Page 4 of Married By Midnight
Ian shrugged and looked back at the rain falling. “I can’t see the ground.”
“It’s there, kid,” a voice called from the background.
Deek held up his hand to signal the men to line up. “Remember what we taught you, kid.”
Ian nodded and jumped off the train, tucking his knees to his chest. He hit the ground hard and slid down the embankment. The duffle bag made it impossible to roll.
As he came to a stop, he heard the grunts of the other men as they each took their turn hitting the soaked ground. The sound of the train whistle shattered the darkness and the men rose and disappeared into the surrounding brush.
Ian scrambled to his feet and adjusted the pack. He could see the lights from town in the distance. It appeared he was at the top of a hill. He could hear the men walking behind the brush. It appeared they were heading towards the lights. Ian hurried to catch up with them.
He pushed his way through the brush along the track. When he arrived on the other side of the brush, he noticed the men were gone. He wiped his face and looked around. The rain was letting up, but not by much.
Ian shifted the pack on his back and looked for which direction the town was since he couldn’t see the lights anymore.
“This way, lad.”
Ian watched as the man in the dusty suit walked by him. “I didn’t see you jump. Don’t you have a pack?”
“Oh no. I travel very lightly.” The man laughed as if he had just told a joke. “The town is about two miles down the hill.”
“Is that where the men went?”
“They probably will stop outside of town.” He pointed further down the hill. Ian could see the road split further down. “There is a farmhouse a little over that way.” He jabbed the air with a cane. “It should be a safe place to rest.” He turned and looked at Ian. “Are you coming?” He waved Ian forward towards the path leading towards the farmhouse.
“How do you know that?”
“I know many things, Ian.”
Ian stopped again. “And how do you know my name.”
“I told you. Charlie told me.”
“But how did you know it was me?”
The man sighed. “Are you always this difficult?”
Ian ignored the question. “So, you know my name. I don’t know yours.”
“You may call me Mr. Pennyworth.”
Ian nodded and strode past Mr. Pennyworth towards the path where he said the farmhouse was located. The rain had ceased, but it was dark as the sun started to set.
“You need to hurry,” Mr. Pennyworth called to him. Ian doubled his pace and soon he saw a post with carvings in it.
He stopped and knelt in front of the post. Someone had taken a knife and carved the hobo script into the post. He traced his fingers along several of the carvings.
“What do they mean?” Mr. Pennyworth leaned over Ian’s shoulder.
“This one here is a cat.” Ian pointed to the small drawing. “It means that there is a kind lady further ahead.” Mr. Pennyworth nodded his agreement. “And this one…” Ian pointed to an X with two circles on either side with a squiggly line above it. “This means that there is safe camping and fresh water.”
“Fascinating.” Mr. Pennyworth moved past the pole. “We need to keep moving.”
“What’s the rush?”
“The creek is rising and flooding the road. We need to get on the other side.”
Ian looked at the running water. It was rather intimidating. He followed Mr. Pennyworth further down the road. Water was collecting on the side of the road and rushing down the hill.
