t approve of your lifestyle, but then again, it’s your lifestyle and not mine.”
“You think my sister and I are just a couple of whores though, don’t you?”
Wes did a slow burn and tried not to get upset.
“Ok lady, what part of ‘I don’t give a rip’ didn’t you understand? Look, if you want to spend your life running from party to party, from affair to affair, that’s up to you.” He rubbed his face rapidly mainly out of frustration.
“Christ, give me a break…” he leaned toward her “Look, you and your sister are beautiful, sexy, and seem to have at least an ounce of intelligence. How, what, or who you are, I don’t care. What I do need for us is to survive…for everyone…” he leaned closer “…everyone, to do what they’re told without question. Stopping to ask why will get you, or someone else killed. That’s all I ask.”
He actually smiled at her as the moon came full glow and lit the seats.
“So far you and Mary have done all I asked, you got rid of those damned party gowns…” he sighed a frustrated sigh “…except for sleeping in I see.”
Last Train to Pangea: Death by Dinosaur Page 7