A Tale of Rust and Flesh ~ Part 7

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	The tracks passed underneath the train as the headlights illuminated the walls of the tunnel. Had it not been for the lights, the view outside of the front window would have been completely obscured by darkness. Cracked concrete walls and a sloped ceiling surrounded the path laid out for the odd conductor, leaving everyone on board completely unaware of where they truly were.

	Rortheb stood next to the door leading to a railing outside, letting Kris sit in the conductor's seat with Susie standing next to him with an arm rested on the top of the seat cushion. The classmates watched the train tracks pass under them for only a few short minutes before Susie began to lose her patience. Her foot tapped on the floor as she fiddled with her crowbar while periodically glancing at Kris' scar.

	Rortheb appeared to be enjoying the calm sight outside. The static buzzed calmly and quietly; the silhouettes flashing in and out of existence within Rortheb's incomprehensible body stayed visible for longer than they usually did, and disappeared with a slow fade. "Say..." Susie began. "Where are we going, exactly?"

	"I d́o͞ not ̧k͢now." Susie looked at the headache-inducing blur standing before her with confusion and a hint of anger.
	"The hell do you mean you don't know? We could be going anywhere, and that 'anywhere' could be really fucking bad."
	"I ap̕ol̢o̶giz͠e, b̕ut t̶hiś is͢ ͞ţhé ̛f͏ąrt͡ḩe̶śt̵ ̵I have ̨g͝o͟n̨e̡ so fąr̀. I̧ d̕o no͘t͡ ̸ten̸d ̡t͟o r̀etrea̴d ͡ol̢d͝ ͞tr͜a̛cḱs͏ u̢nl̵e͝ss͟ ̛t̵hey̧ ̨ar̡e ve͘ry͘ ̶s͢pec̛i̷fi͘c͢.́ Some͡ tr͏a̴cks͟ ca̢r̨ry s͞p̢e̢cial m̶emories̢ ͜th̛at̀ ͠I o̷ccasi͠ońa̴ll͠y͝ r̛evisiţ, ̢but̀ ͠ther̨e͡ ͡is n̷ot̛hi͞ng I ͠reme̶mb͠er ̨hèr̢e͏.͘ Al̛l̀ ͡I k͏ǹow͘ ̧is th͏at w͢e̸ ͢a͟ŗę i̸n a̵ ͡tưn͠nel."
	"...Great." Susie let out a small huff before speaking again. "...Not to... uh... sound *ungrateful*, or anything... I just don't wanna end up somewhere full of scary shit that might hurt Kris again, you know?" Kris noticed that she specifically mentioned him. Was she more concerned about HIS health over her own?
	"I ta̡ke͟ ̛no ̶off̢ens̛e̕ ͢f̧rom̕ y̛our ̴w̵o͏rd̡s͘.͡ I͟ under͠sta̷nd͜ y͟our con͢c̛er̀n."
	Kris interjected with a concern of his own. "If you don't know where we are, do you even know where you're trying to go?"

	Rortheb didn't answer Kris' question. They only looked down at the floor in a mix of guilt and realization. The conductor had never bothered to pay attention to their destination before now. Kris and Susie could barely tell, but the gray blur morphed into a darker shade of guilt-ridden gray. The white noise radiating off of Rortheb stifled itself.

	The entire room was filled with a dull silence for several moments as the rattling of the tracks below and the buzzing of the light were the only things that prevented it from becoming deafening. Kris went back to watching the tracks while Susie leaned up against the door leading back out to the passenger cars, arms crossed.

	The fluorescent light illuminating the room began to flicker. The buzzing sound it gave off grew in volume as the flickering grew faster, yet faster. The gray conductor saw this as an opportunity to finally say something and get everyone's mind off of the implication that Kris and Susie might not even be close to returning home.

	"I sh͞ou̧l̶d͡ f͢i̸x ͜t̀hat ̨soo͝n̕. ̧T͢h̕i͠s ̵tra̵i͢n̵ i͏s̵ quitȩ ol̨d." Susie hated the silence as much as Rortheb did, so she decided to keep them talking.
	"Just how old is it, anyway?"
	"Act̨ualĺy.͠..͢ I̡'m ̧n̕ót so̡ su͞re,̡ ͜m̨y͟s̀e̛l͡f.̶ B̷y̵ ͘t͘he t͠ime ͠I f͘ou͜n͏d it,͡ it se͟ęme͝d to ͝b͏e̴ ̴sève̢r̴a͞l͝ decad̵es͟ old͜. T́ḩis t̸r̨ain ͠w͞a͡s͟ a lot ̶d͜i̴rti̷er b̨efore ̨you ̨two c͟a̶me̡ ̶alon̵g͞."
	"So what, you weren't BORN on this train?" Susie asked with a chuckle.
	"H̴a..̨. N̵o.͜ ̢Ì ͏d̀o̧n't̵ re͟m̨ember̨ ͝m̛u͏ch ͢a̕b̀o̴ut m̧y l͜i͠fe ͟be͘fo͠r͏e̛ t̕hi͏s ̢tra̶i̶n ot̕hęr̶ t̶h͟àn ̶I ̴w̡an̢de̷re͝d a͠ ̀l̕ot͜. D͜r̢iftin̸g f͟ro͡m͡ pl͏a̕ce to pl̵a̢c͜e, takiņg ̕i̢n t̨h͏e ̵sígh͠ts̴... B͏u͢t ̸no̴w,̨ ̨I͡ c͟an͏ s̀til͢l͜ do ͘thąt̢, ̀but̨ ͏mu͞ch̶ ̕f͏as̶ter."
	"Did you ever see anything interesting?" Kris asked.
	"N̛o͢t̶ m͡u͢ch͢.̸.. ̛I̶ ̶mos͜tly ͜fo͢un͜d͘ ͞r͟u͢ìns and ̀e̛mpt͘y, f́lat͝ ̛p̷l̢ains͞ ̨of͜ ̴n͘othing̵nes̡ş. ̨Iţ'͘s v̧ery q͡uįet ̨i̧n th͝įs͢ wor̨ld͞. ̛I̴ pre͢fer͟ ̶ţh̸e qùiet, t͠ḩo͜u̶gh. ̸It͟'s n̶e̕v̨er̢ ͠a goo͡d͝ t̢h̛ing w̴hęn thin̡gs ge̷t̛ ̴lo̡u͏d."
	"What, do those flower freaks throw parties or something?" Susie asked, flashing her teeth.
	"Nó. Th̷ère̷ ̕a̡re ẃorse t͘h̴in̷gs i̵n͡ ̀thi͠s͝ ̨worl̢d ̴t̕h̡an ̕th̨e͘m͞.̧ Loude͝r͘ t̷hin̶gs. Bírd̢s̵ ́th̨a̡t̵ ͘screa͘m ̀a̵t y̵ou̷ ́wi͏thou͢t eve͟ŕ ta̛k̵ing ̸a̴ ̸se͞cond̢ t͟o͢ b̴reat̛he,͘ hostil̴e͞ h̸uman-li̷ke ͡crea͟tures͢ wra͡p̛péd ͏in ͡nois̶y ̛ch̢ai̷n̛s̡, ̀un͝s̡ȩe͏n thi͘ng̕s loud̸l͢y̡ ̷sobb̢ing fa̡r a̡wa̛y͠ f́rǫm ͝on̵e͠'s ͞v̴i̧e͠w̧..."
	"Oh, uhh... that sounds... bad. I guess I'm glad I'm here, and not out there."
	"Ìnd͠e͜ed."

	The light still flickered and grew dimmer, yet dimmer by the moment. "If y̢ou t͘wo̕ ̨want to͞ g̵o ba̕c͝k̸ to ͏yo̕u͢ŕ ͞sea̵t͝s,͝ ̕yo͢u m̸ay. ̛I ne͝e̵d ͜to̡ ̡fi͝x̀ ͘th͡is̸ l̴i͢gh̀t͘."

	With a nod, Susie lead Kris back to one of the passenger cars as Rortheb rummaged around their odd, seemingly physics defying inventory for a replacement light. The shifting mass produced a replacement, removed the old light, and placed the new one into the socket. The fresh cylinder of glass blinked to life, bursting with vibrant energy. The old light was absorbed back into Rortheb's mass without much ceremony.

	Just as Rortheb was admiring the new light, the headlights revealed that the train had reached the end of the unusually long tunnel. On each side of the tracks, there were rows and rows of pine trees, indicating that the train had entered a forest of some kind. "..͞.Oh͢.͏.. ̡that̸'s̛ ͏new." The train's headlights seemed to be the only visible source of light. Rortheb looked to the sky only to find that it was a black, starless void.

	The lack of a moon made the friendly mass of gray and static ponder if it was a new moon or some similar astrological event. There was a slight drizzle of rain coming down, along with a light fog. The windows were speckled with several little dots of water. The pine-straw speckled mud was dotted with an occasional puddle.

	Rortheb sat down onto their conductor's seat and stared out into the dark. Perhaps if they made it out of the forest by morning, Rortheb might try to find some ruins to scavenge. They had new mouths to feed, and still wanted a new bag of pizza flavored chips after all.

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	Kris sat next to the right-hand window seat, with Susie right next to him. She could have sat anywhere in any position she wanted due to having so much freedom, but she continually opted to sit right next to her human companion. He didn't mind, though.

	The human felt safe around the big tough dragon. Maybe even safer than around his own mother, but maybe that was because Susie wasn't worried about what some Angel might think of her and Kris' actions or words. That, and she very likely saved his life.

	Susie sat with her right arm behind the seat; her left hand twiddling the crowbar. Her snout pointed upwards at the gray ceiling as gravity caused her hair to part from her forehead. Kris just looked out at the pitch black darkness. For all he knew, they were still in the tunnel.

	"...Hey, Kris?" Susie spoke up.
	"Hm?" Kris looked to his left to see an uncertain yellow eye looking right at him.
	"...Do uh... do you think this place is... like, some other Dark World or something? Like, maybe there's a fountain or something we gotta close?"
	"...I don't know," Kris responded.

	The two teenagers didn't say anything for several moments, but Susie didn't take her eye off of Kris. With a sigh, Susie sat up and dropped the crowbar to the floor before putting both of her hands into her lap. Her eyes focused on her weathered claws as the gears in her head slowly turned as she lost herself in thought.

	Sleeping in a seat multiple times in a row made Susie almost miss her shitty mattress... Almost. She would give up a lot of things just to fall asleep at the Dreemurr household's living room couch. She's never seen the Dreammurr matriarch's usually locked room before, but maybe Toriel's bed was big and soft. She was a big and soft monster, after all.

	'*His* bed? Eugh, nah... Hah, those sheets are probably crusty as fuck.' Besides any rude and potentially completely false assumptions, 'it was probably too small for me, anyway. Maybe the next time I go to sleep, I'll lie down on two seats with the armrests moved out of the way. That could work.' She wasn't tired at the moment, so she continued to sit next to Kris.

	Kris' mind drifted elsewhere, though. Sure, his back hurt from sleeping in a seat made cramped by a large purple dragon, but it was better than sleeping on the nasty floor. Kris thought about the warmth of his home, and the feeling of taking off a large jacket the minute he got inside from the cold weather.

	The feeling of a large, fluffy monster embracing him in a warm hug tended to be a tad uncomfortable, but Kris started to miss it dearly. He even started to miss Asgore's back breaking bear-hugs.

	'Asgore... Dad...' If he ever made it back home, he wanted to try to set his father straight. Kris wanted to make him clean up and stop living in squalor, actually charge money for his flowers and stop.... 'And stop giving them to Mom...' Kris thought for the longest time that he should tell him that she only throws them away after a snide comment or a spiteful scowl.

	For the first time, Kris thought about this subject in a less depressive way. He rationalized that if he put in the effort, he could change a few things for the better. 'Yeah, maybe if I stopped being the quiet, isolated kid and spoke up about a few things, I might see the changes I want.'

	Yet Kris' mind wandered back to the feeling of being embraced. He remembered when he woke up to Susie's arms warmly wrapped around him. It felt nice... Maybe even cathartic. The thought lingered in his mind before Susie's voice snapped him back into reality.

	"Hey, uh... is it cool if I ask a favor?" Susie shyly asked. Her eye was focused on him again with that same uncertain look but cranked up to 11.
	"Uhm, uh... Sure?" Kris said with confusion. Whenever she needed a favor in the past, she never seemed this nervous.
	"If we ever get back home... can I, you know.... Stay at your place for a while? Like, on the couch or something?" Susie cocked an unconvincing smile. Her voice was quieter than usual.
	"...Uh... I would have to ask mom, first."
	"...So, is that a yes? *YOU* would be cool with it?" Susie asked with a slight hint of excitement.
	"I mean, yeah, sure, but mom might not approve of a teen girl sleeping in our house. She's pretty religious, y'know?"
	"Heh, yeah... It's just... I don't wanna go back to *my* house..." Susie sounded defeated with these words. Her eyes broke contact with Kris and stared at the floor.
	"...What, is there something wrong with your hou-?"
	"Yeah. I don't wanna go back there."
	Kris already had his suspicions about Susie before, but now he had confirmation that things weren't sunshine and lollipops back home. "...If we get back home, I'll convince mom to let you stay. Somehow."
	"Heh... Thanks, Kris." Susie seemed relieved at Kris' affirmation. Her smile turned from unconvincing and fake, to genuine.
	"......Did something happen?"
	Susie didn't even move her head. She only replaced her smile with a small frown and moved her eye to look at Kris as he wore a concerned expression. "...We had a 'fight' a little while ago. It...." Susie avoided eye contact as she continued. "It happens a lot." Susie wanted to spill more details, but she couldn't bring herself to do so.
	"Oh..."
	"But hey, if I stay on good terms with your mom, then I won't have anyone to fight at all!" Susie cocked a smirk as she tried to lighten the mood again.
	"...Yeah."

	Kris could sense that Susie was still feeling down. The teenaged human took this as an opportunity to scratch both his back, and Susie's. Kris leaned into Susie and pulled his arm around her waist and closed his eyes.

	'Please don't react weird, please don't react weird, please don't react weird, please don't react weird.'

	He was surprised to feel Susie's arm wrap around him, returning the favor. "Thanks, Kris." The two shared a small, mutually one-armed hug together. Kris opened his eyes and looked to his left to see Susie smiling at him. He didn't know why, but his heart fluttered. It reminded him of the first time she really smiled at him in the school hallway after returning home from the Dark World.

	Just as Susie was about to say something, she was cut off by something large hitting the side of the train car she and Kris resided in. The metal dented towards them, and the train car almost derailed due to the force of the impact. Just as it seemed as if the train car was about to stabilize itself, the sound of loud, hissing static combined with Rortheb frantically screaming a tier-two swear was followed by the front of the train violently colliding with an unseen barrier.

	The next few moments were a complete blur as the teenagers tumbled around in the now derailed train car. Susie's head collided violently with the wall, knocking her out cold. Kris almost landed on his arm in a way that his arm would have bent backwards. Soon enough, however, the train stopped moving and the tumbling ceased.

	Kris looked up to see Susie lying on her side and facing away from him, but the sound of shattering glass grabbed his attention from behind. Kris was barely able to move his aching, battered body, but he was able to see a shadow enveloping him as something jumped down from above with a loud thud. Just before he could get a glance at the thing next to him, a dull but excruciating pain filled the side of Kris' head. The last thing Kris heard before he fell unconscious was a shrill, hoarse giggle.

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