[https://i.imgur.com/hedZM9t.jpg]
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As Deshya goes to the driver's cabin, one car over from theirs, Deshya suddenly stops.
- !!
Her fox ears, more sensitive and powerful than a human's, pick up a sound coming from the next car. Not the one they have to take to reach the cabin, but the one opposite. Deshya starts to run, some passengers start talking to each other and feel uneasy, and Tessa catches Deshya running in turn. They pass the automatic door and Deshya tells her what she heard:
- I heard a gunshot!
- W-What?!
Tessa opens her eyes wide, as well as her mouth, not having heard such a sound. The moving train, her lack of focus, and the fact that the sound was coming from the car next door, separated by two closed automatic doors and the sound of the train moving, meant that she couldn't have heard that sound. She doesn't know how Deshya heard it, but not believing her would be foolish of her. They both pass through the second door that separates them from their car and there—
- !!!
- A-Ah?!
Deshya and Tessa stop and look at the scene in front of them. Some of the passengers scream in fear and others look back at the two girls who have just arrived.
- W-What?!" shouts Tessa, her eyes wide open.
A little further on, the body on the ground and a puddle of blood underneath it—
A man has just lost his life.
CHAPTER 7
⎾The Never-Stopping Train ; Part 2⏌
Deshya is immobilized by her own emotions, unable to move her gaze from the body in the pool of blood. A passenger wakes her from her mind as he shouts and pushes the two teenage girls. He runs out of the car screaming, while Deshya falls onto the thighs of a man who catches her.
- Woah!
Tessa blinks and grits her teeth before picking Deshya up again and pulling her forcefully towards her, bringing her to her feet again. Deshya sighs and closes her eyes. Tessa looks at her for a few moments before putting her hands in her pockets.
- If such a sight shocks you too much, you can—
- N-No.
Deshya clenches both fists, teeth gritting. Tessa glances at her with one eye before smiling and stepping into the train corridor. Behind them, Frie and Amora arrive.
- A-A man just ran into the car screaming, wh—?!! W-Waa?!!!
Amora starts to scream and Deshya quickly turns around and signals her to be quiet. Amora puts her hands in front of her mouth, her eyes wide open and fixed on the man who is lying in a pool of blood... Which is most likely HIS blood.
- ... !! ... !! ... !!
Amora begins to fan herself and Deshya asks Frie to return with her to the next car. Frie is immobilized by fear, unable to remove her gaze from the body beyond; yet she wants to do anything but look at him. This man bathed in his own blood, no life left in his eyes... Despite the distance between her and the dead man, she can see the man's calm, yet lifeless expression. Frie shakes, her teeth touching and spreading rapidly, as if she is shivering from the cold. Tessa stops before approaching the body and Deshya shakes Frie. The latter blinks and looks at Deshya.
- Go back to the car!!!" she shouts.
Frie steps back and nods with difficulty before grabbing Amora.
- W-We leave..." said Frie gently.
Amora starts to run, passing through the door even before Frie and the latter follows her, holding one arm. Deshya bites her lower lip, watching them leave with a saddened look. Tessa approaches the girl and touches her shoulder.
- You don't want your friends to see a dead person, but you can without worrying?" she jokes.
Deshya lowers her head and a small 'Hm' sounds from her throat.
- …
Deshya turns around and looks at the dead body. While they were in the other car, a gunshot rang out here. Thanks to her hearing, which is more developed than normal human ears, she was able to identify it as a gunshot despite the noise of the train and her lack of concentration on the driver's failure to stop. Deshya walks toward the scene of the murder and Tessa smiles.
- …
She says nothing and follows her, right behind her. The passengers don't shout anymore, but the fear is still in everyone's heart and one of them grabs Deshya before she can get near the body.
- W-What are you doing?!" the man shouts.
Deshya stops and looks towards the man who caught her. Tessa also stops behind her and watches him. He looks like he feels terrible, but that's not surprising, considering someone just died. Deshya turns to him.
- I just want to see what happened..." she admits.
- A-A little one like you...?" said the man, shocked.
- …
Deshya doesn't like to be called 'little', but she understands that from an adult's point of view, she is not very... big. She is a young girl who is still a teenager: she herself knows it very well. And yet…
- Exactly.
- D-Don't mess with me!
Suddenly, his tone changes and he becomes more aggressive. As he pulls Deshya towards him, Tessa hits him in the face with a quick fist and the man holds his left eye, dropping the girl in the fox sweater. The man clenches a fist.
- HUU—
- Shut up.
- !!!
Tessa grabs him by the collar and an enraged expression crosses her face. Her two eyes staring intently into the man's, she lets go:
- Who do you think you are, grabbing my friend like that?!
- T-Tessa…
The girl lets go by pushing the man and hesitates to him spit on him, but she swallows her saliva and clicks her tongue against her white teeth. Deshya smiles softly, but that same smile quickly disappears as she turns to the man's body. She goes closer to observe him better when—
- Hey, Deshya don't touch a corpse like that.
A hand grabs her wrist and Deshya turns her face towards the voice that has just spoken to her. An elderly lady, a little over fifty, with hair already white, is standing there. Deshya blinks and Tessa stops again, hands in her pockets.
- Do you know her, Deshya?" she asks.
Deshya observes her carefully: she has just pronounced her first name, so it must be a woman she knows. A friendly look and a long scarf around her neck, as well as hair reminiscent of Frie's, but with drooping strands on the other side of her face. It is also tied up, although the lady has a bouncy ponytail, unlike Frie's which is tied on the right side in a very particular way. Nice brown eyes and two earrings hanging from the lobes, the lady doesn't even try to hide the passing of time, proven by the wrinkles on her face. She wears navy blue jeans a little too tight and some kind of orange boots on her feet. With the gray vest on her body and the pinkish lipstick around her mouth, this woman proves that she knows how to have style. Deshya winks her eyes...
- ... Are you Frie's mother?" she asks.
Tessa giggles: she thought the same thing. After all, the lady's hair is similar to Frie's, just a little different in the way it's tied. Also, the side that falls in Frie's is on her left, but this lady is on her right. The woman still holding Deshya's wrist is blinking…
- ... F-Frie?
She tilts her head, having no idea who it is. She shakes her head and finally lets go of Deshya's wrist, a smile on her face.
- No, no, I know your father!" she admits.
Deshya gets up completely and observes the woman for a long time.
- My father...?
‘Gatito', Deshya's father, is not unknown, so this does not surprise him. However, not everyone knows Deshya because they know who Gatito is. From what she knows about him, he is not a man who would come and talk about his daughter — or even his family — to anyone except close people or the police. Besides, how can she be sure that she is Deshya...? Sure, she always wears a fox sweater, but she's not the only one who does. Yes, she is a redhead, but is it enough to affirm that she is Deshya...?
- ... I guess.
She says this to herself with an amused smile, but the woman stands up in turn and explains:
- My name is Annie, 'Annie Terru'. I am a doctor for the police of Tetazo.
The lady waves her ponytail and smiles as she looks at Deshya. Tessa whistles as she removes her hands from her pockets.
- Mademoiselle has contacts, I see!" joked Tessa.
Annie turns to her with a surprised expression.
- Joking in front of a crime scene... Strange girl.
- I am anything but normal!
Tessa smiles, proud of what she has said. Annie questions her with her eyes and Deshya lets out a nervous little laugh. Annie crouches down in front of the deceased, while the passengers look at each other, still afraid, but now also surprised. To see the woman show up like this and two teenage girls arrive on the scene when they weren't even in that car... It's all very special. Deshya crouches down in turn and Annie puts a hand in front of her. Deshya questions her with her eyes.
- I know that you are Gatito's daughter. I know that you are considered a genius at your school and I know that you solved a murder yesterday.
Annie turns her face toward her, a serious expression on it. It's clear she's not saying all this without thinking about her own words.
- But whoever shot him is still on that train; even worse, in that car. It's dangerous.
Her tone. Her expression. Her look. Everything about Annie makes Deshya realize that she can't do anything but take her seriously. She swallows loudly and Tessa, who has remained standing behind her, squints.
- The murderer is still in that car... Nobody got out?" she asks.
Annie turns her face to the girl with the long purple hair.
- Only the man who pushed you came out, but I'm sure he couldn't have done it, especially since his reaction was far too real. He was not in a position to kill him. Besides…
Annie now turns her face toward the door that might lead them to the next car, the fourth. The one that approaches the middle of the long train where they are.
- This door does not open. It is blocked.
- !!
- R-Really?
- YES!!!
As Deshya wonders, a woman screams. The girl in the fox sweater is startled and looks behind her. A woman points at Annie, tears in her eyes.
- S-She told us that we were not allowed to go out d anyway because the killer is here!!! But she is stupid!!!" said the woman.
- Stupid?! Calling me such a thing, mph.
Annie puffs out her cheeks, pouting. Deshya blinks and looks at the older woman, surprised.
- Shouldn't we evacuate everyone, instead?" asks Deshya.
Annie puts gloves on her hands and smiles.
- If everyone runs in any case, the criminal will surely escape from here without us finding out who it is. Plus, only car two and one are available, so there's not really any escape, when you think about it.
Annie clenches her fists and unclenches them several times before looking at the body of the deceased.
- Now that everyone is on guard, killing someone in this car is impossible, or they're going to get screwed," she explains.
With a serious expression, she observes the man's trunk. Deshya does the same and squints: a hole is in his jacket... right in front of his heart. Briefly—
- If he didn't care about getting caught, he would have simply killed without hiding, or at least not in the way he did.
- What do you mean?" asks Deshya.
- I haven't asked everyone what they saw yet, but no one seems to have observed anyone firing a gun in the car.
- I didn't see anything!
- No one got up…
- W-Who could have done this?!
People start getting excited in all directions again. Annie puts a hand under her chin, always observing the body in front of her.
- It's probably someone who wanted to kill this particular target for some reason and doesn't want to be caught. She plans to get off the train as soon as it stops, so if I let everyone get away, then whoever killed this man will get away with it.
Tessa crouched down in turn and squinted her eyes. This lady is a doctor and yet she talks like a real police woman. Sure, she said she was a doctor for the Tetazo Police Department, but she's still perceptive. Tessa still wonders if this is the best way to go... Annie clearly has a point and Tessa, nor Deshya, would dare contradict her, but is this really the safest plan? Tessa looks at the automatic door, which, it seems, doesn't open, and frowns.
- ...somethin’…
She keeps staring at that door.
- ... Somethin’ strange is happenin’ on this train…
Tessa thinks while Deshya talks with Annie.
- But how do you keep them all in the car...?" asks the teenager.
- Oh? Well, I'm still the police and these two gentlemen are helping me.
She points to two burly men. Their muscles are even visible through their shirts and heads to scare children.
- We won't let anyone out!!!" shouts one of them.
- A-Ah, I see…
Deshya lets out a nervous laugh before looking at the body again. She is a little disgusted by it, but it is not too... 'horrible' death.
- A bullet in the heart..." she thinks out loud.
- Exactly.
Annie is leaning over the body and observing it without touching it too much. Meanwhile, Tessa scans the train passengers from her position, still standing. Deshya also observes the corpse in front of her. It is a man who seems to be of a certain age, probably the same as her father; in short, in his forties. Blood is coming out of the wound and although Deshya can't tell exactly what the bullet pierced, she is certain of one thing: it killed him with one shot, penetrating his heart and punching a hole in it. Annie squints.
- One shot in the heart... He died directly," she observes.
- Do you know who could have killed him?" asks Deshya.
Annie turns to the mass of passengers toward the front of the car, from where Deshya and Tessa are coming.
- No one observed the killer in action and I was quietly reading the autobiography of an author I love, so I didn't pay attention... I was also distracted by the train that didn't seem to want to stop," she admits.
- We were just going to see the driver to see what's going on," says Tessa.
- …
Annie observes the colorful teenager without saying anything before getting up. Deshya remains crouched, looking at the doctor.
- ... I can discuss it with you, but sit here for a second.
Tessa and Deshya look at each other before going to sit next to each other. The man in front, a lack of tranquility on his face, observes them without really understanding what is going on.
- Deshya, I know you well and I know you're smart," Annie begins. However, we're talking about a real murder scene here.
This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
- I know, but—
- But what?
Deshya gets cut off in her sentence and Annie continues without giving her a chance to defend herself.
- You're just a 16 year old girl. And your friend…
- My name is Tessa Merossa, I am a member of the 'Fox Incorporated' of the Tetazo school.
- ... I see, I heard about it…
Annie crosses her arms.
- You are young and have no experience in the field; and even though you are both smart, there is a criminal in that car. Do you really think you can just look for clues and find out who the killer is without danger?
She stares at Deshya.
- You are the only daughter of a man I greatly respect. I can't put you at risk like this.
Deshya doesn't know what to say and Tessa doesn't see what she could possibly say back. Deshya slowly lowers her head, the words of the woman named 'Annie' creating a heavier and heavier weight over her head.
- I know you probably want to help, but even if I am a doctor, I work alongside the police. It's far too dangerous.
- …
Deshya still does not reply. Silent and with her head down. Annie waits a few moments and finally sighs: it seems that Deshya has understood.
However, the girl opens her mouth.
- ... I know, but…
Annie squints as she turns her gaze towards her. Deshya looks up.
- I can't just sit around with my arms crossed!" she says.
- D-Deshya!
- I know! I know...! I'm a young teenager who runs headlong into the ground thinking I'm invincible. I'm a young girl who thinks nothing will happen to her, but I can't sit still when I know a criminal, male or female, is on that train!
Although she seems to be shouting, Deshya speaks softly enough that only Tessa and Annie can hear; although one or the other passenger is listening too.
- I want to help!
Deshya stands up, Tessa and Annie staring at her with big eyes. Deshya's expression is determined, almost angry, her teeth clenched as well as her fists. Annie blinks, watching in the girl's expression…
- ... Eh.
Annie smiles, which surprises Deshya. The woman removes her scarf and places it on the table in front of Tessa before giving Deshya a determined expression of her own, albeit different than that of Gatito's daughter.
- You really look like your father.
- ... ?
- If you want to help, then make sure you find out who is behind this death.
Annie walks down the hallway and pulls a sign from her pocket.
- I am Annie Terru, I work for the police of Tetazo ! Anyone who makes the slightest suspicious move or leaves the car without my permission will be seen as a suspect!
Deshya turns to Tessa who shrugs her shoulders. The two teens stare at each other for a few moments before Deshya turns around, looking at Annie with a small smile.
- If you see anything strange or anyone acting suspiciously, report it to me directly. I promise you that we will catch whoever killed this man quickly!" ends Annie.
She tucks her sign into her coat pocket and turns back to the two teenage girls who stand up one after the other. Tessa crouches down in front of the dead body and rubs her chin.
- A bullet in the heart... It looks like the shot was pretty accurate, since it killed him in one shot," she notes.
Annie puts her hands in her coat pockets and stops in front of the body, just behind Tessa and Deshya.
- To make such a shot, the perpetrator must have taken his time to shoot, must have been certain that the target was not moving or was lucky.
- In any case, not everyone could make such a shot, right?" asks Deshya.
Annie nods at the young teenager's question.
- The people are all in their seats as they were at the time of the shooting, so we can remove from the list of suspects those who are sitting behind the victim, from the other row where I am sitting who do not have a proper angle to shoot or those who are sitting in the opposite direction.
- Nobody turned around to shoot, does that mean?
Annie shakes her head and looks around at the passengers talking to each other, some on their phones.
- Maybe someone turned around at the same time, but I didn't see it. However, no one seems to be reporting any suspicious gestures, so that means either no one turned around, or he's too scared to talk about it. Maybe threatened, even.
Deshya stands up and squints, scanning the train. She turns her face toward the seat where the man was killed. A woman with black hair and emerald eyes is standing next to the seat where the victim was sitting before he fell to the side, to the left, dying. Tessa gets up and brings her mouth to Deshya's ear; well, where her human ear should be.
- The three people next to him are the most likely to have killed him…
Deshya nods and squints at the dark-haired woman. She remembers seeing her in their car, behind the man with the selfie stick.
- W-What is it...?" the woman asks, noticing that the girl in the eared sweater is staring at her.
- A-Ah, nothing, sorry…
- T-That's not me!
- ... I did not say anything.
- …
The woman starts to tremble and bites her own nail; to be more precise, the one of her left thumb. Deshya pays no attention to this and looks at the two people in front. Another woman with red hair, though not as orange as Deshya's, and a bald man are both there. There is a good chance that the culprit is one of the three... but Deshya wonders if it is possible to kill the victim without being noticed.
- ... And if…
While she is in her thoughts, Tessa touches her shoulder. Deshya blinks and turns to her friend.
- We should ask the driver to stop the train before, shouldn't we?" suggests Tessa.
Deshya looks through the clean windows of the vehicle as she sees the scenery continue to roll by without the sign of an expected brake. Annie goes to the various passengers asking them if they saw anything and Tessa smiles. Deshya nods at her friend's question and tells her that they should go now, but Tessa shakes her head
- Why?" asks Deshya, surprised.
Tessa hides both her hands in her pants pockets and smiles, showing her beautiful white teeth.
- I told you before, right? We're just two teenage girls playing detective, but we're also two high school girls with brains that work a little bit more than the others, nothing else.
She makes a movement of the head that points to the white-haired woman.
- If you go with a real police woman, you're much more likely to get him to talk to you.
Deshya looks at Annie and smiles back.
- You are much smarter than me, I am ashamed…
Deshya waves to her and runs to Annie. Tessa gently lowers her eyelids as she watches her go, her fox tail wagging back and forth behind her back.
- Smarter, you say…
Tessa sighs.
- Don't say that... please.
Tessa turns to the body of the deceased and notices his face.
- ... Isn't he…
While Tessa is beside the corpse, Deshya arrives at the height of Annie. This last one notices the daughter of Gatito arriving beside her and turns to her.
- Did you find a clue?" asks Annie.
- No, Tessa pointed out to me that we should probably ask for the train to stop.
- It would not be stupid, but if the train stops, there is a chance that the culprit will take advantage of it…
- Let's at least warn the driver!
- …
Annie turns to the teenage girl who has just crouched down in front of the corpse, right next to the muscular men who promised Annie to watch the wagon. She rests her gaze again on Deshya's young face and then on the door that leads to the second car.
- …
Annie is in deep thought, Deshya right beside her waiting for her answer. If the lady doesn't want to go with her, then what will she do? Will the driver really agree to talk to her alone...? When she's just a teenager? Tessa has a point... and Deshya knows it. She hopes with all her heart that Annie will accept, otherwise, the mystery of the constantly moving train will not be solved right away. Annie looks at Deshya again and—
- All right. Let's make this quick.
— She accepts. This reassures Deshya who smiles and nods. Annie passes in front and observes one last time the two men who agreed to help her so that everything goes well in the wagon. One of them, seeing Annie leaving, shows her his thumb with a smile. Now a little more reassured, Annie passes the automatic door that leads to the second car, followed by Deshya. Both silent, they advance in the car where Deshya and Tessa come from, where some people are waiting. There are fewer people in this car than in the other one, but that is only by chance.
- W-What's going on?" asks a man.
- Is everything okay?" asks another.
- What's going on with this train?!" a woman shouts.
Ignoring them all, Annie continues her journey with Deshya, and that towards the first car; to then join the driver's cabin. Deshya passes by the two seats where Frie and Amora are, both next to each other.
- D-Deshya!" shouts Frie.
- Everything is going well?!" asks Amora.
Deshya brakes in front of them and smiles.
- We'll quickly talk to the conductor to see if we can stop the train, although I guess there's a big problem there," Deshya replied earnestly.
What she doesn't say is what she's thinking in the back of her head. She follows Annie with a specific concern. As she makes her way to the conductor's cabin, where the conductor should be checking that the train is okay,
Deshya wonders—
- Considering the situation... Considering that a murder has been committed while the train is not stopping…
— Deshya wonders if the train is being hijacked.
- …
If the driver is not really the driver, but a friend of the killer, then it means that all the passengers of this train are in danger. Deshya only thought about it when Tessa talked with her about stopping this train, but going with Annie is not simply the best solution; it's the only possible solution. She still doesn't know what the couple who went there saw or heard. Nevertheless, they both came back safe and sound, without injuries or trauma, just frustrated... So Deshya is hopeful that nothing bad happened. A lack of response from the driver, perhaps?
- But that doesn't mean anything good... Tsk.
Deshya squints in frustration and, just behind the woman who is friends with her father, she walks through the door into the next car. She notices that this one is already more crowded than the second one, as well as the third one where the murder was committed. They don't seem to be too bothered, so they must not know what happened a few minutes before.
- Don't say anything," Annie says softly.
- I know," Deshya replies directly.
They cross the car silently, avoiding the eyes of the many passengers. Some are angry and others impatient, probably because the train never stops. Deshya puts her hands in the pockets of her sweater and slowly lowers her head. They arrive in front of the door that leads to a part that is neither car nor cabin; the 'corridor' before arriving at the place where they have to go. Deshya swallows loudly, the stress becoming more and more noticeable. What will they find in the cabin...? A real driver... or a traitor? Annie arrives in front of the closed door of the cabin and, before knocking on it, talks to Deshya without looking at her.
- If I tell you to run or if I sense danger, you run right away, okay?" she said.
- Of course.
- Before you ask me, I already contacted your father that the train is not stopping, but I haven't heard back from him yet.
Deshya squints. A lack of response from her father means he is either busy or has lost his phone; but sometimes he can be quiet when a very complicated situation is in his hands. The other trains on this track are all canceled, so maybe...!
- Okay.
Annie knocks on the window where a man is standing in front of a dashboard and another even bigger window so he can see what's in front of him. The man hears the noise in the window and turns around. Deshya is behind Annie, ready to flee if necessary, while the female doctor remains unmoved. The man approaches the window quite slowly and Annie shows her police sign. This greatly surprises the man who takes a step back.
- !
Annie squints, ready to warn Deshya, but—
- Y-You're really from the police?!
The man opens the door, which can only be opened from inside the cabin or with a key that only he has. Annie nods, still on her guard.
- Exactly.
- ... Y-You've been alerted to what's going on, so... ?
- What's going on...?
Annie frowns and Deshya stands up. The man looks at the girl behind the woman, but does not question her about herself. Sweating on his face and looking unquiet, the man lowers his head, grinding his teeth. Deshya notices that he is shaking.
- What's going on...?" she asks herself.
Given his expression, his lack of aggression and his words, Deshya assumes that he is not a traitor, but the real driver. However, now she wonders what he is talking about. He returns to the dashboard and lets the two girls into the cabin. Annie closes the door behind her just in case and the man sighs, lowering his head as much as possible.
- What the fuck..
He lets out an expletive, on the verge of tears. Annie approaches him and stands beside him.
- Can you tell me what's going on?" she asks gently, with a friendly tone.
The man turns his face towards her.
- …
He sighs again and sits down in his chair. Deshya stands next to Annie.
- ... I can't stop this train…
- But why?" asks Deshya, intrigued.
- …
The man places his own head in his hands, a few tears forming in his eyes.
- W-Why me... why…
- What's going on...?" asks Annie.
- ... I got... We got a message from the station manager. Just two minutes after the departure of this train, after the station at Tetazo…
The man closes his eyes, a tear running down his cheek.
- I-I…
His arms are shaking, his head still in his hands.
- I-If I stop or brake this train... bombs planted here will explode... killing us all!!!