A Sense Of Relief
Much as he wanted to verbally protest, Edward bizarelly felt a kind of cathartic relief at Gary’s remarks. Once again he had given him a dose of reality, especially the bit about being better off without his brother and wife. Did he not share a similar life of tragedy as these people around him? He was a disaster as a husband, a disaster as a brother, a disaster at work and a disaster to everyone around him. He had a lot more in common with these eight fellow passengers than anyone else he had met before. What better bunch could he be with for his final moments on earth? He finally felt that he “fitted in” with these eight people, perhaps more than with any other people he had met previously. Edward also knew in the back of his mind that him being there gave a kind of benefit to both Richard and Charlotte. They would be able to enjoy that money, something that wouldn’t have happened if Richard had gotten on this train instead of him. He knew they would both be a lot happier without him. He wished them a strange sort of luck. As humiliating as it was, Edward now knew that being on this train, just as Gary had said, was perhaps the best overall result for everyone.
Edward repeated Gary’s words to himself, “You’re on a runaway train, nothing else really matters”. Just as Kevin had said, Gary really is right. That’s the situation I’m in and nothing else matters, certainly nothing before this moment.
Time To Try To Survive
Edward was about to tell the others about this revelation, when Sian spoke, “Edward, please just ignore Mr.Loud-mouth, we haven’t got time for this! You may as well just face the facts of this situation that there’s nothing more that can be done now. Please forgive me if I was rude to you earlier, but I am retiring to my cabin now where I consider it to be the safest spot on this train to prepare myself for the inevitable. It was very good to meet you all, I have enjoyed our past few hours together”. She nodded toward the crowd and wandered off towards to the dining cabin exit door.
At this point Kevin cupped his hands to the window in an attempt to get a bearing of where they were. He could see the flat countryside was becoming more mountainous. The train line was ever so slightly elevating as it moved, indicating they were at an increasing altitude. Kevin then glanced at his watch and declared, “She’s right. I reckon we’ve got another 10minutes before the big moment!”.
John was next to speak, “I would like to say that this has indeed been a very enlightening past few hours. I have found it entertaining and interesting talking with you all, but ’10 minutes to go’ is the cue for John C Powell to head to his cabin and position himself as best he possibly can for the inevitable impact we will experience next”.
Peter followed, “Yes, time to go, to be best prepared and all that, I wish all of you the very best luck possible”.
Edward was mystified by these comments, What did they mean? Best prepared? He found himself asking, “Why are you going to your cabins?”, as he found their current conversation quite confusing. This was a runaway train that was evidentally about to crash within the next 10 minutes. They had all assured him there was no means of escape, so why not just stay at the bar? At least here you would have some company to spend your final few moments with.
Kerry stood forward and answered, “Honey, did you miss that there’s a million dollars at stake?”. Edward shook his head to indicate he understood that. She continued “You know, honey, we have a real chance to get the million dollars IF we manage to survive the crash”. She rolled her eyes sarcastically and emphasised the word “if”. Her attitude was clearly along the same lines as the others, but it still left Edward confused. What was her meaning?
Peter interjected in an attempt to explain to Edward, “Yes, that is my motive, I am going to pack myself into my cabin and cover myself with the chair cushions. That may allow me to survive and win the million dollars”.
“Sorry?”, said Edward, still confused, “You all said there was no escape from this train! How will packing yourself into your cabin help in any way?”
At this remark John arose from his seat, Edward’s question had clearly stimulated him and he began to explain further, “Sir, you have mis-understood the situation once again! Whilst it is true there is no escape from this train and it is indeed a runaway train, Mr.Scayben importantly noted that there is still a slim chance of survival from the train crash. So, therefore, it is best to hedge our bets and head to the most survivable place on this vehicle! We discussed this important matter as a group earlier, if only you had been here!”.
Interesting Edward found his hopes were raised by what John had just said. John then began walking towards to carriage door, Edward turned to follow him, loudly enquiring whether there were areas of the train where one could survive the impact of the inevitable crash.
The Safest Place
“Why yes there are, my friend!”, answered Kevin. “The safest place to survive a train crash is seated in a cabin, with your body facing away from the engine. As John mentioned, we had a discussion about this earlier, if only you had been here!”, he smiled upon saying this. “You would have heard that there was a study and an article about this only last month in The Times newspaper”.
John bowed his head in acknowledgement toward Kevin and then to each of the remaining members of the dining car, before disappearing through the carriage doorway.
“Oh Edward, I read that article”, piped up Chloe after John’s departure, “It described how some emminent scientists had used a model train set and how they had tested the cabin safety theory”, “After their experiments they concluded that the odds of survival are still slim, but you are 33% more likely to survive a train crash if you are in a cabin and facing away from the engine. They said that was rather than in an open carriage, like this one we are in now”.
“Imagine that!”, chuckled Gary in the background, “Well…I’m staying right here”, he muttered to himself.
Edward was finding these past few minutes another surreal experience, much like his whole experience on this train had been, but this time his mind balked at what he considered a huge contradiction. All of these people, except perhaps Chloe, had willingly signed up for inevitable doom, yet here they were now trying their very best to increase their chances of survival. Was that not a contradiction? Was this not the equivalent of purposely jumping off a cliff yet aiming for the trees at the bottom, hoping that one of them might break your fall? He could not help but say, “This makes no sense to me, you guys willingly signed up to a runaway train that was bound to crash and now, just like me, you want to escape that final moment!”.
“You didn’t listen to us at all did you?”, immediately scowled Derek, “We clearly explained we are not mad or suicidal!”, he brushed his hand over his forehead as he said this, a gesture meant to indicate that the concept had gone over Edward’s head, “Let me spell it out! We all want to at least try to survive!”. The crowd that remained, Kevin, Peter, Chloe and Kerry, all except Gary, gave various nods of agreement.
Edward gave a blank face in return, he clearly still did not understand. Peter interjected, trying to explain that perhaps he needed to look at things from a different angle, but Derek had no time for such things.
“I guess you, Mr.Edward, just do not appreciate how much we want the chance to get that million dollars!”. Derek then waved his hand dismissively and left the carriage. He too heading in the direction of his cabin, just as Sian and John had done previously.
Shortly afterwards Chloe, Kerry and Peter departed the carriage too. There was a shaking of hands and the odd hug as each had left. Remaining in the dining car now were Kevin, Gary and a still perplexed Edward. He guessed Kevin would be departing next, as Gary had showed no signs of leaving the bar whatsoever.
“Kevin, before you go, I just want to say Thank you for being here and for being so kind to me. I have to say I’m finding this all very difficult to understand!”, said Edward, hoping to have a few more seconds with the man who had so welcomed him to the group and been so kind since they first met.
“There’s not much to understand, my friend. The people you met today were all at rock bottom. Mr.Scayben came along and offered us a way to help those we love, we took that chance and now here we are on this runaway train, bound for proverbial glory, whichever we look at it. I’m just looking forward to my grand children having a rewarding future whatever happens”, replied Kevin.
Edward shrugged and raised his eyebrows, “You’re sensible man and you know I respect your view, but really, honestly, do you think being on a runaway train is the best way to do that?”.
Kevin smiled and happily replied, “Oh yes I do, my friend”. He grabbed Edward’s hand and shook it firmly, “That is why I agreed to be the temporary driver of this train at the start of the journey. I was just coming back to double-check I had sealed the driver door compartment correctly when we first met.”
These words were unforgetable to Edward, he was stunned yet again. The man who he respected most out of the entire group had chosen to be the one to remove the last means of leaving, escaping or stopping this train!
Kevin’s parting words were, “Edward, to repeat John’s words, you have made our last minutes together valuably interesting. This is fate, my friend, you were meant to be on this train and now I wish you every blessing for the future”. With that he waved goodbye and walked through the carriage doorway, just as the others had done.
