Journey's End

by Christopher Holt

  Gizmo nudged Rocky with her head, then gestured to the fields beyond the tiny town. “Look, Rocky!” she said. “They’re chasing fireflies.”

  Max looked over and saw the two mutt puppies and the snow-white kitten out in the dark grass, leaping up at the buzzing, glowing insects. They tumbled over one another, barking and meowing as they hunted their iridescent prey.

  Stripes climbed up the steps of the building with the steeple and curled into a ball. “The kits love chasing the fire bugs. Even though they never like the taste when they actually catch one.”

  Gizmo gazed at them. “Aww. Puppies can be so cute,” she said dreamily.

  “Let’s get to business,” Spots said to Max. “You probably want to know why I brought you here.”

  “Of course,” Max said.

  “I’d like to know that, too,” Chuck said in agreement.

  “It’s this little train.” Spots pointed his snout at the red locomotive in front of the buildings. It was a quarter the size of the big one they’d just left behind. “See how the tracks loop in a big circle around the town? My pack leader used to put kids in it and let them ride around the loop, and sometimes I’d ride with them.”

  Spots turned toward the set of tracks that ran past the town, cutting through the museum’s back lawn to eventually connect to the main rail line. “These tracks are for when we bring the miniature train into storage during the winter,” he said. “Notice that even though the train is small, the tracks are the same size as the tracks here in town.”

  Max glanced at the loop of track that circled the little town. Spots was right—even though the apple-red locomotive looked like a toy train, it was built to run on full-sized rails.

  “What do you want to do?” Max asked.

  Spots turned back to face Max. “It seems to me,” he said, “that if we can find a way to connect these two tracks together, we could ride the small train on the real railroad track and take it all the way to the wall. Instead of walking for another week, you could get there in just a couple of days and save your paws the trouble.”

  Rocky’s tail became a blur. “A leisurely train ride instead of more hiking in the hot sun? Sign us up!”

  “That’s wonderful!” Max said.

  Spots ducked his head. “I’m glad you think so, ’cause that’s my condition to assist you. You help me figure out how to make a real, live train trip, and I’ll show you the hole we dug under the wall.”

  “You don’t know how to make the train go?” Gizmo asked.

  Lying down, Spots said, “The controls on the red locomotive are different from the real steam engine. I know there’s a little lever to make it go, but it doesn’t do anything when I push it now. And I was never able to figure out how to connect the circle of tracks here with the main line, even though I’ve seen my pack leader do it.”

  From the steps beneath the steeple, Stripes asked softly, “Are you sure this is what you want, Spots? If these dogs can get the train running and it goes right to that wall, they don’t need you to come along. You said you never wanted to go back.”

  His brown eyes watery, the mottled old dog gazed forlornly down the main tracks. “This here is a train, Stripes,” he said. “And a train needs a conductor. Dots always liked watching me ride the rails. This would be one last ride, in his honor.”

  Everyone fell silent, save for the distant barks and meows of the small animals, still playing in the field.

  “We’ll figure out how to make it run,” Max said softly. “For your brother.”

  Spots’s tail thumped against the ground. “Thank you.”

  Rising to his feet, Max looked down at his friends. “Rocky and Gizmo,” he said, “we need to figure out how the little train gets power and how to turn it on. You two go investigate the locomotive, and I’ll see how we can get it onto the main track.”

  “I’m on it, buddy!” Rocky said.

  “Me, too!” Gizmo added.

  The two small dogs darted off and jumped into the shiny red locomotive.

  Max lowered his snout to sniff at the small train’s tracks, then turned and ran toward the main line. As Spots and Stripes watched, he paced back and forth along the tracks, looking for clues.

  He found what he was looking for in front of the sheriff’s station: a long piece of track with hinges so that it could swing like a door to connect to the main line.

  “You find something?” Spots barked.

  “I think so,” Max said. “It looks like this part of the track can move.”

  An orange-and-white head popped up from the coal car behind the small locomotive—Chuck.

  “Hey, that’s right,” the Cavalier Spaniel said. “I remember seeing that piece move. The people would go behind the sheriff’s office and fiddle with something; then it would happen.”

  Max rounded the sheriff’s station, and sure enough, there was a rusting metal lever beside the track, pointing up at the sky. Max figured it worked like a light switch: If he could make the lever point down, it would change the track’s position.

  Max jumped up and pressed down against the lever—but it didn’t budge. His paws stinging, he tried again, but the thing felt stuck.

  “Hey, Max!” Rocky barked.

  Dropping back to the ground, Max saw Rocky and Gizmo racing around the jailhouse.

  “We think we figured it out,” Gizmo said as the two dogs skidded to a stop in the grass. “There’s this little window next to the lever in the locomotive, and inside it are three colors: red, yellow, and green. There’s an arrow pointed at the red area now, but if we can make it point to the green I bet we can make it go!”

  Rocky spun in an excited circle. “On days like today, being smart sure comes in handy.”

  “Definitely,” Max said. “Do we need coal to make it run, like the big locomotive?”

  Rocky wagged his tail. “Nope! It runs on electricity.”

  The Dachshund darted around the other side of the sheriff’s office. “Look here!” Rocky said.

  Max found his friend jumping up and down in front of a yellow box attached to the back of the building. Two pipes were connected to the box, one that disappeared into the ground and another that snaked through the grass to a second box next to the track.

  Max nosed open the door on the bigger box, its hinges squeaking in protest. Inside were lights, levers, and buttons.

  “This looks familiar,” Max said.

  “Oh!” Gizmo said. “It’s just like the one inside the museum, where Tiffany found all those striped caps.”

  Rocky jumped back onto his hind legs and rested his front paws on the bottom of the yellow box. His tail wagged slowly as he studied the labels.

  “The light is on next to the button that says ‘Automatic Lights,’ so that must be why all the buildings are lit up,” Rocky said. “This one here says ‘Locomotive Charge.’ ” He pushed the button with his nose. “But nothing is happening.”

  “That’s ’cause you have to turn it on inside first,” squeaked a voice from above.

  Max looked up to see Tiffany lounging atop the grocery store’s roof.

  “You know how to get the power on?” Max asked her. “Why are you only just now telling us?”

  The raccoon straightened the conductor’s cap between her ears. “I was hiding on the saloon porch, silly,” she said. “I had to remain perfectly still so Spots didn’t try to go after me again. But then I got bored, so I came to see what you dogs were yapping about.”

  Max looked over at the museum, then turned to peer at the smaller box next to the track. His mind raced.

  “You getting any ideas, big guy?” Rocky asked.

  “I think so,” Max said, turning to Tiffany. “Silver Bandit, can we ask one more favor of you? Can you go inside the museum and flip every lever in that box where you found the hats?”

  Waving her ringed tail, Tiffany asked, “What’s in it for me?”

  “You can come on the train ride with us,” Gizmo said. “I know you climb aboar
d trains all the time, but this will be even more fun, because the train will be moving.”

  That got Tiffany’s attention. Ears perked, she said, “I’m on it. Silver Bandit, away!” The small raccoon darted off the roof and disappeared toward the museum.

  “All right,” Max said, “Rocky, Gizmo, we need to pull down the lever that makes the track move. I couldn’t do it by myself, but I bet if you found some rope, looped it over the lever, and then had a bunch of dogs tug on it, we could do it.”

  “What if we got those puppies and the kitten to play tug-of-war with the rope?” Rocky said. “They’d just think it was a game.”

  “Oh, good idea!” Gizmo said, wiggling with excitement. “I’ll go get them!”

  She darted toward the little animals, who were still leaping in the overgrown field. Rocky started after her, then looked back at Max. “What’ll you do, big guy?”

  Max padded to the small yellow box next to the tracks and looked inside. As he’d suspected, there was a socket where something could be plugged in. “Looks like we need to get the train here before we can charge it up,” he said. “That’s a job for me and Spots.”

  Barking with glee, Gizmo leaped at the fireflies in the distance, tumbling with the puppies while the kitten watched. “Come on, Rocky!” she called.

  “Gotta go,” Rocky said as he bounded after her. “Good luck!”

  Max ran back to the red locomotive. Chuck had disappeared inside his saloon, clattering away at something. Max carefully stepped over the tracks to stand behind the small train’s caboose, then shoved it with his head.

  It took all his strength, but ever so slowly the four train cars squeaked forward on the rails.

  “What are you doing over there?” Spots barked from the grass.

  Panting, Max stepped away from the caboose. “We need to move this train around the back of the tracks. Can you help?”

  Grunting, the old dog got to his feet and joined Max behind the caboose. “I remember now,” he said. “The engine needs to charge back there. How did you figure that out so fast? You work with trains like this before?”

  Max considered telling the dog about Praxis. Instead, he wagged his tail and said, “Nope. My friends and I just learn things quickly. Ready to push?”

  “Ready,” Spots said.

  Together, the two big dogs braced their legs against the ground and shoved the engine forward with their foreheads and shoulders. The wheels on the four train cars rolled a bit, squealing in protest. Slowly but surely, Max and Spots pushed the train along the bend in the tracks.

  As they shoved, Max heard a chorus of barking as Gizmo, Rocky, the puppies, and the white kitten all raced back into town.

  “We’re going on a trip!” Regina barked.

  “We’ll be train dogs, just like Spots!” Rufus yipped.

  Softly, the kitten meowed, “There’s rope in my store, Gizmo. The dogs like to tug on it.”

  “Very good, Snow,” Gizmo said. “That’ll be a big help.”

  Still shoving the train, Max glanced over at the miniature grocery store. All the smaller dogs huddled around the entrance while Snow went inside her little shop. Rocky sniffed at a plastic apple, licked it, and then scrunched his snout in disgust.

  As they pushed the train past the saloon, a click echoed across the museum’s back lawn, and suddenly, festive music blared overhead. Startled, Stripes jumped off the white building’s steps. Chuck stuck his head out of the saloon, his long ears flopping.

  “What’s going on?” the Cavalier Spaniel bellowed.

  Panting, Max and Spots stared back at the museum, just as all the lights in the building came on. Bright floodlights glinted off the windows of the big train cars.

  “It’s Tiffany,” Max said. “She’s getting the power on for us.” Noticing Chuck, he asked, “What are you doing in there?”

  “Wait just a sec and I’ll show you.” The Cavalier Spaniel darted back inside the saloon and reappeared a moment later dragging a small sack of kibble. Letting it plop against the porch, he wagged his tail. “Supplies for the trip!”

  “Great idea,” Max said.

  Hearing a commotion, he looked around the saloon to see Rocky, Gizmo, and their young charges running to the back of the sheriff’s office. “Maybe you can help them tug that lever,” Max said to Chuck. “The more of you yanking on the rope, the easier it will be to pull down.”

  “Will do!”

  Chuck raced after the other dogs, as Max and Spots turned back to the little train. It took all their strength, but Max and Spots finally got the red locomotive into position next to the small yellow box.

  “What now?” Spots asked, panting from the effort of moving the train. He let his tongue hang out and shook his head back and forth.

  Max sniffed at the side of the red locomotive and saw a little door. He nosed it open and found a two-pronged plug, just like those on the appliances in his farmhouse’s kitchen. Usually, those plugs were on cords so that they could reach the electrical sockets—Max carefully took up the plug in his jaws and pulled. Sure enough, a black cord emerged.

  “How did you know to do that?” Spots asked, bewildered. “I never would have figured that out.”

  Max carefully plugged the pronged cord into the sockets on the small yellow box. It fit perfectly. “Just a lucky guess.”

  “Huh,” Spots said. “Sure was.”

  The bigger box at the back of the grocery store hummed with electricity now. As Max approached, he heard the loud screech of metal against metal.

  “Tug!” Gizmo called out. “Pull the rope as hard as you can! Almost there!”

  A loud thunk sounded, and the cat and dogs cheered—the hinged piece of track must have connected to the main line.

  Spots padded over to Max’s side. “We’re doing it,” he said. “I can’t believe it, but we’re doing it.”

  Max wagged his tail. “Believe it, Spots. You’re going to ride the rails again.”

  Yipping and meowing, Rocky, Gizmo, Chuck, the puppies, and the kitten practically tripped over one another as they raced to join Max and Spots. Stripes waddled toward them, too, and with a thud, Tiffany landed heavily on the grocery store’s roof.

  “What are you waiting for?” the little raccoon squealed. “I got the power on, didn’t I?”

  “You sure did,” Max said. “Great job, Silver Bandit. Now let’s get this train running.”

  As all the animals watched, Max pressed his nose against the button labeled LOCOMOTIVE CHARGE. The front lights on the locomotive lit up, and the console inside glowed red and green.

  “We did it!” Rocky said as he ran in an excited circle. “No more walking for me!”

  “No, sir, no walking necessary,” Spots said with a slobbery grin. “On my train, everyone gets to relax in the lap of luxury.”

  Max, Rocky, and Gizmo watched the controls inside the small red locomotive as the arrow slowly moved from red to green. Yipping and squealing with glee, the other animals helped Chuck drag his bag of kibble to the train and shove it into the coal car. The Cavalier Spaniel, the puppies, and the kitten climbed into the caboose, while Tiffany leaped onto the kibble bag.

  Sighing, Stripes climbed up to sit next to the raccoon. “I suppose I should come along to help look after the little ones,” said the skunk as she settled in for the ride, wrapping her striped tail around herself.

  Spots sat next to Max, watching the power meter. When the arrow finally clicked all the way into the green zone, he sniffed and called, “All aboard!”

  “You got it, Conductor,” Max said.

  Max carefully pulled the plug from the box, and its cord zipped back inside the locomotive. That done, he leaped up into the boxcar between the coal car and the caboose. Rocky and Gizmo climbed in as well, tucking themselves in on either side of him.

  Awkwardly, Spots climbed inside the locomotive car, just barely managing to fit. Before he could press the lever to start the train moving forward, though, Tiffany jumped to her feet. “Wai
t!”

  Spots growled and looked back at her. “What is it?”

  Removing the striped cap from her head, she climbed through the locomotive’s back window, plopped the cap on Spots’s head, and then returned to her seat next to Stripes.

  “There,” she said. “Now we’re ready.”

  Spots wagged his tail and looked ahead once more. “Here we go!”

  With his snout, Spots shoved the lever on the control panel into the on position.

  And the train began to chug forward.

  It went at a crawl at first, then quickly gained speed as the locomotive pulled the cars along the tracks that looped between the grocery store and the sheriff’s station. Instead of continuing on in a big circle, though, the small train followed the long length of movable track, which, thanks to Rocky, Gizmo, and the other small animals, was now connected to the main line. Someone yelled, “Wahoo!”

  Music blared as they zipped behind the museum, past the big locomotive and caboose. Then, the melody faded away as the little train raced through the darkness. A breeze rose, and all the dogs hung their heads out of the cars, letting the cool wind brush through their fur and blow back their ears. The town rushed by in a blur as they chugged westward, toward the mysterious wall and their human families.

  Spots bit onto a loop of rope that hung from the locomotive’s ceiling, and the pipes on top tooted long and loud.

  Barking in happiness, the old dog called out into the night, “This is for you, Dots!”

  CHAPTER 15

  OASIS

  Max lay on his side in the bottom of the boxcar. Rocky and Gizmo were curled up together next to his belly. The wooden floor bumped and vibrated as the train rushed along the track, passing empty factories and thick woodland.

  It was nighttime now, and the sky was free of clouds. The moon was full and round, glowing like a beacon, and the dark expanse was dotted with thousands of twinkling stars. Images of Madame Curie’s black, white-flecked coat floated through Max’s mind.

  Up front, in the locomotive, Spots hummed a melancholy tune, barely audible over the rumble of the wheels. Every now and then Tiffany would try to join in, but her words were nonsense, and Stripes would shush her so that they could listen to Spots’s sad melody.