The Waystation Ch.40 (Patreon)

Chapter 40

Buried, Burned, And Bloody III

The Express trundled through the night, slowly towing the enormous Trailer One. An hour had passed since they first got underway, and their speed had barely increased.

“I wish I could go check on Scruff,” Wendy said as she lay on the dashboard and stared into the night. “Do you think she is okay?”

“I hope so,” Bert said. “We can’t exactly stop and check on her, but the movement should keep the tics off the Trailer at least a bit. Hopefully, that buys her some breathing room.

“Pity I can’t just fly up there and look anymore,” Wendy said.

“Will you miss getting out and about like that?” Bert asked. He was beginning to feel worried about the long-term isolation that Wendy would experience.

“Not really, at least I don’t think so.” She sat up and laughed. “I just realized I’m only a few hours old. I have no idea what will bother me.”

“That must be pretty strange,” Bert said as he tried to coax more speed on a small downhill.

“Yeah, I have all this knowledge from when I was a Multi-Bell, but I can’t remember the actual memories anymore.” She chuckled. “I suspect she might not be pleased to have another Pixie around, however.”

“Well, she doesn’t spend much time with the Express anyway,” Bert shrugged. He used the mandibles to snap at the grass ahead of him, getting a satisfying spray of blood.

“Yeah, but if I go onto the Waystation, bet she complains.” Wendy smiled.

“Can you?” Bert asked.

“It’s bound to you, and so is the Express, so yeah, I can.” She stretched and rolled onto her back, looking up at the stars through the windshield.

A soft glow reflected in the wing mirrors caught their attention. It shifted and pulsed before fading away again.

“Uh, what was that?” She asked Bert.

“No idea. Can you drive for a minute?” He asked.

“Yeah, no problem.” She said, flying into the air.

“Okay, so you might have to use magic to move the–” He started before cutting off as Wendy flashed brightly. He blinked the light away, finding a human-sized version with no wings sitting in the opposite seat.

“This is just easier,” She grinned. “I got it.” He got out of the way, leaving the levers pushed all the way forward, and she took his place. “Be careful, and there may still be tics around.”

Bert carefully opened the door and pulled himself onto the roof. The vines were curled up on the floor behind the driver’s seat. They seemed recovered but showed no signs of wanting to help.

He found the top of the vehicle clear of tics and looked up at the trailer lumbering along behind the express. A bright glow was coming from over the wall, but he couldn’t tell what was causing it.

Bert walked slowly toward the back of the Express, noticing a ring of razor vines had wound around the top of the walls. Hopefully, that was a good sign.

“Scruff! Are you okay!” He cupped his hands and yelled as loud as he could.

“Fine! Don’t come up here!” Scruff called back. Her head appeared over the top of the wall.

“I wasn’t planning on it,” Bert called back. “How is it over there?”

“Oh, my little darlings are finishing the last of them. They did so well!” She beamed down at him. “Did Wendy make it?”

“Yeah, she’s part of the Express now!” Bert called back.

“Hang on, this yelling is irritating.” Scruff said and clicked her tongue. Vines reached around her and grabbed the wall of Trailer One. While Bert gaped, they picked Scruff up and lowered her over the edge.

“What are you doing!” Bert yelled, get back in there!”

Scruff laughed as she was dangled a few feet above him, hanging by the vines over empty air. “I’m fine.”

“Still, though,” Bert grumbled.

“So, what did you need?” Scruff said, rolling her eyes.

“I just wanted to know you were okay,” Bert said, ignoring the eye roll.

“Oh, weird. Yeah, I’m good. I’m going to sleep in my cottage for a bit if that’s okay?”

“Is it safe?” Bert asked.

“I’m safer there than anywhere,” She shrugged. “Just don’t try and come back up there until I’m awake, okay?”

“I won’t,” Bert smiled. “Just keep some of those vines next to you if you can.”

Scruff laughed. “You don’t think I still sleep in a bed? These make a lovely hammock!” With that, she rose back over the wall and disappeared.

Bert returned to the cab and swung inside, closing the door behind him.

“All good?” Wendy asked. She had her feet up on the dash as she drove.

“She’s fine. Probably certifiably insane, but fine.”

“You get some sleep if you like; I’m good to drive.” She gestured over her shoulder, and Bert had to do a double take. There was a small bed built into the back of the cab.

“Where did that come from?” Bert asked.

“I had some spare mana when we were going down that last hill,” She grinned. “And you look shattered.”

“Thanks,” Bert had to admit he was beyond tired.

Bert jolted out of bed as the air horn blasted three times. He hit the floor and heard Wendy chuckling. Great, she did it as well.

“Morning,” She laughed as he groaned and pulled himself into one of the passenger chairs. The sun was just rising over the horizon as he looked blearily around. “I want to see if I can fly up and catch sight of the Waystation now the sun is coming up. You drive, yeah?”

Bert nodded and made affirmative noises, and with a flash of light, she was back to being a pixie buzzing out of the cab and up overhead.

Bert took the controls and tried to get his brain to work. He was still exhausted but a little less so. He yawned and leaned back against the chair. After a minute, he felt himself start to drift off.

“Wakey, Wakey!” Wendy yelled through the speakers. A cackle followed as he jerked upright.

“Can you hear me?” He asked carefully.

“Yeah, think of me as always there, even when I’m not.” Her voice crackled through the speakers. “I can’t see the Waystation, but I can see Trailer One is clear of anything tic-like. It does look a little like the vines own it now, but it is clear. A few are still climbing up it, but the vines kill them before they even get up the walls.” There was a pause. “I see something up ahead, just slightly off to the side. A clear area in the grass, with a few tics around it. I think something is fighting them.”

“Can you direct me there?” Bert asked.

“Keep going straight ahead; it’s not far.” Her voice sounded worried. “I’m not sure if we will make it in time!”

Bert reached out and let long blasts off with the air horn.

“They hear that, and it distracted the tics. Whoever it is, they are fighting their way towards us.”

Silence stretched out as Bert strained to see anything through the long waves of grass. Time seemed to stretch until a blur burst through the grass, headed for the Express.

“I’ve got it!” Wendy called. The door opened, and a skeletal figure launched itself through the door and collapsed into a chair. As Bert looked over at the little gnork skeleton, Wendy flew in.

“Tim, is that you?” Bert asked, confused.

“Let me,” Wendy said, unleashing a series of unintelligible sounds. Tim straightened and replied in the strange stuttering language.

Wendy translated as he continued talking.

“Okay, so they kept going after they left us behind. Trav claimed the Trailer was overwhelmed instantly. Yeah, then the orcs wanted to come and rescue us, that was nice, but Bell wouldn’t let them. She was acting weird, apparently. Finally, the great and powerful master, I think he means Bud, went up the tower and found that she was acting REAL weird. He noticed a mug next to her and guessed she had drunk something.” Wendy listened for a while. “He was suspicious, so he just kind of hid there, in the shadows with Tim. Trav came up and tried to give her another drink. Bud stopped him. Trav tried to fight him, but Tim, he’s a nice lad, stabbed him from behind.” The little skeleton gestured with the two short swords he was holding. “Stabbed him a lot from behind. Trav fled down the platform. Bud couldn’t figure out how he even made it work. Bell is sort of passed out and probably will be for a while. Way Way is panicking, but it can feel you are still alive, so it is just following the road until you can catch up and take over. It slowed down a little, but the tics almost caught us.” She listened a bit more. “Bud thinks that it was just something to make her sleepy for a long time. But she’ll be fine either way. Pixies are hard to kill.” Wendy grinned. “The orcs have Trav tied up and buried up to his neck in the Waystation.” She looked concerned as Tim continued, then turned and started hitting Bert.

“What the fuck?” Bert yelled as he leaned as far away as he could.

“He said he wanted to try and reach you, as Bud was worried. He jumped off the back of the Waystation and wanted to try and save you… even though you buried him alive!” She resumed beating him.

“I thought he was just a normal dead body. I didn’t want just to leave him there. I kind of chatted to it, even if it never answered me. So I buried it as a sign of respect.” He said as he tried ineffectually to dodge the irate pixie.

“Oh, hang on.” She turned and spoke to Tim again.

Tim answered, then they went back and forth for a bit.

Next thing Bert knew, there was a small Gnork skeleton hugging him.

“Aww, he wants to be friends!” Wendy said happily.

Bert awkwardly patted the little skeleton on the head.

It was better than it constantly attacking him, anyway.

=============

The next two days passed slowly. The Hudson Express dragged Trailor One slowly through the grasslands. They came across a few more groups of tics, but the Express protected them, while the ones who tried to get onto Trailer One never had a chance. Each night the glow from the Trailer kept them guessing. He talked to Scruff twice a day, her dangling over the side from her vines and rolling her eyes at his refusal just to assume she was fine.

Tim proved to be very useful, going out and clearing any remaining tics off the Express as they cleared each pack. The skeleton was immune to their bites and their blood. Every time he came back in, Wendy would fuss around, cleaning him off and telling him what a good boy he was. Then it was Bert’s turn to hug him and pat him on the head.

And so time passed.

Wendy was doing a last look around, high above the Express as the sun set on their third day in the grass, when she yelled through the speakers, “I can see it!”

“How far off?” Bert asked.

“We should reach it tomorrow morning!” Wendy said. “It’s stopped just on the other side of the grasslands.”

Bert let off three loud blasts with the airhorn to celebrate.

All three of them were anxious all night. Bert tried to sleep for a few hours but just tossed and turned while Wendy drove with Tim curled up on her lap like a cat.

Bert took over again just before sunrise, yelling up to Scruff that they should be meeting up with the Waystation soon. He got a half-hearted wave over the wall back before taking the Express's controls.

He could see it, a shape against the dawn’s light. The Waystation loomed ahead, and he gave loud blasts on the air horn as he finally cleared the grasslands.

Tim was waiting by the door, vibrating with the urgency of returning to Bud’s side. Bert couldn’t blame him; he felt the same about checking on Bell. Maybe they all really were Bell’s minions. Bert grinned at the idea.

Then they would deal with Trav. Just the thought made fury burn through him. He had tried to kill them in the worst possible way.

“Drawbridge is coming down!” Wendy called. A thump sounded on the roof, followed by footsteps and an inverted Scruff. She waved as vines opened the door, and she was carried inside. The vines she had lent to Bert joined the others on her back as she dropped into a chair.

“We are clear of the grass by a fair bit now,” She said casually as if nothing had happened. “Why don’t we leave Trailor One here for now and get home?”

Bert liked the idea, and Wendy said she could disconnect the towing cable remotely. The Express jerked as the lines released, shooting forward over the remaining ground between them and the Waystation.

Wendy whooped and cheered as the freed Express lived up to its name.

Bert and the others piled out of the Express as it stopped. Wendy perched on the roof as the others raced to meet the group at the base of the drawbridge.

He grabbed Bud into a hug as the skeleton laughed and hugged him back.

“Good to see you, Boss!” Bud laughed.

“How’s Bell?” Bert asked as Tim slunk out from behind him.

“You!” Bud went to tell off the cowering minion when Bert stopped him. “He wanted to try and save us, let us know what was going on. He was a real trooper out there on his own for a long time.”

Bud turned to the little skeleton and crouched down. “I was very worried about you. No running off, okay?”

The little skeleton nodded vigorously and then jumped into Bud’s arms.

“How’s Bell?” Bert asked again.

“Not good,” Bud said as the orcs crowded around Scruff, hearing her tales of adventure.

“She still out of it?” Bert asked.

“No! She woke up this morning and talked to Way Way for a second, and then… she lost it. Like completely lost it. Trav was dragged into the Barn, and we could not get in there. We tried.”

“I’ll check on her,” Bert said and started to trot towards the Waystation. He turned back and gestured to Wendy. “Everyone, this is Wendy; she’s with us. I’ll explain later.” They all looked over, and she waved shyly.

“I’ll go pick up Trailor One,” She called back. “You go check on Mom, and I’ll do the rest.”

“Mom,” Bert said, raising one eyebrow.

“Hey, sort of, right, Dad?” She said and laughed.

Bert just waved and continued up the Drawbridge. He had a partner to check on.

===========

Way Way reached out as soon as he stepped foot on the drawbridge. It had been very worried, scared, and confused. He sent back calming feelings. Promised Trailor One was okay and on its way to be reattached. He did all this while he walked towards the Barn doors.

“Bell, open up; it’s me!” Bert called.

The doors opened, and he walked in, stumbling as the smell of blood hit him.

Trav lay on the floor in his human form. He had been beaten unconscious. His arms and legs were broken. He simply stepped over him.

“Bell?” He called again.

“I’m here.” A small voice came from behind the counter.

“Are you okay?” Bert asked carefully as he moved around behind it. She was curled up on her side on the little shelf under the counter.

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t know!” She wailed.

“Yeah, I know,” Bert said soothingly. “Tim found us and told us everything.”

“But-but-but.” She shook her head as he picked her up in his hands, cradling her gently.

“It wasn’t your fault, Bell.” He said over and over again, holding her to his chest.

She cried for a long time.

“It was awful. I woke up, and I knew what I had done. I left you alone. Just like the other Caretaker did to me. Way Way told me everything! I didn’t even know if you were alive!”

“Couldn’t you sense me?” Bert asked.

“Yes, but I didn’t trust it. How could you be alive?” She suddenly looked up. “Wait, how are you alive? How are you here?”

“Short version? Scruff, her plants, and your Multi-Bell.” He laughed.

“It was destroyed,” Bell said. “I remember that.”

“Not quite,” Bert smiled. “Have you ever wanted a daughter?”

“I’m going to need the long version.” Bell grinned back. “But, can we just hug for a bit first?”

“Yes, Bell,” Bert said.

Once Bell felt a little more herself, she took her place on his shoulder, and they went out to see how the clean-up was going.

Trav was trying to crawl out of the barn, pulling himself along on his broken limbs. Bert had a brief, very brief flash of sympathy for him. Then he remembered Wendy screaming as he severed the connection to Bell and the look in Scruff’s eyes as she said goodbye before casting her largest spell.

He shot Trav twice in the back of the head. The Bolts jutted from his skull as he slumped.

The Waystation refused to absorb his body. It opened beneath him, dropping the body all the way through and onto the ground beneath the Waystation.

They passed Scruff, still telling stories of the battles she had fought, catching her telling the story of her vines covering the walls to the orcs on their way out and down the drawbridge.

Bud and Tim directed Wendy as she lined Trailer One up with the Waystation.

This was going to be interesting.

Once the Trailer was lined up, Wendy brought the Express over and opened the door, perching on edge and grinning at them. She was at her human size at the moment.

“Hi, Mum!” She grinned. “I see Dad found you.”

Bell scowled at her. “Tell me what happened.”

“No.” Wendy stuck out her tongue. “Can’t make me anymore.”

Bert groaned and explained again.

“See, Mum.” Wendy grinned again.

“Mum, is it?” Bell said in her innocent voice.

Bert and Wendy both froze. That voice was never a good sign.

“Wait, I–”

“I accept you as my daughter with Bert J Hudson.” She said, smiling.

“Wait, what?” Bert said as Bell beamed.

“No, no, no.” Wendy protested. “I was just winding you up!”

You have formally recognized your child according to Fae law!

Congratulations!

“You explain it to your father,” Bell said sweetly and flew away laughing.

“What the fuck just happened?” Bert asked Wendy, who was looking as stunned as he felt.

“Well, here’s the thing….” Wendy said weakly. “When my connection to her was severed, I would normally have vanished instantly. Instead, I kind of got a small bond with you as you were bonded with her and Way Way. It wasn’t enough to keep me going long, but it was something.” She shrugged. “When I bonded with the Express, which is also bonded to you, that bond strengthened.” She looked guilty. “I kind of added a bit of you to kind of… fill me out as a being.” She saw the look on his face. “Hey, I was only hours old, was never meant to be a full being, and was dying! I didn’t know any better.”

“Okay, so what just happened?” Bert asked.

“I’m kind of half Bell and half you. So I thought it would be funny to tease her… which it was. But… under Fae law, I qualify as your child as I am half her magic and half yours. I never thought she would recognize me as her actual child, and you didn’t know, so….”

“So now I officially have a daughter?” Bert asked.

“Yup, sorry… Dad.” She shrugged.

“My wife is going to kill me!” Bert winced.

“Ooh, Only a few days old, and I already have a stepmother! Scandalous!” She laughed and then shivered. “Bollocks, I forgot about this part!” She changed, getting younger until she looked about eighteen. “Ahh, I’m a teenager!” She laughed. “Look on the bright side, Dad; at least I’m not a kid! You do not want to see a pixie going through puberty.” She laughed as Bert shook his head.

“Gwen is going to skin me, I swear.” He sighed.

This was going to be a long day.