The Midnight Train Crossing

Alone in the yard CB was talking into his radio. He paced as he talked.
"Okay," he said, "I copy, I read you." He nodded to the speaker on the radio. "Ten-four, over and out," he said clicking off his radio.
He turned and saw Greaseball standing behind him. The startled caboose took a step back at Greaseball's sudden appearance.
"Who you talkin' to?" Greaseball asked suspiciously, "Who's that talkin' to you?"
"It's Electra," CB answered.
"Oh yeah? What you got going there?" Greaseball asked.
CB shrugged, "He gave me a call," he said, "I talk to them all."
Greaseball nodded and started to leave. Then he whirled and grabbed the caboose by the shoulders, giving him a shove.
"Just remember who's side you are on," the engine ordered. He turned and left.

CB watched the diesel leave. "I'm on mine," he said softly in a tone no one had ever heard him use before.
A strange expression flicked across CB's face, but he composed himself quickly as Electra and components entered.

Electra looked irritated, this caboose was making him come all the way out here.
"CB you brought me all this way," he said a little curiously, "Okay what you got to say?"
CB smiled, "Couldn't say it over the air," he said, "Want you to know I'm gonna wipe out Rusty!" he said calmly.
Electra and his entire train were stunned, this coming from CB?
"You? The red caboose?" he asked stunned.
"Hey shh!" CB exclaimed, "Turn down the juice!"
He looked around, seeing that they were alone, he relaxed.
"Just 'cos I smile all the time don't mean I'm not into crime," CB said.

"Wide smile, high style that's me," he sang, "Out front, in back CB, wrong side, wrong track CB."
"See the news on your TV, rail disaster, ever wonder why was he getting faster?" he asked, "Every time the red caboose takes a train seems to lose it's braking shoes." He shrugged, "Can't explain."
"Stop that train!" Electra and train shouted.

"Wide smile, high style that's me," CB sang skating around, "Out front, in back CB, wrong side, wrong track CB."
"Hidin' at the back of the freight train, unsuspected," CB continued skating behind Krupp. The component moved away from the caboose.
"When they robbed the great train I collected," the caboose said proudly, he grinned, "Watch the Feds shake their heads, I'm on the loose. There each time at the scene of the crime the red caboose!"
"Stop that train!" Components yelled as CB skated around them.

"Wide smile, high style that's me, Out front, in back CB, wrong side, wrong track CB." He came to a stop, ginning proudly at his achievements. "The state police they don't suspect I got old Ninety-seven wreaked. Interpol don't know that I crossed the bridge on the river Kwai." He shrugged and looked up, "Seems like any train that takes me just doesn't get the brakes," he said innocently.
"Somebody go fetch a cop!" the components shouted, "Another train just failed to stop! Brake that train!" They were all stunned at CB's accomplishments.

CB, moving fast considering he didn't have an engine, zipped around.
"Wide smile, high style that's me, Out front, in back CB," he sang going through all the ranges of his voice, "Wrong side, wrong track CB."
He smiled evilly at the components, "Ten-four Smokey Bear," he said, "I could be anywhere! You know I'm to blame but you don't know my name!"
"Wide smile!" he sang hitting a high note, "High style that's me," he sang, "Out front, in back CB, wrong side, wrong track CB."
"CB hanging loose," he and the components sang, "CB the red caboose!"

The air was stretched tight with tension. Everything came down to this. Engines and cars hooked up, preparing for the race.
"Control! Control!" Control's voice boomed, "Clear tracks for championship! Clear tracks!" The spotlights ran over the track.
"Final race to decide champion train will be run on Uphill course," Control continued, "Championship time minus one minute!"

The marshals skated out. They were more formal looking now and more observant then in the other three heats in following the rules.
The racers entered and were lined up as they were announced.
"In track one: Greaseball the diesel with Pearl.
In track two: Rusty the steam engine with CB the red caboose!
In track three: Electra the electric engine with Dinah.
Trains to your tracks."

Greaseball glared at Rusty. How dare that little steam engine even think he stood a chance? The diesel relaxed. Rusty wasn't a threat. His eyes fell on CB and he smiled inwardly, No, Rusty wasn't a threat at all. All he had to worry about was Electra.
Electra was watching his only competition, Greaseball. CB would take care of Rusty, not that Rusty was a threat anyway, and Electra had already proven he was faster.
Rusty's insides were twisted in knots. He could almost feel the other two glaring at him. And once again Pearl was in the track next to him.
"Twenty seconds!" Control called.
Rusty took a deep breath forcing himself to calm down. He could do this, he would win this for Poppa and Belle and Dustin and he would show them all and then maybe Pearl would come back.
The siren sounded and all of the engine tensed up.
"Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one! Trains gone!"

Rusty took off like a shot, passing the other two. He went faster and faster as he hit the racetrack, with the other two hot on his heels.
Call me Rusty if you dare! He thought.
Rusty kept the lead until the first curve with Electra passed him. The electric engine took the lead, but not by much. Greaseball edged Rusty to the side and pushed him into the guardrails. Rusty pulled free and continued on. Once again Greaseball shoved him into the side. Ahead they could see a steep incline. Even though he knew that it was there Rusty inhaled sharply, it was STEEP!
Greaseball pulled even with Electra. The electric engine growled and sped up but couldn't gain much, neither could Greaseball.
While the other two engines were fighting it out Rusty quietly snuck past and reached the hill first. He gritted his teeth and began to climb.

The others reached the hill, Greaseball in the lead, and started going up.
Rusty was struggling, he couldn't move forward, he kept slipping back down the ramp. First Greaseball and then Electra passed him.
"CB, what's going on back there?" he called to his partner.
"I dunno Rusty," CB called back.
Rusty looked up, Greaseball and Electra were almost to the bridge.
"C'mon we gotta make it to the bridge," Rusty pleaded, something was wrong, he could feel it.
Rusty moved forward slowly just as the others skated on to the bridge.
Almost there! "Wait!" Rusty begged.

An instant before he reached it the bridge started to rise. Rusty skidded to a stop and he fell, hitting his head on the ground. Rusty lay still for a few seconds before stiring. He looked up at the rising bridge in horror. He was trapped. The bridge was supposed to take all of the engines to the next part of the race and he had missed it.
Greaseball looked down at the trapped steamer. "That's it Rusty."
"No..." Rusty gasped. He looked back at CB, who was smiling as usual.
"Out front, in back," the caboose sang softly. He unhitched and slid back down the hill, leaving Rusty abandoned. Rusty watched his former partner leave him, absolutely stunned.

Greaseball and Electra met up with CB in the yard. Rusty had climbed down from the racetrack. He stormed over to the other three.
"I was robbed it, it wasn't fair!" Rusty exclaimed, throwing his helmet down.
"Look boy, you lost," Greaseball said unconcerned.
"That CB, he never took off the brake," Rusty accused turning to the caboose.
"Who me?" CB asked innocently.
Rusty wasn't fooled anymore, "then he did it for the other two's sake!"
"So what?" CB demanded.
"Still don't get you anywhere," Greaseball said giving Rusty a shove.
"That's how it goes," CB added.
Rusty was furious, all the things he thought of to say suffocated him into silence.

"Hey CB, you did that good," Greaseball said to the caboose, pointedly ignoring Rusty.
CB grinned, "Wow Greaseball thanks!" he said, "Did it look like I was holding him back?"
"No way," Greaseball and Electra assured him.
"Looked like everything was totally slack," Electra added.
"Mind you, after all these years it should," CB said proudly.
"No one would know," Greaseball said.

Pearl had been listening and she wasn't pleased with what she had heard.
"Hey hold on," she exclaimed, getting her engine's attention, "Don't tell me CB's the reason that he went so slow." She looked at Greaseball, hoping it wasn't true.
"'Course it was," Greaseball answered, "He had his orders so now you know."
Pearl was stunned, she backed away from Greaseball and looked at Rusty, "I'll go tell the marshal," she started, starting to go off.
Greaseball caught her arm and pulled her back.
"You're in it as well!" he snarled.
Frightened, Pearl shook her head and tried to pull away.
"They'll only suspend you if you ever tell," he said to her.
Pearl looked from him to Rusty and back helplessly, he was right. This was definitely not what she had in mind in a dream train.
"This wasn't how I wanted it, this wasn't what I saw," she sang sadly, "Each time I try it seems that I get further from my vision then before."
Greaseball forcibly dragged Pearl away. Electra had already left.

Rusty angrily grabbed CB by the shoulders, pushing him.
"You held me back!" he accused.
"Ten-four good buddy," CB said with a smile, "Trust no one on the track."
Rusty shoved the caboose away, disgusted. "That's the last time I race with you," he said.
"That's right," CB answered, "The re-run is for just those two."
Rusty stared at the caboose as CB's words sunk in.
"The two real engines," CB continued, "Big strong engines."
Rusty backed away from the caboose; he WAS real engine.
Seeing the reaction of Rusty, CB followed him.
"Call yourself an engine?" CB asked, "you're no engine! Ten-ten never again, you're no engine!"
Rusty couldn't get away from CB, or his voice.
"Ten-seven, gone to heaven, you're no engine!" CB shouted after Rusty.
Rusty turned tail and ran away from the caboose.
CB dissolved into laughter, Rusty had actually believed that he had a chance!
With CB's laughter burning in his ears and tears burning in his eyes Rusty ran until he couldn't hear anymore.
He slowed and looked around. In the darkness, he wasn't exactly where he was. He heard a noise behind him and turned.

The Rockies were in the lit yard, working on their moves. They looked up as Rusty approached.
"Hey look who's paying us a visit," Rocky said to his brothers.
"It's the champ," Rocky two agreed.
But Rusty had lost, Rocky three thought, peering at Rusty curiously. "It isn't is it?" he asked.
"Shut it!" Rusty shouted in a strangled voice, "I was cheated!"

The Rockies looked at each other and then skated over to Rusty. They gently pulled him over to the side.
"No point in complaining Rusty," the Rockies said, "Saying that the system's mean. They keep us down by fighting dirty, you won't win if you fight back clean."
Rusty shook his head, No, that wasn't right.
"Once maybe you played a hunch, made it with a lucky punch," the Rockies continued, "At the right time and in the right place, rest of the time look out for your place. They won't give you the chance again, just sit quiet at the back of the train."
Rusty obeyed, sinking to the ground where the Rockies had put him.
"Let's do it man," Rocky two said to his brothers.
The boxcars lined up.
"I'm Rocky the boxcar, there's lots like me," Rocky said.
"I'm Rocky two."
"I'm Rocky three."

"If I had the chances, if I had the breaks, could've been a winner, I had what it takes," the Rockies sang, "But I wasn't in the right place at the right time, didn't have the rhythm, didn't have the rhyme. I wasn't in the right place at the right time."
As they sang Rockies two and three turned cartwheels.
"Could've been a contender, could've been a star," the Rockies continued, "Never reached the final, didn't get that far."
Rocky did a back flip between his two brothers.

"'Cause I wasn't in the right place at the right time, didn't have the rhythm, didn't have the rhyme, I wasn't in the right place at the right time."
All three boxcars whirled around and turned in Rusty's general direction.

"Never beat the system, never beat the rap, don't believe the liars, don't believe the crap," the boxcars said, "Dice are always loaded, every time you roll, got a winner's body, got a loser's soul."
"But I wasn't in the right place at the right time."
That's a great rap, Rocky thought.
"Didn't have the rhythm, didn't have the rhyme, I wasn't in the right place at the right time."
Rusty had faded into the background, something he was good at.
The Rockies took off, diving and tumbling around, each trying to outdo each other. The three boxcars dove over and under each other. Rocky three did a series of flips, then Rocky two, then Rocky. They all eventually returned to upright positions.

Rocky went over to Rusty and set a hand on the engine's shoulder.
"Face it Rusty," he said, "You're out of it."
The Rockies left, leaving Rusty alone in the dark.

Suddenly Rusty felt very tired and defeated. He stood up and slowly moved over to the side off the tracks. He sank down again and took a shaky breath.
"Guess they're right," Rusty sang softly, "They cheated me when I tried fighting fair." He rubbed the back of his hand across his eyes, "I complained, they treated me as if I wasn't there."
He gave up trying to fight back the tears.
"Left me with nothing," he continued, his voice fading out, "Not even doubt, no one to help me." He sank down even further, "I'm down," he put his head down, "And I'm out."
Maybe they were all right, maybe he was out of date and useless, maybe all he was good for was switching and hitching.