FSE

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We left the next morning before the sunlight filtered through the trees. Jonas was obviously very practiced in packing up his belongings. I was amazed at how much he was able to fit into his single backpack. Unfortunately for me, I was the one he handed the pack to before transforming back into his dog form. This time, however, he had a collar around his neck and several strands of his hair turned into a leash.

Don't laugh, he said in my head.

I didn't really find the situation funny to begin with. I pushed the backpack through the hole in the brush before crawling after it. Once we were outside the cave in the dim pre-dawn light, Jonas spoke once again.

We need to get to the train station, he said. From there, we can make our way to the Low Court.

"What about train tickets?" I asked.

We can afford it.

I was skeptical, but I held the leash as he pulled me along through the undergrowth. The dark forest seemed even more foreboding than the night before. I kept glancing behind me, expecting to see a horrible beast stalking us. Despite my apprehension, I took the time to reflect on the events of the night before. Through the memories of the pain, the one thought that repeatedly came to my mind was the light that the lantern had given off. I remembered that it was almost hypnotizing. Nearly impossible to look away from. My eyes had shifted from Jonas's to stare into the lantern flame before the agony assaulted my chest. But something about the light was eerily familiar as well. The forest brightened around us as the sun came up. I say forest, but it was really just a patch of wooded area in between two Long Island suburbs. Jonas led me away from the town that surrounded my school. We kept to the unlivable areas, only passing through back yards and across streets when we absolutely had to. The uneasy feeling in the back of my mind continued even when we weren't in sight of any civilization. Eventually, we emerged from the woods on the other side of the tracks from a small train station. The tracks were empty and Jonas carefully led me to a nearby road crossing. The station itself was little more than a concrete platform. There was a small, brown building with a ticket booth and indoor waiting area nearby. As we approached the ticket booth, we passed a food stand. The scent of cooking hot dogs filled my nostrils and my stomach lurched with desire. I tried to ignore it.

There should be a money clip in the backpack, Jonas whispered in my mind. Inside the zipper pocket near the top.

I pulled the pack off and opened it while we stood to the side of the booth. The intoxicating scent of cooked meat was driving me mad. I fumbled with the cash and stepped up to the ticket window.

"One for New York City, please," I said, sliding the needed amount under the vertical wooden bars.

"Going on a trip, son?" the man inside the booth asked as he took the money from me.

I didn't answer. A moment later, he handed me a ticket and I thanked him. As I turned away from the window, it was as if my body was moving by itself.

Mal, come back here! Jonas said.

I couldn't hear him. I approached the snack cart and bought two hot dogs, ravenously stuffing them into my mouth. I was only aware of the odd way the cart vendor was staring at me after both dogs had vanished down my gullet. I realized I must have sounded like a feral animal, chowing down like that. I grabbed the backpack and the leash and waited for the train.

If you were hungry, you should have said so, Jonas said.

I turned away from the cart so no one would see me talking to the dog.

"I'm sorry, I just couldn't go on without eating something."

We didn't have to wait long for the train. As we boarded, a bug-eyed ticket man leered at us suspiciously.

"Keep an eye on that animal," he told me.

I just nodded and hurried to find a seat. We were the only passengers in that car, but the solitude was a welcome thing. The ride into New York City was an uneventful one. The train made multiple stops, but no new passengers entered our car. Every few minutes, the ticket man would pass through, giving us a glare with those eyes that stuck out of his head. Each time he did, his puffy lips grimaced, making him look even less attractive. My pulse raced when he did and I tried not to fidget too much when he was nearby. The train passed by suburbia, then a factory district, and a train yard before we were swallowed whole by a dark tunnel.

Finally, the train arrived at the New York station and I hurried out of the car. A crowd of people was exiting a different train across the underground platform and we were swept along with them up the stairs. City noise assaulted my ears as we exited out onto the street. My eyes shot upward towards the tops of buildings and the construction frame nearby. Asphalt and oil scents filled my nostrils from who knew how far away. I suddenly felt dizzy as the noise in my head became louder and louder. I slammed my eyes shut and put both hands over my ears to try and drown out the sound, but it didn't stop the ringing between my ears.

Malcolm, snap out of it!

The noise stopped suddenly when I felt Jonas's head nudging my leg. I opened my eyes again and took a cautious look around us. The crowds of people were moving like waves against a shoreline as they flowed down the streets. Cars and taxis drove by in a mechanical stop and go motion. It was then that I realized that the grand Pennsylvania Station no longer existed. I had been expecting a massive train station as described in many of the books I had read, but instead, we had arrived underneath the very streets of the city itself. It was fitting, since we were running away like rats.

The old station was demolished, Jonas explained. It's a shame, really. It was a marvel.

I stared up at the towering buildings of the city above and at the frame of what would become Madison Square Garden. Jonas tugged on the leash to break me out of my awestruck reverie and led me across the street through the crowds of people to another set of stairs. To my dismay, we were swept along in the ocean of commuters and descended back into the underbelly of the city. There was another ticket booth here and we slid into line behind a woman in a white dress. The line moved achingly slowly. The tunnel had a cream colored linoleum floor with tile walls and people brushed by us in the small space. Jonas stayed close, being as well behaved as he could. When the line cleared, the woman in front of us stepped forward and to the side without approaching the window. She had beautiful features, but her expression seemed sad.

"After you, miss," I said to her.

She just looked at me quizzically.

Ignore her, Jonas said.

I looked down at him in confusion and turned back, but the woman in white was gone.

"Next, please!" the teller said to me, annoyed.

"Sorry," I said. "I need to get to Louisiana."

"You'll be taking two different trains. Transfer to a Norfolk & Western train in Virginia."

I nodded and handed him the money.

"Here are your tickets," he said.

I took them and thanked him before moving out of the line. Jonas began pulling me toward the appropriate train platform. A cold hand rested on my left shoulder and I nearly jumped out of my skin. I whirled around to see the woman in white looking sadly down at me. It almost looked like she was suspended in water now. Her silver hair drifted away from her head indecisively. Her gaunt features had a much more haunting appearance and I noticed that her dress was tattered and ripped in various places. She radiated an aura of cool air so that standing mere feet from her felt like being in front of an open refrigerator door. Her eyes were dark and her white irises gazed out from the black of her sockets at me like piercing daggers.

"W-who are you?" I asked.

I told you to ignore her, Jonas said. She won't harm us.

"You can see me," the woman said in a sing-song, wailing voice.

It wasn't a question, but I nodded.

"That means one of you will suffer a terrible fate," she continued.

"What-?"

Let's go. She's talking nonsense, Jonas said. They all do.

"In the bayou, you will be hunted," the woman continued. "If you are not careful, the monster will devour you."

I started to reply, but the woman drifted backward, vanishing into to the crowd. Her words sent a chill down my spine. Jonas shook himself and resumed pulling me toward the platform.

Congratulations, he said as we waited. You just had your first encounter with a supernatural idiot.

"What was that all about?" I asked.

Some beings think they can see the future. Sometimes they get lucky, but most of the time, they are just spouting gibberish to fool those that can see them.

"Why do something like that?" I asked.

Not all spirits are benevolent, Jonas said.

"She didn't seem malicious," I replied.

No, of course not. She only talked about our grisly deaths in the swamp, Jonas said sarcastically.

I ignored his snide comment and we waited for the train. The platform we were on was one of many lined up neatly underneath the city streets. The lights above did not make the atmosphere any less stifling. I sat on a bench as we waited, tiredly yawning while Jonas sat on the floor next to me. Across the tracks, I watched other trains pull in and fill with people before leaving again. A new group of passengers would trickle down the stairs afterward. My head drooped, but I started awake again and shook myself. That feeling of unease was still at the back of my mind and I glanced around the platform nervously. Through the crowd, a grey shape caught my eye. A large wolf that looked different from the one that chased me the day before was slowly advancing towards us. It had a dark black crown of fur on its head in between the ears, making its brow look incredibly sinister. The muzzle was all white, save the black nose and the white fur continued down its chest to the inside of its legs. No one else on the platform seemed to notice it. My breath caught in my throat as it stared at me with intent to kill. My legs wouldn't move. I couldn't stand or get Jonas's attention. The large beast growled, a sound that seemed to come from within my own head. It was within twenty feet of us. I could see the dark grey, bristling fur on its back and its lip curled up into a snarl, showing me its long, sharp teeth. The golden yellow eyes stared into my very soul as its powerful, muscular limbs prepared to pounce.

The sound of the train's brakes as it pulled into the station startled me awake. I glanced to my left towards the stairs and where I had seen the wolf, but of course, there was nothing there. Jonas didn't seem to realize that anything was wrong and he pulled me towards the open car door. We boarded the train and got settled in our personal cabin, but I was still shaken by the short dream. The walls were wood paneled and the floor was lined with red carpet. The car was an old one, but it was still in good shape. The cushions on the seats were comfortable and Jonas hopped up onto the one across from me, circling a few times before he lay down. I sat there with baited breath, almost expecting the giant wolf to crash through the window or break down the door. The train started to move shortly after and I exhaled in relief, but I couldn't stop thinking about the dream wolf or what the phantom woman in white had said.

"Can we talk?" I asked.

Jonas lifted his head towards the door as it slid open and a train attendant asked for my ticket. After he punched a hole in it, he handed it back to me and left.

Go ahead, Jonas said.

"I meant... face to face."

Jonas glanced at the door and I slid it shut, watching him transformed back into the handsome man I had embraced the night before.

"We shouldn't be disturbed for a few hours at least," Jonas said.

The train car shook slightly as we passed over an intersection of tracks.

"I feel nervous and uneasy," I said. "Almost like I'm being followed."

Jonas smiled and moved across the small room to sit down next to me. He put an arm around my shoulder and I leaned against his naked body.

"That's normal, actually," he replied. "Unfortunately, you will have that feeling until you fully mature."

I looked up at his strong, grizzled features, but his stoic, forward glance kept me from asking further questions about that topic.

"Did you know someone was coming for my parents?"

Jonas grimaced.

"I have to be honest, Mal," Jonas said. "Your parents were the ones who sent me away. They thought I would be a bad influence on you."

"Why?" I asked.

"Our culture was very different from yours. They were concerned that being tutored by me for too long would make it difficult for you to relate to human society."

"What do you mean 'was' different?"

Jonas paused. I looked up at him when he didn't immediately respond. His face was strained, and he cleared his throat after a while.

"It's just me now," he said shakily.

I couldn't believe that he was the last of his kind, but I didn't want to upset him so I changed the subject again.

"I turned out messed up anyway," I said.

Jonas's chuckle surprised me.

"You can thank your uncle for that. George is pretty messed up himself."

"Why does he hate me?" I asked.

Jonas shook his head and forced a smile.

"He doesn't hate you. He just lacks self-control."

"I hope I take after my father instead," I said.

"I do too," Jonas replied.

He gave me a gentle squeeze and I returned it.

"What do you think of me?" I asked him.

There was a long pause and I started to regret the question. Jonas looked to his right, out of the window. The train car rumbled as normal.

"I think you've grown into a fine young man," He said.

It wasn't the answer I was looking for. I wanted desperately for him to know my true feelings for him. Ever since I had seen him again, I was struck by his physique and strong attitude. I can't honestly say now whether or not it was love, but I was attracted to him to be certain. He glanced back in my direction and for a brief second, I wanted to kiss him. I wanted to show him how I really felt.

Cowardice is a powerful deterrent.

We sat in silence as the scenery outside of the train window whizzed by. I hoped there would be more concrete answers for me in Louisiana.