The train accelerated .

It was not smooth. Or it was, but it felt like it shouldn't be smooth.

Let me start over.

You know when you're on a rusty bike? There is a certain grab to the bike chain as you pedal forward.Then there comes a point when you get it to speed, and the rusty chain is moving well, but there is this sense that if you slow down, the chain will lock up again.

That's what it was like. The people all sat down, and buckled, as the train released a whistle that was soft inside the carriage, but assuming it was similar to the whistle I heard earlier, outside it must be very loud. The noise protection must be pretty good in this thing.

Hawthorn was back to his stern face self. I didn't know if it was concern for Yu Lin or that his face hurt from smiling earlier, there was a tinge of pain in his eyes.

The train shifted and shuddered as we started to gain speed.

"Um...how fast does this train go?" I asked.

Hawthorn had dark, hooded eyes, distracted by dark thoughts. Worry about Yu Lin, then. "This train at it's fastest? Very quickly. They have to slow it down, least it breaks the sound barrier."

Breaking the sound barrier was something we did with jets in my world.

Holy Steam Punk, did they worry about breaking the sound barrier in a freckin' train?

"Breaking the sound barrier?"

"Oh...the sound barrier...how to explain it..." He looked like that favorite uncle that was always nervous around small children but the small children loved best, much to your parents amusement and your uncle's consternation as the little kids swarm him with dollies and story books. "It is the point which a vehicle equals and then surpasses the speed of sound. But as the vehicle approaches the barrier, there is a sharp increase in drag and other effects make it difficult and costly to continue. We won't get nearly to those speeds, but we will go a good deal faster." He said, with extra British.

I almost pulled out my phone to look up how fast the speed of sound traveled.

But I didn't want Hawthorn to see my phone, just yet.

Also, I doubted there was internet.

And also also, how did I know the speed of sound was constant here, in this alternate reality? Sounds like a goofy question, but... The speed of sound on Earth was something crazy fast, like over 300 miles a second (Darn you, myself, for not committing basically anything to memory). I struggled to conceptualize a world where there was a train track long enough for a train to accelerate to that pace. If the steam was something different than water vapor, there may be more at work here.

If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

And there was a reason people on Earth didn't use steam, since internal combustion engines had a higher power-to-weight ratio compared to steam engines. Internal combustion can generate more power relative to their weight and size, making them more efficient and easier to install in smaller space.

So either these people were able to create 3d interactive pocket watch smart phones but were too dumb to make an internal combustion engine, or there was another reason. It could be that this world had no fossil fuels. It could also mean that "steam" wasn't just water vapor. It might not have the same characteristics of steam on Earth. I could not rule out that the very laws of physics were different here, just slightly.

While I was thinking big girl nerd thoughts, I understood what Hawthorn meant when he said the train wasn't up to speed yet.

The engine shifted and hissed, and the passengers all gripped their seats.

And we actually accelerated.

And I suddenly wondered if it would have been better had I stay with creepy puppy kicking guy.

This was not as smooth as those fancy Japanese trains. There was this feeling of a snake running loose beneath you, that the rails may not hold you.

"Look outside." Hawthorn said.

I looked out the window, and then we left the cover of the Dickens city.

And then we were zipping through some kind of forest. If we weren't going so fast, I got the feeling that I might have seen some cool stuff.

"How far is Scotland Yard? I mean, Central Yard?" I corrected myself.

"Not far. Just a train ride, twenty minutes."

"But how far, if we were to walk?"

He cuffed. "Miss, it's over a hundred miles between the hubs of the city."

Okay...I was starting to get worried about being able to find my way back home. Also, if a twenty minute train ride would cover a hundred miles...we were going to go very fast. "Why is it so far?"

Hawthorn straightened his silvery tie, thinking. "This isn't like the County continent. The steam is naturally occurring only in a few places. Without the steam, nothing gets powered. No trains, no fob watches, no deliplex."

I had no idea what the deliplex was, but I was hoping it involved a deli with free samples.

The train made a hard, jerking movement, and we all were pulled tight against the harnesses. There was hissing and whooshes, and grinding, and the train rattled to a stop.

A few people had them partially unlatched, and they were shoot forward and out. The richly decorated interior, all dark woods and lime green, did not have much padding.

The good news, these people bleed red. So...probably humans! (I hope).

The bad news: There were people bleeding and hurt.

"This isn't good." Hawthorn said, throwing off his seatbelt as the train shuddered and halted.

"They're hurt."

"Miss, you must be truly affected by the steam." He said, his clipped accent sharp. "Why don't we ever stop in the forest without a wayfinder?"

I hated being in a situation were I had no idea what was coming. I went through several scenarios in my head, each more ridiculous than the last. I stopped my racing mind on Barney jumping out and attacking us. Then I realized Hawthorn was waiting for me to answer, and I got nervous. "Because a giant dinosaur will eat us?" I said, throwing out the most random thing i could think of.

"Exactly. The train stopped. And now there is blood."

Wait....

I was being a brat.

Dinosaurs were real?

I am ready to go back to Earth please. I'm sorry I was thinking mean thoughts that those 3d pocket watches were cooler than smart phones.

Earth, take me back.