The Four Evangelists

Fauna had managed to make herself comfortable enough to fall into a deep sleep, but was awoken by the horrifying sound of metal grinding on metal. The train began to shake and rock violently. In that split second before she could even get her eyes open from her state of deep sleep she remembered the whispered voice from earlier. She sprang up in her seat, and took Michael up tight in her arms. She grabbed up the blanket wrapping it tight around him. Holding him tight to her she leaned her entire body over his. The fury of the train’s quaking became more violent. Fauna looked over to see Flora fly from her comfortable position on the seats, slam hard against the seats in front of her, then crash to the floor. Too horrified to continue watching Fauna closed her eyes tight and clenched her teeth as if felt like the whole world was shaking to the ground. She could hear suitcases and bags falling from the racks above them to the ground. All around her she could hear people screaming and children crying. Michael never moved or made a sound through the whole ordeal. Then as suddenly as it began everything stopped, and all the sounds with the exception of the uncontrollable sobbing of those around her had quieted.
When she had waited a few seconds to make sure everything had stopped she sat up and looked over to her sister. Flora was curled up on the floor between the seats, buried under their carryon bags weeping uncontrollably. Fauna sat there dazed for a minute, but then the voice whispered again, “You have to get off this train now!” With that she shook her head clear, and stood up with her nephew in her arms still wrapped tight in his blanket.
She knelt down, and pulled the bags and blankets off her sister. “Flora, we are all still alive, Michael is just fine, so you have to calm down.” Flora pushed herself up off the floor, an tried her with all her strength to control her crying. “Alright we have to get off this train right now.”
“No one else is going,” she said.
“That doesn’t matter,” Fauna insisted, “we have to get off right now.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I don’t either,” Fauna shifted her nephew around to one arm, and pulled Flora up by her hand. “I just know we have to get off this train now. I need you to trust me right now, Flora.”
Flora shook her head in protest, but picked up Michael’s bag, which had his books, clothes, and snacks in it. She then twisted around and picked up her blanket from the seat. They quickly made their way down the aisle, dodging fallen suitcases and bags, to the stairs that lead down to the door. At the bottom of the stairs there was a conductor who told them that the door was blocked, and that they would have to go to the back of the train to get off. Fauna thanked the man, and quickly made her way back up the stairs, and with her sister and nephew in tow started towards the back of the train. They maneuvered through the aisles of several cars, and as Fauna looked around she saw that most people were still sitting in their seats. Some were bleeding from the head and hands where they had been hit with falling luggage and debris, some were in shock unable to move, and others were still asleep unaware that anything had happened. There were a select few people who like Fauna had decided to get off the train. They followed the small crowd to the back of the train, where they were all helping each other off into the empty desert. They ran into the desert away from the train.
The dim lights from the train illuminated a bridge that went out across a dark canyon. The engine, and all but the last couple of cars were sitting on the bridge. Loud cracking and popping noises began to ring out down the canyon. Flora, Fauna, and the rest of the people that had gotten off the train turned towards the bridge to investigate the noises. There were a series of loud quick cracks and pops, and the engine with all but the last two cars dropped with the bridge down into the canyon. The sound of the train and bridge falling down canyon walls was almost deafening. When the train hit the canyon floor an explosion of fire and heat shot up along the walls, and shook the whole world around them.
Fauna fell to the ground her feet out in front of her holding her nephew tight against her. She looked in shock as the fire from the floor of the canyon lit up where the bridge had once been. The car they had been on had gone down the canyon when the bridge collapsed. They could have still been on that train if she hadn’t listed to the whispered voice in her ear, or ignored her nephew’s unusual question. She quickly brought herself back to reality. She pushed herself up, and gave her nephew back to Flora who’s face had gone completely white with fear and shock.