The Great Locomotive Chase, 1862

by T. L. B. Wood

  "I know more happened with Silas than you will tell," Philo began, looking off at the water. As it flowed past us, the light was caught and glinted like silver shards of mercury glass, shattering, over and over again. The water murmured, as if it was speaking to us, as it traveled to curve off out of sight around a bend. "Just in the same way, I know more happened with you and Peter than is being told."

  "I'm not hiding anything about Peter," I responded. The fact I'd not mentioned doing the same for Silas was obvious but Philo chose to not pounce on that omission. "I told him he'd need to make a truthful report, and as far as I know, he did so."

  "Except he left out the parts where you were placed in danger," Kipp said, his thoughts only heard by me.

  "And I told him to do that," I replied to Kipp. "My response to assisting Peter was not a part of the report."

  Philo turned to me, his dark eyes slightly shadowed. I wondered if something else was bothering him and finally asked.

  "Well, Margaret Shelton resigned, so we are looking for someone to take over that position to assist Fitzhugh. I'm getting pressure to make a decision about Peter and Elani, too."

  "What kind of decision?" I asked.

  "Whether or not they are ready to hit the streets on their own," Philo replied.

  He must have seen the look cross my face because he smiled. "And that is exactly why I've been hesitant. Even though you've not said anything, you don't think they are ready."

  I knew my responsibility to give an honest assessment was needed, but I didn't want to rat them out. Kipp stared up at me; his sides heaved as he sighed.

  "Philo, Peter and Elani show great promise" Kipp said, after a moment's hesitation. "Elani seems to have some natural gifts that will benefit them. But Peter is still a little impulsive and got the team in trouble, as you know from the report he gave... which was honest and factual. But, at Petra's insistence, he left out a couple of times where Petra was placed in great danger in her efforts to find him." Kipp looked at me and tilted his head to the side. "If you're gonna be a mentor, you have to be honest, right?"

  I looked up; the sun had sidled behind some brilliant cumulous clouds, the white fluffiness turning to yellow amber for a moment. There was no need to look at Philo to know that he was staring at me. Finally, I gave more information... from the pole car, to the highwaymen who waylaid me and mine on an isolated patch of country road, as well as the river adventure. When I had concluded my story, I actually felt better.

  "Is that all?" Philo asked.

  "All? I could have drowned!" I retorted, feeling my face grow hot.

  Philo threw back his head and laughed, a sound I'd not heard from him in quite some time. The laughter rang out into the forest, echoing softly off the surface of the stream.

  "I'm glad you finally confessed," he said. "Actually, I didn't draw the conclusion before today that Peter and Elani were ready to go solo. There is more maturing needed there, to be sure. But I do recognize their talents and think they have a good future. So, I believe when they've rested sufficiently, it will be time to send them out again... with supervision, of course."

  I felt my shoulders creeping upwards and twisted my head from side to side to relieve the tension. Kipp was staring at me; his jaw opened as he began to pant.

  "And who, uh, do you plan to be the supervisors?" I asked, not wanting to hear the answer.

  "Why you and Kipp, of course!"

  The End

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  TITANIC, 1912

  A Symbiont Time Travel Adventure

  Book Five

  ~

  As I passed people, some of whom were on their way to their cabins, others who were heading to one of the various post dinner locations on board, it was impossible to meet their eyes. Keeping my head down, my chin tucked on my chest, I moved on, feeling resolute and single minded. There was no other choice... we were committed and would see this out as long as possible.

  Kipp and I made our way forward on the Promenade Deck until we were located beneath the Bridge Deck and the wheel house. Kipp looked up at me and nodded. "This is good," he said, nuzzling my hand for comfort. Sitting, he closed his eyes, tilting his head slightly. We were alone; the blackness of the seemingly endless expanse of water stretched ahead of the Titanic. It looked benign, even welcoming to the humans on board who lacked our regrettable vision which gave us foresight but no ability to act.

  "First Officer Murdock is on duty," Kipp said. "His thoughts are organized but with mild concern over the number of iceberg warnings. They started receiving them early this morning from the Caronia and since then have received messages from several other vessels noting field ice, icebergs and growlers." Kipp looked up at me. "I know that a short time ago, McBride in the Radio Room was supposed to have received some type of warning from the Californian, but there is too much, uh, static for me to find him in all these people," Kipp concluded, his tone apologetic. "He’s unfamiliar to me and that makes it difficult."

  "It’s okay, Kipp. Don’t worry about it. You’re doing great."

  "But Murdock, like the captain, has steamed through similar conditions–or at least he thinks they are similar–before and believes that the necessary caution is applied." Kipp took a deep breath and stood, shaking himself from nose to tail, before seating himself again. "This deck is a little cold on my backside," he grumbled.

  I didn’t know how to reply since I thought my nose would freeze and fall off any moment. A man passed, tipping his hat, as he went aft towards more pleasant environs. He paused to give me the accurate time from his watch before departing again. It was 11:25 pm. The iceberg was fifteen minutes away.

  "I want to go forward, as far as we can, to the open bow, so I can see what the crew are seeing," Kipp demanded. With that, we hustled back to the stairs, taking us down to B Deck where we moved quickly forward, ignoring the stares of people as we hurried along. The outside air was brisk, cutting into my skin like shards of glass. I’d left my hat in the suite, thinking it would be an encumbrance; for a moment, I missed the clumsy warmth it provided. Normally, the forward part of the deck that led to the sharp point of the bow was not for casual strolling, but there was no crew to politely redirect us, and we made our way past the upright support holding the crow’s nest and the two men who were watching the black water until we had a clear view, my hands gripping the railing. Although I was wearing gloves, the cold from the metal was not put off by the barrier; my fingers ached.

  In the words of Lightoller’s description, there was a flat calm. No moon hung overhead, but there was an unusual canopy of bright stars stretching from horizon to horizon. I’ve rarely seen anything to match in the brightness and clarity... it was as if someone had taken a length of black velvet cloth, punched holes in it from one end to the other, and shone a bright light on the other side of the fabric. The effect was disorienting, at least for me. Kipp’s feet were planted wide, his eyes blinking against the numbing cold as he strained to see what lay ahead.

  "I see it!" he exclaimed, his thought hitting the back of my head like a hammer. Kipp turned, looking at me. "Can’t you see it?"

  I couldn’t, and neither could the two men in the crow’s nest. Maybe it had to do with lupine vision, which was superior to mine as well as humans, but all I could see was the dark void ahead as I strained to find the massive object bobbing ahead of us. My heart thudded heavily in my chest and for a moment it felt as if my throa
t was closing.

  "The speculation about a mirage must be correct," Kipp said, his sides heaving; his breath was visible as clouds of white mist eerily visible in the darkness. "The cold, dense air has created a situation so that something that large and apparent has melted into an optical illusion and has been rendered invisible."

  "Why can you see it and the rest of us can’t?"

  "I guess my eyes are different, as well as my instincts," he replied. "But we are headed right for it!"

  The horizon was neither soft nor was there haze; it was a sharp horizon, and the stars seemed cut in two by the definition, their radiance shining onto the water, causing pinpoint spots of iridescent sheen on the ocean.

  A minute later, I heard the thoughts of Fleet in the crow’s nest as he recognized the danger, finally, first ringing the alarm bell three times, before calling the bridge to alert the crew. Turning, I stared up at the bridge and saw Murdock peering forward, his face pale from cold and shock. The fear he felt as he, too, finally saw the enormous iceberg floating heavily in the water ahead, flooded over me in a nauseous wave; swallowing hard, I twisted around to watch the iceberg ahead.

  ~

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  T.L.B. Wood began her appreciation of literature at an early age, encouraged by her mother who was an English teacher. T.L. is a certified adult behavioral health clinical nurse specialist and works as a case manager as well as a clinical instructor at a school of nursing. She and her husband share a love of nature, and more than one rescued dog or cat in need of a caring family has found a forever home with the Wood Family. When not feeding and caring for her menagerie, T.L. can be found at her desk, writing, or taking long walks as she envisioned new stories to be told.