From their vantage point on the bridge, Jack, Ellie, and Luke followed the railroad track’s lazy curve into the hillside’s gaping hole. For the past ten years, Jack had been coming here and watching the trains – alone. At last, he could share his fascination for locomotives, railroads, and... tunnels.
“There it is just as I promised,” Jack said. “The tunnel.”
“Wow!” exclaimed Luke. “Never saw one up close. It sure looks big.”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought when I first saw it,” Jack replied coolly. “Wait until we get up next to it; then you’ll see how big it really is.”
“Just looks creepy to me,” Ellie admitted. “It makes the hair on my neck stand up.”
Ellie bit her lip and backed away from the railing. She shook her head, and her hair cascaded across her face. Jack watched, fixated on her every gesture, her every movement. All morning, he had been watching Ellie. Now, in the sunlight, she looked...
“Ellie,” said Luke. “You’re acting just like a girl and a real sissy one, to boot.”
The daydream was shattered, and Jack shot him a scowled look, but Luke shrugged it off.
“Knock it off, Luke,” said Ellie, “or I’m going home, and then you’ll be in for it. You know what mom said about teasing me.”
“I was just playing around.”
“No, you weren’t, you little twerp. You put me down all the time, and I don’t like it.”
Jack sensed his chance to be with Ellie was disintegrating. He stepped between them and attempted to put his hand on Luke’s shoulder.
“Come on guys,” Jack said, “let’s get a closer look at the tunnel.”
Before Jack could react, Luke skipped off.
“How will we get down?” asked Ellie.
Luke yelled, “I found a path.”
Moments later, he scampered down the embankment, nuzzled through the brush, and scurried around the tracks, exploring.
“Wait for us,” said Ellie.
Ellie took off running toward the path and left Jack standing in the middle of the bridge, alone. Frustration and anger welled up inside him, and he vented on a stone lying on the bridge. Kicking it as hard as he could, it went flying to the tracks below, bouncing twice before landing in a ditch. He wanted to show them – especially her – the path to “his” railroad. He knew exactly where the path was, but Luke screwed him out of this chance of impressing her as the leader. Jack bit his lip and suppressed the urge of confronting Luke when he got down to the tracks. He didn’t want anything ruining these moments with Ellie.
Ellie and Jack giggled, laughed, and talked about nothing in particular all morning. Jack never met a girl who seemed interested in talking to him. He basked in the attention he thought she showed him, and he tried to act older than the fourteen-year-old he was.
So Jack hurried after her and offered his hand to help her down the path. Her touch sent goose bumps up his arm. He held her hand as they descended the embankment, pushed aside the bushes so Ellie could pass, and helped her over the ravine alongside the tracks. She smiled and thanked him. Jack blushed and suppressed a nervous chuckle.
He turned his attention to the tunnel.
“Come on, Luke,” he called out. “Let’s see the tunnel.”
Luke, Ellie, and Jack marched beside the tracks. They approached the tunnel opening with heads tilted backward, as their eyes followed the stone arch rising before them. They slowed their march to a creep and stopped. Before the giant hole in the hillside, they stood in silent awe, jaws agape.
Luke broke ranks, stood under the arch, looked skyward, and said, “You could put our whole house in the opening and maybe the garage, too.”
“I doubt it’s that big,” said Ellie, “but almost.”
“It’s gotta be over a hundred years old,” Jack said. “Thousands of trains must’ve passed to blacken the stone arches so much.”
“I just got a shiver,” said Ellie. “It’s a lot scarier close up.”
Her whole body trembled as the shiver traveled from her head to her toes. Ellie put her arms across her chest and hugged herself. She shook her head as if saying, “No, no,” without speaking.
“Ah, sis, that’s girl stuff. I’m not scared.”
Luke bounded into the mouth of the tunnel and looked back at Jack and Ellie, the white of his front teeth prominently displayed as he grinned from ear to ear.
“Stop it, Luke,” said Ellie. “You can be a real turd, sometimes.” Ellie stepped backward. Her lip quivered. “I don’t know about this.”
“It’ll be fun,” Jack said, urging her on. “Come on, let’s do it.” Jack reached out his hand to hers, but she turned away.
“What if a train comes?”
“Yeah, what’ll we do if a train comes?” asked Luke. Luke looked toward the bridge and path and avoided making eye contact with either of them. He retreated from the tunnel and stood as if ready to ascend the path back to the bridge.
“Won’t be any for hours; besides, we’ll be through long before then,” said Jack. “Come on, guys. Isn’t this why we came? Let’s go.”
“Okay then, let’s do it. I’m game,” said Luke, bounding into the tunnel.
“Me, too,” said Ellie. “I guess.”
Jack heard the hesitating tone of Ellie's voice but payed no attention to it. Instead, he focused, for the moment, on Luke. He shook his head while he watched Luke leap from rail to tie to rail like a bouncing squirrel looking for acorns.
The kid’s gonna hurt himself if he doesn’t watch it!
Jack turned his attention to Ellie and ignored the nagging feeling he felt in the pit of his stomach. He offered his hand to Ellie, but she just looked at him and kept prodding along the tracks. Her facial expression was of excitement mixed with fear and lacked the smiles that so enthralled Jack all morning. Disappointed, Jack walked along side of her into the tunnel, following Luke.
Luke stopped after he ventured a short distance in. “Hey Jack. It’s pitch black in here. I can’t see anything.”
“Our eyes will adjust to the dark, and we’ll be able to see.”
Luke reached out and touched the tunnel walls. “And there’s ice on the walls.”
“Yeah, it won’t all melt until it gets warmer, maybe in a couple weeks or more.”
“Oh, crap. I just stepped in some water. My shoe’s all wet,” said Luke. “Are you sure this is a good idea?”
Jack detected wavering doubt in his voice. Undeterred, he tried to encourage Luke. “Sure, done it many times.”
Jack lied without a twinge of guilt. He never walked the tunnel’s full length. But he wanted to impress Ellie, and nothing would to stop him from showing off – not today.
“Okay, then, let’s go,” said Luke, and he bounded deeper into the tunnel. “Last one out the other end is a rotten egg.”
“Luke can piss me off sometimes,” said Ellie. “He’s just as scared as me, but he ain’t gonna let on, not in front of you.”
“Don’t be afraid, Ellie. You’re with me.”
Jack offered his hand to her, again, and this time, she took it and squeezed. He felt her tremble. Jack put his arm around her, drew her close, and hugged her. He never hugged a girl before, not like this, and hugging her was more than he’d imagined it would be. Her hair smelled of fresh shampoo, and her perfume smelled like a bouquet of flowers. He felt her body’s warmth next to his. His pulse raced, and his hands sweated.
“I’m frightened,” said Ellie, her voice cracking.
“No need to be. I’m here.” Jack squeezed her tighter against him.
He was scared, too, but there was no way Jack would let on he was. He tried suppressing his quivering voice, shaking hand, and weakening knees. This was his chance with Ellie, and he wanted to take it, no matter what.
A gentle, cool, humid breeze blew from deep within the tunnel. As far as they could see, the dead of night extended ahead of them. Eerie sounds of dripping and flowing water in the darkness dampened his courage. But Jack continued to walk along the tracks as close to Ellie as he could. Occasionally, their shoulders touched, arms touched, and hands touched. This is what Jack hoped for – to be alone with Ellie, to lead her through the tunnel, and to be the “hero” in her eyes.
“Watch out. Those railroad ties are tricky to walk on,” Jack said when he stumbled. “They’re easier to see now, but be careful anyway.”
“Ow!” said Ellie when she twisted her ankle on a large ballast stone.
“You okay?” asked Jack. “You hurt?”
She rubbed her sore ankle. “No, I’m okay. But there’s so many stones.”
“Hey, why don’t you guys walk the rails like me?” asked Luke. “It’s a lot easier and a lot faster.”
“You go ahead,” Jack said. “We’re okay.”
Jack’s temper flared when he thought Luke was going to ruin another chance with Ellie. He didn’t want Luke interfering, and he would show her how to walk the rail without any help from Luke. He wanted her all to himself.
“Slowpokes,” Luke muttered under his breath and glided down the rail like a seasoned tightrope walker.
“Luke’s a damn showoff, but I can’t do it like he does,” said Ellie. “I keep slipping off.”
“Here, hold on to me,” Jack said. “You walk on one rail, and I’ll walk on the other. We’ll balance each other.”
Ellie took Jack’s hand and stepped on the rail. She took a step, almost slipped off, but Jack caught her.
“There, isn’t that better? Put one foot in front of the other,” Jack said. “Easy does it. If you start to slip off, I’ll steady you.”
“Better, but Luke’s getting way ahead of us.”
“It’s okay. We’ll catch him at the end of the tunnel.”
Nothing seemed to matter at the moment but the closeness of Ellie and her touch – not the darkness, not the danger, not the consequences. Jack blocked out the tunnel, the risk, and the eeriness around him while he walked hand in hand with Ellie.
When Ellie and Jack rounded the curve, they could see the outside light flooding into the tunnel’s exit. But they still had several hundred feet to go before reaching it. Half the distance from them to the exit, Luke silhouetted against the brilliance.
Luke was jumping up and down, waving his arms, and yelling, “Hey guys! What’s up ahead?”
When Jack’s eyes adjusted to the outside sunlight, he saw it, too. His heart skipped a beat. It was a headlight, the headlight of a train.
“It’s a train!” Jack shouted. “Is it stopped at the power plant or coming toward us?”
Luke watched for a moment and screamed, “The train’s coming. Oh my God, it’s coming straight at us!”
How could Jack have been so wrong about the timing of the next train? His heart raced, and his breathing accelerated, but with his legs wouldn’t move, he couldn’t react. Jack saw the lead engine enter the far end of the bridge, which was the final, straight-track approach to the tunnel. From there, Jack knew the train would overtake them in seconds.
“Run Luke. Run!” they yelled.
Luke took off, sprinting toward the exit.
He won’t make it.
Ellie screamed, “We’ll be killed!” And bolted into the blackness, away from the train, away from the exit.
Jack saw the huge engine sway from side to side, as it rumbled down the uneven tracks across the bridge toward them. Adrenaline surging, he sprang into action and grabbed Ellie’s hand, turned, and shouted, “Follow me!”
As fast as they could manage, Jack pulled Ellie and chased after Luke toward the exit.
The lead engine was about 1,000 feet from entering the tunnel, but Ellie and Jack were inside the tunnel, 500 feet or more from the exit. To Jack it seemed as if he and Ellie were progressing in slow-motion while the train was coming toward them at top speed.
We can’t out run the train. Why try?
The rails vibrated.
No place to hide. Ice covers walls to tracks.
Jack felt the train through his feet and legs. Seconds later, the brilliant outside light faded when the train blocked the mouth of the tunnel, their only escape. Jack shielded his eyes from the blinding headlight and led Ellie headlong toward the approaching train.
Now the train was only 400 feet from of them, then 300 feet, 200 feet. The ear-piercing sounds of raw diesel power, screeching wheels, and air horns blaring all echoing in the confined space of the tunnel made clear thinking difficult.
Water along the tracks.
The ground trembled.
Ice’s melted. Safety!
With little time to react, Jack pushed a reluctant Ellie ahead of him into the depression along the tracks next to the wall. With Ellie snuggling as close and low to the tunnel wall as possible, Jack dove ahead of her and stretched out as flat as he could. They laid end to end in the coal-thickened water – ice-melt from the spring thaw.
The train’s wheels whizzed by, inches from their heads. The wind from the train ripped at their clothing and pelted them with coal dust and debris. Wheels hammered rails. The ground shuddered. The water pulsated. Coal hoppers zoomed by. Wheels screeched and shrieked as they protested against the scraping of steel on steel. Countless more coal hoppers flew by.
Ellie held on to Jack’s feet and squeezed his shoes with each hammering, screeching sound. Jack bordered on the edge of terror, surreal humor, and exhilaration. He cried and laughed each time Ellie squeezed his shoes, unable to differentiate his emotions.
When the last coal hopper passed, sunlight streamed into the tunnel. The screeching and shrieking sounds faded. The ground was still. The water was calm.
Cradled in the safety of the ice-cold water for a few moments more, Jack tried to take in everything that happened and gain control of himself once again. He noticed the breeze blowing through the tunnel was warmer than before, less humid and fresher with the faint fragrance of blossoms. The tranquil sounds of ice-melt dripping and water running reassured him the train exited the far end of the tunnel. Drops of ice-cold water caressed his coal-smudged face.
Jack stood, looked back into the darkness, and turned toward the light. He tried to make sense of it all. Ellie lay in the water, whimpering.
“Ellie. Ellie, it’s over. The train’s gone. Are you okay?”
Ellie didn’t move but continued crying.
“Ellie. Let me help you up.”
“Where’s Luke? Did he make it? What’ll I tell mom and dad?”
“I don’t know. Last I saw of him, he was almost to the end.”
“I gotta find him. Help me find him, Jack. This is all your fault!”
Stunned at her accusation and hoping he could console her, Jack reached down and helped Ellie to her feet. Once standing, Ellie pushed him away.
“Don’t touch me,” said Ellie. “Just don’t touch me.”
Jack couldn’t grasp her reaction and her lashing out at him. Sure, it was his idea to take the shortcut through the tunnel, but everyone was game for it. So why was this just his fault and no one else’s? Weren’t they all in this together?
“Okay, Ellie. Everything’s gonna be alright. You gotta believe me.”
“You don’t know for sure. What have you done to Luke?”
“What have I done? I...I don’t know. We’ll find him.”
Ellie turned away, sobbed, and emptied herself in a flood of emotions. Jack felt helpless, no longer the hero. He felt the weight of the responsibility for what happened. There was a good possibility Luke was dead, killed by a train, by one of the trains that had been Jack’s life-long fascination. But now, he hated trains and wished he’d never seen one or cared anything about them. They could all got to hell for all he cared.
He tried to comfort her and touched her shoulder.
“I said, ‘Do not touch me, Jack,’ and I meant it.”
Jack recoiled.
“Come on, Ellie. Let’s find Luke.”
They walked out of the tunnel and stepped into the light and warmth of the springtime sun. To their surprise, Luke was sitting beside an upturned cart alongside the tracks. Hidden from their view, Luke waited until they were within earshot.
“Okay. Who’s the rotten egg?” he asked.
“Luke, you made it!” they shouted.
Luke struggled to stand and reached out to Jack for a helping hand.
“Yeah, by the skin of my teeth. I just got out as the engine zoomed in. It almost had me.”
Ellie showered him with hugs, kisses, and tears. “You can tease me all you want,” said Ellie. “I’m so glad to see you alive. Now I won’t have to tell mom and dad how you died.”
Luke pushed her away and said, “Thanks heaps. You’re sick, Ellie. A real sicko.”
“You're a turd, Luke,” said Jack. “Didn’t you hear us coming? Didn’t you know we’d be worried sick? I’ve put up with your crap all day, and let me tell you...”
Luke and Ellie ignored Jack’s tirade. The trio stood for a few minutes, swapped anecdotes of their encounter with the train, and pledged not to mention this misadventure to their parents.
Luke was the first to change the subject and announce, “I’m hungry.”
“Yeah, I’m getting hungry, too,” said Ellie. “Let’s go home, Luke.”
“Hey, next time you have an idea for an adventure, Jack, count me out,” said Luke.
“That goes for me, too,” said Ellie. “See you around...maybe.”
Luke and Ellie walked away and left Jack beside the railroad tracks – alone. He could hear their laughter and squabbling fade as they disappeared around the bend in the road.
Jack knew he blew his chances with Ellie, and he almost got them all killed. He felt luck was on his side this time, so he swallowed the lump in his throat, took a deep breath, and started the long walk home. A few unfortunate stones felt the release of Jack’s emotions when he sent them flying to parts unknown.
There would be other girls – and more adventures, for sure.
#
Colorful trees signaled the coming of fall. Jack leaned on the railing of the old bridge. Through the trees, he saw the rails snake below him. Today, he wanted to share his fascination for railroads with someone, anyone, but, as usual, he watched the trains – alone.
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