Chapter Six: Screeching Halt

Screeching Halt

The Explorer clacked across the rails; the only light was that of the moon high above. Matlus had retired to the train’s built in sauna, he sat on the wooden bench, clad only in a fine-silk towel. Through the steam Matlus saw Sparks walk in, he wore nothing as he stood look at Matlus in his bareness. “Do you have some kind of obsession with being naked?” Matlus snapped.

Sparks laughed and sat down on the bench right next to Matlus, “There is nothing wrong with exposing what the Gods and my father blessed me with.” He grinned while pointing down. Matlus avoided looking and looked at Spark’s face, Sparks’s elegant cocoa-skin shone from the beads of sweat on it, his Mohawk was dampened by sweat as well, Matlus couldn’t figure out how someone so ugly could have the power to attract men and women. The reason it bothered him so much was that Matlus had never had a boyfriend until he met Rollo.

“When did you discover you had this power of attraction?” asked Matlus.

Sparks grinned, “Well when I was in Knight Training, I seduced my Trainer into teaching the way of the dark sword.” Matlus scratched his head, “You used sex to get your way through training?” Sparks got closer to Matlus, “I have a question…” Matlus stuttering asked what the question was, “Why does sex seem to bother you?”  Matlus’s face turned red, “Because I’m still….” Sparks couldn’t make out the rest of what he had said, “What was that?” Matlus clenched his fist and yelled, “I’m a virgin!! Okay Rollo and I haven’t had sex yet.”

Sparks put his arm on Matlus’s shoulder, “Aren’t we glad we got that out?” he grinned at Matlus and stood up, “Now how about I help you with your sexual frustration?” Matlus backed away from Sparks “Um…hell no.” Sparks climbs overtop Matlus, “Come on just give it a try.” Matlus kicks Sparks in the twig and berries, causing him to drop to the ground in pain, “First the snowman, now you!” Matlus walks out of the sauna.

Eldwin wanders around the train cars and finds the door that links to the control room, he peers into the little glass window and sees that there is no one watching the controls, ‘What the hell?” he slowly turns the door handle and walks into the control room, he gets close to the coal shaft and sees an arm sticking out of the flames, “Oh my gods, the driver!”  He turns around and bumps into a hooded-figure, “Oh I’m so sorry.” He then thinks back to when they first started the train trip, “You are who I saw in the windows reflection!” the hooded-figure grabs Eldwin by the arm and lifts him up, “Who are you!” he reaches for the hood, but he his punched by the figure and dropped on the ground.

Matlus finishes dressing in him and Justes bathroom and walks out, “Hey Justes have you seen Eldwin?”  Justes thinks for a few minutes, “No I haven’t seen Eldwin at all since we got here.”

Sparks walks into the room, “Have you guys seen Eldwin, he isn’t in our room.”  Suddenly the train jerks and comes to a screeching halt, followed by the power going out.

Matlus summons a candle from his notebook and lights it, “Why the hell did we stop?!” he yells. Justes grabs his hand, “Justes why are you touching my hand?” Justes whispers to Matlus, ‘I’m scared of the dark.” Matlus slightly smiles at Justes, “Don’t worry; I won’t let anything happen to you.”

The three wander through the cars and enter the dining car, inside they see a table all set up for a date or something, there was a vase with three roses, a lit candelabra, two salads, and two bowls of soup. “So who has a date tonight?” Sparks pulls out a flashlight and holds it up to his face for dramatic effect, “This is the dinner table of the maiden of the dining car, and she was stood up and haunts this train for all eternity.” Matlus smacks Sparks causing him to drop the flashlight, “You didn’t even know the train exist until yesterday, you don’t know anything about it!”

“You can’t blame a guy for telling a ghost story.” Sparks grins, “Someone really needs to bust open your uptight boy cherry.” Matlus blushes “Shut the f**k up!” Justes chokes Sparks, “Leave Matlus alone and lets concentrate on finding Eldwin!”  Sparks quickly agrees and Justes gently lets him down.

The three continue into the next car which is filled with more rooms, “Have you guys wondered why we’re the only four on this train?” asked Justes, “Come to think of it, this train doesn’t even have staff members.” Matlus stated.

Finally the three reached the control room, they walk inside; Sparks immediately rushed to pick up something on the floor, and “What is that?” Justes and Matlus asked.  “Eldwin’s Shroud….the symbol of servant hood I gave him.” Matlus gasps, “Could he…be….dead?”  tears form in Sparks’s eyes as he drops to his knees and cries, Matlus sits next to him and hugs him and Justes soon joins.

The hooded-figure wipes his knife clean of freshly obtained blood; the figure speaks its voice like that of a tortured soul, “Your friends will soon share the same fate as you, my Mistress will be proud of what Phantom has done for her.” Eldwin’s lifeless corpse sits upright at the small children’s tea table across from the hooded-figure who calls himself Phantom.

Eldwin’s body has a gaping hole in the center and his eyes have been gouged out and put into a jar of marbles sitting on the tea table. Phantom sips on his tea which as it did before drips onto the floor from under his cloak, he looks over at his lifeless guest, “Phantom wants to know if you’re going to finish your tea Mr. Eldwin.” He awaits an answer, “Okay then, I’ll drink it for.” He pats Eldwin on his cold shoulder, “Phantom thinks you are the best tea guest he has ever had.”