Free Vagabond by J.D. Brewer

squeezed my eyes shut like the action could squeeze out the pain. This fall only reiterated the one I’d had the night before, and my entire body screamed. My vision went in and out of black and bright, but I knew I had to get up. Who knew if they’d risk losing the ride they’d caught to come after me or my pack?  
    I rolled over and pushed myself up, but dizziness did not help the standing up part. I looked along the train and saw that no one was jumping off to follow me. I sighed with relief. No one was—
    Flea?
    “Flea!” I screamed and ran along the train. Fear ate up all the dizziness I was feeling. The boy was an idiot, but he didn’t deserve what Roderigo had in store for him.

    “You’re bat-crap-crazy!” I screamed. I couldn’t leave the crouch I was in, but Celeste stood with her arms out in a T.  
    “Nonsense! Just pay attention to your stance!” She yelled. “Keep your knees slightly bent and move with the train.” The wind whipped her knotted strands in a thousand different, heavy directions behind her. She stood without fear on the top of the boxcar to hug the wind and tried to coax me into copying.  
    “Xavi won’t think this is smart.”
    “Bleh. Who cares? He’s sleeping through all the fun anyways.” She turned so she was facing me, and the wind tore her hair in front of her face. “Do it! Stand!”  
    I tried to push my body up, but my knees wouldn’t obey. The train was picking up speed, and I didn’t really have the balance figured out yet. She gave up on watching me, and sat down so we were face to face instead.  
    “Niko, you’re a hoot, you know that? I’m glad you hopped onto my boxcar.”  
    “Your boxcar?” I laughed, and she reached over to ruffle my tangled hair.  
    “You should always be careful when getting into a boxcar. You never know who’ll be in it. Sometimes Vagabonds. Sometimes Militia. And sometimes Vagabonds who don’t want much to do with you.”  
    I frowned. “What happens then?”  
    “Oh. You know. They’ll push without any qualms… The sad thing is, we’ve all lost someone because of that one. There’s no honor among some Vagabonds. Most are pretty decent, but…” Her eyes skimmed the fields that stretched under a blue-blue sky. It took on her sadness as she remembered, and I took on her sadness as I remembered my own people.  
    But her frown disappeared just as quickly as it came, and she started laughing again. “Let’s grow those Track legs of yours, puppet. You’ll be surfing these boxtops in no time.” She stood back up and held her balance the same way she held her breath. Slender fingers reached out to help me stand, and I grabbed them nervously.  

    I pulled myself back onto the train. I wanted to scale the boxcars, but, with the exception of the ladders, everything else was too smooth. There were no handholds to get back to the boxcar I’d just been pushed out of. I climbed to the top, and planted my feet on the flat roof. The train wasn’t going nearly as fast as it could have been, so the wind barely combed through my hair. I got my bearings and caught my balance before I began to run. The gap between the boxcars was only about five feet, and, with a running start, I made the jump easily. Before I reached the next car, I saw a lump being thrown from about fifteen cars up. This lump got up and ran in my direction.   It only meant one thing. The boy was dead, and I’d be next if I didn’t get off the train. I jumped for the ladder and swung myself down. My feet slipped on a rung, but I caught myself before I lost my balance completely.   I had to hurry. Roderigo could drag me down and push me under the wheels if I didn’t get off and get a running start. All possibilities flew through my mind. All but the one that was actually happening.
    “Run!” Flea yelled just as I leapt to the gravel. I landed on my feet and stumbled, and I took a deep breath of relief at the voice. By the momentum of the train going