Going on a train wasn't part of Clyde's expeditions. He had never been in one before, only heard stories about it and how fast it travels and hoped one day to actually get into one.
Now he was given the chance, but he didn't know if he should actually take it or reject it. Trying something new at times can be scary, especially when it's not within your world.
"How does a train work?" he turned to ask Eddie, who was busy staring at the individuals at the other end.
"Well, that's not within my knowledge, but if I'm to say," Eddie scratched the back of his neck, "it's like… imagine a giant cart, right? But instead of horses pulling it, it's got an engine inside."
"The engine makes power, either by burning coal, oil, or nowadays, using electricity. That power spins the wheels, and since the wheels sit on iron tracks, the train doesn't wobble like a cart would. It just glides straight ahead."
Clyde tilted his head, trying to picture it.
"So the tracks guide it?"
"Exactly," Eddie nodded. "Think of the tracks as… lines that tell the train where to go. No steering like a wagon, just follow the rails. The engine pulls the first car, and the rest are all linked behind like a chain. That's how it drags so many people or cargo at once without falling apart."
Clyde's eyes widened a little. "So it's really just a big moving chain?"
"You could say that," Eddie smirked. "A very fast chain. Once it gets going, it's hard to stop, so they use big brakes on each car to slow it down. It's all about balance: power to move, rails to guide, brakes to stop."
"Wow, you know so much. How do you have so much knowledge and experience?." Clyde asked anonymously, hoping for a positive response.
"First, let's get into the train to avoid missing it." He advised, patting Clyde on the back before moving ahead.
Clyde hurriedly moved along, stepping into the average sized train. He felt really different inside the train, like something new was about to happen to him and his boring life.
He watched as the doors slowly closed right in front of him, amazed by the technology around the creation of the train.
'This has to be one of earth's greatest technological improvements because this is bizarre.' He smiled, staring out the small windows installed on the train.
[The train is about to leave. Please take your seats or hold onto something as the train departs]
A mechanical voice spoke through small speakers placed on the roof of the train car.
"Come on, hold onto something before it starts moving." Eddie called out to him.
He quickly held onto a rod, placed smartly close to the door, close to the chairs.
The feeling passed by quickly as Clyde stared out the window to the natural environment around them. They went past forests, mountains, and valleys.
It was a sight Cheryl had experienced before, but definitely not while he was inside a train, moving at the speed he saw himself in.
'I guess this is mans way of travelling at speeds they can not achieve naturally.' He thought, noticing Eddie as fast asleep on one of the train seaters.
"Wow, he sleeps pretty fast, or maybe it's due to my excitement, it seems that way." He whispered to himself, watching his hair rest on his face, revealing his hidden facial features like his forehead.
The rest of the train travel was just Clyde expected it while getting into the train back at the train station. It was fun, full of knowledge and experience.
He even learnt how the machinery works just by seeing one on his first day. If it were up to him, he would get back into the train so he could keep enjoying the feeling.
But sadly, his fun was coming to an end as they approached their stop at the next train station.
[The train will be pulling over at Zennor city]. The announcer spoke again through the speakers.
'Zennor city?, it's the twin city of Zengchan, isn't it?. It was shifted to a different location after the fight between the two brothers over the geographical area their father gave them.'
The train slowly pulled to a stop at the station, and the next minute, the doors flew open for everyone to descend.
He turned to wake Eddie up, but as expected, he was already awake.
"Come on, we still have to get there before the headmaster leaves," he reminded Clyde, stepping down from the train.
Clyde recalled his earlier words back at Jonathan's house and still couldn't believe his life had turned around over a few days, arriving at Zengchan city.
"First I meet a dragon, and now I'm attending an academy I know nothing about." He sighed, stepping down from the train.
Eddie turned at his words, "Did you say something?."
Clyde immediately shook his head violently, "No, definitely didn't say anything."
He stood there for a while, his breath caught in his throat, hoping he didn't actually hear his words.
"Alright, come on, let's go." He gestured for Clyde to follow him.
Clyde hissed as he realised Eddie didn't hear what he had just spouted.
'Phew!, that was actually a really close one. I need to be careful with my words from now on, or I might just get myself into a lot of trouble.'
He followed Eddie closely behind as they advanced the gates of Zennor city, hoping they don't extract anything else from him because he had already been ripped back at the gates of Zengchan city.
Eddie went right through the gates, and Clyde followed through without being stopped by any official.
"As we move forward, stay close to me so you don't get lost or you'll be on your own until I can figure out where you are." He warned, fixing his glasses again as Clyde stepped into new grounds.