Page 25 of Death and Do-Overs

“What are they?” I asked.

“Petrification potions.” Rose twisted her lips. “Well, they’re more like petrification juniors. You’re not going to take out a whole room with them, which is way safer for someone who has never used them before, trust me. Just make sure to stay as far away from the green smoke as possible or you’ll end up petrified, too.”

Great. Sounded like a good way to accidentally get myself killed. I accepted her gift and carefully tucked the potions into one of the zipper pockets of my messenger bag.

Just as I was about to pull my bag back up around Nie, an idea struck.

“Do you mind moving Nie for a minute?” I asked Rose.

“Of course not,” she said.

She gingerly reached around to Nie’s ears and moved her a few inches from the bag.

I retrieved my pocket knife from one of the bag’s compartments.

“What exactly are you doing?” Rose asked, her voice rising with every word.

“Cutting holes.”

The look on Rose’s face was beyond apprehension.

“In my bag,” I said. What did she think I was going to do? Harm Nie after I’d gone to such lengths to ensure her safety? I tried not to be offended.

“For what?” Rose still looked concerned, though her voice was back to its regular pitch.

I answered as I worked. “Nie blinked when I opened my bag. It’s possible she was doing that in there the entire time, but it’s equally possible that was the first time. If stimulation helps in her recovery, I can’t keep her in the dark.”

“That makes sense.” A tight smile crossed Rose’s face. “And also if she can see your surroundings, she’s more likely to be able to indicate where she has and hasn’t been. Maybe she could even identify the killer…with a series of winks?”

I was hoping speech would come soon, but I would gladly take any form of communication.

“Another valid point,” I said.

Rose gave me a thumbs up. “Let’s get you that train ticket.”

Before Rose left, I thanked her,again. I’d said more thank yous in one day than I had over the last year. It was exhausting owing so many people so much. It left me itchy.

The next train to Nevermore was supposed to depart within the hour. Unfortunately, it was canceled. I considered returning home to collect a bag for my trip, but I’d lent Rose my car, andas I watched the arrival times change for not just my train, but others as well, I decided it wasn’t worth the risk of leaving and possibly missing it.

At the mercy of the locomotive powers that be, I ate an overpriced, under-flavored sandwich from the concession counter, watched out for cloaked figures, and waited for nearly four hours before my train finally arrived.

I’d still seen no sign of, and heard no word from, Imogen.

Given the extensive manifest for the train Nie had taken, my own ride was surprisingly sparse. I only saw two other passengers, neither of whom appeared particularly suspicious, and both kept to themselves.

One employee patrolled what was beginning to feel like a ghost train. He looked to be barely out of diapers. He had a lanky build and carried himself with the insecurity of someone who was so new at their occupation they felt like an imposter.

Still, he somehow had the deadest eyes I’d ever seen, which was saying something, given the company I kept.

I expected him to ask for my ticket as he passed. He did not.

Since I did not see the cloaked figure who’d followed Nie to the ticket booth in the security footage, I wondered if he’d known no one on the ride would check if he in fact had a ticket. If so, that meant he may have taken this train before.

After the flooding had been dealt with at the shelter, perhaps Rose could take another crack at Ticket Guy for me to secure footage leading up to the twenty-third. The chances of the same person walking around cloaked in the same fashion seemed unlikely, though.

As the crew member was about to pass by me for the second time, I said, “Hey.”

He startled, as if not having realized I was there. “Yes?”

---