23 Chapter 23: The train

After a few meters, Stroph was next to a some kind of station. Everything was the same as before, a cobweb and a pile of dust, but the rails were in pretty good condition. There was only one thing left. A very important problem was food. He had found people, learned the way to get to Terein, but he was still hungry. And he would have to wait for about 30 minutes more before the train arrived.

…

Half an hour later, a bright glow appeared in the distance, it was a lantern illuminating the way in front of the train. The train itself was quite short, just a couple of wagons, it was green with a long dried up paint, clearly very old and ragged by time.

When the train stopped, several people began to get out from the very last wagon, carrying some boxes and crates. Most likely, they were cartridges and food for those who protected the checkpoint.

When Stroph saw it, he thought: "Apparently, I was lucky, it seems that today is the day of supplying resources, otherwise it is unknown how long I would have to wait. I wonder if I can buy some food from them."

With these thoughts Stroph went to the first wagon, in the passage of which there was a short middle-aged man with a tablet in his hands and a special pen, with which he was writing something on the screen. He was marking something and constantly looking back at people carrying supplies.

It seemed that he didn`t notice Stroph, so he decided to address him first: "Do you accept passengers? I have to go to Terein, I'm ready to pay". His face was calm and his voice was rather quiet.

When hearing his voice, the man looked at the young man in front of him, thought for a while and said: "If you want to go with us to the city, you have to pay ten thousand sempets, no bargaining." Quickly responding to Stroph, the man continued writing something.

Stroph needed food so he had to learn about it: "What about food? Can I buy something from you?" Saying this, he pointed to the boxes and crates that people were carrying from the back wagon.

"I can give you a standard dry ration for 300 sempets". The man wasn`t surprised by his questions and generally his appearance. It seemed that it wasn`t the first time he saw such passengers appearing from nowhere.

As a result, Stroph paid ten thousand six hundred sempets for the fare and for two dry rations. After the money was transferred, he was let into the wagon. He chose the first place and sat down, looking at the interior inside. There was nothing to boast about, dirt, dust, broken glass in many places, at least there was less cobweb.

Twenty minutes later, it seemed that all the supplies had been unloaded and the train moved from its place. At the same moment, the man who let him in brought two dry rations. He didn`t say anything and just left, leaving him alone. Stroph was very hungry, so he immediately opened one of the dry rations. The set was quite ordinary: canned food, a lot of gallets, some kind of meat paste and several bars.

At the moment when the train moved, the man, who had answered Stroph's questions, called one of his men. The same man, who had brought Stroph here, quickly came to him.

This time he knocked only once, closing the door behind him he bowed respectfully and said: "Mr. Oliver, this young man suddenly appeared at the time when we were attacked by rats. We noticed him only at the moment when he started shooting. I must say that his skills are quite good, seven shots and seven dead rats. We just thought that he wanted to help us, but then...." The man was silent, he didn`t know how to describe what he had seen.

The man, he was reporting to, was called Oliver Murphy, he was in charge of everything here and also held a rather high position in the "Silver Carps".

When he saw that the man was silent, he said: "Say what comes to mind." His voice was tough and clear.

"After he killed a couple of rats, he did nothing for a few seconds, then a terrible aura began pouring out of him. It was as if we came across the abyss itself face to face, we all have furiously trembled legs, and the rats, ran away, not turning around, as if the demon from hell broke out ...". While he was talking, his voice was trembling, it was clear that the fear was deep in his heart, he was incredibly frightened.

When he heard his words, Oliver's eyebrows frowned a little, he felt this aura clearly, but he couldn't imagine that it was all the fault of a young man sitting in front of him and asking questions a few minutes ago.

He let his subordinate go with a gesture and began to think about the situation, at this time he was constantly knocking on the wooden table with his index finger.

Having made a decision, he started calling someone.

Even two beeps didn`t go by, as his call was answered.

Oliver was the first to speak: "Kristo, I have a request, our train will arrive soon, it brought resources to us, it is taking a very interesting young man to the city, it seems that he came from the "Outer Circle", he reached our checkpoint walking on Metro-02. He is wearing a strange black coat and his remarkable feature is a different color of his eyes, you cannot be mistaken and as I understand he has quite a lot of money. Take him to the place where he could spend it. And finally, don't dare kill him, I would say he is a respected guest."

After these words, Oliver hung up, even without waiting for an answer. He knew that Cristo understood all and would do everything at his best.

At the same moment, in a large, two-storied house, a man of 30 years old was sitting in an armchair. He had thick brown hair and he was dressed in a simple home yellow robe. It was Christo Vaher. He wasn`t Oliver`s subordinate, but he was his good friend.

He was also quite rich, as he was an important figure on the black market of Terein.

Having listened to Oliver's request, he made a couple of notes, and after looking at the time decided to take a nap. Before the visit of the young man wearing a strange black coat, it was still quite a long time.

The fact is that the distance from the checkpoint to Terein city was just enormous. Stroph was to have many hours travelling by train, if he had to walk, it would take him a few days.

…

Having eaten two dry rations, Stroph fell asleep very soon, he did not worry about his defense, because if something happens, "Snow White Darkness" will protect him from the first blow and then he will figure it out by himself.

After he fell asleep quite a long time passed and at one moment he heard: "Boy, it's time for you to go". The speaker was the man who had let him on the train.

Stroph barely opened his eyes and slowly got out of the wagon. Having found himself at the station, he looked at the time and his eyes widened from what he saw. It was 7:02 on the clock, for Stroph it was like a real feat to get up so early.

Stroph thought about where to go, when suddenly he saw a person going to him.

<Is he really going to me? > Stroph wasn`t sure about it, but there was nobody around him. He decided not to avoid the meeting and just waiting until the man came up to him.

The man was Cristo, he was dressed quite unusually, a red Hawaiian shirt, black glasses, green shorts and wooden sabot on his feet. He had a nice, light smile on his face and when he approached Stroph, he waved to him and said: "Young man, I was asked to meet you and take you to a couple of interesting places." Only kindness and friendliness was coming from him.

Stroph was surprised at his appearance, but after some time he said: "I don't mind, what do you think is the most interesting place?" He didn`t feel any negative aura from the man, so he accepted his proposal.

Cristo, carefully examined Stroph and when heard his consent, he said with a smile: "What about the slave market?"