Page 196 of Atlas: The Story of Pa Salt
‘They’re coming back,’ Rhea said, holding Kreeg tight.
The trotting grew closer and closer, and sure enough, the door to the railway carriage was wrenched open once again, revealing a soldier that the occupants had not seen before.
‘You are free to leave,’ he decreed.
There was a stunned silence. ‘I’m sorry?’ asked Cronus.
‘You are of no concern to us. You may go.’
Cronus looked puzzled. ‘May I ask what has changed?’
The guard sighed. ‘The White Army is sending reinforcements to this area to confront us. You’re the least of our problems.’
‘Where do you propose we go?’ asked Rhea. ‘You took away our papers.’
The guard shrugged. ‘That’s your problem, not mine.’ He turned to leave.
‘One moment,’ Lapetus said. ‘Will trains run on this line again? Can we make use of the station?’
‘The Trans-Siberian railway has been requisitioned by the White Army. How do you think they are sending reinforcements? They’re travelling here as we speak.’
‘Please, tell me where my wife is,’ implored Lapetus.
The guard looked at him for a while, but did not say a word. Then he simply turned and left.
‘I can’t believe it,’ Cronus whispered. ‘They themselves don’t even seem to know who is in charge anymore.’
‘What do we do now?’ Rhea asked.
‘I’m not sure we have a lot of choice,’ replied Cronus. ‘Without any official papers, trouble looms. The White Army will assume we’re Reds, and vice versa.’
‘I think they want us to stay here,’ Lapetus reasoned. ‘That’s the point of this. They know full well we can’t go anywhere.’
‘I fear you may be right, Lapetus,’ Cronus said. ‘Thank goodness for the goats. And...’ – he crossed over to the storage cupboard and pulled something out – ‘the vodka.’
The next month was difficult, but a routine was formed. The goat was milked in the morning, and Cronus would set out hunting. Although rarely successful, on the odd occasion one of his traps had yielded a rabbit or, regrettably, a rodent, the occupants of the carriage devoured the meat. Lapetus had even been able to siphon fuel from an abandoned motorcar, so fire did not prove to be a problem.
After four weeks had passed, a Red Guard knocked on the carriage door, and handed some documents to Cronus.
‘What are these?’ he asked.
‘Papers.’
A shocked Cronus began to rifle through what he had been presented with. ‘There’s only one set here. Surely we need five individual sets?’
‘It’s one set, authorised for five.’ The guard shrugged. ‘You must travel together.’ The guard departed as swiftly as he had arrived.
That evening, they discussed their next move.
‘This is deliberate,’ Lapetus said. ‘They want us to stay together so we’re easier to keep track of.’
Cronus nodded. ‘Where do we go?’
Lapetus sighed. ‘Tobolsk. It’s the closest settlement.’
‘And when we arrive, what then? It might sound odd tosay, but at least here we have shelter and can source food,’ Rhea asserted.
‘Opportunities will be better in Tobolsk. We will all have the chance to earn money. As for accommodation, we’ll have to take anything we can find.’
