Train to Dimimeni: a Character Replacement Fic

Peering out with empty eyes at the road, an animatronic construction worker waved its baton up and down, guiding yet-to-come vehicles through the tollgate beside Jort Lake. Right behind it stood tall an inflatable sign, reading: PREVENTIVE MEASURES BEING TAKEN. GO SLOWLY!

The oncoming pickup truck ignored the sign and sped forward through the tollgate.

As soon as it passed by, it was forced to skid to a halt--a man clad almost entirely in white, complete with a hood and a sanitary mask stepped in front of the truck with both hands up and a baton in between, a clear indicator for the hurried vehicle to stop. Another man beside him, carrying a black hose, walked around to the side of the truck and began spraying. For a few seconds, the truck was still, while the man with the hose circled around the truck until every single part of it had been tended to. The man with the baton finally stepped back off to the side and waved his hands, motioning for the truck to go forward.

Go forward, it did, but now, the truck went slow. It sidled up to the first man before jerking to a halt once more. Not a moment after, the window to the driver’s seat rolled down, revealing from inside a frustrated middle-aged man with wiry hair.

“What is it now?” the man yelled, a disapproving frown etched into his face. “Swine flu gonna go on another rampage?”

The other man pulled his mask off, smiling as if he was used to such behavior among men. “Ah, sir,” he said, “it’s not a foot-and-mouth disease this time. They say something’s… leaked from the research facility up ahead.” He pointed to a far off building up ahead, barely visible from the distance it was at. “Don’t worry, though sir, it’s not much--”

“That what you guys were saying last time!” the man in the truck snapped, biting his lip as if to reign himself in. “I swear, if I see any of you lads running around catching crazy pigs and burying them all over again, I’ll go crazy too!”

All the other man did was laugh. “Stop worrying, sir, you can just go on now and do your business, whatever it is.”

The driver cast a side glare at the robed man.

“Go on,” the man in white urged with a patient smile.

The truck driver let out a single grunt of disapproval as he rolled his window back up and willed his vehicle to turn its wheels.

“Leaked, tch. And exactly what leaked again?” the man spat. “Ya can’t trust a single this those lads say--”

Bu-ru-ru-rip! Bu-ru-ru-rip! Bu-ru-ru-ru-ru-ru-ru-ru-rip!

The interruption cut the man’s words off, and he turned to look down at his phone, ringing and vibrating in the shotgun seat. Turning his eyes back to the road, the man reached for the device, fingers attempting to grasp the small gadget. He only succeeded in shoving it further away. “Ugh, damn it!” he grunted, and he took his eyes entirely to his hand, fumbling for the little phone.

KUNG-FWANG!

A sudden jolt sent the driver flying up from his seat, almost colliding his head with the roof. He snapped back to attention, blubbering in bewilderment as his hands zipped back to the wheel and his stiff legs slammed down on the brakes. Bringing his truck to another screeching halt, he opened the door and leapt down from it, looking to the road behind.

“Bejeezus…” the man grumbled at the sight before him.

A water deer lay on its side, neck and legs broken, dark blood splattered in all directions. A particularly large splotch of blood trailed from its body up the gravel, leading to the truck.

The driver turned and bent over to the tires below his vehicle and let out a sigh of irritation. “Son-of-a-bitch…” He spat out a glob of excess saliva. “Just my luck.”

He got back into his truck and drove away, leaving behind the carcass to rot. Whoever else came across it would have to deal with it.

The road, now empty, was filled with nothing but the quiet humming and chirping of birds. And another soft sound soon joined the natural choir.

The patter of hooves against gravel.

The carcass was moving. Its legs wriggled, feet twitching about for a footing. The more they squirmed, the more the entire body rattled, writhing about for a way to stand. At last, the flimsy limbs resorted to stretching over the carrion, turning it over onto its other side in one violent jerk. Finally, the deer’s hind hooves landed flat on the ground, miraculously offering enough support for the rest of the body to right itself. Forelegs soon found their balance as the creature raised its head, angled oddly, up to the air, almost as if sniffing out a scent. The mangled limbs danced about slowly as they shook up the rest of the cadaver, the head bobbing around and convulsing to try and set the broken bone straight. Finally, the neck turned around in a circle once before a snap! got the deer standing up to its full height.

The deer’s ears swiveled as if listening for a sound as it opened its eyes. Pale eyes. Cold eyes. Dead eyes.

It turned around, still searching, when its gaze fell onto the floating vapor of chemical spray some distance away.

The deer bore its teeth and snarled.