The nine companions, or the fellowship of the nine, as Nii secretly called them, consisted of Mike, Pania, Leonie, Nii, Kazuya, Patrick, a former stand-up comedian whose air still refused to stand down, Chelsea, a former climate activist who gave up on climate and activism at the same time, Louis, who had had severe trouble communicating with locals since he only spoke French and had managed to remain ignorant of the four languages spoken in the area, and Pits. The last four had already known each other prior to this enterprise. Still, for most party members, the eve of their departure was their first proper meeting besides organisational matters.

The mood was solemn, befitting the closing of a chapter in everyone's life. None of them believed they would come back here. They weren't leaving, after all. They were heading home.

Aside from Nii and Pania, most group members had slightly, if not vastly, different destinations. However, they were all headed to the same port town across the sea, and whichever way they would take afterwards and how long they would continue their journey together, for now, they were companions.

Their first goal was to get to the next train station. During colder seasons, reaching it shouldn't have taken more than a day, but the scoring heat made travel during daytime quite strenuous, if not dangerous. Furthermore, there weren't many direct paths to the settlement around the train station since the community Pania and the others had resided in had been self-sufficient for the most part. And not many reasons existed for any locals to deal with an industrial settlement. Had they not willingly separated and decided to live a life far off from the ruse and the billowing of the machines.

Even so, calling it a dangerous journey would have been over-exaggerated. As is typical for reality, the journey was mostly mundane, bothersome, taxing and bleak. As long as one would exclude the tired stumbling of weary feet or the tumbling of people grasping for a way through the dark, no real dangers were to be found anywhere.

There were no monsters to vanquish, no treasures to find, and no bandits to fend off. Avoid the mid and afternoon sun, suspicious gatherings of people, dangerous looking terrain, and travelling couldn't be any less adventurous.

Nii had already been aware of that, of course, having not only traversed two continents, though connected they were, to meet a friend but also having prior experience of travelling long distances by foot on her own. Nothing was less adventurous and romantic than reality. If you find yourself in a dangerous situation, it is usually already too late, and those that had been in dangerous situations have no stories to tell.

Best to avoid any unnecessary trouble from the start. Since the group consisted of adults all past their prime of tomfoolery, they all agreed on that matter.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

'We're all the same. Deep down, we're all the same. Deep down, we're all cowards.'

♫

"So, you guys want to stowaway on our freight train, huh? All nine of you? We could've put one or two of you to use for chores no one else wants to do. Kids these days run away so easily as soon as things get hard. It's not like this is my dream job, either. Well, whatever, get on. You all look fit enough for loading the cargo, and my men could use a break."

"Well, that went easy," Chelsea added snappishly. She was all that Nii had ever feared in modern society combined. She was loud. She loved to bicker and bark. She had to voice her opinion on everything. She had a thing for cynic remarks, leaving no one unscathed. And she didn't know the concept of personal space.

It hadn't been difficult to get aboard a train to the port, the port to which all trains leaving this station were headed. It just hadn't been easy, either. They had spent close to a week working on this embargo: on the staff as well as on the trains. After a week or so, pity rather than kindness had finally landed them this opportunity. And no one really had anything to lose. No heads would roll over nine stowaways, not even had the cargo been damaged. Since no one was responsible for anything, no one had to take responsibility. And a certain percentage of loss was within the calculation of every deal made these days. The infrastructure simply wasn't what it used to be.

When freight trains began to take control over the rail systems a while ago, many had rushed to catch their last train home, but that had long since abided. In contrast, the air of indifference began to permeate society until no one had anywhere to go anymore.

During their time stranded, the group had neither grown closer nor farther apart. While Pania, Mike and their pet had less need to be sociable, being an already close-knit community, they neither refused other people's company nor sought it. Nii, on the other hand, wouldn't even know how to start a friendly conversation even if she wanted to, while Kazuya, as she had already guessed, was very sociable by nature, building a bridge between the two groups and feeling very much at ease within the midst of their fellowship.

Nii's incapability to socialise did not limit her observational prowess, however; she had noticed quite a lot about her new companions they, too, would have kept for themselves. This, in turn, did her sociability no favour, feeling even less inclined to start up a conversation than before. So, instead, she had made it her mission to get them off the land as soon as earthly possible and had spent day and night working at the train station or acquiring information on trade ships to keep herself busy, to keep up an air of competence.

'I still haven't changed. I haven't changed at all since then.'

"Hey girl, you look tired. You alright, aren't you?" Leonie had asked one night, looking at her worryingly.

'Don't worry, this is much more mentally taxing than it is physically,' she thought. Though, as usual, none of her feelings found their way onto her face. They simply stayed where they had been, where they had always been, buried deep within.

But still, Leonie's interest in her well-being was honest, even if the woman didn't appear to be prepared for an honest answer. The interest in other people's well-being usually goes just that far, a pretence, a make-believe. The question is, who are we really trying to fool?

'She's not a bad person. She really isn't. But I still can't bring myself to love her. I don't hate her. I just don't love her, either.

♫