Q lowered his lips to Raya’s ear. “What’s she doing?”
“I need both of you to be quiet, please.” Lily moved the frame to the right, keeping her eyes shut. She tilted the frame up the length of a mast until the top of its sail fluttered within its borders. She opened her eyes. “Ah. There you are.” She released the frame, leaving it hanging in the air.
Q’s mouth fell open. “How—”
“It’s a bit of a climb, but once you go through the door, the rest of your search should be much easier,” Lily said. “So, who wants to go first?”
Lightning did not care to wait for their answers. It cleaved the sky and struck the sail, sending it crumpling to the deck in a heap of scarlet, gold, and flames.
“What should I do in the event of an emergency on the Elsewhere Express?”
Frequently Asked Questions
The Elsewhere Express
Passenger Handbook
Raya
Raya hated surprises. She was like Jace that way. An old atmospheric pressure barometer he had made for a science fair stood guard by his window to make sure that he was never ambushed by rain. When Jace went off to college, the barometer kept Raya company while she wrote songs in a purple notebook on his bedroom floor.
Their house had never felt emptier than when Jace was away, but also never as full of questions. Every moment beyond the second Raya stood on was hidden. Her present had been intertwined with Jace’s from the moment she was conceived, but their tomorrows were not bound. Raya could not help but wonder what would happen when they finally came undone. She sought answers in a song she wrote about a barometer that could predict more than just the rain. It gave her one reply.
Live. Breathe. Be.
But not even the most magical barometer could have predicted the detour her subway ride home would take.
A large wave slammed into the Elsewhere Express and extinguished the burning sail.
“Thank god.” Q clung to the large clay pot.
Raya nodded, unable to shape her lips into anything that resembled relief. A heaviness replaced the salt in the wind and made it difficult to breathe, much less smile. She looked up at the dark clouds. If her magical barometer appeared and told her a torrent of tears was about to fall, she would have believed it.
“It’s not just me, right?” Thunder cracked over Q’s voice. “Am I imagining things or does the air suddenly feel…um…thick? And sad?”
“I feel it too.” Raya pushed past the tears welling in her throat. “It’s making my chest hurt.”
Lily stared up at the brewing storm. “You need to get off this deck now.”
“How?” Raya’s eyes fell on the crumpled sail. “The door’s gone.”
Lily gripped the rim of the clay pot. “Use this one.”
“The pot? Again? But you told me that the train’s doors only go in one direction.”
“They only go in one directionreliably,” Lily said.
Q arched a brow. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means that there’s no way to know where you’ll end up if you go through a door the wrong way.” Lily squinted in the wind.
“And you want us to use it?” Raya yelled over the crashing waves. “Crossing it the right way was horrible enough.”
“Isn’t there another door we can use?” Q said.
“I’m afraid not.” Lily turned her collar up to the squall. “But don’t worry. Passengers are allowed to use any unlocked door in the event of an emergency. You won’t be breaking any rules.”
“Who cares about the rules?” Lightning streaked across Raya’s eyes. “That door could take us anywhere. Or nowhere. What if we get lost?”
