“I am… hit,” Peter said, gripping his arm.
“How bad is it?” asked Cassidy.
“Painful,” he said. The rapid fire gun stopped, so Cassidy reached her revolver around the corner of the crates and fired a few shots from behind cover. The two groups traded shots.
“Peter, just press up against the wall. Keep down best you can.” Peter used his legs and good arm to slide over against the wall where he drew a small revolver from a coat holster. The shots from the other side stopped and for a moment there was silence. Cassidy paused and squinted. “Do you hear that,” she asked. At the other end of the car was the distinct sound of metal clacking, as though a large gun was being loaded. Then, in quick succession, a loud foont sound, followed by a small, two-inch round hole appearing in the back wall, then the sound of an explosion in the rear car. Cassidy, Jacob, and Levi all looked at the hole, then each other.
“Well,” Peter commented. “I’m sure that didn’t go as they planned.”
Cassidy’s eyes widened. “I hope Joe wasn’t in there.” Just then, Joseph burst in and was met with gun fire. He screamed a high-pitched scream and fell against the wall with the other four.
“Everything on this fucking train is exploding!” Joseph yelled. As he said that, a stick of dynamite appeared, tossed over the create and onto the floor next to them. Their eyes all widened as they exclaimed “dynamite!” in unison.
The two robbers were crouched on the floor, taking cover on the other side of the wall of crates. They had their hands over their ears as the other side of the car exploded, sending shrapnel down to their end of the car. They opened their eyes to find that they were surrounded by Cassidy, Levi, Joe, Peter, and Jacob, who were all taking cover the same way. They exchanged confused glances, while Cassidy and crew had sheepish grins. “Uh, hi.” Cassidy said. “Oh right,” Cassidy said as she pulled out a revolver. “Don’t move.” The men looked shocked and confused, but put their hands up.
---
The two men stood by the open rear door with their hands on their heads. Cassidy’s group were reloading their guns. “Joe, looks like we’ve got another package for you to deliver back to Stephen.”
“Fun times,” Joe replied with a smile as he put bullets into his revolver.
“Peter, how are you?”
“My arm is done for,” replied Peter, who was standing further back in the car than the others, holding the wound on his upper arm tightly. “The other isn't bad. I'll be fine.”
“Head back with Joe, alright? You won't be any good like that.” Peter nodded.
“I'm sorry about this,” Peter said.
“Shut up, sorry. Sorry for getting shot doing me a favor? Shit.” Cassidy looked to Joseph. “Joe?”
“I got him. Don't worry,” Joseph said, holstering his revolver.
Cassidy reached down to pick up one of the chrome guns. “Finally, we see one of these infamous strange guns,” she said, her reflection crisp and only slightly distorted by the machining. “Impressive metal. Some kind of alloy, I'd guess. What do you boys know about this thing?” she said to the two men.
Looking surly, the taller of the two men, weathered and overly tanned, responded. “Nothing. It’s a gun. We shoot people with it.”
“A philosopher, I see.” Cassidy hit a switch, causing the rotating barrel assembly to spin up. She analyzed this briefly before hitting the switch to deactivate the gun. “Very impressive, indeed,” she said, nodding. “No time for play, though.” She set the gun on a crate. “Put that there for safe keeping. For now, you boys will be following my bearded friend here to the back car where you will be—“
The two men were suddenly riddled with bullets from someone in the next car. Cassidy’s team started firing all of their guns into the wall. “Son of a bitch!” Cassidy yelled as she dove to the ground. After a moment to collect themselves, Cassidy asked “So, anyone willing to be the first in?” Everyone looked at everyone else in a moment of confusion.
“Where’d they get that dynamite?” asked Levi.
“Right!” Cassidy replied. They looked around.
“Here,” Joseph said, as he lifted a leather bag from a pile of suspension parts. He reached into the bag and pulled out two sticks of dynamite.
“Excellent!” exclaimed Cassidy. “Jacob, you smoke. Light that up.”
“Oh, yes!” Jacob reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a wooden match, striking it on the wall of the car. He lit the dynamite. Jacob then shuffled over to the door, staying low. He glanced around the corner quickly before tossing the dynamite into the next car.
They all closed their eyes tight and held their ears as the sound of an explosion from the next car sent some shrapnel into their car. They all opened their eyes, Jacob got up, and looked around the corner. “Can’t see,” he said flatly. “One second.” He got up, scurried around the corner for a moment, then came back. He looked at Cassidy. “Looks clear,” he said.
Cassidy stared at him for a moment. “Are you drunk?” she asked.
“Yes. Why?”
“No reason. Let’s go.”
---
Mr. Caesar stood on the train car platform, looking out over the lush California landscape. The trees from the side of the track were cleared, and the glare of the late afternoon sun cast a yellow glow over his face. His assistant came running out of the door. “There’s someone else on the train,” the assistant said.
“What?” Mr. Caesar replied, turning.
“One of the men, the youngun, working on the back cars came and told me. I don’t know about the men further back.”
“They don’t matter,” replied Mr. Caesar, turning back, away from his minion. He reached under his coat and pulled out a revolver. He opened it and pulled out two bullets for replacement. “Hold the others as far back as possible. Finish what you can manage.”
“I doubt it will do much good, Mr. Caesar,” the assistant said, shuffling slightly in place. “We’ve stripped these cars, looked under all of them. It’s simply not here.”
Mr. Caesar grumbled and mumbled to himself quietly. “The engine?... No.” He began to snap his finger as he thought. He looked over at the tender, across from the flatbed car, and focused on the back panel. He grumbled to himself. “Stay here,” he said to his man as he jumped out onto the flatbed and walked across to the tender car.
Arriving at the car, he pulled himself up over the edge to see the coal in the inner tub. He pulled out his revolver and flipped it around, whacking the metal with the handle. He hit the top of the car, causing a loud, resonating bong sound of water inside the hollow metal car. He repeated the actions lower down the car, eventually hitting in the middle of a square of decorative trim, giving a solid thuk sound. “Tricky bastards. Get a couple of men up here with crowbars!” Mr Caesar yelled back to his minion. “We’re going to rip apart this tender car.”
“Yes sir!”
---
“I’m out of shotgun rounds!” yelled Joseph, as he threw his shotgun onto the floor. Bullets zinged and peppered all around the group, taking cover behind two boxes sitting on the floor next to one another. Jacob continued firing over the boxes while Levi sat on the floor with the chrome gun in his lap.
“Dammit, Levi. Stop playing with that gun!” yelled Cassidy.
“No! I’ve almost got it figured out!” The shots continued as fragments of wood fell upon the group from the hail of bullets.
“Come on, you bastards!” hollered Cassidy as she fired off a few shots from her revolver. A massive blast blew a hole in the wall behind them. “We’re not making any headway!” As they continued, Levi was on the floor karate chopping a lever on the side of the gun. After one solid hit, it clicked into place.
“Ha!” yelled Levi. He removed then put back into place the large cartridge that was sticking out the bottom of the gun, flicked a switch and watched as the gun spun up to speed. “Got it!” He peered over the boxes, then stood up and aimed the gun at the men up front. He proceeded to
let loose a hail of bullets that ripped apart the car ahead. After stopping, leaving the entire car devastated, the other men promptly began firing again. Levi dived for cover.
“Well. That worked wonders,” Cassidy said cynically.
“I got the gun working!” Levi protested.
After a moment of contemplation, Cassidy began, “We have to find a way to go around.”
“Ladder,” Joseph replied. “Around the back of the car. If we're quiet we could surprise them.” Cassidy nodded. Joseph crawled out the back door, looked around the corner, and then crawled back. “No good. It’s been blown off.”
“We’ll have to go back to the next car and use that ladder. Levi, you enjoy senselessly shooting. Cover us while we run back,” Cassidy said.
Levi held up the shiny gun, turning it on. “No problem.” He then stood up and let loose another hail of gunfire. Cassidy, Joseph, and Jacob, crouched, scurried out the back door, and jumping over the gap, entered the previous car.
The trio climbed up on the ladder, then, just as Cassidy’s head peeked over the top of the car, someone on the roof of the next car aimed a rifle at her. “Oh come on!” she yelled. “Go back down, there’s someone on the roof!”
The trio dropped down on the floor next to Levi. “How much ammunition do you have left in that gun?,” Cassidy asked Levi.
“I’m out... I think.”
“Annhhh!” Cassidy yelled. “Joe, you have rounds for your scattergun?”
“Only a few” Joseph replied.
“All I need is a few. Give it here.” Joe handed it to Cassidy. She cocked it and then blasted it into the side wall of the car. She then fired again. “Levi, keep ‘em distracted again!”
“My pleasure!” Levi started firing over the crates.
Cassidy kicked out the last few pieces of wood, clearing a small hole. She stuck her head out, then yelled back in, “hold my feet!” Joseph and Jacob did so, with each one grabbing a leg. Supported, she reached out and gripped up the side of the car, reaching a handlebar near the rear of the car wall. She pulled herself up enough to grip a bar running along the length of the car. Situated, she slowly inched her way down the side of the car.
After making it to the front of the car, she peeked around the corner, then quietly stepped onto the front platform. Quietly cocking her revolver, she pressed against the wall near the door, then peeked around the edge with her gun and face. She adopted a look of confusion. The front of the car was empty. She stepped back and, after looking up, climbed the ladder to see onto the roof, and it too was empty. Climbing back down, she walked into the car. “Guys, you can come out. The car’s—“
Cassidy stopped talking as an odd machine rumbled past the train on the ground. It had a long brushed metal front, with exhaust pipes going all over, pumping out smoke. Louvers slotted up and down the sides of the front metal body. The front wheels were round, with reinforced rubber. A middle portion was comprised of metal and glass windows protecting a number of men who appeared to be in control of the vehicle. The rear was an open bed with two tractor tracks for wheels, kicking up a hail of dirt and rocks. Cassidy stared at the magnificent machine as it drove by, wide-eyed and open-mouthed. “What the hell…” she said. By now, Levi, Joseph and Jacob had come up.
“They retreated,” Jacob said, looking around.
“No,” Cassidy said. “They’re leaving.” Let’s go.
They ran into the last freight car, where the remaining robbers were jumping from the open freight door into the strange vehicle. Cassidy fired first, hitting a robber, who fell out the cargo door. Mr. Caesar lunged forward, knocking Cassidy’s gun aside, then delivered a left haymaker to the side of her head, knocking her into the wall. Joseph came up behind her and aimed his revolver into Caesar’s face, who dodged to the side as the bullet zinged past his head. Caesar grabbed the gun, twisting it around, causing Joseph to yell in pain, before being punched square in the face. He fell back into Levi and Jacob. Caesar pulled a gun and turned to aim it at Cassidy who kicked it out of his hand. Levi and Jacob then shoved Joseph into Caesar, who pushed him out the door. Joseph grabbed onto the hand rail to the door and dangled precariously out the side.
The man who had escaped Cassidy and crew earlier on the train appeared from the front of the car looking terrified. He had a large pack strapped to his back. Caesar turned around and yelled at him. “Get off the train, you idiot!” The terrified man shuffled and vacillated in place before running back out the back door. “Not that way!” Caesar yelled. He jumped off the left side onto a horse being driven by another rider aside it.
Caesar turned to be punched in the face by Cassidy. He stumbled back, blood leaking from his nose. “You’re on my train,” she said, Levi and Jacob standing confidently behind her.
“Not anymore,” Caesar replied, just before throwing himself off the train onto the odd vehicle. It then diverged from the tracks and roared off in a cloud of dust and exhaust smoke. Cassidy stared out the door, her hair blowing in the wind.
“Uh. Help.” Joseph said, still clinging to the side of the train. Cassidy helped him inside. “Levi, run back and get the engineer. Let’s stop this damned thing.”
---
The engineer stood in front of the controls with his hands on his head. “They’re wrecked everything! I… ugh… I don’t.”
“Can’t you stop it?” asked Cassidy, half-scared.
“Ummmm… I… I don’t think so.”
“Can’t we just shoot the boiler full of holes?” asked Levi.
“Look at this metal,” the engineer said mockingly. “Do you think bullets can penetrate this!?”
“Don’t get mad at me,” Levi protested. “I’m just putting out ideas!”
“Can we squelch the fire in any way?” Joseph asked.
The engineer put his hands on his hips and thought for a moment. He furrowed his brow, his face then went wide-eyed and expressionless. He looked quickly out the side of the engine. “Where are we on the track?”
“Umm,” responded Joseph. “Nearing Watsonville Junction, I think.”
The engineer placed his hands on his head again in nervous panic. “Ohhhhhh, annnnhhh! We’ve got a really sharp turn coming up. This train is going to fly off the track!”
“Wonderful!” yelled Cassidy. “Have you ever tried disconnecting cars from a moving train?”
“We have to remove a locking pin. It’s held in place by pressure. If we could brake the train, we could cause it to contract,” he said as he motioned his flat hands together, “allowing us to pull the pin, but they’ve ripped apart the controls. I have no way to vent the steam.”
“Are there explosives anywhere on the train?” asked Levi. “We could blow the cars apart.”
“I’ve still got a stick of dynamite!” Joseph yelled.
Everyone stood there for a moment, staring at each other. “Well someone do something!” yelled Cassidy.
---
The group stood on the platform behind the tender car as Levi straddled the two cars, wedging the stick of dynamite into the coupling. “That’s as good as I’m gonna’ get it!” yelled Levi.
“Ok. Light the fuse and get back here!” Cassidy yelled in response. Levi did just that as the group ran for cover at the back of cargo car. The explosion caused the car to shudder. Everyone paused, looked at each other, then looked up to see the front part of the flatbed mostly gone, but everything still coherent. “This is remarkably well made,” Cassidy said.
“What are we going to do?!” yelled the engineer.
“You tell us. You’re the engineer!” replied Cassidy.
“Right!... right. I am the engineer. Give me a moment.” The engineer’s eyes darted around and he paced slightly as he thought. “We need to compress the cars, but that means breaking the engine but not the cars. If we kill the pressure, that would brake all of the cars.”
“What pressure?” asked Cassidy.
“The brakes work on steam pressure. If you kill the pressure,
the brakes automatically apply. But if we kill the pressure, it causes the brakes on all of the cars behind the valve to apply their brakes. That won’t compress the cars. Worse still, the braking happens from the last car as well. It's designed to prevent too much compression.”
“Why not just close the valves?” asked Cassidy. “Drag the engine to a stop.”
“That engine is at full bore and we're on a downward grade. We'd probably just derail.” The engineer paced for a moment before placing his hands flat against one another and gesturing down as he spoke. “Ok. I think this will work. We need to close off the valve at the back of this first freight car, break open the tube at the front, and pull out the pin in back. With the valve closed off, the brakes leak, but it will take a moment before they engage. But if we rip open the tube up front, the quick loss of pressure will engage these brakes and only these brakes, causing the back cars to press into this car.”
“What tubes?” asked Joseph.
“They’re the tubes that you can see running right by the couplings. A shotgun blast will be more than enough to blow them open.”
Cassidy St. Claire and The Fountain of Youth Parts I, II, & III Page 5
