CHAPTER 3: ALL ABOARD THE HIGHLAND EXPRESS!
It would be an understatement to say that the four teens were stunned. Their hearts nearly turned to lead. They stared at John, disbelievingly. For a few moments, they kept staring at each other, Mr. Abott smiling, and the four teens, bewildered.
"No! Absolutely not! Who do you think we are? Five-year old, spoon-fed kids or brainless idiots, huh? We are neither! Why should we trust you and board that bloody train?", Alice yelled, losing her temper for the first time, that day.
Molly was livid and kept muttering, "No. No. This can't be happening. This can't be happening". She was practically shaking in fright. George tried consoling her, but he himself was frightened to the core. Fred's head was whirling. He was still trying to process all that had happened in a matter of just few minutes and what they had come to know.
"Stop! Stop! Please just stop! Don't worry, I repeat DO NOT WORRY! You are in no danger of any kind. I know it's hard to trust an absolute stranger. But, believe me, I won't cause any harm to you. Here, I have some chocolate. It will help you calm down. You can take it if you want", John said, in a soothing voice but with such sincerity and firmness, that it reduced the teenagers' fear to some extent.
"See you said it yourself. Through a portal in a strange book, you land in a strange railway station having a single strange train. There, you meet a stranger, who is obsessed with chocolates and he tells you, that you have landed in a parallel world, which you didn't even know, exists. He then tells you that this parallel world is similar and at the same time NOT similar to yours; that it has people with magical abilities, while we know, that magic is NOT real. How on earth can we trust that man?", George ranted, grinding his teeth in frustration.
"You don't have to trust ME. But trust yourself. Trust your instincts. And as for magic, it most certainly IS real. Magic DOES exist. And, not only in this world. Also, in your world, MAGIC exists. Tell me, even after so much of human exploitation, does nature ever lose it's charm; it's ability to be selfless and giving; it's ability too soothe someone? No! Isn't that a form of magic? When you are terribly losing some battle of life and it's your willpower that keeps you going through every ordeal, isn't that willpower, a form of magic? Yes, it is. Magic exists in many abstract forms and within every ounce of your soul. When the conscience and instincts of your soul guides you, THAT too, is a form of magic. It's just, that we, the people of this world, have the ability to channel out our inner magic, which enables us to perform certain actions", John explained them patiently.
Hearing him, they were very much impressed by his wise sayings. Yet, they couldn't trust him! A stranger was still a stranger.
"Don't overthink. It's not like you are trapped here forever. You do have a way out of this world too. But only few wise wizards know the way out. My job is to drop all incoming visitors to Tinworth Highland. You can go back to your world from there only. As of now, you have no way home, from here. You have no other option than to board the Highland Express. And mind you, Highland Express is not like the ordinary trains of your world", John informed them, making them all stare at him owlishly.
"That's not right. It shouldn't be happening", Molly was whispering to herself, almost starting to cry. She was the youngest of the four, almost fifteen, about eleven months younger than Fred and Alice, who were twins, and yet, she was the smartest of them all and the one with the most formidable temper. And still, she was very much sensitive and emotional than her siblings and George, who was as good as a sibling to them.
"Shhh... It's okay Molly. Nothing will happen okay. Don't you worry. Calm down", Fred said soothingly, trying to comfort his younger sister. Many would say Fred Brackwell was mischievous; always jokes around and quite immature. But those who really knew him, and Fred himself, knew otherwise. They knew the truth, that Fred was humorous and loved joking around and maybe even a bit immature, but he could be caring and protective when required.
"But right now, we don't have anything to do other than trust this John Abott and along with him", George said in undertones, to the other three and they agreed. Looking at John sceptically, Alice said, "We should stick around by all means. This choco lover is not to be trusted. So, are we going to board the train now?".
"We don't have any other choice, do we?", Fred asked rhetorically.
Molly nodded her head in a yes, but at the same time, said in a small voice, "What about our family? Wouldn't they be worried about us?".
"Yes Molly, but there's nothing we can do. We can only hope for the best. As soon as we reach that Highland thing or place or whatever that is, we will find a way out. Abott was right about one thing. Not him, but we must trust ourselves and our instincts", Alice said.
Finally, the three teens looked up to find John peering at them, his face thoughtful.
"So, after thinking hard, we ha....", Fred started, but didn't complete, or rather couldn't complete his sentence as something came about that distracted his, and Molly, George and Alice's attention. They looked gobsmacked, at what looked like a furry pom pom ball with little wings, fly towards them in a lightning fast speed. And... was that an envelope attached to its down side?!
"What is that thing?!", Fred exclaimed.
They saw that furry ball approaching John, who had extended his hands, and readily caught the furry ball, detaching the piece of paper, from... were those little PAWS?! Looking closely at the.... thing, Molly noticed a barely visible snout and, if her assumption was correct, two beady black eyes looking up at them.
Noticing their extremely curious and inquisitive looks, John chuckled. "Here you can hold him to see. But please be careful. Make sure that you don't hurt him", he said handing them the ball of fur. George took it from his hands and all four huddled around, peering at it...or rather, him, as John had said. The other three soon noticed, what Molly already had noticed. Suddenly, the furry ball...oops...err...the creature gave a loud squawk, startling them, causing George to lose control of his hand, which made the creature jump out of his palm. It then proceeded to fly towards John, who, by the looks of it, had finished reading what was written on the paper. It was only then, that the four teens saw the envelope cover, on which, they noticed an intricate symbol. It was a pristine Yin-Yang symbol surrounded by an aesthetic orange and blue halo with two wings attached to it. The wings were silver, with a touch of golden at the top.
Looking around itself, with its beady black eyes, the furry creature then clasped the envelope in its miniscule paws, once again and flew away. All looked back at the creature flying back to God-knows where. The four teens looked at John questionably. "That was a letter from the B.L.E. or Bureau of Law Enforcement", John stated, answering their unasked question. "You have a Bureau of Law Enforcement?", George asked in wonder. "Yes of course we do! Do you think we don't need laws. Who would be in charge of serving justice and maintaining peace in our world? The B.L.E. has many other organisations too that are in charge of various duties. Right now, I received a letter from the Department of Foreign Affairs. They can trace the arrival of visitors. They have passed out an order to not make you all wait unnecessarily. Huh! Only if they knew who is making whom wait", John answered, muttering the last part to himself, though everyone heard him.
"And what was that creature that delivered that letter?", Molly asked, frowning. "Oh... That was a pygmy glider. Pygmy gliders are used for delivering letters and small parcels. They also make good pets", was the answer she got from John.
"Yes, well, whatever, we have decided that we will board this High School Express or whatever it is", Alice said.
"Great! And for your information, it's HIGHLAND EXPRESS and it goes to Tinworth Highland", John said, grinning in enthusiasm.
"So come on! All aboard the Highland Express!!"..............
TO BE CONTINUED... Author's Notes (A/N): (1) Hello lovely readers! So now, Molly, Fred, Alice and George are ready to go to Tinworth Highland aboard the Highland Express 😉... What do you think, is going to happen next?😁 Did you like the idea of my imaginary creature Pygmy Glider. Isn't he adorable 🤗... How do you find the symbol of the Bureau of Law Enforcement?😅... Couldn't think of anything else. If you have any other ideas for the symbol, then please suggest in the comments section. I'll change it 😇. Share your opinions, suggestions, advices and views in the comments section.
Coming up Next: Train ride to Tinworth Highland 😉... New character(s) will be introduced in next chapter😁
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