Bob awoke slowly, drifting in and out of consciousness. His head ached and his body felt stiff. Rolling on to his side, he tried to assess his situation. He was indoors, lying on a hard, flat surface that rocked gently back and forth. There wasn't much light in the room. There were some large boxes, tied down with straps.
Movement at his feet caused him to look that direction. Someone else was in the room with him, but Bob couldn't see who it was.
"Hello?" he managed. "Who's there?"
The response was completely foreign to Bob's ears. He couldn't identify the language used; he couldn't even distinguish breaks between distinct words.
Sitting up, Bob blurted, "I guess you don't speak English, huh?
Bob's head pounded as he listened to a reply that might have been exactly the same as the previous one. He really couldn't tell. At least the stranger didn't seem hostile. The voice had been calm and steady.
Straining to see in the dark, Bob peered into the darkness as he heard more movement. The other individual slowly approached him and paused at arm's length, its face in a shadow. After a few moments, the stranger turned and shuffled away. Bob's eyes followed as it made its way past some boxes and disappeared from sight.
Bob continued his appraisal of the surroundings. The room he occupied seemed unusually narrow. He wanted his cell phone or a flashlight to dispel the darkness, but remembered they were in the bags on his bicycle. At that moment, the room lit up as strips in the ceiling started glowing with yellow light. An individual dressed in a long robe walked toward him. The newcomer had unusually large eyes and blue-tinted skin. At first, Bob wondered if it were a person in a mask, but as the other drew near, Bob could clearly see that was not the case.
The creature held out a hand with long, narrow fingers curled around a dark metal circlet. Raising the ornament above its own head, it made the motion of lowering it to its skull. It then extended the circlet toward Bob. Taking it, Bob slowly set it on his head.
"Can you understand me now?" queried the blue-faced stranger.
"I can! That's remarkable," exclaimed Bob. "Can you understand me?"
Extending a finger, the creature pointed to its own head, where a matching circlet rested lightly, and nodded.
"I am Teetok," he stated.
"I'm Bob. Where am I?"
Teetok smiled, "You're on the Train. How did you get here? You're an Earthian, right?"
Pausing for a moment to consider his surroundings, Bob responded in the affirmative and then related what he remembered of his encounter with the prospector in the desert.
"Are you feeling OK?" asked Teetok. "I've heard that teleporting without b'nak is pretty rough."
"I've been better," Bob replied. "but I think I'll survive."
He paused briefly, taking stock of the situation and then queried, "You said we're on a train. Where are we going?"
"We're on the Grand Circuit. We'll stop at all of the most remote stations."
"How do I get back home?"
"Well, it takes the train about a year to make the circuit. When we get back to the station we just left, you'll be able to teleport back to Earth."
"A year! I'm supposed to be biking across Australia. Is that the only way back?"
"There are probably other trains. We'll have to check the schedules."
Bob shook his head in bewilderment. What was happening? Did he trust this guy? Did he trust his senses?
"What were you doing here in this car, in the dark?" he interrogated.
The blue-faced man responded quietly, "I prefer the freight cars when I meditate. They are less noisy than the others.
"And where are you going?" Bob continued.
"I am on my Vestillmon."
Seeing Bob's bewildered look, Teetok continued, "I just graduated from University and am taking some time to prepare myself for adulthood. It is part of Gridet culture."
Bob felt overwhelmed with questions, but was distracted by the realization that, while the circlet on his head translated Teetok's words, it also made him aware that some of the words had no English equivalent.
"Are you hungry?" Teetok queried.
Taking a deep breath, Bob replied, "Yes, I guess I am."
"Why don't we go to the dining car and continue our conversation there?"
Bob ran his hands over his cycling jersey. "I don't have any money with me."
"I can pay for lunch," Teetok volunteered. "but you'll have to manage the conductor on your own."
"What a strange dream this is," Bob murmured.
Gesturing with his hand, Teetok invited, "Follow me."
Bob slowly got to his feet and followed as the alien led the way to a door at the end of the car. Head still hurting, body still stiff, his mind raced, filled with questions that didn't have any immediate answers.
Copyright (C) 2017, Winslow Williams. All rights reserved.