It comes with the calling.
If they are forced to choose between
losing the train, and losing the train and dying,
a true conductor chooses to die.
Humanity needs the trains far more
than it needs cowards.
—Sandy Pullman, Lecture
She couldn’t keep it up any longer. She shoved the needles the rest of the way into the Lancer's skull, threw the pillow aside, and ran to the side door she’d used to enter. Just as she reached it, she heard the door to the next car opening. She threw herself out, doing her best to slide the heavy door in place as quietly as she could.
Still, it made a loud click as it locked into place. Violet cursed inwardly, her heart pounding as she made her escape. It hadn’t been as clean as she’d have liked. She wouldn’t know how well it had worked for several minutes yet. She could evaluate everything she’d done after the dust settled. Once she knew for sure that Stephanie was nothing more than a corpse, and that her other little trap had worked.
It wasn’t as clean as Caitlyn’s death, but that had simply been luck. This at least had some sort of plan behind it, even if it had been another crime of opportunity in its own right. She took a few deep breaths as she rushed to the door to the front train. She wiped Stephanie’s blood off her hands and onto her jeans. It would mix in with her own well enough. She had to hope whoever was opening the door hadn’t noticed the other exit closing. It was possible what noise she'd made had been covered up by the other door, or was assumed to be caused by it.
She looked at her hands in frustration—until she realized what she’d nearly forgotten. Scowling, she summoned two new knives, ensuring the needles in Stephanie’s skull would disintegrate. That was another uncertainty she’d have to worry about. They’d been lodged deep inside the woman’s head, enough that they wouldn’t be seen at first glance. But in the likely event that her bleeding ears were examined, the red crystal would be quickly discovered.
She wasn’t overly worried about this. It was unlikely anyone who’d just discovered a body would immediately examine it so closely, if they even realized it was dead the moment they walked in. Violet had only let the evidence linger for a few seconds altogether before she destroyed it. She was frustrated with herself for the brief oversight, just for allowing her control of the situation to lapse. But she'd expected a tight timeline, and she’d managed to fit what she needed to do into it.
As she hurried to the entrance of the main car, she felt an increasingly familiar euphoria. That rush of clarity and power as a life ended because of her. It tasted like ambrosia, and this kill especially so. She felt nearly no guilt at all, despite the brutality of the death. Stephanie hadn’t just deserved death, but Violet had saved the other students when she arranged for it. Rather than guilt, she felt a unique flavor of pride. An arrogance she could never share, but one that straightened her spine nonetheless.
It was a feeling she was starting to crave again, even as it flooded her veins. It was the cure to every powerless moment she’d ever felt. Every degradation and denial. She was in control. Complete, undeniable control. It felt like dawn.
As her vision sharpened, she could tell her degree had changed again. Not nearly as much as the first time, despite the similar degree of her target. She shrugged that off, however. She could examine it later. For the time being, she had to secure her safety. She needed someone else to be responsible for the lancer’s death. She rubbed her hands against her jeans one final time, then climbed back onto the train.
As she opened the door, she was greeted by a crowd of worried faces, including a man she hadn’t met yet. That made sense, considering the discovery they had no doubt just made. She was mildly confused to find everyone in the main car. Only Stephanie was missing, so no one was examining the body at all. From the boy she hadn’t met properly, to Alex and Chase, and finally Aubrey and Guy. With the conductor joining the group, Violet was the last living member to arrive.
“Hey, Violet,” Guy greeted almost cheerfully. “Good news; we’re all fucked.” Violet grabbed her right bicep with her left hand, chuckling nervously as she suppressed a wince.
“Could you maybe take one thing seriously, for Christ’s sake?” Aubrey snapped.
“Or maybe you could let people process and cope with shit however they like?” Kiera spat back.
“No, no, she’s right,” Guy agreed. His face fell, and a pall descended on him. His voice lowered to a somber tone, and he locked his eyes on Violet like a man seeing a corpse for the first time. “Hey, Violet. Good news; we’re all fucked.”
Violet scanned the various faces in the room as she closed the door behind her, and Aubrey continued to reprimand Guy. Alex was still scared. Chase was, too. The kid in the hoodie seemed bored while the other three volunteers argued. The unfamiliar conductor looked like a man who had aged a dozen years in a day. It was oddly amusing to Violet—how the most energetic people in the room were also the only ones bleeding.
“Come now, Guy. No need for the foul language. Besides, surely it’s not all that bad. We won, didn’t we? We beat the swarm! We got some scrapes and bruises for the trouble, but those can be healed. We should be celebrating, right?” Violet finally responded. Something was off about their response to Stephanie’s death, and she couldn’t put her finger on what. The conductor finally spoke up before she could work through it.
“As I was explaining to the other students, we didn’t get enough clarity from the pylon. We can’t make it to the next station,” he explained. He didn’t bother sugarcoating the reality, and nearly every student winced as he said it. Violet was the only one hearing it for the first time, and she’d had reason to suspect as much before hearing him say it. But they all winced nonetheless. In Violet’s case, she wasn’t particularly surprised. If they’d been likely to get what they needed, Stephanie probably wouldn’t have panicked and tried to run with the group’s scout.
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
She was, however, alarmed that no one mentioned Stephanie at all. She scanned the car again, recounting heads as she did. The only person missing was the second conductor, and supposedly, one of the two would always be in the engine, no matter what. But she was certain someone had been entering the bunk car when she’d left it. With the way Stephanie had been thrashing, it was nearly impossible that anyone could have slipped in and out without noticing anything. With everyone back in the car, they should already have known the lancer was dead.
It was true that the trapped train was a crisis, but Violet doubted that everyone could focus so single-mindedly on solving it without even mentioning the dead women a few yards away. Not seconds after they’d learned about it. The only explanation Violet could think of was that whoever had found the body had chosen to wait to tell anyone. It was probably not a terrible idea, all things considered. Still, Violet didn’t like it. She hated the unknown. She loathed the idea that someone else had their hand on the wheel alongside hers.
Someone in the car knew something she didn’t, and she hated the thought. She’d have to pretend not to know Stephanie was dead until whoever it was said something. That left her vulnerable to slipping up. It felt like wearing clothing a size too small. But there was nothing she could do. So she engaged with the conversation at hand.
“Oh…” she responded, the friendly smile on her face intentionally wavering. “Right. Stephanie did mention she was worried about that. I was hoping we’d managed it anyway, though.”
“Oh, did she? You seem pretty chummy with her,” Aubrey responded immediately. “If this was a risk, why would she share it with you, but not the rest of us?” Violet flinched with surprise.
“Oh, well, we’ve gotten stuck alone in the mist together before. We’re sort of friends, now, I guess? She was just worried about it because of how dull the pylon was, I think. I don’t really know more than that, but I’m pretty sure she didn’t want to panic anyone before we knew it was going to be a problem,” Violet answered politely.
“You didn’t speak to her once after you got back from the mist,” Chase cut in. “What do you mean you’re friends?” Violet tilted her head in confusion. Internally, she wondered what it might be like to hang him from his feet and cut his throat. It wasn’t an unfamiliar intrusive thought, but the genuine temptation it carried with it was new. Still bathing in the high of Stephanie’s murder, it was far more difficult to remind herself that she wanted to be a little selective when she killed again.
“Why are we interrogating Violet about a conversation instead of figuring out what to do next?” Kiera interrupted. “Who cares why the lancer confided in her? The result is the same, isn’t it? If it matters so much, ask Stephanie yourself when she wakes up. Right now, we need a plan for how to move forward.”
“I don’t know. I, for one, think working through our interpersonal relationships is very important. I think we should spend all day on it,” Guy answered. The corner of Violet’s mouth twitched upward, at that.
“There’s just something off about the whole thing, that’s all,” Aubrey insisted. “Something just reeks about it.”
“Fine. But you can figure that out later. We have to make a plan to survive, right now,” Kiera replied. Aubrey clearly wanted to say more, but as she glanced around the room, she realized the other girl was right. Still, she eyed Violet as she responded.
“Okay. You’re right. I’m just stressed,” she admitted. Then, she refocused on the conductor. “What are our options, uh… Mr. Lineman?”
“Shouldn’t we wait for the lancer to wake up before we do anything?” Alex said, addressing the full group for the first time. The conductor shook his head. Violet mentally noted the confirmation that no one knew about Stephanie’s death yet.
“We can’t spare the clarity to heal her, and we don’t know how extensive the damage is yet. She could be unconscious for days, and we can’t wait that long. We need to make a move now, before another swarm forms just to target the train. Depending on what we do, we may need to act as soon as possible. We can’t risk waiting," he dismissed. Alex deflated immediately.
“Well, thank God there is no pressure,” Guy said. “I learn better in these low-stress environments.” The conductor glanced at him, but didn’t acknowledge the joke, answering Aubrey’s question instead.
“We have three options, as far as I can see. And I’m sorry, but we’ll need to rely on all of you no matter which we choose. No volunteers this time; we need everyone to step up,” he said. A few faces paled, but no one spoke up to complain. “Option One is to stay here. We use what clarity we have to call for help. Then we wait and defend the train until someone arrives with a heart to power the rest of the trip. This is probably the safest option—if the lancer wakes up. With the swarm gone, we most likely have a good while before enough hedron are attracted to the train to form another. That means we’ll only have to handle a few at a time. At least for a few days.”
“I thought we couldn’t afford to wait for the lancer to wake up?” Aubrey questioned.
“I said the safest, not safe. And I said if she wakes up. If she is too injured to fight, the risk of that plan skyrockets. We’ll need to evaluate how badly she is hurt before we decide on that plan,” he replied.
"That makes sense. Stephanie is resilient. She’ll be alright. But I do think she has earned a little rest—after getting hit by that last charge and Aubrey’s scream all at once. What are the other two options?” Violet asked.
“Bitch, you told me to use that talent to help her!” Aubrey spat.
“I seem to remember you insisting you were planning to do it regardless, didn’t you?” Guy asked. Violet smiled.
“No, she’s right, that was poor phrasing,” Violet cut in. “Sorry, Aubrey. I didn’t mean to imply anything at all. Of course, you didn’t do anything wrong. She’d have to be in pretty bad shape to get hurt by a red talent, in any case. I just meant she needs rest, that’s all.”
Aubrey softened just a little as Violet defended her. Kiera ignored the exchange, pressing the conductor for more information. “Can’t you fight in her place? You must be stronger than us,” she asked. Again, the conductor shook his head.
“Conductors are forbidden from leaving their train while in the mist. For any reason, even life or death. I can’t get into why right now, but you’ll have to trust me. It’s off the table. We can’t leave. Besides, we’re only orange categories, and we have no combat talents. We can’t help much in a fight,” he answered. Violet was a bit surprised to hear about their category. But she quickly realized the trains must have needed quite a few active conductors, and this group was small. The higher categories were likely working with larger trains.
“So, what are the other options?” Kiera asked.
The conductor sighed. “We travel as far as we can on what clarity we have, then you students disembark and walk the rest of the way on foot. You can send a team for the train when you make it to the next station. The downside there is that we can’t use the clarity to defend the train at all if we use it to travel. We could lose the train, as well as myself and my colleague. The upside is that none of you would be stuck in the mist for quite as long.
“The final option is we use the clarity for shielding, and all or some of you travel on foot from here. It wouldn’t be ideal, but it’s our best bet if the lancer can’t fight,” Lineman said.
“Sounds more like the best option to keep you safe,” Chase mocked. The conductor shook his head.
“My life doesn’t matter, but these trains… we can’t afford to lose one. It matters more than any of us. We need to make the best move to preserve it. Not for my sake, or for yours, but for humanity’s,” Lineman replied. The car was silent for a long time after that. All three options sounded terrible. A few untrained category reds facing the mist alone was no plan at all.
“There is a fourth option, actually,” Violet suggested.
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1526 today, and #3 on rising stars! Thank you all so much! We are less than 500 followers away from the first stretch goal! Next week I suspect it will be time to vote on what sort of chapter you want! An AU? Violet isekai'd into a fantasy world? Or perhaps a sci-fi world? Violet in a death game? More of Violet's exploits as a Magical girl? Maybe something canon, such as a first date with Alex? Or an AU in her own setting. Violet with a different calling, or something else? Maybe a solo chapter for a side character. I'll likely be asking soon, so keep following, and let me know what ideas you have!
6k - 15k Bonus Chapter – 2,000 Followers
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Starting at 2,000 followers, I will write a bonus chapter between 6k - 15k in length every 2k followers. This may be a side character, this may be an AU, or anything else. Who decides? You do! When a milestone is reached, I will ask for suggestions and put up a poll of the most popular ones!
Webtoon Chapter – 6,000 Followers
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This is also a bonus chapter, but I will have it commissioned as a fully illustrated webtoon!
Spin-Off Novel – 15,000 Followers
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I will write a novel of at least 120k words focusing on Kiera, our resident fox girl!
Visual Novel – 20,000 Followers
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I will commission art for and develop a full length (and free to play) Cruel Violet visual novel.