Emma began to cry again. She repeated the same quote, “I wanna go home”, as she clinches her teary face into Dirk’s chest.
“Pathetic,” Sarah scoff.
“What was that?” Dirk snapped. Sarah was silent, and it really ticked him off.
“What, shouldn’t a big brother take care of his sister whenever she cries?”
That finally crossed the line. Dirk instinctively put Emma aside for now as he was about to deliver a left hook at Sarah. Gabriel and Hideyoshi interfered.
“What the hell are you doing?” Dirk said while the two hold him down. “If she wants a bloody beating, then I’ll gladly give her one she’ll never forget!”
“This is no time to fight!” Gabriel grunted
“He’s right. We have more important matters to handle than this.”
“Indeed, you do, my young travelers,” spoke the strange voice.
Everything becomes dead silent afterwards. The violent tension that was hanging in the air has just gone out the window. Then, after a moment, a door suddenly appeared at the end of the train where Sarah used to be.
“I thought there wasn’t a door over there.” Hideyoshi commented.
“There wasn’t,” Sarah explained.
“Seems Ms. Perfect needs her eyes check,” Dirk criticized before she’s giving him an antagonizing glare. It’s as if she’s saying, “One more word out of you, and you’ll get out of this train in a body bag.”
All five of them, including Emma as she’s a little calmed now, headed towards the door. Once they’re pass through, the door shut itself and everything was shrouded into darkness in an instant, until a large chandelier shed its light. There was nothing except…a man who just appeared the same time the darkness vanishes. He’s standing at the other side of the train cargo away from the group.
“Greetings, I am the Alternate.”
Chapter 2
To the five, this Alternate person is certainly a mysterious character. Even his face is being kept hidden because of that massive cloak he’s wearing.
“I see that all of you are getting along so well back there. Oh, how it makes me happy,” the Alternate commented while approaching to the five.
“W-Who are you,” Gabriel asked. The Alternate immediately stopped his approach and introduce himself as the Alternate again.
“No, who are you really?”
“I am just the Alternate. Nothing more.”
“Well, whoever you are, let me ask you this one question,” Sarah butting into the conversation.
“Don’t you mean one more question?”
“Shut up!” she snapped. “Now tell me, did you bring us here?”
“Well of course. Who else beside me, the Alternate, could have done such a thing.”
“C-Could you please take us home…mister?” Emma asked as she’s trying her best not to cry as much as she did.
“Aw, I’m so sorry little girl. I’m afraid I cannot do that, nor can I tell you why?”
“And why not?” Hideyoshi said with agitation.
“Well, it would spoil the fun we’re all going to have soon.”
“You take us home right now!” Dirk enraged as he charge straight at the Alternate. With just a right jab, he has successfully deliver a hit at the face. However, instead of the Alternate trembling down onto his knees, Dirk became the one to have been knockdown.
Gabriel, Hideyoshi, and Emma came to his side. His nose was bleeding. Fortunately there doesn’t seem to be any other fatal wounds anywhere else on him.
“What did you do to him?” asked Gabriel.
The Alternate didn’t say a word. Sarah, who was closer at the time, was more fazed than Dirk because of what she sees at the time he was struck down. She approached him and slowly moving her hand towards his face. Just as Sarah was about to touch him, her hand has somehow landed onto her own face instead of his. Everyone was speechless.
“I see now you all realized what would happen if we get physical with each other. Especially me.”
“What do you want?” Sarah sighed
“First, let me explain a few things before we all begin the fun. You all, of course, know that this is a train. But unlike an ordinary train, this one has the ability to travel from world to world.”
“You can’t be serious?” Dirk commented.
“Indeed I am. This train can take you to any world; however, it cannot take you to the world you wanted yet.”
“Yet?” said Hideyoshi. “So then, we can just wait it all out until we reach home?”
“Waiting isn’t a good option,” said Sarah.
“Why is that?” Gabriel asked.
“How many worlds do you think there are?”
“Quite perceptive,” the Alternate complimented. “Indeed, there are more worlds than what any of you can imagine. Simply waiting to arrive to your world will take years. Most likely a century, perhaps.”
“Then how else can we get home?” Hideyoshi asked.
“You’ll need the sacred keys. Five keys to unlock every cargo leading to the train's engine. By controlling that engine, you can control the train.”
“And if we can control the train, then we can all control where it’s heading, right?”
“Can’t you take us home instead?” Emma asked.
The Alternate was strangely silent. He also stands very still like a statue. He suddenly disappears. Before his departure, he announced an important message: you have arrived to you’re first destination.
Chapter 3
Their entire reality has completely turned upside down. It began once the Alternate made his exit. They were all puzzled as to what he wants them to do, regardless of the instructions he recently explained. Then, in a blink of an eye, the group was no longer inside the train. They are outside now. In fact, they seems to be in the middle of a city. There were tall builders and even many jumbo screens placed in several buildings showing a commercial or some sort to the public.
“Are we on our ‘world’ already?” Hideyoshi asked.
“Get bloody real!” Dirk scoffed. “Of course we are. The whole traveling to worlds and finding keys was nothing more than some idiot’s idea of a prank.”
“Are you sure?” Emma asked and Dirk nodded. However, Gabriel must disagree by mentioning the clothes they’re all wearing now. Instead of wearing the same casual clothes from the beginning, they seemed to be wearing thobes. The ones which the Arabs are wearing for their culture.
“When do we put these on?” Sarah exclaimed.
The ground begins to rumble as pebbles began to shake up off the ground. Whatever it may be, they must hide unless they desire to get caught up with whatever danger is lurking around here. Fortunately, since they’re in the city, they can hide within the large alley between the two buildings.
The ground begins to shake harder and the noise starts to become louder. Emma was trembling a bit and was on the verge of crying again until Dirk calmed