The wisp first turned to face the person who he had been resting on, shock blue eyes wide. It had been a while since he’d really talked to anyone, let alone had another person concerned for his well being. Occasionally the dead would talk with him, but it took a certain kind of person to care about someone else when facing the end of their own mortality. He felt his eyes sting a little, but he scrambled to keep himself together.
“I… yeah. But… you guys aren’t dead. I would be able to tell if that were the case,” the flame body said, patting the nice lady’s thumb in an attempt to be what he hoped was comforting. “People who are alive keep on ending up here- but… I’m going to fix that too! So um. Don’t worry!”
He swallowed, ever aware of the vibrations shocking through the train. At first he’d mistaken it for the girl shaking, but… there was no use denying it anymore. Those lumbering steps drawing ever closer belonged to his friend, and he wasn’t going to calm down or stop once he got here. His chest sunk as he realized he would have to fight him. There was no way he’d be able to win, so the best thing Charon could do is make sure they were out of harm’s way once he did catch up. Tears stung at his eyes again, but he pulled them back into his body as soon as he could.
Why? Why now? Even if by some miracle he managed to stop him then- he’d be all alone again. With no one to visit, it’d be just him on that boat.
Just as he started to lose his focus, he saw a something come into view. A pinky? He looked up to identify the owner, eyes filled with tears. Charon stood by, listening to her with the utmost attention, his pained heart becoming just a little more full of hope. Even if he was just a tiny spark of fire, she thought he could do this. And he knew he could, because even if it seemed hopeless, she believed in him. She thought he could save everyone, including his friend. He wasn’t alone anymore. Nodding, he wiped away his tears one last time before taking her pinky in both of his tiny hands.
“I… I’ll do it. I promise!”
He took a deep breath, stood on both legs and straightened up. Whatever was doing this stuff, it was kidnapping people, hurting his friend, and all of these humans too! He couldn’t just stand by or run away anymore. These guys were counting on him- everyone was! Swallowing, he burned the knot of the rope tethering the golden compass to his body. It’s soft beating against his heart always made him feel safe, but if he had to fight it would only weigh him down, and he needed every advantage he could get.
"Um, hold on to this, okay? It’s silly but, I’ve always thought it was pretty lucky."
He placed the compass into the nice lady’s palm. It was a pale gold disc with a slight protrusion on the outside to indicate north. But where it would usually have directions on the inside, a gold sword with a face stood on an elaborately decorated wheel. The side most arrows that made the object function as a compass were a deep royal blue. As the compass was moved they quivered as if waiting for more direction.
Jumping down from the girl’s palm, the wisp chose to float above ground as to avoid the tremors which were steadily becoming worse. The people in the seats surrounding remained glued to their locations, unaffected by the tremors entirely. If one were to inspect them closely, they would notice fleshlike roots growing from their skin, adhering them to their places. The silver haired boy who had been knocked unconscious remained limp, body at mercy to the tremors which shook him. Only a few seconds later a low growl began to fill the tunnels and permeate the train car, signaling that the wisp’s friend was moving much faster than any of them could have anticipated.
Alarmed at this, the little blue flame body darted through the air in the direction of the engine room.
“Let’s go- we don’t have any more time! He’s going to be coming from the back, so we need to hurry!”
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