Night of the Aurora (Salmon Run - Book 1)

Chapter 7

The warmth of the clothes and the heater should have lulled him right to sleep. Hawk could feel his muscles relaxing after the stress of the day. And yet, he couldn't relax at all.

He knew why. So much preparation, quitting the old job, all the travel. And now they were close. So very close.

All the doubts were welling up, a dark voice telling him he might have made the biggest mistake of his life. And he'd dragged Zach along for the ride.

"The Aurora is out," Sasha said, pointing out the window. "It's bright tonight."

Hawk leaned over to look out the window with Zach. Dancing ribbons of greens danced across the sky. In the distance the snow-covered peaks to the mountains reflected the color. An injection of red appeared on one side of the sky, quickly moving across. 

The movements were hypnotizing. The lights danced as if alive. They grew in intensity, an occasional spike of blue appearing among the green and red. With it the light reflecting off the snow increased, illuminating the landscape around them.

"A person wouldn't need a flashlight out in that," Hawk said.

"Not during a powerful display like this," Sasha said.

The trees and snow around the bus disappeared to be replaced with the glint of a river. A large metal object rose up over the road in front of them. The trusses of an old-style bridge flashed by as the bus continued down the road.

"The Copper River, biggest in the area," Grandpa Neeley said. "The 'Million Dollar Bridge' was used in the early 20th century for trains loaded with copper ore."

Hawk wondered just how safe it was after being in service for so long.

"And now it gives access to the Solar Express terminal." Sasha bent down and Hawk heard the rustling of shopping bags. "It won't be long now."

A series of small islands and smaller bridges followed the long bridge. On the other side the road wound up to higher ground. The dancing aurora led the way, lighting up the road. The bus rounded a tight corner and began to slow down. 

A turn off the small road led to an opening in the trees. A small log cabin sat next to a raised rail track. The bus swung around before Hawk could get a very good look at the odd shaped contraption sitting on the rails.

The moment the bus was stopped the people around them stood up and started heading for the front door with their bags, boxes and assorted treasures from Cordova.

Hawk took a deep breath and stood up once the initial rush was over. 

Sasha piled several bags onto her seat. "These are yours. I'll meet you inside."

Hawk grabbed several of the bags while Zach fished the last of them out from under their seat. "Ready?"

Zach nodded. "I want to see the lodge. I'll feel better then."

Grandpa Neeley shouted at the boys in the back of the bus as Hawk followed Zach and Sasha out of the bus, stepping off on compacted snow. At the back of the trailer was a bustle of activity as the boxes, luggage and supplies were unloaded. He spotted their well-wrapped boxes and luggage on a ski-cart going towards the train.

The train stopped him from going back to help with the luggage. All he could do was stand and stare.

A long engine with rounded side appendages reminded him of the stylings of antique cars. The colors of the aurora danced along the smooth lines of the engine as they blended into the first of three passenger cars hooked directly behind it. Between each of the cars an accordion-like attachment connected each car to the other, giving the train the appearance of a smooth metal segmented snake. 

Two enclosed cargo cars trailed the passenger cars, matching the design of the rest of the train. A ramp extended to the ground from the first one, where Hawk saw their luggage going up. At the very end trailed two flat cars carrying several automobiles.

Pinpoints of white and red lights dotted a path along the base and roof of the train. Children and dogs ran in and out of one of the doors open in the middle passenger car. 

Grandpa Neeley stopped next to him, cocking his head at the train. "Beautiful thing, isn't it?"

He nodded. "I've never seen anything like it."

"Designed and built by the late Edwin Bardeaux. Once he moved in he took the town as his own. He's greatly missed." Grandpa Neeley looked up at him, his eyes twinkling in the light of the dancing aurora. "I have a feeling the wise ravens brought you among us in the same fashion."

Hawk watched the man walk away, not sure what he should feel about that. He hadn't even stepped foot in the town yet, and someone was saying such a thing?

"The people here are strange," Zach said.

Hawk nodded in agreement. A horn from the front of the train tooted. 

Sasha waved from the door into one of the passenger cars, "Come on! Time to go!"

Zach ran ahead while Hawk followed more slowly. He'd always liked trains as a kid, and the Solar Express looked like a dream come true, but where it would take them worried him.

Letting out a pent-up breath he strode towards the train. It was time to tell the dark voice to shut up. What would be would be.

He stepped up into the train, turning into one of the cabins. Zach had already grabbed a seat next to the big windows and was in the process of putting their bags in a compartment near the ceiling.

Hawk froze when he heard a deep woof behind him. Turning his head slowly he found Darnit looking up at him with the horrible toothy grin he'd used the first time. Slowly, he stepped out of the aisle.

Darnit padded further into the train followed by McRoyal.

A male computer voice said over an intercom system, "The Solar Express is departing the Cordova terminal in exactly four minutes. Please board and find your seats."

Hawk looked up at the ceiling in surprise. At least, it sounded like a computer voice. Somewhat.

"Problem?" McRoyal asked as he sat down across the aisle. Darnit reappeared from the back of the compartment to take the seat next to him.

"Before coming up here I was a programmer. I've never heard a computer voice with such precise pronunciations and still keep the inflections. Is it a recorded voice?"

"It's a computer." He leaned back into his seat. "Let me know when we get there."

"Cool computer voice," Zach said. He shrugged out of his coat. "And plenty warm in here."

Hawk eyed Darnit while the dog eyed him back, his tongue rolling out of the side of his mouth. Why couldn't McRoyal sat with his dog a few aisles to the back or front?

A shrill whistle sounded. Darnit looked up at the ceiling and barked.

"The Solar Express is departing the Cordova terminal in exactly one minute. Please board and find your seats."

The driver of the bus waved at them as the outer doors swung closed. Another whistle and announcement accompanied a final countdown. With a soft tug forward, the train moved away from the terminal. 

To the light of the aurora, the small roads and cabins disappeared for the wilds of pure Alaska wilderness.

The train picked up speed, following the track as it made a wide arc. He didn't expect to see so much scenery at night, but the colored dancing lights of the sky illuminated it all. The snow machine tracks along the side of the railroad tracks. The low hills covered in trees leading to the rough peaks of the mountains. Higher in the hills he spotted the warm light of a cabin hidden in the trees.

The sharp 'pong' from the center aisle set his heart to racing. Snapped back into the reality of the inside of the passenger car, he searched out the source of the sound.

He found it in the yellow round form of a basketball bouncing down the aisle.