While Bug and Luce explained the last few days to Mister Station, Cy put down the water jug and sat at the other end of the banch from Lumpy. They both looked at the second railcart and the unconscious stranger.
\u201cWe thought he\u2019d die if we left him there.\u201d Cy explained. \u201cSo we brought him back here. Didn\u2019t see the warning part of the message until the next station, just the bit with our names.\u201d
\u201cHe probably would have died.\u201d Lumpy agreed. \u201cWith everyone in town sick, there\u2019d be nobody to go and rescue him.\u201d
Cy shot him a look, and Lumpy nodded.
\u201cWe made a list; It\u2019s everyone. Everyone but you three and Mister Station.\u201d
\u201cDid we \u2026 ?\u201d Cy began, paused, and tried again. \u201cDid us bringing him back here cause \u2026 ?\u201d
He gestured vaguely towards the waiting room doors, where Bug and Luce were describing how they\u2019d moved the stranger.
\u201cShould we have left him there? Would it have helped?\u201d Cy asked.
Lumpy leaned back and looked up into the rafters of the platform awning, frowning in thought. He looked and smelled terrible; Better than when they\u2019d first arrived, because there was less vomit on him now, but still awful.
\u201cYou found him today?\u201d Lumpy asked.
\u201cAround mid-day, maybe a bit before.\u201d
\u201cWhere? And where were you before that?\u201d
Cy thought for a moment, then grabbed a stick and started scratching out a map on the platform.
\u201cUp from the little village, there\u2019s the station where we camped. Then up past the panels that\u2019re off the side of the track.\u201d He explained. \u201cAt the next station up the valley, on the platform; That\u2019s where we found him.\u201d
Lumpy studied the map for a moment.
\u201cAnd you came back along the rails?\u201d
Cy nodded.
\u201cStopped here.\u201d He pointed to the station with the working platform sign. \u201cBecause we thought that maybe there might be more people, but there weren\u2019t. Saw the message though.\u201d
\u201cAnd then?\u201d
\u201cThen we came the rest of the way back without stopping.\u201d
\u201cThat\u2019s good.\u201d Lumpy nodded. \u201cGood idea to check, and good idea to come back fast.\u201d
He stared at the map for a moment.
\u201cI don\u2019t think bringing him here caused this.\u201d
Lumpy reached out a foot, dipped his toe in the puddle of water from his combined drinking and washing attempts, and drew a wavy line roughly alongside Cy\u2019s sketch.
\u201cThis started yesterday, when you must have been at the old summer holiday camp, so \u2026 Nothing to do with you three; You\u2019d not even reached him yet.\u201d
Mister Station, Bug, and Luce wandered over as Lumpy talked, looking down at the map.
\u201cProbably something to do with him though.\u201d Lumpy continued. \u201cFrom the smell of him he\u2019s worse hit than anyone here, so either he got it first or he got it more.\u201d
Everyone looked at Lumpy.
\u201cHow do you know he\u2019s worse?\u201d Bug asked.
\u201cEasy; He\u2019s shit himself.\u201d Lumpy replied, tapping his nose. \u201cNobody in the village has done that yet.\u201d
\u201cNot looking forward to that stage.\u201d Mister Station muttered. \u201cNot at all.\u201d
He gestured to the map.
\u201cYou\u2019ve drawn in the river? That\u2019s your guess?\u201d
Lumpy nodded and waved an exhausted hand.
\u201cIt makes sense?\u201d He said, gesturing to the three children. \u201cThese three have been drinking stored rainwater from the collectors, everyone else has been drawing from the river because with the summer being this hot, they\u2019ve already gone through all their stored rainwater.\u201d
\u201cDoes that mean the river\u2019s not safe forever?\u201d Luce asked.
\u201cNo. No, I don\u2019t think so.\u201d Lumpy replied. \u201cIt got in through the river, then sick people did the rest, but it\u2019s almost impossible to totally poison a river, even one running as low as this one does in summer.\u201d
\u201cAnd it wouldn\u2019t make sense.\u201d Mister Station added. \u201cIf you can\u2019t ever use the river again, then the place is no good to anyone.\u201d
Bug, Cy, and Luce looked from Mister Station to Lumpy and back again, bot following what they were saying.
\u201cI think this is some kind of War Plague.\u201d Lumpy explained. \u201cSomething that spreads quickly and makes people so sick that they can\u2019t stop you from taking over, but not so sick that they die from it.\u201d
They all looked at the still-covered form of the stranger.
\u201cIf he\u2019s the most sick.\u201d Cy said, slowly, felling his way through the thought. \u201cShould we help him first, because he\u2019s the worst one, or last, because he might make everyone else worse?\u201d
Lumpy studied Cy and raised a questioning eyebrow at Mister Station, who slumped slightly, sighed, then straightened and took a step towards the stranger\u2019s railcart. Something in the station building made a soft \u2018bing\u2019 noise, and he paused mid-step, looking back over his shoulder.
\u201cThat\u2019s probably another booster.\u201d He told Lumpy, and gestured back and forth between the railcart and the building. \u201cWhich one first?\u201d
Lumpy didn\u2019t even pause.
\u201cBooster. Then I can use these three to get everyone situated.\u201d He grinned horribly at the shocked looks from Cy, Luce, and Bug. \u201cWith appropriate safety measure, of course; Don\u2019t worry.\u201d
\u201cYou sure you can take another one?\u201d Mister Station asked in a soft voice.
Lumpy prodded his stomach with a thoughtful look.
\u201cShould be OK; Haven\u2019t started pissing orange yet.\u201d
Mister Station nodded and walked back into the building as lumpy gesture to the nervous-looking trio.
\u201cDon\u2019t worry too much.\u201d He said. \u201cI\u2019ll deal with the people, I just need you three to find and set up places for them. And probably help get them set up for treatment.\u201d
He leaned forward, which turned into something closer to a slump, and continued.
\u201cYou\u2019re sure you didn\u2019t see anyone else out there? No other camps, or any signs of other people?\u201d
The trio shook their heads, and Cy turned to give a suspicious look at the stranger. Lumpy gestured, inviting Cy to speak.
\u201cIf it\u2019s one of those War Plague things,\u201d Cy began. \u201cDoes that mean there\u2019s more people coming?\u201d
\u201cOr already here, and this guy got unlucky?\u201d Luce added.
Lumpy grinned again and nodded at them.
\u201cGood; You\u2019re thinking about it.\u201d He said. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t seem too likely to me, because you found that guy by himself, and that\u2019s a bad way to invade.\u201d
He pointed at Bug.
\u201cBut?\u201d Lumpy prompted.
Bug thought for a while, looking at the drying map at her feet.
\u201cBut he might have been the one sent to follow the tracks, not the river, and got unlucky.\u201d She suggested.
Lumpy nodded, then turned to Luce.
And if he wasn\u2019t alone, but the people have a timetable to stick to?\u201d
\u201cThey\u2019d have had to leave him, and the station platform was an OK spot.\u201d She declared. \u201cAnd we don\u2019t know for sure that the medical stuff we saw got used by him; We just sort of assumed.\u201d
\u201cYou found medical stuff?\u201d Lumpy said quietly, then shook his head and carried on. \u201cSo, what can we do id there are more people coming?\u201d
He hadn\u2019t gestured to anyone, but feeling like it was his turn, Cy spoke up.
\u201cWe \u2026 We can\u2019t do anything, can we?\u201d He said. \u201cEveryone\u2019s too sick.\u201d
\u201cThat\u2019s right.\u201d Lumpy agreed. \u201cIf they exist, and at this point we\u2019re only guessing that they might exist, their plan worked on everyone but you three, and you three are not going to be getting involved.\u201d
He straightened up a little and looked firmly at them.
\u201cFirst sign of trouble, you lot run.\u201d He ordered. \u201cGo into the woods, head up the valley, stay off the paths and the rails and the road. Head for that little village you found; There\u2019s water and food and shelter there if you look.\u201d
\u201cAnd then what?\u201d Cy asked.
Lumpy shrugged.
\u201cNo idea. You\u2019ll have to figure out what to do next once you figure out what\u2019s happening.\u201d He explained. \u201cBut first, hide and stay hidden.\u201d
Mister Station broke the tension of the moment by emerging from the workshop side-door back onto the platform, holding up a bag of oily-looking orange liquid.
\u201cI\u2019ve set the pharmacy printer to analysing samples.\u201d He reported. \u201cWith any luck this thing\u2019s close enough to something it recognises that we can make a treatment.\u201d
He looked at the bag with distaste.
\u201cOr at least something less toxic than this stuff.\u201d
Lumpy slowly rolled up his sleeve as Mister Station found a nail in the rafters to hang the bag from.
\u201cDid you always have that connector thing on your arm?\u201d Cy asked, pointing at the off-white socket sticking out of Lumpy\u2019s upper arm. \u201cI never noticed it before.\u201d
Mister Station dug a coil of clear tubing out of one pocket and a jar of clear liquid out of the other. He opened the jar, dipped both ends of the tubing coil into it, and started swirling them around as Lumpy replied.
\u201cNo, this is new; Makes it easier to attach those bags and administer medicine.\u201d
Mister Station carefully handed coil of tubing to Lumpy, who made sure not to touch the ends, then held the small jar up to a connector on the bottom of the hanging bag. A familiar smell drifted over the group.
\u201cMoonshine again?\u201d Asked Bug. \u201cYou can use it for medical stuff too?\u201d
\u201cYou shouldn\u2019t.\u201d Lumpy said, gently waving the coil back and forth to dry the ends. \u201cThese sorts of things are supposed to be single-use only, but since we don\u2019t have a way to get any more or make any more, cleaning the hell out of them is the next-best thing.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
While Bug and Luce explained the last few days to Mister Station, Cy put down the water jug and sat at the other end of the banch from Lumpy. They both looked at the second railcart and the unconscious stranger. \u201cWe thought he\u2019d die if we left him there.\u201d Cy explained. \u201cSo we brought him back here. Didn\u2019t see the warning part of the\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[6],"tags":[],"fcn_genre":[],"fcn_fandom":[],"fcn_character":[],"fcn_content_warning":[],"class_list":["post-228","fcn_chapter","type-fcn_chapter","status-publish","hentry","category-easi-wesi-rail"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hoarde.net\/scribblings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fcn_chapter\/228","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hoarde.net\/scribblings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fcn_chapter"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hoarde.net\/scribblings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/fcn_chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hoarde.net\/scribblings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hoarde.net\/scribblings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=228"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.hoarde.net\/scribblings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fcn_chapter\/228\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":229,"href":"https:\/\/www.hoarde.net\/scribblings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fcn_chapter\/228\/revisions\/229"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hoarde.net\/scribblings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=228"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hoarde.net\/scribblings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=228"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hoarde.net\/scribblings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=228"},{"taxonomy":"fcn_genre","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hoarde.net\/scribblings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fcn_genre?post=228"},{"taxonomy":"fcn_fandom","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hoarde.net\/scribblings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fcn_fandom?post=228"},{"taxonomy":"fcn_character","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hoarde.net\/scribblings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fcn_character?post=228"},{"taxonomy":"fcn_content_warning","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hoarde.net\/scribblings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fcn_content_warning?post=228"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}