@@&%%=«^¨¨ ¨¨^«=%%&@@
@&%%=«^¨¨¨ ¨¨¨^«=%%&@
@@&%%=«^¨¨ ¨¨^«=%%&@@
#@@&%%=«^¨ ¨^«=%%&@@#
@@&%%=«^¨¨ ¨¨^«=%%&@@
@&%%=«^¨¨¨ ORANGE-CLAD TRAIN-CLIMBER CREW, MOVING ¨¨¨^«=%%&@
@@&%%=«^¨¨ ALONG THE RUSTY CARGO CARS LIKE SOME ¨¨^«=%%&@@
#@@&%%=«^¨ SPECIES OF FERROPHAGE INSECT. UP AND ¨^«=%%&@@#
@@&%%=«^¨¨ DOWN THE TRAIN, CHECKING BOLTS, OILING ¨¨^«=%%&@@
@&%%=«^¨¨¨ JOINTS, DRINKING COFFEE, SMOKING ¨¨¨^«=%%&@
@@&%%=«^¨¨ CIGARETTES. ¨¨^«=%%&@@
#@@&%%=«^¨ ¨^«=%%&@@#
@@&%%=«^¨¨ @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ ¨¨^«=%%&@@
@&%%=«^¨¨¨ ¨¨¨^«=%%&@
@@&%%=«^¨¨ WE WERE GOING SOUTH THROUGH FINLAND AT ¨¨^«=%%&@@
#@@&%%=«^¨ THE TIME, SLEEPING CLOSE TO THE ¨^«=%%&@@#
@@&%%=«^¨¨ FURNACE, WATCHING THE AURORA BOREALIS. ¨¨^«=%%&@@
@&%%=«^¨¨¨ TWENTY-SOMETHING MEMBERS OF THE CREW, ¨¨¨^«=%%&@
@@&%%=«^¨¨ MOST OF WHICH WERE MECHANICS, OR ¨¨^«=%%&@@
#@@&%%=«^¨ LOADERS, WITH LARGE AND HAIRY HANDS ¨^«=%%&@@#
@@&%%=«^¨¨ THAT COULD SWALLOW MY ENTIRE BODY. AND ¨¨^«=%%&@@
@&%%=«^¨¨¨ ME FEATURING AS THE CUTE AND ASOCIAL ¨¨¨^«=%%&@
@@&%%=«^¨¨ RADIO OPERATOR, STATIONED IN THE BACK ¨¨^«=%%&@@
#@@&%%=«^¨ OF THE KILOMETER-LONG TRAIN, WHICH ¨^«=%%&@@#
@@&%%=«^¨¨ SERVED ME GOOD AND WELL. ¨¨^«=%%&@@
@&%%=«^¨¨¨ ¨¨¨^«=%%&@
@@&%%=«^¨¨ AND THEN ONE NIGHT, THERE'S A MISSILE. ¨¨^«=%%&@@
#@@&%%=«^¨ WE WOULD ROUTINELY PICK UP NEW CARS AT ¨^«=%%&@@#
@@&%%=«^¨¨ THE TAIL, AND DROP SOME OFF, AS A WAY ¨¨^«=%%&@@
@&%%=«^¨¨¨ OF EARNING SOME EXTRA MONEY. BUT A ¨¨¨^«=%%&@
@@&%%=«^¨¨ MISSILE, AND APPEARING SILENTLY IN THE ¨¨^«=%%&@@
#@@&%%=«^¨ MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT AT THAT? NOT ¨^«=%%&@@#
@@&%%=«^¨¨ ENTIRELY... COMFORTABLE. ¨¨^«=%%&@@
@&%%=«^¨¨¨ ¨¨¨^«=%%&@
@@&%%=«^¨¨ I CALL IT IN ON THE WALKIE-TALKIE. NOT ¨¨^«=%%&@@
#@@&%%=«^¨ MANY OTHERS AWAKE, THEY KNOW NOTHING ¨^«=%%&@@#
@@&%%=«^¨¨ ABOUT IT, AND APPEAR CONCERNED AS WELL. ¨¨^«=%%&@@
@&%%=«^¨¨¨ ¨¨¨^«=%%&@
@@&%%=«^¨¨ @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ ¨¨^«=%%&@@
#@@&%%=«^¨ ¨^«=%%&@@#
@@&%%=«^¨¨ WHEN I FALL AWAKE IN THE AFTERNOON, ¨¨^«=%%&@@
@&%%=«^¨¨¨ KARL IS THERE, SMILING AT ME. "HEY ¨¨¨^«=%%&@
@@&%%=«^¨¨ BOY," HE SAYS, "WANNA HELP ME MAKE A ¨¨^«=%%&@@
#@@&%%=«^¨ CALL?" ¨^«=%%&@@#
@@&%%=«^¨¨ ¨¨^«=%%&@@
@&%%=«^¨¨¨ AFTER HE'S BROUGHT ME COFFEE, I DIAL ¨¨¨^«=%%&@
@@&%%=«^¨¨ THE FREQUENCY FROM HIS NOTEBOOK, AND ¨¨^«=%%&@@
#@@&%%=«^¨ AFTER A WHILE THERE'S A REPLY IN ¨^«=%%&@@#
@@&%%=«^¨¨ PAN-SLAVIC. KARL LAUGHS AND MAKES A ¨¨^«=%%&@@
@&%%=«^¨¨¨ REPLY IN THE SAME LANGUAGE. EVEN THOUGH ¨¨¨^«=%%&@
@@&%%=«^¨¨ WE BOTH HAVE HEADPHONES I CAN'T FOLLOW ¨¨^«=%%&@@
#@@&%%=«^¨ AT ALL, BUT I HEAR THE WORD "MISSILE" A ¨^«=%%&@@#
@@&%%=«^¨¨ FEW TIMES. ¨¨^«=%%&@@
@&%%=«^¨¨¨ ¨¨¨^«=%%&@
@@&%%=«^¨¨ I'M ALMOST SNOOZING AGAIN AT THE TIME ¨¨^«=%%&@@
#@@&%%=«^¨ KARL PUTS DOWN THE HEADPHONES AND SLAPS ¨^«=%%&@@#
@@&%%=«^¨¨ ME ON MY BACK. "ALLRIGHT BOY. I JUST ¨¨^«=%%&@@
@&%%=«^¨¨¨ SOLD A MISSILE." HE PRACTICALLY BEAMS ¨¨¨^«=%%&@
@@&%%=«^¨¨ AT ME, TEETH FILED SHARP. "WANNA MAKE A ¨¨^«=%%&@@
#@@&%%=«^¨ DETOUR?" ¨^«=%%&@@#
@@&%%=«^¨¨ ¨¨^«=%%&@@
@&%%=«^¨¨¨ ¨¨¨^«=%%&@
@@&%%=«^¨¨ ¨¨^«=%%&@@
#@@&%%=«^¨ ¨^«=%%&@@#
@@&%%=«^¨¨ ¨¨^«=%%&@@