Attempting to escape South London and see the sights, Lukas uses his culinary skills to land a job as a railway chef. But his curiosity stands to derail his adventure.
Today’s story is “Ride of a Lifetime” by Pascal Farful, who plies his trade as a writer, musician and fursuiter and you can find more of his stories on his FurAffinity page.
Today’s story will be read for you by Huskyteer, one for all, and all for one.
You’re listening to The Voice of Dog,
Speaker:and Today’s story is
Speaker:“Ride of a Lifetime”
Speaker:by Pascal Farful,
Speaker:who plies his trade as a writer,
Speaker:musician and fursuiter
Speaker:and you can find more of his stories on his FurAffinity page.
Speaker:Today’s story will be read for you by Huskyteer,
Speaker:one for all, and all for one.
Please enjoy:“Ride of a Lifetime”
Please enjoy:by Pascal Farful
Please enjoy:Lukas slicked back his mullet with the water from the basin
Please enjoy:and looked at himself in the mirror.
Please enjoy:The possum gave himself a final check over,
Please enjoy:noting his two rear teeth which poked out around the top of his muzzle,
Please enjoy:the holes in his ear lobes where his earrings used to sit
Please enjoy:and the faint scars in his fur.
Please enjoy:First impressions were important,
Please enjoy:though perhaps one should have groomed at home, and not in the toilets of London Euston
Please enjoy:in the small hours of the morning.
Please enjoy:As he looked at his reflection,
Please enjoy:it was his outfit that he was most proud of.
Please enjoy:Not the tatty, battered, worn leathers of the biker gangs he had spent much his life in.
Please enjoy:No, his figure now bore the uniform of British Rail's InterCity catering staff.
Please enjoy:It was smarter than he'd ever looked before.
Please enjoy:He felt his lower lip curl a tad,
Please enjoy:twitched to wipe a tear with his sleeve,
Please enjoy:then remembered the outfit and grabbed a tissue.
Please enjoy:In leather, he was a fairly big guy,
Please enjoy:his size diminished somewhat in the smart shirt and apron he wore.
Please enjoy:But he was clearly the kind of man who could take a few hits,
Please enjoy:and his scars could cash those cheques on his behalf.
Please enjoy:He walked out of the toilets and onto the newly remodelled station concourse.
Please enjoy:Goodness it was pretty.
Please enjoy:Lights in spires and towers
Please enjoy:twinkling and sparkling over the tiled floor.
Please enjoy:Gleaming kiosks selling tickets and offering information about where one could travel
Please enjoy:and what things there were to see and do once you get there.
Please enjoy:Truth be told, until he'd got the job, he'd never been in a train station before,
Please enjoy:certainly not a leviathan like Euston itself.
Please enjoy:He was aware he was meandering,
Please enjoy:taking some time to pick up a few pamphlets, timetables and maps
Please enjoy:so he could keep track of where he was on his travels.
Please enjoy:Additionally, he had in his luggage case
Please enjoy:a very cheap camera,
Please enjoy:one he was given as a parting gift from his husband
Please enjoy:to document his travels.
Please enjoy:As he meandered, he was interrupted by a sternly voiced swan
Please enjoy:in an immaculate black suit.
Please enjoy:"Good heavens look at the state of you.
Please enjoy:you." He squawked. Lukas's eyes focused on a small brass badge clipped to the top corner pocket of the suit jacket,
Please enjoy:which read "Thomas L. Ditton -
Please enjoy:InterCity Chief Operating Officer".
Please enjoy:Lukas stared up at him,
Please enjoy:his street breeding told him to swing for the neck
Please enjoy:then embed the knee to the gut,
Please enjoy:but that was then
Please enjoy:and this was now.
Please enjoy:"That mane of hair, those teeth,
Please enjoy:good God... British Rail is supposed to look dignified and classy.
Please enjoy:classy." The swan continued to grumble,
Please enjoy:the fire of anger dying down into a general spluttering of disgust.
Please enjoy:He turned his immaculate dress suit heels to the side
Please enjoy:and started to walk off.
Please enjoy:"First they turn Euston into a shed
Please enjoy:and now they have street rats cooking the meals...
Please enjoy:meals..." The possum shook himself,
Please enjoy:grunting quietly under his breath.
Please enjoy:He hadn’t come all this way,
Please enjoy:worked so hard on his outfit and smartness
Please enjoy:just to be knocked aside within the first few minutes.
Please enjoy:He took a deep breath
Please enjoy:and made his way down onto the platform.
Please enjoy:From the large waiting area,
Please enjoy:the route to the platforms led through a thin horizontal corridor which housed many shops and food outlets,
Please enjoy:and from there were ramps down onto the cavernous platforms.
Please enjoy:Lukas's train was the 05:27 service to Birmingham New Street, scheduled to arrive at around seven o'clock and was scheduled to depart from the fifteenth platform of the vast Euston station.
Please enjoy:Once on the platform, that fire of excitement started to kindle itself again within Lukas.
Please enjoy:There, the train sat,
Please enjoy:gleaming in its black and white colour scheme,
Please enjoy:little orange stripe down the side and the capital letter insignia of
Please enjoy:"INTERCITY" emblazoned upon it in shiny lettering.
Please enjoy:The possum moved up along the train,
Please enjoy:first passing the driving luggage trailer at the back,
Please enjoy:with its angular pointy snout and cubic form,
Please enjoy:then passing two slightly curvy coaches,
Please enjoy:older, but with a bright, thick yellow stripe across the roofline
Please enjoy:indicating that they were for First Class passengers.
Please enjoy:The fourth vehicle along matched the design of the cab coach at the rear;
Please enjoy:Angular and square in stature,
Please enjoy:sporting more of the first class seating and then
Please enjoy:taking up the northern half of the carriage
Please enjoy:was the large kitchen,
Please enjoy:evidenced by the red stripe which replaced the yellow one as it moved along the top of the coach.
Please enjoy:Lukas paused and looked up the length of the train,
Please enjoy:the rest of the Standard Class coaches more like the two first class ones in design
Please enjoy:and a large, loud and boxy locomotive at the far end.
Please enjoy:He hoped that in his travels
Please enjoy:he might be able to get better acquainted with it
Please enjoy:and some of the other locomotives on the route.
Please enjoy:The possum opened the door to the buffet car and climbed aboard. He noted the manual-opening doors with sliding windows
Please enjoy:and the public address system in the vestibule,
Please enjoy:before making his way into the kitchen.
Please enjoy:He stored his bag
Please enjoy:and started to get acquainted with the equipment.
Please enjoy:There was a small fridge, containing cheeses, meats and assorted perishables.
Please enjoy:The kitchen also contained two grills,
Please enjoy:assorted plates to put things on
Please enjoy:and a copy of the same menu the passengers had
Please enjoy:so Lukas knew what might be tasked of him.
Please enjoy:His workspace was rather dimly lit
Please enjoy:and only really big enough for one person to work comfortably.
Please enjoy:It was microscopic compared to the kitchens of a normal street restaurant or diner,
Please enjoy:but the possum was keen to make it work.
Please enjoy:Judging by the few people on the station
Please enjoy:and how few people seemed to already be aboard,
Please enjoy:he didn’t anticipate an intensive first shift.
Please enjoy:In accordance with his limited and slap-dash training,
Please enjoy:Lukas began to set up the kitchen.
Please enjoy:He noted that one grill was for dairy products, the other for meat and bread,
Please enjoy:that the grills were to be left on while the train was in motion
Please enjoy:and that the draws and cupboards had labels on them to identify where all the ingredients and utensils were stored.
Please enjoy:During the training, the possum had disagreed fundamentally about the grill remaining on,
Please enjoy:though it had been stressed to him that,
Please enjoy:providing he remained in the kitchen,
Please enjoy:it wouldn’t be an issue.
Please enjoy:The desk next to the kitchen was soon taken up by another member of train staff
Please enjoy:and at half past 5, the 05:27
Please enjoy:service left Euston.
Please enjoy:With a bronze sky overhead,
Please enjoy:the train trundled its way out of the core of the capital
Please enjoy:and headed for the Midlands.
Please enjoy:The kitchen's lack of windows was at first a modest doldrum,
Please enjoy:a view of this bronze sky being denied to the possum,
Please enjoy:but before long it became a little more irritating,
Please enjoy:the coach's soft swaying had started to set in a bit of nausea.
Please enjoy:"Alright, that's two bacon and egg fried sandwiches.
Please enjoy:sandwiches." was a call from outside the kitchen.
Please enjoy:Lucas looked across.
Please enjoy:A paw was reaching across the doorway to the kitchen and over the buffet counter,
Please enjoy:holding a small piece of blue paper with the order written upon it.
Please enjoy:Lukas nodded and took the piece of paper from the outstretched paw.
Please enjoy:Like all things British Rail,
Please enjoy:a sandwich had to be prepared a specific way.
Please enjoy:The limited training Lukas had been given included extensive rules about the aesthetic presentation of food
Please enjoy:and provided him with a guidebook for these standards.
Please enjoy:In a spot of forward planning,
Please enjoy:Lukas had brought the guide with him.
Please enjoy:Keen to knock it out of the park on his first test,
Please enjoy:he placed the order down on the counter and pulled the guide out of his pocket.
Please enjoy:His eyes tried to focus on the text,
Please enjoy:but as the carriage swayed from side to side, he couldn't make sense of it.
Please enjoy:He grumbled and put the guide back in his pocket,
Please enjoy:aware of the ticking clock.
Please enjoy:By the time the train had made it to Watford,
Please enjoy:Lukas had finished cooking all the ingredients and had the sandwich assembled.
Please enjoy:To assess his work quickly, he pulled out the guide once again.
Please enjoy:As he looked between his creations and the picture,
Please enjoy:he could notice a lack of neatness and form.
Please enjoy:He’d plied his cookery trade in street food
Please enjoy:where perfect aesthetic form was hardly a consideration compared to making something with some zest.
Please enjoy:It seemed he’d have to learn it.
Please enjoy:Once done, Lukas stepped out from the kitchen and placed them atop the counter.
Please enjoy:His voice crackled like an old radio as he started to speak.
Please enjoy:"Got the sandwiches here.
Please enjoy:here." He called, his voice a mixture of rough south London bruiser
Please enjoy:and the gleeful excitement at the fancy world he now found himself in.
Please enjoy:The bar itself was currently unstaffed,
Please enjoy:giving Lukas an eye-watering view out of the windows at the hills of Hertfordshire near Kings Langley.
Please enjoy:"Fuck me, look at that...
Please enjoy:that..." he muttered, jaw sagging a tad.
Please enjoy:He'd never seen such greenery before.
Please enjoy:Fields and trees and hills for as far as the eye could see,
Please enjoy:spreading off into the distance,
Please enjoy:rolling like blankets of nature draped over the land.
Please enjoy:"Thanks." came a voice,
Please enjoy:causing Lukas to snap out of his trance.
Please enjoy:The voice belonged to a dobermann,
Please enjoy:clad a white shirt with red cravat and black trousers.
Please enjoy:The shirt also had a small badge with the name “Francesca” written on it. "Oh uhhh,
Please enjoy:no problem." He chuckled,
Please enjoy:rubbing the back of his head a tad,
Please enjoy:having replied a few seconds after she had left earshot.
Please enjoy:Sheepishly, Lukas disappeared back inside of the kitchen,
Please enjoy:washed his hands and prepared for the next orders.
Please enjoy:By the time the train had made its way through Bletchley, towards its first stop in Milton Keynes,
Please enjoy:he’d already made breakfast for the few first-class passengers on board.
Please enjoy:As the train came to a stop in what,
Please enjoy:to Lukas alone,
Please enjoy:was a new, exciting and scenic spot,
Please enjoy:the possum grabbed his camera and moved out of the kitchen,
Please enjoy:past the bar counter
Please enjoy:and around to the passenger door.
Please enjoy:He pulled down the window and
Please enjoy:peered out at the station itself.
Please enjoy:Lukas’s eyes fell upon a temple of vast, magnificent grey concrete rectangles,
Please enjoy:bound together by matching concrete corridors and pillars,
Please enjoy:proud and bold in their unrelenting cubism
Please enjoy:and exquisite grey and mild red paintwork.
Please enjoy:They stood as monolithic landmarks,
Please enjoy:conquering the flat landscape.
Please enjoy:Enchanted, Lukas lifted his camera,
Please enjoy:snapped a picture.
Please enjoy:He looked around, noting that many people had gotten off and on.
Please enjoy:"Cor... no wonder people come here a lot.
Please enjoy:Beautiful," He quipped,
Please enjoy:a grin smeared across his muzzle.
Please enjoy:Aware of his employment,
Please enjoy:he pulled the window back up and turned to go back to the kitchen,
Please enjoy:though was halted for a moment by the puzzled look on the face of the dobermann behind the counter.
Please enjoy:"You're in Milton Keynes, y'know,”
Please enjoy:Francesca grumbled.
Please enjoy:“It's barely better than Slough."
Please enjoy:"Slough?” Lukas asked,
Please enjoy:moving around to the front of the counter.
Please enjoy:“What d’ya suppose that's like?"
Please enjoy:The dobermann paused,
Please enjoy:paw moving towards her head as the train began to move again.
Please enjoy:"You haven't got out much, have you?"
Please enjoy:Lukas shook his head, putting his camera away.
Please enjoy:"Not really, born and raised in Brixton, furthest I've ever been is Enfield.
Please enjoy:Enfield." He said. "It's why I got a job as a railway cook.
Please enjoy:Want to go see the sights.
Please enjoy:sights." The possum smiled. "...
Please enjoy:"...of Watford, Milton Keynes and Birmingham?"
Please enjoy:He nodded vigorously.
Please enjoy:"Yeah! If I don't go looking at things,
Please enjoy:how will I know what they're like?"
Please enjoy:Francesca continued to look bemused at him,
Please enjoy:then shrugged and turned back to the desk.
Please enjoy:“God I’d kill for your enthusiasm.”
Please enjoy:She grumbled. “I’ve been stuck running this counter for a couple years.
Please enjoy:Dealing with arrogant, drunk office schmucks day in, day out, tends to make you jaded.”
Please enjoy:Lukas nodded and made his way back into the kitchen.
Please enjoy:The possum’s journey continued from Milton Keynes through the valleys of Buckinghamshire and Northamptonshire,
Please enjoy:to Warwickshire and the town of Rugby,
Please enjoy:making more meals all the way.
Please enjoy:Rugby featured a vast ironwork bridge constructed perpendicular across the station itself.
Please enjoy:The purpose for the bridge was long gone,
Please enjoy:destroyed on the path to progress,
Please enjoy:progress like the kind Lukas was now riding.
Please enjoy:But the vast ironwork, now more of a birdcage,
Please enjoy:still stood with chipping paint,
Please enjoy:spanning across the central island platform which made up the station,
Please enjoy:trapping it like a possum in a snare.
Please enjoy:Once again, Lukas made his way to the door and
Please enjoy:peered his head out of the window.
Please enjoy:The train slid into the platform and the steel frame cast its shadow over everything.
Please enjoy:He took out his camera, ready to start photographing from the doorway,
Please enjoy:but was stopped by an announcement over the station’s public address system:
Please enjoy:"Passengers be advised, this train will be at a stand for 5 minutes while another train passes.
Please enjoy:passes." He took a glance back to make sure he wasn't needed in the kitchen,
Please enjoy:earning another sigh from the dobermann,
Please enjoy:before he reached down to the door handle,
Please enjoy:swung open the door and stepped onto the platform.
Please enjoy:He was aware that he had limited pictures on the camera
Please enjoy:and that there was a solid chance someone was going to take exception to his antics.
Please enjoy:With this in mind,
Please enjoy:he took one shot up the length of the train facing towards the front,
Please enjoy:getting in the long curve of the platform with the ironwork casting shade on it
Please enjoy:and then turned to get a picture down towards where the train had come,
Please enjoy:able to see from here the mass of junctions
Please enjoy:which lead to London and Northampton.
Please enjoy:Lukas looked back to the door to see if he was being watched,
Please enjoy:noticing Francesca stood in the carriage doorway,
Please enjoy:arms folded, though otherwise nobody was in sight.
Please enjoy:Not wanting to try his luck too much,
Please enjoy:he turned on his heels and clambered back into the buffet car.
Please enjoy:However, Lukas's adventure
Please enjoy:had not gone unnoticed.
Please enjoy:Once back aboard,
Please enjoy:the possum put the camera back in his baggage and moved back to the kitchen once again.
Please enjoy:"Ahem.” Heart shuddering,
Please enjoy:Lukas poked his head back out of the kitchen,
Please enjoy:to see a rather tall elk looking at him through a pair of expensive-looking spectacles.
Please enjoy:"I see you've got excess time on your hands.
Please enjoy:hands." He said. “Enough time to leave the kitchen unattended
Please enjoy:and swan off on adventures.”
Please enjoy:The possum remained silent,
Please enjoy:just looking right back at the suited figure,
Please enjoy:noting that, like the swan in Euston,
Please enjoy:he had a little InterCity name badge clipped to his suit blazer pocket
Please enjoy:which read "Clifford St. James".
Please enjoy:Lukas’s blood started to heat up again.
Please enjoy:"In which case," The elk began,
Please enjoy:turning his head towards a small, rather rickety trolly.
Please enjoy:"Take that trolly through second class and see if your curiosity can't flog a few sandwiches, eh?"
Please enjoy:The modernisation to calling it
Please enjoy:"standard class" not "second class"
Please enjoy:was not within the elk's lexicon.
Please enjoy:The possum moved to secure the kitchen
Please enjoy:but was stopped by the elk.
Please enjoy:"Now." Clifford ordered.
Please enjoy:Lukas took a deep breath, aware he was losing his nerve.
Please enjoy:He nodded and left the kitchen to take up the trolly,
Please enjoy:but the elk put out an arm to stop him.
Please enjoy:"Oh, and before you go,
Please enjoy:you won't be using that apron anymore.
Please enjoy:anymore." The elk informed him.
Please enjoy:The possum snapped.
Please enjoy:Brow furrowed, glaring straight up at Clifford.
Please enjoy:“You’ve got to be kidding, right?”
Please enjoy:He growled. “You’re firing me,
Please enjoy:right now, for that?”
Please enjoy:Clifford simply glared back.
Please enjoy:“Are you going to do what I tell you,
Please enjoy:or am I going to have to kick you off of this train?”
Please enjoy:Lukas looked between Clifford and Francesca,
Please enjoy:and then at the door,
Please enjoy:before sighing and tugging the apron over his head and holding it out to the elk,
Please enjoy:clutched vice-tight in his hand.
Please enjoy:"Good, now don't disappoint me again.
Please enjoy:again." Clifford grunted,
Please enjoy:taking the apron and placing it on the bar top,
Please enjoy:then turning and walking back into first class.
Please enjoy:"You, follow me." The elk instructed Francesca,
Please enjoy:leading her into the first class coaches,
Please enjoy:leaving the possum alone with his punishment.
Please enjoy:The trolly was light and on caster wheels,
Please enjoy:none of which were equal in their manner of moving,
Please enjoy:making the thing hard to steer.
Please enjoy:Lukas’s efforts to guide the trolly through the train only caused his temper to compound.
Please enjoy:The first of the five coaches the possum had to serve was the busiest,
Please enjoy:though still reasonably quiet.
Please enjoy:With no training in selling from a trolly and no job to lose,
Please enjoy:Lukas let his experience in the markets take over.
Please enjoy:“Good morning everybody and welcome to the snack trolly!"
Please enjoy:Lukas announced loudly,
Please enjoy:the passengers all turning sharply to face him.
Please enjoy:“We’ve got sandwiches, juice boxes, biscuits, I don’t even know what that is,
Please enjoy:bottles of cola and…”
Please enjoy:Lukas stalled, realising his performance enthusiasm was not shared by the rest of the carriage.
Please enjoy:“…and that’s about it,”
Please enjoy:he muttered at last.
Please enjoy:The resulting silence was deafening.
Please enjoy:Eventually, a meerkat seemed to pity him and buy one of the sandwiches,
Please enjoy:though the rest returned to looking out of the window or talking among themselves
Please enjoy:as the train gained motion again.
Please enjoy:Lukas looked at the coins spinning around the jar as he moved for the next coach along.
Please enjoy:He didn't know how much he was supposed to be earning to satisfy the elk,
Please enjoy:but a couple of pounds was unlikely to be enough.
Please enjoy:He was dismayed to find his options for selling things in the next coach were reduced significantly
Please enjoy:as the passenger numbers seemed to dwindle.
Please enjoy:As he moved closer to the front,
Please enjoy:the sound of the locomotive grew louder, making it harder to hear himself think.
Please enjoy:While Lukas desired to get better acquainted with the locomotive,
Please enjoy:this wasn’t what he intended.
Please enjoy:Lukas' onward progress was stopped at last by a voice from one of the seats.
Please enjoy:"Oh, hello there, I do believe you were the inquisitive chap on the platform.
Please enjoy:platform." The possum turned around to see a red fox in a white shirt and a waistcoat sitting in one of the forward-facing aisle seats.
Please enjoy:Seemingly cut from the same upper-middle class cloth
Please enjoy:as Clifford. The possum nodded.
Please enjoy:“Yeah, that was me.”
Please enjoy:"Public relations, I take it?
Please enjoy:Though, you seemed a lot more chipper on the platform, I must confess.
Please enjoy:confess." The fox chuckled nervously.
Please enjoy:Lukas toiled with whether he was allowed to sit down,
Please enjoy:but realised that he was likely to be punished regardless of his choices,
Please enjoy:so took a seat in the chair facing the fox,
Please enjoy:the table between them.
Please enjoy:"Well, if pawning off sandwiches and non-descript boxes of nuts counts as public relations, then yeah, I guess that's what I am now"
Please enjoy:The possum grumbled.
Please enjoy:"I was hired as the chef but that...
Please enjoy:hasn't planned out the way I hoped.
Please enjoy:hoped." Lukas explained the elk confiscating his apron and the fox began to ponder.
Please enjoy:"Well, if you're not the chef, then who is?"
Please enjoy:The possum paused.
Please enjoy:"I don't think anybody is.
Please enjoy:is." He muttered. The fox scoffed,
Please enjoy:turning to look out of the window.
Please enjoy:“Well, it’s a good thing I just got my breakfast then.
Please enjoy:Wonder if the stove’s warm enough to sling another egg on, hmm?”
Please enjoy:For the second time in 15 minutes,
Please enjoy:Lukas's soul seemed to drop out of his feet.
Please enjoy:If nobody had been in the kitchen,
Please enjoy:the cookers were probably still turned on.
Please enjoy:"Oh fuck!" The possum cried,
Please enjoy:scrambling to his feet and bolting up the train towards the buffet car.
Please enjoy:Each carriage the possum moved between felt like canal locks.
Please enjoy:The doors between them did not share Lukas’ hurry.
Please enjoy:They parted slowly and with a pathetic squeak.
Please enjoy:Worse, the pressure plates that operated them matched the speed of the trolly movement,
Please enjoy:but not of him. He'd sprint down the aisle,
Please enjoy:stop on the pressure plate for the doors to slowly part,
Please enjoy:run through the gangway and down the next coach to another set of doors.
Please enjoy:As he got closer, he could smell burning. "C'mon, c'mon!" He growled as the fifth and final set of doors between him and the kitchen stood before him.
Please enjoy:Finally, he saw it.
Please enjoy:Thick smoke pouring from the kitchen.
Please enjoy:Nobody around to stop it.
Please enjoy:Finally, the last set of doors parted
Please enjoy:and the possum vaulted over the counter,
Please enjoy:grabbing a fire extinguisher.
Please enjoy:The kitchen by now was well alight,
Please enjoy:a few boxes lying on the cookers,
Please enjoy:ablaze from the meat fats that had built up on top.
Please enjoy:Lukas was not aware of the exact fire procedures for putting out a blaze,
Please enjoy:but he wasn’t going to stand by while they all burned.
Please enjoy:He unleashed the extinguisher onto the cookers.
Please enjoy:Once the fire was pushed back enough,
Please enjoy:he stepped forth and turned off the heat.
Please enjoy:Lukas yelped and stumbled back as the controls scolded his hands.
Please enjoy:By now people had rushed from the surrounding carriages to find out what the problem was.
Please enjoy:The extinguisher did a fairly solid job getting the flames down to the point where Lukas could re-enter the kitchen again.
Please enjoy:The fire still raged on the hob
Please enjoy:and it seemed the extinguisher wasn't going to hold it down.
Please enjoy:He needed something to smother it.
Please enjoy:Lukas turned around,
Please enjoy:seeing his apron still sat on the bar top.
Please enjoy:Without hesitating, he grabbed it and threw it over the flames,
Please enjoy:using his paws to smother them out.
Please enjoy:He winced again from the heat
Please enjoy:and then tugged the apron clear to stop it igniting too,
Please enjoy:falling back to the floor, breathless.
Please enjoy:Lukas became aware that he had all eyes on him.
Please enjoy:His hands burned.
Please enjoy:He whimpered as he tried to use them to get to his feet,
Please enjoy:only to see Clifford and Francesca stood in the doorway of the kitchen looking back at him.
Please enjoy:The elk's eyes darted around the room,
Please enjoy:a thick red flush on his face,
Please enjoy:with the dobermann looking over at him.
Please enjoy:"You didn't let him turn off the hob, did you?"
Please enjoy:She said. "Shush!" He grumbled,
Please enjoy:losing track of his words as he seemed to scramble for a magical undo button which he never found.
Please enjoy:"God, if my manager hears about this, I'll,
Please enjoy:I’ll..." “I’ll have a fucking field day…”
Please enjoy:Francesca smirked,
Please enjoy:earning a glare from the elk,
Please enjoy:one she didn’t seem to register.
Please enjoy:"Is the kitchen damaged?"
Please enjoy:Clifford barked at Lukas.
Please enjoy:"Ask the chef." Lukas replied.
Please enjoy:Clifford's rage dripped from his lips.
Please enjoy:"You are the chef!"
Please enjoy:He barked. The possum looked back up with a grin.
Please enjoy:"I was hoping you'd say that.
Please enjoy:that." At last, someone helped Lukas towards his feet,
Please enjoy:though it was neither of the staff members before him.
Please enjoy:"Blimey, look at your hands.
Please enjoy:hands." The fox mumbled. The vulpine grabbed some kitchen paper,
Please enjoy:wet it and then wrapped it like bandages around Lukas's burned hands,
Please enjoy:the latter whimpering a tad as they were applied.
Please enjoy:"Where are we?" The possum asked,
Please enjoy:noting Clifford’s absence.
Please enjoy:"Coventry, just pulled in now.
Please enjoy:now." Francesca replied.
Please enjoy:Lukas grumbled in frustration.
Please enjoy:He still had the twitch of excitement to go looking around a new location but
Please enjoy:the pain in his hands and that sting of mistreatment kept his head sharp and enthusiasm subdued.
Please enjoy:“Fucking Christ, I just wanted to flip some burgers and this is what I get.”
Please enjoy:There was a loud crackling sound coming from the centre of the carriage.
Please enjoy:"Customers be advised.
Please enjoy:advised." Was the voice, Clifford's,
Please enjoy:over the PA system in the vestibule.
Please enjoy:"A small fire has taken place in the buffet car.
Please enjoy:It has been extinguished
Please enjoy:but we will be pausing for a few moments in Coventry
Please enjoy:to ensure that nothing has been damaged.
Please enjoy:damaged." The crackling then stopped.
Please enjoy:Clifford burst into the kitchen again.
Please enjoy:"Can you still cook?"
Please enjoy:He asked. The vulpine had a double-take.
Please enjoy:"It's only 20 minutes to New Street,
Please enjoy:is someone liable to order a roast duck with honey and plumbs for that trip?"
Please enjoy:The fox asked. The elk stared sharply at the fox and took a breath.
Please enjoy:"He will need to cook on this train when it returns to Euston or runs north to Glasgow.
Please enjoy:I need to know if I'll need a replacement chef, esquire.
Please enjoy:esquire." He snarled sarcastically to the fox.
Please enjoy:The two smartest dressed men of the room glared at one another
Please enjoy:as Lukas composed himself.
Please enjoy:"Darlings, darlings.
Please enjoy:While I'd love to referee a street fight, now's not really a good time.”
Please enjoy:Lukas mumbled. “If I'm still the chef, then I'll
Please enjoy:cook in this train or any other one.
Please enjoy:one." The possum affirmed.
Please enjoy:Clifford nodded. "Depends if they take this thing out of service." he said.
Please enjoy:"Clean this up and I'll report back to you by Birmingham International at the latest.
Please enjoy:latest." The door closed behind the elk,
Please enjoy:leaving the fox and the possum together.
Please enjoy:The two fell to silence as the train started to move again
Please enjoy:and they started to clean up the kitchen,
Please enjoy:putting burned things to one side,
Please enjoy:stocking what was damaged, lost or destroyed
Please enjoy:and giving things a wipe clean.
Please enjoy:The smoke that hung in the air continued to make Lukas’ nausea worse.
Please enjoy:"I never did catch your name.
Please enjoy:name." The fox said. "I'm Elliott,
Please enjoy:pleased to meet you."
Please enjoy:"Lukas." The possum said.
Please enjoy:"I would shake your mitt but, y’know…"
Please enjoy:the possum raised his bandaged hands.
Please enjoy:Before long, the kitchen had been cleaned,
Please enjoy:with all the burned boxes and ruined food placed in a pile
Please enjoy:and the burn marks had been mostly cleaned off.
Please enjoy:From here it was down to electrical worthiness,
Please enjoy:a field neither Lukas nor Elliott were qualified in.
Please enjoy:Hence, they moved to the bar counter,
Please enjoy:leaning on it and watching the world go by past the window.
Please enjoy:As he did so, Lukas began to reminisce on the adventure of all of this.
Please enjoy:He was miles away from anywhere he'd ever been.
Please enjoy:The large open fields had become small nested towns
Please enjoy:which grew more and more built up as they went.
Please enjoy:As the burning of his hands began to ease,
Please enjoy:the fire of adventure began to rekindle again.
Please enjoy:"Have you been to Birmingham before?"
Please enjoy:Lukas asked. "Yes, this is my commute.
Please enjoy:From Rugby, you see.
Please enjoy:see." The fox replied. "I'd love to travel like this every day, seeing the hills and the trees and the fields go by.”
Please enjoy:The possum sighed. “It’s why I took the job really.
Please enjoy:Sick of sitting around the same scraps of London all my life.”
Please enjoy:“You never stretched your legs before?”
Please enjoy:Lukas shook his head
Please enjoy:“No, not really. I never had the chance, the money,
Please enjoy:the ability to go adventuring before now.”
Please enjoy:Elliott laughed. "I suppose you'll be traveling a lot with your work now.
Please enjoy:Think Birmingham sounds exciting,
Please enjoy:wait until you see Glasgow or Carlisle.
Please enjoy:Carlisle." He smirked. At this point, the kitchen door was opened again by Clifford.
Please enjoy:"Alright, they're going to take this train out of service at New Street.
Please enjoy:Get your belongings together,
Please enjoy:we should be through in about 10 minutes.
Please enjoy:minutes." The elk said, the train rushing through the rather new Birmingham International station,
Please enjoy:signalling their impending arrival to their terminus.
Please enjoy:"There'll be a half hour break before the next train you can work on will come in,
Please enjoy:if you report to the station office at seven-thirty, they should point you in the right direction.
Please enjoy:direction." Lukas nodded. "Alright,
Please enjoy:will do." The possum said,
Please enjoy:starting to gather his things.
Please enjoy:There was a pause, the elk still stood in the door.
Please enjoy:"Lukas." Clifford said,
Please enjoy:the possum raising his head.
Please enjoy:"I'm sorry." Lukas stopped dead, speechless,
Please enjoy:Clifford looking right back at him.
Please enjoy:Before the possum could say anything,
Please enjoy:Clifford slammed the door closed and moved back to the public address,
Please enjoy:informing the passengers of their impending arrival into Birmingham New Street.
Please enjoy:With his belongings packed up,
Please enjoy:Lukas moved towards the carriage door, pulling down
Please enjoy:the window and feeling the air rush against his face.
Please enjoy:He watched tracks mingle and merge,
Please enjoy:the city of Birmingham expanding all around the train as it entered its heart.
Please enjoy:Different little trains would worm around,
Please enjoy:appear and disappear,
Please enjoy:passing by the other way or being overtaken,
Please enjoy:arteries and veins feeding the city.
Please enjoy:The train slowed to a crawl and began to ease down a gradient as it slid underground,
Please enjoy:through a long dark tunnel,
Please enjoy:and popping out again into the bright crystal blue light of a brave morning.
Please enjoy:This proud sunlight soaked the protruding platform tips of Birmingham New Street station;
Please enjoy:the rest hidden under a large box-like structure on the top.
Please enjoy:As the train came to a stop,
Please enjoy:Lukas, with his camera around his neck and bag in hand,
Please enjoy:stepped out of the train and onto the platform of a place far, far from home.
Please enjoy:His eyes darted from the dark cavernous station centre
Please enjoy:which people made their way towards,
Please enjoy:to the uncompromising pillars holding up the massive and featureless concrete slab of a roof,
Please enjoy:to the hundreds of little wires
Please enjoy:which carried the electrical cable powering some of the trains,
Please enjoy:which to his eyes
Please enjoy:was just a knotted web of magic.
Please enjoy:His trance was interrupted by a hug from the fox.
Please enjoy:"Be safe. I hope I'll see you again someday.
Please enjoy:someday." Elliott said. The possum gulped. "I...
Please enjoy:I hadn't clocked that this was goodbye."
Please enjoy:"Well, for now. That's the thing about the world,
Please enjoy:you always end up bumping into people again.
Please enjoy:again." The fox said, unwrapping his arms from around the possum and then stepping back,
Please enjoy:moving further down the platform towards the exits.
Please enjoy:The two waved farewell to one another,
Please enjoy:Lukas doing so a tad limply,
Please enjoy:watching as the fox disappeared into the throng of people.
Please enjoy:The possum took up his camera again
Please enjoy:and started to document his new surroundings,
Please enjoy:the gleaming new trains, the rickety old ones,
Please enjoy:the wires, the concrete slab architecture, the view of the city above,
Please enjoy:and then he'd make his way up the platform,
Please enjoy:seeing Francesca stood waiting for him.
Please enjoy:And as he did so,
Please enjoy:it brought a tear to Lukas's eye to realise that,
Please enjoy:what had felt like the ride of a lifetime
Please enjoy:was really, only the start of something much,
Please enjoy:much bigger. This was
Please enjoy:“Ride of a Lifetime”
Please enjoy:by Pascal Farful, read for you by Huskyteer, all for one and
Please enjoy:one for all. You can find
Please enjoy:more stories on the web
Please enjoy:at thevoice.dog,
Please enjoy:or find the show wherever you get your podcasts.
Please enjoy:Thank you for listening to The Voice of Dog.