I barely remember a time when the earth around us was warm and vibrant. The only real memory I have when the earth was okay was when my dad took me and my mom to the beach.

I was only... two? Perhaps even three years old. My mom helped me make a sandcastle on the shore. I remember her smiling as she helped me put a small twig on the top of it, our own little make shift flag.

My dad came over with a small bucket of seashells to decorate it with. I remember the squawking of seagulls and warm sun on my face...

I envy my younger self nowadays.

It was only a year after that day when the snow came, and it got colder, and colder, and colder. It became so frigid and never warmed up again after that.

I learned only a few years after that it was a failed attempt to help cool down our planet, only to freeze it to the point all life on earth was dead. Damn cocky scientists.
    
  
But he knew it would come one day. No one knew his name, just referring to him as the Thin Man. He spent billions of dollars on a train built to protect people from the cold, with train tracks that covered all over the globe.

He called the train, The Maw. And just like that, everyone wanted to get on it.

But when people gathered to get on it, it was only then that people realized something. Only those who could afford to buy tickets could get on the train.

I remember my mother shouting and crying to get on, and I remember seeing her tear freeze on her cheeks. Her red scarf blew in the harsh, bitter wind, the ends freezing as they flapped behind her.

I couldn't find my dad, I don't even think I remembered seeing him that morning. I remember the crowds of people trying to storm onto the train, pushing and banging against the side as they cried to get on.

Suddenly, I heard the whistle sound, and before I knew it, the tail of the train was suddenly opened by the desperate people. Dozens and dozens of people pushed to get on, and in the flurry, I was toted by my mother to it. The train was moving now, I could see the snow towards the front being shoved aside by the metal exterior.

I remembered my mother finally getting to it, and placing me on the train, having to jog beside it to keep up. She took her scarf off, wrapping it around my neck, placing a final kiss on my forehead.

"Be safe, okay? Mamma loves you!" I slowly watched her lose her pace, snow dust covering her head to toe, shivering as she gripped onto her sleeves in an attempt to warm herself. The hatch the people stormed through closed, sealing shut once again from the outside world.

I only stared at the hatch for a few more minutes, ignoring the angry shouting behind me as those who stormed the train and those who payed to get on started to get into a fight.

I held the red scarf end, feeling the frozen bits defrost in my hands. The reality of what happened started to settle it. I would never see her again, I could never wish my mother a good morning or ask her for bedtime stories or go to her and my dad's bed if I had a bad dream.

She was gone...

I was picked up, and it seemed like the quarreling had died down. Some adults were tied up or beaten bloody, while kids and a few of the parents were huddled in corners.

I was placed in a line with other kids, to my side were two girls, one wearing a yellow parka that reminded me of a raincoat, while the other wore a thick padded white, blooded jacket.

I just stood there, I'm not sure if it was because I didn't want to upset the adults or because I was still in shock. I just remember looking up as a man came to me.

"Seven."

He continued to down, and once he counted all the way down to the number one, he pointed to the rest of the kids.

"Throw them out."

The sudden loud screams of children begging for their lives sounded in the room. Parents were shouting and pleading, and all of a sudden, the hatch was opened.

A harsh cold wind filled the room, kids were dragged and started to thrown out from the train. I could only watch with fear filled eyes at the sight. Kids from the size of newborn infants to young teenagers were pushed and thrown out into the wasteland that was the outside world.

I... didn't get a lot of sleep that night. The girls next to me, Eight and Six, they were nice. We normally called Eight Nosebleed though, something about her not liking her number name or her birth given one. Six was the one who suggest the nickname for her.

I don't remember mine, so I just accepted Seven as my name. Six said she liked her new name, saying it was better than what her dad named her, whatever that was, she never told us.

They were like sisters to me to be quiet honest, since after that, we were one another shoulders to lean on.

Then Six went missing. She just... disappeared one morning.

It was just me and Nosebleed, and a couple of the other kids and adults. It took a bit, but after some time of coping over losses and having to adapt to living in the Tail, we all became a closely knitted family.

But just like the outside world, something came and screwed up our lives, but this time, there won't be a train to escape onto.

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Finished - Mar. 27th, 2021

Let get this show in a rollllll whooooooooo!

I'm working of refs, so stay tuned for that, and I'll see you all in the next chapter.

Hope you enjoyed!

Take care!