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Scene #1
Ginger was having a dream. A very pleasant dream. Satin sheets cradles her. A downy comforter enveloped her in its softness. The pillow was scented a heavenly apricot and she was warm. Very warm. With a rude jolt she awakened sighing heavily when she took in her familiar surroundings. The countryside raced past as the train clattered on its journey. The car was chilly despite the brochure's promises of modern amenities. Ginger shivered as she glanced again at the pamphlet next to her. Yes, she had found adventure, a promise boldly displayed on the front cover, but not without a price. She thought back to two days ago when all of the clues that had nagged at her converged into a very real very dangerous adventure. Wiping the grit from her eyes she rose from her seat. Her cabin held a small sleeping area but every jolt made it impossible to rest there. With every bump she felt she would be catapulted straight into the ceiling."Jeez, a modern day Nancy Drew!" she snorted to herself as she caught a glimpse of her reflection in the makeshift metal surfaced mirror on the wall. Dark circles rimmed her eyes and her her hair was a tangled mess. Another bump made her stagger and she quickly righted herself. What she needed was a cup of coffee, though she thought it wouldn't settle her jangled nerves.
Perhaps some tea. The train had a dining area where its passengers read their papers and sipped drinks haphazardly. She tried the handle of her compartment and was relieved to find that it sprang open quite easily. Two nights ago she had tried to open it and had felt icy fingers of panic crawl up her spine when it wouldn't budge. A few moments before she had heard a rustle in the hallway and footsteps pause outside her door.
Ginger had heard of tourists being robbed and after the strange events of the days she wouldn't count that out. She had sucked in her breath afraid to make any sound. The footsteps continued past her door and she breathed a long sigh of relief. Her relief had turned to panic as she tried to open the door in vain. The handle turned but the door wouldn't budge. "Calm down!" she told herself fiercely. The train was equipped with an intercom system. She only had to buzz one of the porters and they would help her.
The intercom had only crackled with static when she pushed the button. Nothing. How long would she be in here before somebody noticed? She had decided to travel alone. Her worldly adventure with Derrick was a bust. A week before they were to set off he called her with urgency in his voice. She knew things had been going sour for some time but each time she tried to talk to him he laughed off her fears. First the emails and texts at all hours then calls from a mysterious woman who never left a message with her. She broke it off swiftly after he informed her that he would not be going on the trip. A work emergency. She sneered at the memory. She was nobody's fool and she had been played long enough.
Finally more footsteps passed her door. She recognized the bubbly laugh of another passenger. Willow was a young student from a university out on the west coast. She had freely given details of her trip thus far and knew all the best local spots. Ginger liked her easy camaradarie. Relief flooded through her. She called out to Willow and was relieved to hear her say something to her companion and double back to the door. In a moment the door sprang open. "I guess these old compartment doors stick easily". Ginger laughed uneasily. She didn't mention the metal pin that she had seen on the tattered hallway carpet. Nor the glitter of the jewel attached. The pin she had scooped up when Willow's back was turned. The pin like the one on the silken fabric in the bazaar.
Her stomach grumbled loudly. Frowning she shook these memories away as she headed down the hall. This was no time to piece together any more events. She had more than enough time as the train hurtled, or rather limped, towards the next destination. She pulled her hair back in a ponytail as she reached the door to the dining car. She hated her hair's tendency to cling together in unbecoming tangles. Most people would call her curls charming. Secretly she thought she looked too much like Little Orphan Annie with extensions. The fiery color of her hair and the scattered freckles across her nose didn't help.
The dining car opened with a whoosh and she gracelessly fell inwards. Right into the hard physique of a man. Embarrassed she looked at his face and then down again. She couldn't believe it. This was him. The man she had seen at the bazaar. The man at the train station. The man she saw before the pin. Her heart jumped in her chest as he grasped her arms like he was going to steady her. Instead he leaned in close and whispered harshly. "Do as I say and you won't get hurt."
She felt his hands bite into her arms as he guided her to a nearby table. Felt the slight prick of the pin in his hand and she knew she couldn't resist. He knew her secret. The one she had only just found out. How could he know when she barely knew herself? She sat down hard on the chair and he crossed to the chair opposite. "You are wondering what is going on". She knew it wasn't a question. He stated the obvious. "I am Masaya." His green eyes rested on hers for a moment. Such a contrast to his darkly tanned face. She didn't know what to make of what she saw there. Hatred? Pain? a threat? For the second time she felt a chill in the air.
"I am following you. I know you though you don't remember me. It was better that way." What the hell was he talking about? She glanced down at his hands catching a glimpse of the pin sparkling in his left palm. It looked familiar though the stone on this one was blue and not the fiery red of the one she had found.
Unconciously she reached towards the pocket of her sweater. The pin was there. A flimsy jeweled lock that had made it impossible to open her door. How could that be? Masaya looked at her wondering eyes and began his story. A story so fantastic it could only be the truth.
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