The Train's Child

A New Target

Amelia Hughes - Point of View

I turned around to face the door that led into the next car. My boots were sticky from the purple slime all over that damned turtle car. I turned to my tablet and took notice of my number. The 376 on my jaw was now 231. I sighed lightly and used the red light from the scanner to force the door open.
I crossed the bridge and twisted the handle on the next car, where I was instantly greeted with a devastating mess.
The entire room was filled with stray flames, oil stains, broken glass, spray paint across the walls and the door handle was broken.
I sighed and rubbed my eyes. Another car to fix. Whoever was doing it was getting on my last nerve.
The car was something related to cameras. I remember One making it, creating a system for the denizens in the car. "Red was for people with video cameras, and blue was for people with photo cameras!" He said in a chirpy tone.

I noticed a null laying lifeless near a pile of broken metal bits.
I kneeled down and looked at it's tired eyes.
"What happened here?" I asked.
It coughed very loudly and rolled over to look me in the eyes.
"The Apex. They came in and took over and ruined everything." it told me in a weepy voice.
I tilted my head, "The hell is an Apex?" I asked.
"I-I don't know, they told me that's what they called themselves." it answered.
I kept my eyes on the null, taking pity.
I took a metal pipe from nearby, with intentions of putting it out of its misery.
I lifted the pipe above my head, the null looking back at me in defeat.
That was when I heard my tablet beep.
I set the metal pipe down and took it from my bag, and noticed a red dot approaching quickly from another car. Odd.
I paced back and forth across the burning stage, scratching my head.
"There wasn't a single person showing up for miles before..." I thought.

I was performing routine maintenance on each car I could find. One-One would usually put me in a car that needed fixing, but he was updating information.
The red dot on the scanner began moving quicker towards me. I held onto the pipe for safety.
I kept hearing the null's cries in despair and my tablet beeping quicker as time went on. I felt my heart begin to race and my legs telling me to run to the next car.
I decided to duck down underneath a row of chairs to make sure I wasn't vulnerable. I kept my hand close to my taser.

Then, after a few seconds, the doors opened.
Simon stepped forward.
I sent Samantha to him to ensure he wouldn't turn out like his mother, who was there before him and wheeled herself.
His number had climbed up his neck, and was peeking out of his hairline and scrolled across the lower half of his face.
He was bleeding from multiple places on his body, his white shirt splattered with it.
The squiggly red line etched over his nose was smudged. He looked sweaty and out of breath.
He wore a long coat that draped off of his shoulders like a cape. He walked further into the car and started searching for something.
Maybe that something was me.

I kept my breathing still and held onto my taser, prepared to strike if he put a hand on me.
He looked behind curtains, kicked aside broken pieces of metal, threw aside dead denizens, tore down wooden props, and hopped over the rows of chairs. He was nearing my row, so I stood up and held out the taser.
He stopped short and an unsettling smile spread across his face. The numbers continued to scroll over his crazed eyes.
He laughed lightly and jumped over another row, pulling out his own gun. It had a long barrel and seemed to be bent out of shape.
"I  don't know what you're doing, boy, but I wouldn't try anything." I warned him.
He closed his eyes and chuckled again.
"I know what you did, Amelia. I know what you fucking did to my mom. Samantha told me everything. She told me it was your fault I'm stuck here forever. Well, now, I'm gonna make it worth my while." he clenched his fingers over the trigger and clicked. A long, sharp dart came barreling out of the gun and headed straight towards me. My barrier deflected the dart, and it went bouncing right back to him. The dart stuck into the ground. Simon picked it up and reloaded it inside his gun.
"Listen, I can't take back what she told you, but I'm telling you I didn't cause her fate." I replied, barely flinching from his move.
I pulled the trigger on my taser and the nodes launched out of the pistol.
Simon seemed to move out of the way faster than light. He hopped over two more rows until he was in the one right behind me.
Then, before I could act, he rushed up beside me and grabbed the back of my belt. He tore the entire thing off of my waist and tossed it behind him. I gasped in surprise and ran to the end of the aisle. He followed after me, reaching out and grabbing the back of my hair.
"Not so tough now without that belt, are you?"He pressed the barrel of the gun against my neck. I struggled against his grip and kicked him in the face. Taking a metal bar, I swung and hit him right in the ribs.
His gun flew right out of his hand and the wind was knocked out of him. He collapsed against the chairs.
I ran out of the car doors and crossed the bridge. I left my belt behind but he still had it in his hand when I escaped, so there was no getting it back.
I took my tablet from my bag and tried to call for One-One.
"One-One? Please, answer me. We have a ballistic passenger...Simon...he attacked me. We have to stop him before he hurts me or someone else." I said, still running through the previous car. It had switched out, and was filled with different variations of pasta.
The doors opened and Simon walked in with a slight limp. He had the belt on him and walked at a fast pace in my direction.
No response from One-One. He was still on standby. I groaned and put the tablet back in my bag.
I took a piece of spaghetti from the car walls and bent it into the shape of a blade. I ducked under a pile of pasta shaped like a pyramid and tried to figure out my next move.
I heard him in the car with me, tearing every inch of pasta he could.
"Come out here and face me, bitch! You killed my mom, you sure can take me on! Come on!" he roared at me.
I kept on trying to get in contact with the engine to no avail.
That was when I heard the pasta behind me crack into pieces and the pyramid collapsed. Simon stood over me with the number going all the way up his face at that point. He grabbed me by the arm and forced me onto my feet. He pinned my arm behind my back and put me in a headlock. I elbowed him in the jaw and tried to pull away.
I realized running wouldn't solve anything. I decided to loosen up and stop struggling. I would let him win this round, hoping I could get through to him. I had to tell him the truth.
"Simon, you have to listen to me..." I began. He grabbed the front of my neck and shoved me to the ground, slamming my head on the floor.
My vision went blurry and my ears were ringing. I decided I can't talk to him now. I sat on my knees and held my hands up.
He looked at me and shook his head in disbelief, a smirk at the corner of his mouth.
"Really? You're just gonna give up like that? Well, if that's the case..." I heard the sound of clicking from below me. "I believe you are all mine."
I glanced down and tried to brace myself. Then, he grabbed my shirt and yanked me forward. He slammed my head into the wall, pricked my skin with the needle, and I couldn't remember the rest.

A/N: I understand this may be a lot of bad choices on Simon's part, but reminder this is an alternate ending to book three, so redemption is coming! I do not support Simon or is canon actions but I just wanted to write an ending of my own!