The Railroad

Chapter 21

Once they'd come to the conclusion that they needed rest before they arrived in the city in order to save their energy for whatever they may encounter inside, they sat up against the side of the train. The route from Tabor City, where they'd boarded, to Raleigh would take approximately an hour and a half, so Dream and George had a whole ninety minutes with nothing else to worry about but one another.

"Do you have a favorite flower?" George asked quietly while playing with Dream's hand.

"Probably a lily, just going off the first thing that comes to mind," Dream answered, keeping his eyes closed and his head on George's.

"Really, a lily? That's so basic," George chuckled.

"Well what's yours?"

"A calendula (tehe), probably."

"I have no idea what that is. You could probably have said any random assortment of letters and I would've been none the wiser. "

"It's a flower I saw in Germany when my family went there vacation one year. It's really pretty: I fell in love with it as soon as I saw it. Wilbur actually got me a painting of one for my birthday that year, and no one else understood but us. It was actually kinda funny; it became sort of an inside joke."

"Oh, come on now. Don't make me add a flower to my list, princess."

They both burst out laughing. It was a laugh that lasted five or so minutes and ended with both boys clutching their stomachs that hurt from all the hysterical giggling. They never had a dull moment, did they? They also never had the time that they wanted to spend together, because soon the train could be felt slowing beneath them.

"Crap, they shouldn't be stopping already," Dream mumbled, gently pushing George off of his lap so he could stand and then carefully made his way to the door of the car. "I can see the wall. They're probably doing another check of the content to make sure that nothing is in here that shouldn't be. AKA, us."

He pulled his leather jacket back on over his brown coat, slipping the hood on once the mask had been resecured on his face. Then he slung his bag over his shoulder and grabbed George's hand, yanking him up and over to where there was a stack of crates in the far corner.

"What are you doing?" George asked after Dream had moved them into the small space between the side of the car and the wall of crates.

"Whatever happens, stay behind me. Alright?"

George simply nodded. He knew better than to argue, and the blond had adopted the tone he used when he was being serious. He was gripping the gun tightly with one hand, and in the other he was holding the cold fingers of the brunet. Before turning to the opening of the car, he leaned down and gently kissed the smaller's forehead.

"Be quiet and we may be able to get out of this without having to hurt anyone."

Somehow, this was scarier than anything he'd endured on this trip thus far. Perhaps it was because with all of those other times, it had only really been himself who was in trouble, but now Dream was with him. And, at this point, it was obvious that he would protect George no matter the cost. That thought and that thought alone made this the scariest moment of George's life. After all, if Dream was hurt it would be entirely his fault.

Deep male voices echoed into the car, hitting the metal walls and rebounding off them. The accents were very southern, a common thing for those living in North Carolina. One was closer, probably the one who was inspecting the car, and the other was further, most likely who he was working with.

For a split second, George thought he might walk away without actually getting inside. But, of course, as luck would have it, Dream stepped back ever-so-slightly, and accidentally knocked over one of the crates, causing the contents to spill out and a loud bang to smother any other noises. Both boys froze, awaiting the words that would signal that they'd been discovered.