Day One/Tuesday AM - The Trainwreck
The clocks of Kenmare, North Dakota silently tick onward to the early hours of Tuesday morning, it is early Spring and a good deal of the earth still lays covered in slowly-melting drifts of snow deposited over the turbulent and frigid winter months.
As the citizens of this little town begin to shake themselves from the embrace of sleep, unbeknownst to them, a train on a southeastern heading has recently departed from the stockyards of Portal, ND, its final destination unknown.
Kenmare’s clocks roll past nine as an ear-splitting screech blasts through the hamlet; the gut-twisting sound of warping steel accompanies a myriad of pops set in quick succession as rivets rend themselves free from their moorings.
Mere moments tick by before the whirl of sirens pierce the deafened silence, those citizens who have left the warmth of their homes to determine the source of the cacophonous noise can make out two faint plumes of white smoke gently billowing skyward as the firefighters blow past, their lights flashing, Lt. James Kurtz follows behind in the department’s car.
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Awakened from bed between the sound of a crash and her sister yelling for her to come out, she staggers out of bed not bothering to really change out of her pajamas and follows her sister down the street (managed to throw sneakers on) to the ever growing line of town folk watching the wreckage and chaos before them.
Henry, or "Wolf" as most people call him, walks towards the noise as well, grabbing his trademark rifle, "just in case."
Nate, instantly awakened by the noise and curious of its source, quickly changes into some of his few casual clothes. He pauses by a small handgun he owns, shudders slightly, and leaves without it.
As the numbers of the city begin to filter from their homes, shouts ring out among the throngs; "What happened...", "Did you here that...", "...sounded like a lion...".
After nearly twenty minutes, the majority of the city stands along the northern side of 'Old ND-52' staring towards the far end of Middle des Lacs Lake.
A scene like none had seen before greeted them, a massive train seemed to have derailed just before the bend by 492nd Street. The locomotive had jackknifed southward into the water, and the first few cars were twisted and shorn. A few giant plumes of white smokes drift lazily upward forming one large cloud that hung low over the southeastern corner of the city.
The lone firetruck kicked up a trail of dust as it pulled to the shoulder, the minute figures of the city's force could be seen scrambling to the water's edge to begin the process of pumping the water to put out the numerous fires springing up in and around the wreckage.
"Seems like Jasper's Old Lady is gunna have one heck of a time cleanin' that mess," joked Carl Algers one of the many local contractor. A chorus of half-laughs pepper the immediate crowd as mother's hold their children close in an unnecessary show of protection.
"Huh, now how'd that happen?" Henry think out loud. He grabs the attention of the first person he can find. "Any idea what this train was carryin'?"
Willy, sure that with such wonderful entertainment on offer no one will be wanting gas or smokes for a while, wanders around the corner to check out the commotion. As he hits the crowd, he mumbles, "Glad I wasn't lookin to go anywhere by train."
Nate heads toward the tracks, curious as to where the train had been derailed. "Hmmm... why would a train get derailed ny problems before?" He asks, semi to himself as he starts his walk forward, skirting around Henry instead of walking straight past him.
Staring into the heart of the disaster incredulously, Brenda reminisces a bit about some more memorable times she had been on a train, including the first time she came here.
Then she is brought back to the moment by her sister yelling at her for not paying attention and asking her (again) “do you think a lot of people are dead in there?” Again she doesn’t answer as she notices a few small children looking terrified as their mothers protect them.
She then turns to the nearest doctor, firefighter, or police officer she can find and asks "Please, is there anything I can do?"
Garra
"Huh, now how'd that happen?" Henry thinks aloud. He grabs the attention of the first person he can find. "Any idea what this train was carryin'?”
Melinda Garris, one of the teachers at the Spencer School turns to him, “Looks a bit like one of them cargo trains that run this route on the weekly basis, you never know what’s coming down south from the Canadians, nor what Portal may be making on their own.”
mrs pibbs
… She then turns to the nearest doctor, firefighter, or police officer she can find and asks "Please, is there anything I can do?"
As she turns to find anyone, the telltale sound of additional assistance sounds from 3rd Street, as two ambulances and a police squad car race towards the massive train wreck. The water from the lake is throwing large vents of steam into the air as it strikes the smoldering steel.
The police cruiser slows and Sergeant Mills steps out, he glances over his shoulder towards the crash site and reaches back into the vehicle to retrieve his hat. He hustles towards the crowd and calls out to them, “Ladies and gentlemen, I would greatly appreciate it if you’ll please remain within the confines of the city proper. We cannot confirm the contents of the train now, but I can assure you, my men and I will make certain to keep you all updated.”
A few voices shout back offers for aid, and Sgt. Mills continues, “… I appreciate your concern, but until we know if any chemicals may have been released, we cannot risk your safe…” – a massive white light flashes from one of the first cars, followed by an earth shaking shockwave. Those looking towards the train loose their vision for a short time; residual blue halos obscure their field of vision for a few moments.
“-ck!” Officer Mills races back to his vehicle and floors the accelerator, the car lurches and peels large strips of rubber from his tires leaving a strong odor lingering in the air.
"Chicken." Henry remarks. "Now, what could they be carrying that'd do that?" He asks to himself. "Seems like the firemen are on it, might as well wait and see what's in there."
"Holy shit. What was that?" Willy says to anyone within hearing. Shaking his head as the spots clear from his eyes, he continues "I never seen nothing like that in my life."
"Hmm, they say they will tell us when they know more. . but what was that about chemicals?"
I don't know, but waiting here won't solve anything, we can either check it out ourselves, or follow officer Mills back toward the town. I, for one, am for the latter, there's no need to risk ourselves without knowing more about this. After all, it's well known that there's power in information, but more importantly, there's safety in information as well.
As soon as the air clears a bit, a good number of the city folk decide to head back to their homes. A few groups of older students have clumped together along the street, one of the closest groups seem to be discussing the current events.
A few minutes have passed, and Mills can be seen rushing about the accident site, there seems to be some commotion around the firefighters, and while no one wants to be the first to say anything, most of the mothers have ushered the younger children away home.
A few more of the police officers have begun arriving, they begin to push the crowds away from the train telling those within earshot that due to the uncertainty of the crash site they must extend the roped-off area to protect the citizens.
"Still not telling us anything? How long we gotta wait till you tell us what we all wanna know? They dead there? We gonna die cause of them chemicals?"
"Still not telling us anything? How long we gotta wait till you tell us what we all wanna know? They dead there? We gonna die cause of them chemicals?"
"Please, Willy... don't go rusling these people's feathers. We don't know what caused this derailment, but we sure ain't gonna let you ignite this crowd into a mob. Now git on back to your station, I'm sure Mr. McSwirly won't be happy knowin' you abandoned your post, otherwise we may need to find you a nice cell to cool your head at," warns Lt. Geoff Jenkins.
Meanwhile, Missy turns to Brenda and speaks, "Honey, chances are we're going to be havin' one full house with all this mess. You think we should head on down to the bar to see if we can't make ourselves a bit more scratch?"
"Yeah, let me go home and wake up a bit. See you down there?"
Well, seeing as this is probably going to take a while, Henry decides to leave. He'll drop by the bar, not to drink, but to hear what people are saying about the train wreck.
ooc: just waiting on Dan here, I'll see if he wants to respond to Lt. Jenkins subtle threat in the next day, otherwise look for a new post sometime tomorrow (October 16) afternoon.
ooc: Sorry. Lots happening in the real world.
ic: Muttering under his breath, "Bastard. I got customers anyways." Willy shuffles off to the gas station.
ooc: no worries bro, just didn't want to jump ahead without giving you a chance to make a statement.
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