Scylla House

Chapter 2

"Scylla House?" Adrian asked in confusion.

"Scylla House," the conductor nodded. "That's the only place it goes, and it never takes anyone back. 'Cept for me, of course," he added thoughtfully. "Don't know how tha' happens."

"Where is it?"

"Oh, I dunno. 'Round somewhere."

Adrian gaped. "You don't know where your train goes?"

The conductor shook his head. "Not my train, kid. I jus' work on it. 'Nyway, 's hard to judge distance here."

"In here? Where is here?" Adrian glanced around frantically, feeling panic start to well up again.

The conductor shrugged, his suspenders creaking like they were about to rip. "Don't know. Best guess I can figure is tha' it's som'ere on the edge of things. In between."

"Between what? And how do I get back?"

Turning, the conductor gestured to the Charon Express. "Couldn't tell you. But that beautiful lady right there is th' only way off this platform."

"What if I don't get on?" Adrian asked. "What if I just stay here?"

"You'd probably die."

"What?"

"Like I said, if you were already dead, you'd be where dead people go, not here," the conductor replied, spreading his arms to indicate the train station. "Nuffin edible 'round here, so you'd probably starve. 'Less you got unlimited food in those bags of yours," he laughed, gesturing to the trolley.

"But how–"

"Aren't you the inquisitive one," the conductor commented. "More inquisitive than some o' th' others."

"Others?"

"Kids. Like you. With tickets. Show up every so often, I take them up to Scylla House." He pulled a battered pocket watch from his pants. "Should be headin' out soon," he added. "Won't be pleasant if we idle."

"What will happen if we idle?" Adrian asked worriedly.

"Don't know," the conductor responded, picking up a suitcase from the trolley. "Haven' stuck around t' find out. 'Magine 's wha' happened to my predecessor."

"What happened to your predecessor?"

"Like I said, I don't know," the conductor snapped, then muttered something under his breath. Adrian thought he heard the words 'kids these days' and 'Yankees.' "Now, gonna help me wif these bags or not? Train's gonna leave soon, and you wasted all our time yappin', so if we've not got these suitcases on her in a few minutes or so, she'll leave us behind. And you don't want to find out what happens to those who stick around, do you?"

Adrian did not. Quickly, he grabbed a suitcase and a backpack off of the trolley and followed the conductor towards the death train.

The conductor was standing by one of the doors, a huge arched beast of a gate, pulling on a heavy chain that creaked and clattered as it pulled a screaming, protesting portcullis upwards. With one final heave, the conductor pulled the portcullis into position, and when he let go of the chain, the portcullis held. That didn't stop Adrian from watching it nervously as he handed his backpack and Cameron's suitcase over the break in the platform and into the train.

Cameron's suitcase. They'd stacked both of their luggage onto the trolley to make it look more dramatic, but now... Adrian imagined Cameron alone on the platform, holding his phone, panicking as his best friend vanished into a solid wall with all of their luggage. He hoped Cameron's parents found him before Cameron got too worked up.