A train takes Leyton away from everything she knew…

Today’s story is “Night Train” by Ardy Hart, a multimedia content creator on a mission to show others the beauty of the world through community, entertainment, and storytelling, and you can find more of his stories on SoFurry.

Read by Vivian, Lycanthropic Cat.

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https://thevoice.dog/episode/night-train-by-ardy-hart-read-by-vivian

You’re

listening

to

The

Voice

of

Dog.

This

is

Rob

MacWolf,

your

fellow

traveler,

and

Today’s

story

is “Night

Train”

by

Ardy

Hart,

a

multimedia

content

creator

on

a

mission to

show

others

the

beauty

of

the

world

through

community,

entertainment,

and

storytelling,

and

you

can

find

more

of

his

stories

on SoFurry.

Read by Vivian, Lycanthropic Cat.

Please

enjoy


“Night

Train”

by

Ardy Hart

The

last

stop

the

Night

Train

made

before

crossing

into

the

valley

drifted

by

Leyton

as

she

looked

out

a

window

from

her

warm

seat

in

the

passenger

car.

Her

choice

to

remain

on

board

was

now

final.

If

any

doubts

about

the

decision

crossed

her

mind,

she

swallowed

them

down

with

a

sip

of

her

tea.

She

looked

at

the

watch

on

her furred wrist. 12:02am. It was

going

to

be

a

long

night.

She

sipped.

The

train's

horn

blew

twice,

its

call

echoing

off

the

nearby

mountains

of

Stratus

View.

Leyton

placed her tea

down,

stood

up,

and

stretched

a

long

stretch.

She

straightened

her

green

knit

sweater

and

pushed

her

pant

legs

back

into

position,

using

her

long

skinny

tail

as

a

guide.

There

weren't

many

passengers

in

this

car.

Rows

upon

rows

of

burgundy

leatherette

seats

sat

evenly

in

front

of

one

another,

pairs

of

ears

peaking

out

from

some—a

rabbit

here,

a

cat

there.

She

was

the

furthest

back,

and

yet

further

back

she

walked,

wanting

to

get

a

taste

of

the

cool

midnight

air.

Leyton

pressed

the

button

on

the

door

at

the

end

of

her

car.

The

door

greeted

her

with

a

hiss

of

air

as

it

slid

open.

She

crossed

the

threshold,

repeating

her

press

on

the

following

door.

This

car

was

silent.

Empty

seats.

The

muffled

sound

of

years-old

wheels

crossing

even

older

tracks

was

the

only

accompaniment.

Leyton

glided

her

paws

across

the

seats as

she

journeyed

further

and

further

into

history.

She

wondered

whose

lives

she

was

touching,

and

what

memory,

if

any,

the

world

would

have

of

her

meager

existence.

After

all,

how

could

paint

and

canvas

compare

to

coal

and

steel?

Before

her

lay

the

final

door

of

the

train.

She

opened

it,

feeling

a

whirlwind

of

winter

wind

wrap

itself

around

her.

Leyton

shuddered

and

held

her

arms

close

to

her

chest

as

she

leaned

against

the

railing.

Dwindling

away

was

her

world;

everything

she

had

ever

known

grew

smaller

and

smaller

in

the

distance.

The

lights

of

her

small

town

drowned

in

the

aspen

trees.

Then

the

aspen

trees

were

drowned

in

the

snow.

And

out

of

the

snow

stood

proud

boulders

that

had

fallen

from

their

mountain

throne.

And

into

the

heart

of

the

mountain

the

train

took

her.

It

would

have

been

pitch black

if

it

weren't

for

the

light

of

the

train

cars

bouncing

off

the

tunnel

walls.

Leyton

watched

the

shine

of

the

tracks

seemingly

race

behind

the

train.

It

was

meditative,

almost

hypnotizing.

She

yawned,

her

eyelids

drifting

shut,

before

an

alto

voice

brought

her

back.

"You

okay?" it

asked.

Leyton

turned

around,

eyes

open.

In

front

of

her,

staring

at

her

curiously,

was

a

calico

girl

about

her

height

wearing

a

brown

overcoat

and

black

jeans.

Once

she

got

passed

her

surprise,

Leyton

looked

back

into

the

tunnel,

resting

her

head

on

the

railing.

"They're serving

midnight

snacks

now.

For

anyone

that's

still

awake,"

the

calico

said. "Salami.

Cheese.

Hot

apple

cider.

If

you're

interested."

Leyton

closed

her

eyes.

Her

stomach

growled,

but

she

didn't

move.

She

wrapped

her

tail

around

her

waist

and

sunk

her

paws

down

her

sleeves.

"This

tunnel

goes

on

for

a

while,

y'know,"

the

calico

said,

a

bit

louder.

Leyton's round ears

twitched.

She

stared

down

at

the

tracks

flying

underneath

her.

She

wanted

to

be

alone

but

didn't

care

enough

to

say

it.

What

would

it

matter?

Everyone

on

this

train

were

passengers.

For

only

a

fleeting

fraction

of

their

lives

were

these

people

connected.

Surely

not

enough

time

to

get

to

know

someone,

anyway.

Leyton

knew

it

didn't

matter

in

the

grand

scheme

of

things,

if

she

even

believed

in

such

a

thing

as

a 'grand

scheme.'

For

the

first

time

in

her

life,

the

rat

felt

free.

But

with

that

freedom

came

disorientation,

and

it

perplexed

her.

If

this

is

what

she

wanted,

then

why

did

it

feel

so

negative?

How

was

anyone

supposed

to

make

a

rational

decision

in

this

world

if

every

choice had

pros

and

cons?

She

gripped

the

railing

tightly

and sighed.

A

white

paw,

carrying

a

small

cracker

sandwich,

reached

out

to

her

from

her

right

side.

Leyton

jumped,

a

small

gasp

escaping

her

mouth.

"Woah,

easy

there.

Just

thought

I'd

bring

you

some

food."

The

calico

from

before

was

back.

In

her

other

paw

she

held

a

steaming

mug

of...

apple

cider

by

the

smell

of

it.

Leyton

hesitantly

took

the

sandwich. "Thanks."

The

cat

grinned. "So,

what's Stateline

like?"

Leyton

hid

the

surprise

of

the

calico

knowing

her

home town

in

a

bite

of

the

sandwich.

She

didn't

answer

at

first

and

instead

focused

on

finishing

chewing—the

snack

was

tastier

than

she

thought

it

would

be—but

when

she

looked

over

and

saw

the

cat

still

smiling

at

her,

she

caved. "Noisy."

"That

right?"

the

cat

chuckled. "Is

that

why

you're

here?

To

escape

the

noise?"

The

crackers

left

Leyton's

mouth

dry.

She

looked

at

the

mug

of

apple

cider

the

cat

held. "Can

I

have

some?"

The

calico

passed it

to her. "I'm

from

Errant

Springs

myself.

Only

sounds

up

there are the

sounds

of

waterfalls."

Leyton

sipped

the

drink.

It

was

already

cool

enough. "What's

it

like?"

"Boring

as

hell,"

the

cat

said.

"Is

that

why

you're

here?"

Leyton

asked.

"Not

necessarily."

The

cat

gestured

to

the

mug.

Leyton

gave

it

back.

The

cat

took

a

drink

from

it,

then

looked

at

her wrist.

A

few

silent

moments

went

by.

By

the

fourth,

Leyton

was

all

out

of

patience. "Well uh,

thanks

for

the

snack

and

the

drink.

I'm

just..."

she

trailed

off,

starting

to

walk

back

inside

the

car,

but

the

cat

stopped

her.

"Trust

me,

you're

gonna

wanna

see

this,"

she

said.

"See

what?"

Leyton

said,

confused.

The

calico

just

kept

staring

at

her wrist. Only

now

did Leyton see that

the

cat was

looking

at

a

watch.

And

mumbling.

Something. "...Three...two..."

The

Night

Train

blew

its

horn

again,

and

the

next

thing

Leyton

knew,

the

ceiling

of

the

tunnel

was

now a

clear

night

sky

full

of

bright

twinkling

stars.

She

looked

back,

watching

the

tunnel

dissipate

with

the

curve

of

the

train

tracks.

The

train

swept

past

a

barren

forest

on

the

left,

and

on

the

right

was

a

sparkling

lake

bordered

by

the

mountains

that

had

shown

her

their

heart.

The rat

was

awestruck;

never

before

had she

seen

the

earth

like

this.

She

looked

at

the

cat,

who had

been

watching

her

with

a

grin. "What

is

this

place?"

Leyton

asked.

The

cat

chuckled. "Whatever

you

want

it

to

be."

"Okay

sure,

but

for

real,"

Leyton

said,

rolling

her

eyes.

"Do

you

plan

on

coming

back

here?"

The

rat

remained

quiet

for

a

spell.

She

thought

about

the

train,

how

it

wasn't

stopping,

not

even

slowing

down,

how

she

was

connected

to

it,

pulled

along

by

it.

She

was

simply

a

passenger

who

had

gotten

a

look

at

something

beautiful

along

the

way

to

wherever

it

was

she

was

going. "No,

I

guess

not."

"Keep

the

memory.

Don't

assign

it

a

name.

It'll

live

longer

that

way."

Leyton

supposed that

the

cat was

right.

She

captured

the

view as best as

she

could,

savoring

the

icy-wet

smell

and

the

cold

air

passing

through

her

clothes,

taking

a

moment

to

feel

the

cracked

black

paint

of

the

metal

railing

beneath

her

paws,

and

listening

to

the

Night

Train

take

her.

"What's

your

name?"

she

asked

the

air,

for

the

cat

that

had

accompanied

her

was

gone.



This

was “Night

Train”

by Ardy Hart, read for you by Vivian, Lycanthropic

Cat. You can

find

more

stories

on

the

web

at

thevoice.dog,

or find the

show

wherever

you

get

your

podcasts.

Thank

you

for

listening

to

The

Voice

of

Dog.