Summer had finally come in Sugna City. The once quiet streets of the suburbs were now filled with the cries and laughter of kids, barking dogs, and the drone of lawnmowers. It was on this rather windy June morning, that Taylor and Izzy McIntosh were heading down to Worchester Park, a small park in the neighborhood across the railroad tracks from where they lived. Tay had recently acquired a rather powerful Yu-Gi-Oh trading card and had been showing it off to everybody he knew. Izzy thought he would have learned after the third time he got punched for sticking it in someone's face, but he just kept on going…a little too far. Yesterday, Tay ran into a kid from the other neighborhood named Robbie. Robbie often bullied Tay at school, which was why he challenged him to a game and swore he'd get revenge for all those wedgies, black eyes, and even the occasional swirly.

  As they walked toward the train station, Izzy lectured Tay about his stupid schemes and ideas. "If it wasn't for you always opening your big mouth to everybody, we wouldn't be doing this! I really don't like this neighborhood we're going to. It's where all those stupid bullies from school live," said Izzy. "It's cool Iz, I can beat this guy, because I have…Thousand-Eyes Restrict!" yelled Tay as he held his card up in the air. "Ugh jeez," Izzy groaned. 

  The twins walked up a bridge which crossed over the railroad tracks. The Tavin Heights train station was at the bottom and there were steps going from the bridge down to the platform. The line was a major commuter route and Tavin Heights was just one of the many stops along the line for commuter trains heading into Sugna City. The line was also served by CountryLink, which ran high-speed inter-city trains between Sugna and the distant lakeside town of Flockston Falls, about a hundred miles away. As the twins crossed the bridge, they stopped for a moment to watch a train that was pulling in below.

  Izzy heard footsteps coming up behind them and turned to see Rex, a gray wolf kid who sometimes hung out with them. He used to pick on Tay a lot at school, but now he was trying his best to tolerate him. "Hi Rex!" yelled Izzy, waving at him. "Yo. Where are you guys going?" asked Rex, wondering why they were going into his neighborhood. "Tay challenged some kid to a game of Yu-Gi-Oh because he got some kind of rare card," said Izzy. "It's called Thousand-Eyes Restrict!" yelled Tay. Rex leaned toward Izzy. "Wow, just when I thought your brother couldn't get any nerdier," he whispered, causing Izzy to snicker. "Stop laughing, this is serious!" whined Tay. "Thousand-Eyes Restrict is no mere card. It is a weapon of mass destruction and I'm gonna use it to beat that poopie-head Robbie and get him back for all the times he messed with me at school!" "Get ready Rex, I think he's about to quote the show," whispered Izzy. Tay stood on his toes and puffed out his chest. "Now outta my way, because…IT'S TIME TO DUEL!!!"

  Just as Tay held the card in the air, a huge gust of wind came and pulled it right from his fingers. The three went to the railing and watched as the card blew down onto the platform and right into the door of the waiting train below. Tay stood there dumbstruck. "Hahaha! Oh man, that sucks for you Tay! I'll see you guys later," laughed Rex as he walked away. Izzy noticed Tay running down the steps as fast as he could, practically leaping from flight to flight. "Tay, wait!" she yelled running after him.

  Tay ran into the packed train and looked around frantically, until he saw his precious card laying under an occupied seat.  He scrambled under the seat to get it, bumping the people sitting there in the process. He even caused one guy to spill coffee all over his rather expensive-looking suit. "I got it! I got it, haha!" yelled Tay as he danced around in the aisle, holding his prize. "Tay! What's gotten into you? You could have been killed the way you ran down those steps!" yelled Izzy. "It was worth it though Iz, because I got it!" said Tay, hugging his sister. Izzy pushed him off. "Yeah, yeah, that's great. Now can we please get out of here? We're not even supposed to be here."

  Just as she said that, there was a big jolt and the two were knocked to the floor. Izzy got back up and looked out the window to see that the train was moving and all the doors had been shut. "Oh man, what do we do?!" she said as she panicked. "Relax Iz, the next stop is just on the other side of the neighborhood. We'll just get off there," said Tay, walking toward the door. Just then, the conductor made an announcement. "Good morning passengers. This is the express train to Sugna City. This train will not be making any further stops, before reaching Sugna City Terminal. At this time, please have all tickets, passes, and cash fares ready. The next and final stop for this train will be Sugna City Terminal." 

  Their hearts dropped into their stomachs. "Taylor…Ryan…MCINTOSH!!!" Izzy growled, flattening her ears and bearing her sharp canine teeth. "Okay, I thought this was the local. Maybe I was wrong," Tay confessed. Izzy began panicking as they raced past Overhill Avenue, the stop where Tay planned to get off. "What do we do? We don't have any money to pay for tickets! Plus, what are Mommy and Daddy gonna think if they find out we went all the way into the city by ourselves? They'll ground us for the rest of our lives!" she said. 

  They heard a clicking noise behind them and turned to see the conductor making his way down the aisle checking tickets. They immediately ran to the next car and hid under an empty seat. "What do we do now? We'll be thrown off the train if we don't pay!" whined Tay as he began crying. "Will you shut up for two seconds so I can think?" hissed Izzy. "I remember seeing an old diagram of these cars online, from back in the 70's when they first came out. They were built with a bathroom at the end of each car," she said. "Eeeeeew! I'm not hiding in a smelly potty!" said Tay. "It's either that or get caught and thrown off for not having a ticket. Now come on!" said Izzy as she grabbed Tay by the wrist and pulled him down the car.

  Tay tried opening the door, but it was jammed shut. "Come on, come on!" he whined. Izzy soon saw the conductor approaching the door into their car. "Here, let's both pull together," Izzy suggested. She grabbed the handle and pulled hard. "One, two three!" they yelled, but it didn't work. "One, two, three!" It still didn't work. "One, two, THREE!" The twins pulled one last time with all their strength and finally managed to get the door open. They scrambled inside the dark compartment. 

  Tay looked around confused. "I thought you said this was a bathroom. Where's the potty?" he asked. Izzy saw that the room was filled with all kinds of toolboxes and the floor was littered with plastic destination signs for every line on the system. "They must have taken the potty out and made it a closet or something," she said. "Aw man! I have to go too!" Tay whined holding his crotch. "Ugh! Well, hold it until we get into the city. Let me see where we are." Izzy opened the door a crack so she could see out of the window. By the looks of it, they were passing the South Klepacki station. "We're in Klepacki, probably about to cross into Rivertown," she said. "Rivertown?! Oh great, now we're in the ghetto. We're gonna get shot by the hood gangsters!" cried Tay. "Will you shut up?! Besides, this train doesn't make any stops, remember?" whispered Izzy.

  The silence only lasted about a minute. Tay's bladder was at full capacity and he just couldn't take it anymore. "Izzy, I have to pee NOW!" he said. "Ugh! Fine, look around and see if you can find anything," said Izzy. Tay eventually found an empty bottle of fruit juice. Izzy turned around and pressed her ear to the door as Tay finally relieved himself. He hid the bottle behind a duffle bag that was laying in the corner. "Okay, I'm done now Iz. Hear anything?" Tay asked. "No. I haven't heard anyth-"

  The door opened and their eyes were met with the conductor. He was a tall and muscular human (humans and Mobians co-exist in this world) wearing a white shirt and a black tie. His head was topped with a black conductor's hat, which had "SCT Railroad Division" written on it in red. His belt had all sorts of pouches for holding money on it, along with a radio, a book of tickets, and a small holster with a ticket puncher inside. The conductor's name was Fred and he was in charge of the entire train.

  Fred looked at them in mild surprise. "Hey, what are you kids doing in here?" he asked. "Uh…uh…" The twins knew it, they were doomed. "We were uh…looking for the potty?" Tay said. Izzy facepalmed. "Well can I please see your tickets?" asked Fred. The twins simply looked at each other and busted out crying. "We're sorry! We don't have tickets! Please don't throw us off, PLEASE!" whined Tay. "Yeah, Tay was trying to show off a
Yu-Gi-Oh card and the wind blew it out of his hand. We came into the train looking for it, but the doors were closed by the time we found it. Please don't throw us off!" sobbed Izzy. Fred laughed. "It seems you two are in a pretty nasty spot. Where did you get on at?" "Tavin Heights," mumbled Tay. "Well don't worry, I'm not going to throw you off. Sadly, I can't call your parents from here, because we'll be going into the Rivertown Tunnel. But what you can do, is go over to the SCT Police at the terminal. They have a booth set up in the main concourse. I'm sure you can call your parents from there. In the meantime, just have a seat and relax. We'll be in the city shortly," explained Fred.

  The twins got up and thanked Fred for letting them go. "Well that's a relief," said Tay. Suddenly Fred noticed something in the closet. "Oh so that's where I put my fruit juice," he said. To Tay's horror, he reached into the closet and pulled out the bottle of pee. "Uh, you might not want to drink that," he said. Fred laughed. "What? Grown-ups drink apple juice too. It's heathy for you." "Not that apple juice!" said Tay. Fred opened the cap and smelled it. "Phew! I think your right! This must have gone bad or something," he said and threw the bottle away. "Smooth Tay. Real smooth," said Izzy as they took a seat by a window.

  They were just passing through the Rivertown station. It was weird being on a train and not stopping there. Most trains on that line stopped in Rivertown, even the high speed CountryLink trains. They watched the industrial slums of Rivertown race by out the window. Rivertown was the last accessible port east on the Encanto River. The heart of Rivertown sat on a small island, where the Encanto River split. The southern half was actually a small shipping channel known as the Sugna River. The tracks they were on soon began to descend into a small trench. 

  Everything outside the window suddenly went pitch black and the twins' ears popped as the train entered the long Rivertown Tunnel, which carried the train under the northern half of the Encanto River. Bright orange lights flashed by outside the window, getting faster and faster as the train picked up speed. They heard Fred make an announcement: "Your attention please ladies and gentlemen. The next and final stop will be Sugna City Terminal. Transfer is available here to all regional rail lines, the Central Line Subway, the Franklin Elevated, Subway-Surface trolleys, and CountryLink trains. Please have all tickets and passes ready for final inspection. Sugna City Terminal, next and final stop."

  The train began to slow down as Fred and another conductor walked through the train inspecting everyone's tickets. He came up to the twins. "Do you kids know where the SCT Police booth is in the concourse?" he asked. "Yeah, we come here all the time with our dad, so we know the station pretty well," said Izzy. "Plus, we're big railfans too. We love trains!" added Tay. "Okay then, you kids should be fine," said Fred. "Take care now and good luck getting back home!" The twins said goodbye and thanked him as he walked into the next car. Tay pressed his face to the window. "I think we're coming out of the tunnel."

  The sound of screeching wheels and grinding metal echoed through the darkness as the train hit a set of switches. The twins gazed out the window in awe as they left the black tunnel and slowly glided out into a huge trench, directly in the heart of the city. The towering skyscrapers of Sugna City rose all around them like a steel and glass forest, shining bright in the late morning sun. Their train slowly made its way through the complex maze of approach switches before going into another tunnel. Almost immediately inside the tunnel, they pulled into one of the many platforms of Sugna City Terminal. 

  The doors opened and the twins stepped out of the train and onto the crowded platform. The station was like a huge steel cavern with thick beams supporting the ceiling and bright lights hanging from above, which lit the platform, but did little to deter the darkness and gloom of the track area. Tay even pointed to a few thin stalactites hanging from the ceiling, which probably formed from storm runoff from the street. Trains of all kinds sat on the other tracks, from two car SCT commuter locals to fast bi-level CountryLink regionals. They heard a loud bell ringing nearby and turned to see CountryLink's big and sleek X2000 bullet train glide in on a nearby track. 

  After watching the X2000 train make its stop, the two headed for the escalator. They were both amazed at the size of the huge stone concourse. The whole station had an old art-deco look about it, as it was built in 1930. In the center of the concourse, sat the information desk and the huge arrival board. The arrival board consisted of hundreds of little tiles, which would all flip to the correct setting to display train names, arrival times, departure times, and boarding locations. Tay noticed that the train they just saw pulling in, was the 10:00 X2000 service to Albion City. Suddenly, the board began to change. The 9:55 Flockston Line Regional had just departed for its run to Flockston Falls and all the tiles on the board began to flip, moving all the listed trains up a slot. The twins noticed one particular train listed on the board. "The 11:00 Flockston Line Regional. Isn't that one of Becky's trains?" asked Izzy.

  Their friend Becky was an engineer for CountryLink and drove trains between Sugna City and Flockston Falls. She was the youngest railroad employee in the world and was also featured as CountryLink's mascot. She had learned how to drive trains when her father used to take her on cab rides on the Flockston Line. She perfected driving the train in no time. When her father's superiors found out however, they actually saw her skill as an engineer and actually gave her the job of driving her father's train during the summer. Her father was also promoted to the X2000 and took trains up and down the coast at 150 mph. 

  As the twins walked through the concourse, Tay looked around at the different CountryLink ads and posters, all with a big picture of an animated Becky on them. "Ugh, this is creepy. No matter where you look, you got Becky staring at you," he said. "It's like her eyes follow you wherever you go!" Izzy laughed. "Will you just come on," she said. Tay saw that she was leading him toward a desk with a sign for the SCT Police over it. "Wait Iz! We can't tell the cops. They'll call our parents and we'll never see the light of day again!" whispered Tay. "We'll end up looking like Gollum." He hunched over and scrunched up his face. "My precious…" he said trying to do his best Gollum impression. "Well then what do you suggest we do genius?" asked Izzy. Tay thought for a moment and looked up at the arrival board. The clock said it was 10:05 and the next SCT Flockston Line train didn't leave until 10:55. "We could check out the city," Tay suggested. "Well…alright. But nobody can find out about this!" said Izzy.

  The two walked through the huge station heading for the door. There was a food court near the door and Izzy struggled to get Tay out of it, as he was very hungry and stopped to greatly admire what they had at each stand. They soon found the door and walked out into a big patio area, where outdoor tables were set up for the food court. Huge glass skyscrapers soared above them everywhere and their ears were filled with the rumble of city traffic and crowded sidewalks. "Well, come on," said Tay as he pulled his sister's arm and began running down the sidewalk. "Tay wait!" yelled Izzy as they came to a crosswalk. Tay looked up at the light, which was currently red. "You have to wait for the light to turn green. This isn't like the neighborhood where you just have to look."

  They continued walking down Sun Street, the main street of the city. At the end of the street, the twins could see the huge Sugna Spire, the tallest building in the city. Speaking of skyscrapers, Tay almost walked into just about every hot dog stand, light pole, and person on the sidewalk, because he could not take his eyes off the massive buildings. "Whoa! When you look up at it, it looks like it's gonna fall over on you!" he said staring up at a huge glass tower. He got dizzy and began to fall backwards, but Izzy quickly caught him. At one point, he walked head on into a hot dog cart. "AY! 'Scuse me! Can't ya see I'm pushin' samthin' here?" the man yelled. "Sorry mister!" called Izzy. "Can we have a hot dog?" "Taylor!" Izzy pulled him away by his ear. 

  The sun was getting hot and the twins started sweating heavily as they walked block after block through the city streets. "Ugh, we're gonna die of thirst out here soon if we don't get something to drink," said a panting Izzy. Tay spotted something. Across the street was a large park. It took up about half a block and it had a big fountain in the center. "Hey, let's check this place out," Tay suggested. The twins crossed the street and ran into the park when they spotted something they had been desperate for: a water fountain! Izzy stepped up on the small metal foot stand (it was one of those old victorian water fountains) and was about to take a drink when she was pushed off by Tay. "Tay! What the heck?!" Tay jammed the button for the fountain only to get sprayed in the face. Izzy stepped up again and took a nice long drink as Tay fell sputtering onto the pavement. "Serves you right! You should know that it's ladies first Tay," said Izzy as she jumped down to let Tay have his turn.

  After having a drink of water, the twins walked toward the center of the park. A round shallow pool sat in the middle with a powerful fountain shooting out from its center. Izzy walked down to the edge of the pool and looked around the park. People were sitting on every bench, step, and wall they could find, doing such things as eating lunch, listening to music, doing school work, and hanging out with friends. There was even a guy on the other side of the park breakdancing with a boombox next to him. A scene straight out of the 80's. Everything seemed calm and relaxed…for now.

  Izzy's ears perked up and she turned around to see Tay, who had a mischievous look on his face and was obviously about to try and push her into the fountain. "Don't even think about it Tay!" she yelled grabbing his arm and flinging him into the fountain with a big splash. "HEY! No fair! How'd you hear me?" whined Tay who sat in the pool soaking wet. You're not exactly the sneakiest person in the world Tay," said Izzy. "No, but I am the quickest!" yelled Tay as he reached out and grabbed his sister's ankle, pulling her into the fountain with him. "Hey! Now I'm all wet!" she yelled. However they both had to admit that the cool water did feel really good and there were other kids playing in the fountain as well. The twins decided to join them and play around in the fountain, getting completely soaked and losing track of time. 

  After a while, Tay looked up at the clock and noticed the time, which was 10:45. "Izzy! We're gonna miss our train!" he yelled. Without even saying goodbye to the other kids, the twins jumped out of the fountain and ran out of the park. "We're not gonna make it!" said Izzy. Just then Tay got an idea. "The subway! Let's try to sneak onto the subway. That will get us there really quick." Izzy didn't like it. "How are we supposed to do that?" she asked. "We already got caught on a train once today." Tay saw a large family with a bunch of kids go into the subway entrance…a family of dingoes just like them! "I know how we can do this," he said with confidence. 

  They followed the large dingo family (of no relation to their family) down into the subway entrance and up to the turnstiles. As the parents paid the cashier, the twins got right into the crowd of children. Apart from being drenched, they blended right in. The cashier left the turnstile unlocked until the last kid (who was Tay) went through, without noticing how wet the twins were. As the dingo family went to sit on a bench, Tay and Izzy walked in front of a large fan that hung from the ceiling and dried off. It wasn't long before a train of bright red subway cars came pulling into the station with an ear splitting screech.

  The inside of the subway train was much more different than the regional rail train they rode in on. It smelled of feet and cheap fried chicken (from somebody eating some in that car) and the walls were covered in grime and graffiti. The seats were arranged an a more unusual pattern, with some facing forward, some facing backward, and some lined up sideways. Tay almost fell to the floor when the train started moving, but grabbed onto a pole just in time. The automated announcement came on. "Next stop: 12th Street. A wheelchair accessible station. For subway/surface trolley routes, Catalina University Hospital, Sugna Theater of the Arts, and the Underground Market." Izzy looked at a map and saw that 12th Street was the only stop before Sugna Terminal. 

  After the rather quick stop at 12th Street, the train began racing through the dark tunnel again. "Next stop: Sugna City Terminal. A wheelchair accessible station. For the Franklin Elevated, subway/surface trolley routes, regional rail lines, and CountryLink services," said the announcement. Their train pulled into the station and the twins bolted out of the door as soon as it opened. They ran as fast as they could through the main concourse and down the escalator to the SCT platforms. Tay saw their train at the bottom of the escalator. "We're gonna make it!" he said. Just then, Izzy saw the conductor step onto the train and give the "all clear" to the engineer. "We're NOT gonna make it!" she said as their train began pulling away. They ran down the platform screaming at the conductor to stop the train, but it was too late. The twins watched as their ride home bounced through the approach switches and disappeared into the darkness of the Rivertown Tunnel.

  Tay and Izzy made their sad climb up the escalator and sat on a bench in the concourse, sulking in their defeat. "What do we do now? We're stuck here," said Tay. Izzy leaned into his shoulder and started crying. It seemed that all hope was lost of them ever getting back home. Just then, Tay noticed something very familiar. Across the concourse, a head of long blonde hair and a bushy black and gray striped tail weaved through the crowd toward the escalator to the CountryLink platforms. "Becky," said Tay. "What?" asked Izzy confused. "Becky! She's over there! She can give us a ride home on the CountryLink train!" They jumped up and ran over to the escalator. 

  Becky was standing there talking to her conductor, a young human by the name of Matt. She heard someone call her name and looked up to see the twins running through the crowded concourse. "Oh my God! What are you guys doing here?" she asked. "Look we'll explain later. Can you please do us a HUGE favor and give us a ride back to Tavindale?" begged Izzy. "Well, I can't just-" "Please! It's an emergency! We have no way home!" Becky thought for a moment. "Let me ask my boss if it's okay," she said before pulling out her phone and explaining the situation. After a few nods of her head and a quick "thank you", she hung up. "Alright, you guys are good. Now let's go. You're gonna be riding in the cab with me," said Becky. The twins couldn't thank her enough.

  They went down the escalator and into the waiting train. Becky drove double decker high speed trains called S-Sets. They were the standard intercity train for CountryLink and came in permanently coupled sets of 4 cars. They were older trains from the early 70's, but still had some life left in them. They walked into the cab as Becky pulled down the retractable seats, raising her's up a little so she could see out the front window. She then took a few weird looking levers which she had been carrying on a chain and plugged them into the control slots. The air brakes gave a loud hiss as she put that particular lever in and the different gauges moved, showing her brake and main reservoir pressure. 

  Matt soon gave the "all clear" and Becky opened the throttle. Their train sailed across the approach switches, offering the twins one last view of the city, before heading into the tunnel. Shortly after leaving the other end of the tunnel, they made a quick stop in Rivertown before continuing to Tavindale. Becky's train was much faster than the SCT trains. The twins watched as the speedometer quickly climbed all the way up to 110 mph. As they raced down the Flockston Line, Izzy explained the whole situation to Becky, who wasn't surprised when she found out it was one of Tay's big screw ups. Just then, Tay remembered something. "My Thousand-Eyes Restrict!" His heart sank however, when he found his precious card soaking wet and ruined in his pocket. "Don't worry Tay. I'm sure you would have whooped Robbie's butt if you played him," said Izzy. Tay smiled and gripped his sister in a big warm hug. 

  "Hey guys, we're about to pass another train," said Becky. They stood up to see the SCT train they were supposed to take home stopped at a station up ahead. "Wanna let him know we're coming?" asked Becky as she pointed to the small lever for the horn. Tay and Izzy both gripped the lever and counted to three before blasting the horn loud and clear as the raced past the stopped local. "Hehe, that was awesome!" exclaimed Tay. Izzy and Becky simply laughed. They figured that even though their little trip was accidental and a bit scary at times, it was still a lot of fun. 

  Before long, Becky began to slow the train down for the stop at Tavindale. The town of Tavindale sat in the very center of the Tavindale region and was a few stopps up the line from Tavin Heights, where the twins lived. "Here, I wanted to give you this to get home," said Becky pulling 4 dollars out of her pocket. "I was going to get this month's Sonic comic at a store in Flockston, but you guys need it more than I do. It should be enough to take a bus to Tavin Heights." Izzy greatly thanked Becky and gave Tay his half of the money. 

  They soon pulled into Tavindale Station and said goodbye to Becky as they got off the train. They stood on the platform and watched Becky leave, giving them a few taps on the horn as she pulled away. The twins soon found an SCT bus sitting in the parking lot of the station and got on, paying their 2 dollars each. The bus quickly made it to Tavin Heights and let them off in front of the supermarket on the edge of their neighborhood. "Man, I vow to never pull a card out of my pocket again, unless it's for a duel," said Tay. "Well, at least we made it home," Izzy sighed as they walked up to their house. 

  Upon entering the house, they were greeted by their dad Jason. "Hey kids, where were you guys at all this time?" he asked. Izzy hesitated for a second. "Uh…we were at the park. Tay challenged some kid to a game of Yu-Gi-Oh and I had to sit there and watch him play all this time," she said. "Hmm, interesting. Did you beat him Taylor?" asked Jason. "Of course I beat him! No one can stand up to the might of Taylor McIntosh: Champion Duelist!" said Tay puffing out his chest and trying to sound tough. "Haha, that's nice. Listen, I was thinking that maybe we could hop on the train and head into the city for the afternoon, just for something to do. What do you say?" Jason said expecting excitement from the twins. Tay and Izzy looked at each other in disbelief before turning to their dad. "No! Uh…no thanks Daddy. We're just gonna play some video games in my room for now," said Tay. "Oh, uh.. okay, if you insist. I'll make you guys some lunch."

  The twins walked back to Tay's room, amazed that their dad asked them if they wanted to go to the city. "If only he knew," they both thought. They both flopped on Tay's bed and took off their shoes and socks before cuddling up and falling asleep right where they were. They had a long day of excitement and adventure and something told them that it wouldn't be their last.

  The End.