OFF AND RUNNING

written in 2000 by Dennis Landmann

     A pair of boots walk along the runway of the San Francisco Train Station. An Amtrak train nearby, hollering, hissing, and ready to move out. People move onto the train. The boots belong to a girl. A beautiful girl aged 17. Her face cannot be made out. It is obscured by long, beautiful, and soft black hair. The boots continue to walk.

DISTURBING INTRODUCTION

     A microphone clicks on. Some chatter. Some laughing. Some coughing. Then very suddenly this male voice says in a very mean but firm tone: "What you're about to read is based on a story created by this author. Of course it is not real and it does not intend to get your impression of a real-life thing... so all you have to do is read. Though in the back of your mind, please note that this is totally fictitious and that the author did not come up with anything better because of a certain deadline set by this very mean publisher....
John, do I really have to say this?"
     A second voice belonging to a man named John says: "For crying out loud. We went over this a very long time ago and you agreed to do it. Now I don't understand the problem."
     "The problem is that the author is my best friend and I am talking about him like he's the meanest, dirtiest, and sickest person. We did not agree on that, seriously. I don't see why I should say all this. Is there a point to this?"
     "The point lies in the story. Now just continue your last couple of sentences so we can move on with the story. Also, I might like to add, the fellow readers who are reading this right now seem to be totally irritated. They read along these lines and think 'What on earth am I reading?' I cannot blame them for thinking that. I would think the same thing. Now just please finish your lines so the story can move on. Would you please? Thank you." "Well, all right then. You want me to start over... no!? Okay. I'm just going to finish it then. Here we go: The story that is about to unfold talks about how a girl with the name of Lacey boards a train to Toronto, Canada. She and her newly found friend known as Danny will be riding the train together... and have some fun on the trip. Together, they will go trough a lot of dangerous but also fun adventures. So without further revealing anything here comes the story of two young people that are OFF and RUNNING...."

NOT AWARE

     The pair of boots stop. The girl's hair still obscures a glimpse of her face. Then out of friggin' nowhere this mad and loud whistle emerges from a speaker right next to the girl's ears. The girl jerks back, shrieking. Her ears have totally been hurt. She can't hear anything. She looks around the train station. She sees people boarding the train to Toronto. The only thing is she doesn't hear anything. It's like when someone screams in your ear and everything around you is deadly silent. So now you know how this girl is feeling. The girl takes her only baggage, a blue backpack, and walks toward the train.
     As she walks to the train, something is happening behind her, which she does not take any notice of. In the background is a big fat slimy and ugly alien. The alien is about to eat a man selling backpacks. That man is very frightened. Then there are two gunshots. The alien blows up in pieces. No blood, it just blew up in pieces, vanishing from existence. Two men, dressed in black, known as MIB Agents, approach the backpack selling man. One of them, Agent Fame, takes out a silver flashy thingy. He takes out a pair of black sunglasses and puts them on. He is about to flash the thing into the backpack man. The younger one, Agent Tame, is without glasses. Agent Fame signals Agent Tame to put on the sunglasses. Okay, done that. A white flash illuminates the train station. The backpack man looks blank.

BOARDING THE TRAIN

     The girl enters a cabin with six seats. The girl sits down by the window. Outside we see another alien. This one is chased by a couple of agents. Back inside, the girl puts her stuff on the next seat. She gets out a soda and opens it. Drains it. Refreshment grade A. Now for the first time we can make out her face. It is Lacey. It is the one and only Lacey. She looks very beautiful. No need for further description. The door to the cabin opens and an old man enters with a suspicious looking briefcase. He sits down just by the door. He sets down his briefcase. Looks at Lacey. "Hi there," says the old man with a deep voice. "Hi, how's it going," says Lacey with no interest. "Pretty good."
     The door opens again. A young man enters. He is in his 30's. He closes the door and sits down opposite the old man. They exchange a look. Both nod. And again to no real surprise the door opens again. A young guy walks in. He also has a backpack. He closes the door and looks at the fellow passengers. He seems to be interested in Lacey. He takes a seat opposite her, by the window. He looks out with a small smile on his face. Outside, another alien is being chased. Back inside, the young guy looks at Lacey. Their eyes meet and lock on. A moment of silence passes. It is interrupted by a loud and mad whistle. The train begins to roll.

NEW FRIENDS

     "Hi. My name's Danny. How are you," says the young guy now known as Danny.
     "I'm pretty good how about yourself," replies Lacey with interest.
     "Can't say I feel bad. So are you going to Toronto?"
     "Oh yes. It's going to be a long way. My name's Lacey by the way."
     "Nice to meet you Lacey."
     "Nice to meet you too, Danny it is?"
     "Yes. Danny. Danny or Dennis."
     "Cool."
     "Cool."
     The Train is in full motion now. It's roaring down the tracks at 80 mph. It long passed the San Francisco area. Now all fields and forests.
     Now inside Lacey's cabin, we encounter both of them in a conversation. While they talk, the old man with the suspicious briefcase and the 30 year old man exchange another look. After a short moment, the old man exits without his briefcase. The 30's man takes the briefcase. He snaps it open so. Looks inside. Smiles. Then when grabbing inside the smile fades. He closes it fast and throws it to the ground. He jumps up, opens the door, and chases after the old man who just left. Danny's and Lacey's conversation interrupted. They look at the briefcase. Then at each other. Thinking "What the hell?!"
     "That guy seems to be in a hurry," asks Danny.
     "Yeah, seems like it," replies Lacey with no real interest.
     "Crazy people. There are crazy people. It's no secret. We all know it's true. There's no point in lying about it. Some crazy people tend to be overly aggressive I once read. But what can ya believe. That guy had a problem?"
     "I don't know. He looked kind of angry."
     "Where did he go?"
     "Probably after the old man. Wasn't the briefcase his?"
     "Yeah. He just left."
     "Strange. What should we do with the briefcase?"
     "You want to look inside," says Danny reading Lacey's eyes.
     "No. Not really," says Lacey. She's not sure about it. "Maybe... I don't think we should."
     "I think we should take a look inside."
     "It's not ours Danny."
     "So. It wasn't the guy's either. He didn't ask the old man to take a look. He just took it and looked inside. Probably some exchange deal, you know. Maybe drugs or money."
     "I don't know about that. I mean, what if we get caught or something?"
     "Don't worry. Nobody will catch us. We're all alone in here."
     "Okay. Well, you open it then."
     "I'll open it and you tell me what's inside. That sound okay?"
     "Okay. Sounds good."

A RICH DISCOVERY

     Danny gets up and takes the briefcase. He goes back to his seat. Sits down. Looks at Lacey. Lacey nods. Danny opens it. Lacey's eyes widen. She laughs. She's happy at what she sees. Danny starts to laugh, too.
     "What's inside," Danny asks.
     "Take a look," Lacey says with joy.
Danny turns the briefcase around so he can see. Now he starts to laugh even more. In it are stacks of 100 US dollar bills. Ten thousand dollars in one stack. Danny takes one stack and looks at it.
     "How much do you think it is," wonders Danny.
     "I don't know. Let's count it," adds Lacey with a smile.
     "Okay. There's one. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Eight. Nine. Ten. Ten stacks. Wait there is more." Danny counts it. Lacey smiles. A great moment of joy. Money just lying around in a briefcase. Danny finishes, "It's uh... a total of 1.000.000 dollars. Sweet. Sweet. Hot damn. Know what we can do with all this! Sweet."
     "It's not ours Danny," says Lacey. It's the truth. That a fact.
     "Yes, yes I know. I'm just saying. You know what we could do with all this?"
     "I can imagine."
     "I've always wanted a new car. You know I'm driving this old Ford. Engine dies every day. It's a pain in the ass. With this much money I can buy a new one easily."
     "Don't get too excited. I mean, we can't take it. It's not ours. It'd be stealing"
     "So. Nobody knows we have it."
     "What about the two guys who left?"
     "They're gone. They won't come back. Come on. Let's get off at the next station."
     "Why would we get off at the next station?"
     "Oh come on Lacey. Let's have a little fun. Won't hurt us, right!?"
     "Yeah but..."
     "Lacey. This is a lot of money. Walking away from it would be a crime. Hehe. Serious crime," chuckles Danny.
     "It's a crime if we take it with us. And don't joke around. This is serious."

A CRIME EITHER WAY

     Danny gets his backpack and opens it. He starts throwing in the stacks of money. Lacey looks on as stacks and stacks worth a fortune disappear in Danny's backpack. She looks worried.
     "How do we get to Toronto after we get off at the next station?"
     "We'll rent a car. No better, we buy one and drive to Toronto."
     "Don't be ridiculous. That'll take us more than a day."
     "Yeah. We're still gonna have fun though, am I right!?"
     "Yeah but our parents will be worried if we don't show up in Toronto."
Danny considers this. Of course Lacey is right. They can't just take off and leave. It wouldn't be a smart thing to do. Taking the money and going off at the next station would be a crime. But then again, walking away from one million dollars is a crime as well. It's not like they can just leave it there or return it somewhere. They don't know who it belongs to and the two men that left a couple of minutes ago don't seem to be coming back. Returning is the last option. Walking away seems to be the top choice. At least that's what Danny is considering on doing. Danny has an idea. Lacey takes one last good look the money in the backpack. She then lifts her head up to look right in Danny's face, trying to find an answer what to do.
     "We'll call our parents after we get off this train and say the train had to stop at the border to Canada. Something happened and we didn't make it. Let's just say we take the next train. Everything will be all right. In the meantime, we have a good time. Going shopping, staying overnight at the most expensive hotel, enjoy the hotel's pool, and do whatever we feel like. Money in the backpack. What can go wrong? What do you think, Lacey," suggests Danny. "I think it could work. But we gotta do it professionally," insists Lacey. Lacey smiles at Danny who is already at the door. She takes her backpack and out she is.
     The Train leaves the station. Danny and Lacey stand all alone on the runway. The backpacks secured on their back. They wave the train goodbye and share a laugh.
     "Do you see a phone somewhere," says Danny looking for a phone. Lacey does not respond.
     "Lacey? Do you see a phone around here," repeats Danny.
     "Oh... no I don't," says Lacey after being somewhere else with her thoughts. Danny sighs. When he can't find a phone anywhere, he searches his pockets for some change. Coins is all he got. He looks at them, sorting out the quarters. "Okay, I got money for one phone call. We gotta be straight when making it."
     "I was just thinking how we tell our parents," says Lacey.
Danny grabs her arm and they run off. Down some stairs. Along an empty street.
     "Where do we go from here," asks Lacey with concern.
     "We'll go where no one has ever been before," jokes Danny.
They walk down the empty street and vanish behind a corner.

CONTINUE: Chapter Two