Another Non-way story.

[ReaperGal]

Here. This is mostly just to share. It's set in the same sort of time as my other story, but in the outlying regions around the city instead of inside it.

At first, this was going to be more violent, but I wanted it more to be a normal childhood kindof thing. I might post the other version I was thinking about at first.
The spelling will almost certainly be off. I did it in notepad, so I wasn't using a spell check. This was inspired by a picture I've seen of a group of kids in south america "train surfing."

TRAIN SURFING

There were three of them, each letting their legs hang over the end of the flat metal roof, watching a point far to the horizon. Their eyes traced the long trail of metal bars that formed the tracks for the long commuter train.

They were all still young, the two boys just at the age where the handsomeness of manhood was finally overtaking the clumsy looks of adolesence. The only girl with the two boys was plain but unassumingly attractive. They each wore black pants and a brown coat, in an attempt at the uniforms like the gangs wore and shoulder-strap packs that rested on their sides or back. Again, the only variation was with the girl. Her coat was much shorter, stopping at the bottom of her ribs, where a grey shirt reached a little further down, just barely showing an inch of midriff. They glanced apprehensively at the end of the line, waiting for the tell-tale screech. The boys both had black eyes and hair, and similar faces. The girl had eyes of dark blue, a rarity in the town. Her har was also as black, and cut in a tomboyish fashion so she wouldn't have to deal with tying it up.

Their older siblings had formed the "gang" that they were now a part of. It had never been serious, but they were friendly to each other and watched out for each other. The boys, who were cousins, had both joined at the same time, and the girl had joined at the behest of her brother, who was still something of a legend. Although the attentions of the male members lay oustide the gang, with non-member girls, many of them nurtured either a protective crush or sister complex, and she had taken to the position of unoffical queen of the gang. She didn't have to, but she had decided to take the annual initiation ritual of train surfing.

Train surfing was the activity most prefered by the youth of the area. It was the most exhilarating (and dangerous) avaliable, except for maybe going into the ruins that stood between the town at the city. The three kept their steady stare as the tracks began to softly hum. Their was a variation in the distance as the huge metal train came into view. Eventually the tracks howled as it came to a screeching halt at the station. The three glanced at each other. The first, one of the boys, jumped down to the roof of the train with a fearless smile.
"There and back." She thought nervously in an attempt to gain her spirits. She pushed herself off the roof to the train, landing with a kneel on the hard metal. She winced with pain, looking at the other two. The other boy had jumped down at the same time as her, and smiled nervously.

The train began to move with a lurch, and she fought to keep her balance. Setting her feet wide and leaning back seemed to offer the most stability while the train got faster and faster. As it picked up speed, the train began to rock back and forth, but she was soon used to the motion of the train. The wind picked up, blowing back through her hair. She smiled towards the boy in front as he glanced back to check on the other two. She tried to breath, but the train had gotten fast enough to make it difficult. She bent her head down so her chin rested on her chest where the wind wasn't so fast, taking several deep breaths before lifting her head back into the wind. She looked back, shocked that the station was already out of view. She looked forward, and to her suprise, the train picked up speed again.

A few minutes passed. Now that she was into the rhythm of things, it seemed to be taking far too long and the wind was beginning to bite. She was wishing she had worn heavier clothes and wishing her legs wouldn't be so tired when the train then turned upward, forcing her to a kneeling position to keep from falling off. It left the valley that held the town, displaying the city in a glowing red silluete from the setting sun. Lights turned on as the glowing orb quickly dissappered, forming the huge cityscape into a mound of symmetric yellow squares from the lit rooms. She managed to get back to her feet with some struggle, and moved back into her breathing position to catch her breath.

The train sped towards the city, growing larger and eventually looming over their heads as the train dipped underground. Dim neon signs reached over the train, necessitating several shifts in position to keep from being hit. The train screeched as it slowed to a halt in an underground station. When it stopped, they pulled themselves into the maintanance shafts above the train. The train squealed again as it moved away, leaving the three in solitude. The first boy took out an electric lantern and set it up in the room, laying on their sides to avoid the low ceiling. The lantern lit slowly, revealing the dirty paths that stretched into the room. The room itself was about twenty feet wide and three feet tall. One wall held pictures and momentos from the other riders.

The three smiled, not needing to say a word. She examined the small shrine left by the other riders as she opened her pack to get her dinner. They each had brought sandwiches with various types of meat and vegetables. She had also brought a sealed bowl of rice, and she tried to eat it as best as she could in the awkward position. The others had brought their favorite foods, and began a very non-chalant chat. It was completely obvious that they tried to avoid the topic of the ride with a classic "No big deal" attitude. She turned towards them and listened in silence, only laughing at their jokes. After they finished the meal, they each took a small memorabilia out of their pack and set it near the shrine. She took out a very small stuffed bear that was only the size of her palm, and set it carefully near the center of the shrine.

"Ready?" Asked one of the boys. She nodded and followed them through the paths that took them to the opposite maintanence shafts for the train that went back. The tracks screeched, and they jumped to the hard metal roof.


Ugh. It's like 1:00 in the morning, and I've been writing most of this now. So if there's a really obvious spelling or grammar mistake, it's because I'm tired. If I do write the more violent version, I might be able to make it the ride back or something.

[Fitz Tayo]

It was good. And I like violence... post the violent thing, or I might have to get violent!