The first full day in Alaska and Zach was about to freeze to death. Great, welcome to Alaska!
Sasha zipped up her coat and slipped back in the aisle. As she moved past him she said with a smile, "Get out the winter gear. Now you get to see how valuable it is."
He frowned at her cheery disposition. "Doesn't this bother you in the least?"
She shrugged. "Things happen. No big deal."
It didn't feel like a small deal to him. Not with the cold slowly seeping into the passenger car.
Zach turned in his seat, "Dad, maybe you should meet with Mr. Landon to help with the Ai? Maybe you can get it going again?"
"No one touches the AI system," Grandpa Neeley said from a few seats back in the firmest tone Zach had yet heard him use.
Okay, so much for that.
"We have to trust them to know what they are doing," his father said to him quietly.
Which made Zach even more worried. Outside he could only see the jagged forest interspersed with wide areas of only snow, with the snow covered mountains beyond that. No lights of any house or road anywhere.
Darnit ran up and down the aisle as all the other occupants began putting on their coats. Zach put himself between the curious dog and his father, figuring his father had put up with enough dogs for the day.
He helped his father pull their bags down from the overhead compartments, dividing up the gear inside. He sat down and took off his boots to pull on the show pants when Sasha reappeared wearing pink and white snow pants matching her parka.
"Doing okay? Grandpa said you looked worried." She asked.
About so many things. The moment his feet were through the ends of the snow pants he put on the boots. "I'm fine. What about the train?"
"The aurora is causing an electrical surge running along the rails. The train systems have shut down to protect itself," Mr. Landon's voice said over the speakers. "I have successfully contacted Mr. Dunn. Please dress for the cold while we wait for help to arrive."
Sasha nudged him, "See, everything taken care of."
Zach stood up to pull on the rest of the snow pants. "What do you mean taken care of? There aren't any roads out here. How is anyone going to come to get us? Unless there is another train?"
"Only the Solar Express runs these rails," McRoyal said, putting on his own gear. He pulled from his pack a lantern and turned a knob at the top of it. A cool white electric light flooded the area.
His father rummaged through one bag after another, throwing a sweatshirt and two hats. "Which means who knows how long we'll have to wait."
"Dad, you're going to smother me in all this," Zach complained.
"Dress in layers, never can be too warm," his father said in an undertone.
"Good man. Learns quick. I like that," McRoyal said with a laugh.
Seeing that he wasn't about to win that battle, Zach accepted the sweater, but he quietly stuffed one of the hats back into a bag.
Sasha sat down in a nearby seat, looking out the other window at the aurora. "I remember one this big when I was a kid. It was so much fun. We went out and had a snowball fight at 2AM as if it were daylight."
"Too bad the aurora doesn't warm us like the sun does." With the sweater on it was too bulky to keep his denim jacket on, so it joined the second hat in a bag. Finally the big coat.
YOU ARE READING
Night of the Aurora (Salmon Run - Book 1)
Science FictionWhen Hawk and Zach Callahan arrive to start a new life in the wilds of Alaska they find the first challenge is just getting to the small town of Salmon Run. But, Alaska has more in store for them. Such as a massive aurora, the Solar Express train sh...
