The finale... are you ready for this??

Chapter

Oliver stumbled onto the early morning train in Nashville and clumsily handed his ticket to the attendant. The man snipped it and then handed it back to him. He had to reach out for it several times before he finally was able to grab it.

“Are you all right, son?” the attendant asked in concern.

“Huh? Oh, yeah, it was a beautiful day,” he replied drowsily before struggling up the stairs and into a seat. Many people were crowded around him, he noticed, and most of which had gleaming faces of excitement.

“They must be family of the people at home,” he thought.

He then allowed himself the privilege of leaning his head against the window.

“I’ll just rest a minute,” he told himself, “After all, I can’t face Johnny being dead tired.”

An all night journey on horse to a city many, many miles away would definitely do that to someone. He comforted himself with the thought that he had made it and now he could effectively stop… and before he could even complete his train of thought, he had fallen asleep.

“Next stop: Huntersville!”

Oliver jumped to life at the shrill call of the train attendant.

“Huntersville!” he exclaimed allowed, hardly noticing the people around him as they stared. Instantly, he was on his feet. His eyes flew to the ground outside as it rushed by with flying colors. Ready to drop dead in panic he rushed through the car of the train until slamming into the train attendant.

“May I help you, young man?” he asked kindly as he grinned.

“Uh, yes, I need to the front car, please.”

“I’m sorry, but that’s impossible. The front car is blocked by the coal car. And besides, it’s extremely dangerous to cross while the train is moving. Now, just go sit and-“

But Oliver was already quickly striding away towards the other end. He stopped only when he reached the other door at the back. Upon turning around to see who was watching, he found that quite a few people were… including the attendant. Thinking quickly, an idea entered his mind.

“Hey,” he called softly to a small boy sitting on the farthest back bench. He lifted his muddy face to Oliver’s. “Do you want some money?”

The sad face instantly morphed into an expression of glee and he rapidly nodded his head.

“Yes, sir!”

“Then, would you do something for me?” Olly asked while holding up two copper pennies. The boy darted to his side and Oliver carefully whispered the plan into his ear. The boy nodded happily and then carefully began to creep forward to execute the plan. Oliver just leaned his back calmly against the door while holding one hand, hidden, and firm on the door handle.

Olly watched as the boy moved forward until beside a rather obese lady with a purse about as large as she. In lightning movements, he grasped the purse and darted up to an open window only to shove it dangling outside. That quickly diverted everyone’s attention to the front giving Oliver the perfect chance to run.

He yanked down the handle and the door slowly creaked open until there was just enough room for Olly to slip out and grab a hold of the small ladder running up the side of the car. He tightly shut the door and began ascending up the ladder. But Oliver was unprepared for the fierce, driving wind that slapped into his face the second his head popped up above the back of the car. Olly forced himself to keep moving despite the wind, and was soon laying flat on his stomach on the top. The wind continually smacked into him as he began to slowly struggle forward. And finally, he decided that this was not good enough. With extreme caution, Oliver rose to his hands and knees, then just knees, and, very carefully, stood to his feet. It was a little difficult at first, but all he had to do was remind himself of the people at stake. Then, he began moving forward on the rapidly traveling train. Finally, he reached the end of the car, but was very disappointed to see that there was a good four foot break between his car and then one after it.

“I have to jump,” he whispered into the wind.

Bunching his muscles, he sprang forward. His shin slammed into the side and he could feel himself falling. And just as he was about to fall down low enough to be seen by the people in his cart, his foot was caught inside the top rung the same time he grasped the top rung on the other cart. So there he was, dangling between cars just inches within being discovered. Shaking horribly, he reached out his other hand to grasp the rung on the new car. Oliver was off by about a foot and a half. Breathing heavily, he slowly wrenched his foot free and let it fall down to chain holding the two cars together. It shook ferociously at his feet. And then… an idea hit him. And before he knew what he was doing, he bent and, with a great effort that took a few tries, unhooked the hook from its hold, separating the last fifteen or so cars from the rest of the five. It gave a mighty jerk and Oliver was nearly thrown off the engine altogether.

Olly watched in pure delight as the cars rapidly slowed behind the rest of it until he could barely see them anymore.

With hope renewed, he scaled the back of the car like a monkey until again crouching on top. Yes, there were only five cars left, he observed, and that included the coal car and the engine. All he had to do was dispatch the three cars carrying people from the other two and then he could go up to the front, get the captain out, and do his very best to stop the engine before it arrived at Huntersville.

He instantly began his journey forward. If he moved quickly enough, he would not have to stop at each one but rather do all three at once. And when he reached the end of that car, he lithely leaped across it and was much more careful not to slip this time. It still made a crashing noise, but no one ever came to investigate. So he moved on with more vigor across the next car. And finally, he was at the end of the last car. Breathing heavily by this time, he crawled down the side of that car and hopped across to the other. And then, he bent down fought with the hook for a while. It gave a little popping noise and then jerked free. And when the chain flew out from its bond, it sliced into Oliver’s palm. Olly jerked back his left hand in agony as blood droplets dripped from his veins to fly out in the wind. A tear tugged at his cuticle, but he ignored it as he turned and slowly, painfully began his climb up the side of the coal car. Oliver refused to take notice of the blood stains left behind from his hand as he gripped each rung.

He could not have been more grateful to reach the top of the car and sling himself over into the mounds of coal. Instantly, he found himself cascading down into countless rocks of the black fuel. And just as he was about to be slammed into the side of the car, he reached up and gripped the edge with his good hand. Oliver still crashed into the side, but did not sink down as the other coal did. Instead, he flung his other hand up a little hesitantly and struggled to rid himself of the coal. And tediously, he rose over the edge and slid down the ladder.

His heart beat like a drum inside him as he carefully leaped over the last chain and gripped the door handle to the engine car. With little struggle, he flung the door open and squeezed inside. And before even turning to look at the conductor, he began talking while shutting the door.

“Don’t be alarmed, conductor, but I am here to tell something of great importance.” He paused to turn and as he did so, whom he saw was not the conductor at all, but rather his worst enemy and the creator behind this entire scheme.

“Johnny,” he breathed.

“How are you, Olly?” he asked slimily while tipping the conductor hat sitting atop his head, “Enjoying the ride?”

“Where’s the conductor?” Oliver exploded while rushing up to Johnny.

Johnny’s lips parted into a wicked grin.

“Why, he got off quite a while back, thanks to my… friend.”

Fear rushed into Oliver’s mind as he considered that statement.

“Jonathan Walker, I demand you to stop this train instantly!” Olly practically screamed.

And before he fully understood what was happening, his head flew to the side with an awful force. Oliver smashed into the wall and drew back to see blood from his lip now sliding down it. And when he turned, he saw Johnny wiping off his rolled up fist against his shirt.

“Fight me, Olly,” he challenged, “Do one more noble thing in your pathetic life before it ends because there’s no way I’m stopping this train.”

“I don’t want to fight you, Jonathan,” he said slowly while leaning heavily against the wall, “Just, please, stop the train.”

In a flash, Johnny had Oliver pinned against the wall by the throat.

“Listen, Oliver,” he began hotly, “There is no force in the universe that could make me stop this engine. I have to do this!”

And then Johnny drove his fist into Oliver’s stomach. Olly crumbled in his grasp only to be kicked in the side by Johnny right after. Oliver was sent reeling across the floor and halted only when crashing into the door.

Olly could barely breathe due to having his breath ripped away, but he forced himself to say, “Yes, you do. Everyone has a choice.”

Johnny triumphantly approached him. He bent down and grasped Olly’s collar to draw him up onto his feet.

“I’m going to say this again. I don’t have a choice because it’s something that I have to do! I have to do this because… because…”

“Why?” Olly squeaked out in an unearthly tone.

“Because!” Johnny cried in a sudden, furious rage.

And before either one understood his actions, he yanked on the door handle and they both went flying outside the back of the car. Instantly, the two men grasped the part connecting the coal cart to the engine. Ground rushed beneath them like a river as each held on for dear life.

“Johnny!” Oliver screeched above the racket of the train and the wind, “Is this really what you want? This?”

“I have to do this, Olly!” he cried back while repositioning his hold on the chain, “If I don’t, I’ll have nothing to live for!”

“But you’re going to die anyways! If this train falls, it’s taking both of us with it!”

“You will never understand!” he screeched with such force that it hurt his ears even with the other noises crashing around him, but his ears were not the only thing in pain. For at that moment, Johnny managed to lash out at Oliver and send a striking blow across his jaw. Olly loosened his grip with the impact and swung down underneath the bar connected to the chain. Now, he was but inches from the ground beneath. Pain sliced through his jaw and he was sure it was fractured. But Johnny was not satisfied with where Olly was and then began beating his hands and fingers in a struggle to make him release. Olly cried out in agony as new bruises and torches of pain fired through his fingers, head, and even shins, when it so please Johnny to strike him there.

“Let go!” he demanded.

“We’re almost to Huntersville, Johnny!” Olly cried out hoarsely due to the agony which he faced both emotionally and physically, “Please, stop!”

“I can’t!” he replied yet again.

“Suit yourself,” Oliver muttered before whipping up one of his legs to strike Johnny in the gut. His body slunk together with the blow, allowing Olly just enough time to swing up again. Wasting no time, he rapped his palm across Jonathan’s cheek in a sharp slap. His head snapped to the side, and again gave Olly the time he needed to sit down on the edge of the floor of the engine car.

Reaching out, he gripped the back of Johnny’s shirt collar and yanked him inside. Johnny instantly lunged out at him again without even taking a breath. The two rolled over to the door in a flurry of arms and legs. And finally, Oliver had Johnny pinned against the doorframe with a handful of his hair in his bad hand his shirt collar in the other.

“Johnny, now you’ve got to listen. I’m going to throw you off so you can live and I’ll stay on to try and stop the train. Got it?” And without hesitation or wait for reply, he proceeded to stand and bring Johnny with him. As he was beginning to hold him out to give him a safe toss, Johnny suddenly began crying out in what seemed like gibberish. Olly drew him back in slightly.

“What?”

“I said that the real reason I’m doing this and have done everything to you is because I was jealous of you, Olly!”

Oliver’s whole countenance changed as the shock took over him.

“What do you mean? My dad was an awful criminal and now both my parents are dead! I live by myself at sixteen! How can you be jealous?” he cried in return.

“Because your parents loved you, Oliver! Even if they weren’t perfect, they still loved you! You were always better at everything and had everything! You even had Abigail!”

“Wait. What do you mean?”

“I’m sorry, Olly!” Johnny said.

“Live a better life, Johnny,” he began, somehow knowing in his heart that these would be his last words to this childhood friend, “I know you can be better than this.”

And then he tossed Johnny out like a rag doll only to watch him tumble a little off to the side and land safely in the grass.

Then he turned back to the hard task of fixing the train. Olly rushed to the controls and instantly began searching for a break.

As if on cue, Johnny’s words rang in his mind, “You can’t stop this train, Olly!” Maybe he had not just been speaking of self-will but rather the actual engine. If he pulled the break… well, he had heard that it could a long time to actually get the train to begin to halt. Then, another idea dawned on him that had to be the only alternative. Knowing exactly what to do, he rushed over and began dumping as much coal as he could get his hands on into the furnace. In triumph, he pushed on the lever that gave speed. Oliver noticed an instant change in the speed. It had to be going at least twenty to thirty miles faster than before.

“Oh, please, let it work,” he whispered.

Oliver could already see the Huntersville people approaching just ahead. And in surprise, he noted a tear rolling down his cheek. This had to work.

The people flashed by and there was a great jolt as the train struck the broken tracks. He was flung to the side and rammed into a couple crates. But… the train was not flipping… yet. He noticed that the train was slowly beginning to turn sideways as it forged ahead with groundbreaking speed.

Oliver reached up and grasped the side of the window to pull himself up.

“It worked!” he exclaimed, “We didn’t hit anyone!”

And that was when he looked up and saw the train station.

Abigail had never seen anything like it. The coal car and engine shook violently as it hit the bad track and then began slowly sliding off course. But… by some miracle, it never hit anyone… or at least she thought. By the cries of anxiety and fear, she knew instantly that the people here were not the only roadblocks. Abby rushed forward in just enough time to see the train smash into the train station in a sweltering heap of fire, explosion, and mess.

“There were only four or so people in there,” a bystander said to her.

“Not anymore,” she replied bitterly.

It was a little while after that the fire had died down and few people had stayed long enough to help clean up and look for the dead people. The others had gone home disappointed and utterly heartbroken. But her compassion for them quickly faded when she saw him.

“I found one in the train!” someone yelled out.

And then they produced the body of Oliver D. Sledge Jr. Sobbing like none other could, she bid her last farewells to him.

Only an hour or two later was she ready to actually look someone in the eye. An elderly man approached and timidly asked her, “Uh, miss, since you seem to be the closest thing the young Oliver has to family, we figured you should decide what goes on his headstone.

“Not words,” she whispered in reply, “We’ll make it what he was… an angel.”

So today in that cemetery no more than a few miles from where it all happened, stands a tall statue base erected with a delicate, detailed angel sitting peacefully in prayer atop it. Now, the town of Huntersville knows, thanks to the confessions of Johnny, what had really been going on. And that angel still stands today in find memory of the angel himself that lies beneath it.