name is Noah, and he’s not just a ticket seller – he is way more important than that. He knows pretty much all there is to know about the worlds being pushed – but not only that, he knows about this station and the others scattered about this world.”
Both me and Potter shot a glance at the ticket booth and the old guy sitting happily behind the glass.
“So he’s like the Yoda of the railways?” Potter said, looking back at Lilly and popping a cigarette into the corner of his mouth.
“Yoda?” Lilly said with a curious stare. “I said Noah.”
Potter shook his head, and jetting st reams of blue smoke from his nostrils, he said, “Forget it, sweetheart.”
Why did he always have to be such a fucking jerk? I wondered. I glared at him, then turned my attention back to Lilly. “So how does he know so much?” I asked her.
Lilly looked back over both shoulders in turn again, then back at us. Just above a whisper, she said, “Noah is an Elder.”
“That would account for all the wrinkles,” Potter cracked, cigarette dangling from the corner of his mouth.
Growing ever more frustrated at Potter’s infantile attempts at humour, I hissed, “If you can’t keep your fucking mouth shut, why don’t you do both me and Lilly a favour and fuck off…”
“Okay… okay,” Lilly breathed. “Let’s try and keep this nice, shall we?”
“Well, he’s starting to piss me off,” I scowled. “Why does he have to keep coming out with dumb fucking remarks the whole time…?”
“Who are you calling dumb?” Potter shot back at me. “I was just saying that what Lilly said made sense, as I’ve seen under those Elders’ hoods and their faces are so freaking wrinkled and old, they’ve had to be stitched back together.”
“You’re such a lying bas…” I started, but Lilly cut over me.
“And why do you think they look like that?” Lilly asked the both of us.
Potter shrugged and I remained silent. I didn’t know the reason.
“They are literally falling apart – they are dying,” Lilly started to explain.
“So what about the old dude in the glass box?” Potter said, grinding out his cigarette on the marble floor with the heel of his boot. “He looks ancient, but he isn’t quite falling apart – not yet, anyway.”
“Noah isn’t like the other Elders,” Lilly said. “He has always been different from the others, that’s why they eventually banished him. The four remaining Elders are cruel and full of pain. In fact, that’s how they feed – that’s how they survive and have done so since time began – by living off others’ fear, unhappiness, and pain.”
“But I always thought they had the different species – the humans, the Vampyrus’ – best interests at their very hearts,” I said.
“That’s what they’ve wanted you all to believe,” Lilly said.
“Their hearts are black and twisted like shrivelled prunes,” Potter said. “I saw those too under their robes when they brought me back.”
Potter spoke with a sudden seriousness as if something had clicked into place for him.
“You’re right, Potter,” Lilly said, looking at him. “There is no love in their hearts. Every decision they have taken since the beginning of time hasn’t been for the benefit of the humans or anyone else. The only people they have helped are themselves. Life was only created so they could feed off its misery and pain. They enjoyed the fact that the humans and the Vampyrus fought over the Earth.”
“So why separate the two species from each other? If what you are telling us is true, then wouldn’t they have got a kick out of us destroying ourselves?”
“And once both races were dead, what then?” Lilly said. “No, the Elders had to keep both races alive, but in misery and in pain. The Elders learnt that some mixing had taken place between the Vampyrus and humans, so they forbade it. They fed off the misery caused by separating those that had fallen in love. But in time, even those
Both me and Potter shot a glance at the ticket booth and the old guy sitting happily behind the glass.
“So he’s like the Yoda of the railways?” Potter said, looking back at Lilly and popping a cigarette into the corner of his mouth.
“Yoda?” Lilly said with a curious stare. “I said Noah.”
Potter shook his head, and jetting st reams of blue smoke from his nostrils, he said, “Forget it, sweetheart.”
Why did he always have to be such a fucking jerk? I wondered. I glared at him, then turned my attention back to Lilly. “So how does he know so much?” I asked her.
Lilly looked back over both shoulders in turn again, then back at us. Just above a whisper, she said, “Noah is an Elder.”
“That would account for all the wrinkles,” Potter cracked, cigarette dangling from the corner of his mouth.
Growing ever more frustrated at Potter’s infantile attempts at humour, I hissed, “If you can’t keep your fucking mouth shut, why don’t you do both me and Lilly a favour and fuck off…”
“Okay… okay,” Lilly breathed. “Let’s try and keep this nice, shall we?”
“Well, he’s starting to piss me off,” I scowled. “Why does he have to keep coming out with dumb fucking remarks the whole time…?”
“Who are you calling dumb?” Potter shot back at me. “I was just saying that what Lilly said made sense, as I’ve seen under those Elders’ hoods and their faces are so freaking wrinkled and old, they’ve had to be stitched back together.”
“You’re such a lying bas…” I started, but Lilly cut over me.
“And why do you think they look like that?” Lilly asked the both of us.
Potter shrugged and I remained silent. I didn’t know the reason.
“They are literally falling apart – they are dying,” Lilly started to explain.
“So what about the old dude in the glass box?” Potter said, grinding out his cigarette on the marble floor with the heel of his boot. “He looks ancient, but he isn’t quite falling apart – not yet, anyway.”
“Noah isn’t like the other Elders,” Lilly said. “He has always been different from the others, that’s why they eventually banished him. The four remaining Elders are cruel and full of pain. In fact, that’s how they feed – that’s how they survive and have done so since time began – by living off others’ fear, unhappiness, and pain.”
“But I always thought they had the different species – the humans, the Vampyrus’ – best interests at their very hearts,” I said.
“That’s what they’ve wanted you all to believe,” Lilly said.
“Their hearts are black and twisted like shrivelled prunes,” Potter said. “I saw those too under their robes when they brought me back.”
Potter spoke with a sudden seriousness as if something had clicked into place for him.
“You’re right, Potter,” Lilly said, looking at him. “There is no love in their hearts. Every decision they have taken since the beginning of time hasn’t been for the benefit of the humans or anyone else. The only people they have helped are themselves. Life was only created so they could feed off its misery and pain. They enjoyed the fact that the humans and the Vampyrus fought over the Earth.”
“So why separate the two species from each other? If what you are telling us is true, then wouldn’t they have got a kick out of us destroying ourselves?”
“And once both races were dead, what then?” Lilly said. “No, the Elders had to keep both races alive, but in misery and in pain. The Elders learnt that some mixing had taken place between the Vampyrus and humans, so they forbade it. They fed off the misery caused by separating those that had fallen in love. But in time, even those
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