Chapter 16 - All Aboard

“There’s a train that runs all the way through Russia?”
Bolt, Onyx and Holly were now quite good friends with Olivia and Lorem, even if Onyx was constantly hankering to take a bite out of both of them. The initial plan of going to Russia was to explore a bit, get out in the world, and after a short explanation and an exchange of stories, the two rodents had a perfect plan - ride the Trans-Siberian Railway all the way through Russia. The journey started at Moscow, and took eight days to reach it’s destination, Vladivostok, well over 12,000 miles away.
“There sure is,” Lorem answered Holly. “We can ride it all the way to Vladivostok, where you can get on another plane. With us, you know.”
“Yeah, yeah, we remember,” Onyx said impatiently.
Bolt cocked his head to one side. “And you’ll help us get onto this… this ‘Trans-Siberian Railway’, will you?”
“Of course!” Olivia said, beaming. “We’re experts at getting into things -“
“- ‘cause y’all mice,” Onyx noted, then corrected herself, “uh… and squirrels.”
“Well, it is a point,” Holly said. We’re dogs and cats, I mean, who wouldn’t notice Onyx?” Holly grinned at Onyx, who smirked back - she was kind of getting used to Holly’s fat jokes now.
“I think we can do it,” Lorem said, then glanced at Onyx and repeated, “I think.”
“Oi, y’all ganging up on me!” Onyx folded her arms resolutely.
“C’mon, the station is just up the road,” Olivia pointed into the distance, where a lot of steam was rising from a darkish building on the horizon.
Bolt, Onyx and Holly followed in a line behind Olivia and Lorem, towards the station. A huge, greyish train was bellowing out smoke from every which way, with lots of large, open carriages which were to carry cargo. These were the carriages Olivia and Lorem recommended.
“When this thing starts moving,” Olivia explained to them, “we gotta run and jump into one of those cargo compartments.”
“Just like in BOLT!” Onyx perked up. “There was that bit when Penny was on that train and you ran to catch up with her, using your super speed then your super jump to get onto the train! Awesome!”
“And what episode was that?” Bolt asked her, curious to see if she knew that, too.
“Chew Chew Train, the one where Calico was workin’ entirely from that really awesome train thing. That moment was about, um, 25 minutes in…?
“Amazing,” Bolt said with a sigh. She really did like her…
Dogs and cats were born to hate… Bolt thought in his head. How can a dog love a cat? It’s virtually impossible… But there Bolt was, thinking about Onyx like she was the love of his life. What could he possibly do or say to prove that to her? On the plane, he had no idea what happened - he and Onyx were going to, um, well, he didn’t know the name of that either. Then Holly woke up…
A hiss sounded, a loud thud of metal came from behind Bolt and a cry of his name from Onyx -
“The train!” Bolt gasped. He’d been thinking about Onyx so much that he didn’t realise the train was leaving without him - and so were his friends. He’d be stuck in Moscow forever if he didn’t get a move on!
Breathing fast, Bolt sped down the platform, following the carriage Onyx and his friends were on, barking frantically. A couple of people tried to catch him, calling him back in Russian. Even if he could understand what they were saying, he wouldn’t have listened. Onyx was on that train, and that train was leaving!
It was moving faster now, picking up pace every second. Onyx stuck her head out of the huge door-less carriage opening, a look of fright in her eyes.
“BOLT!” Onyx yelled to him. “C’mon, ya can do it! Ya don’t need powers to be a hero, Bolt! Because your mine!”
Bolt heard that last sentence and a sudden surge of power and adrenaline built up in his legs, filling him from the toes up and suddenly, as if he really were a super dog, burst with speed and vigour, speeding up twice as fast. With a howl, he sprung - leapt farther and faster than he had ever done in his entire life, even on the show, right into the carriage and straight into Onyx’s outstretched arms.
Onyx sat up, hugging Bolt’s neck and shivering with fright. “I thought I’d lost you, Bolt, ya know… for good.”
“I did too… for a small… moment,” Bolt panted.
With a sudden random urge, Onyx leaned forward and licked the side of Bolt’s face, just once. A cat kiss. And to this day, Bolt swore that, for the very first time, he actually blushed.








Chapter 17 - Vladivostok (Montage) (30)

Travelling on the Trans-Siberian Railway actually turned out to be quite a laugh. In the cargo area, Holly spent the whole time searching through the boxes and people’s luggage. When Bolt was asleep, Holly snuck a lady’s bra around his chest and clipped it on. When he awoke, Onyx, Holly, Olivia and Lorem laughed so hard, and poor Bolt had no idea why until he saw the pink strap on his shoulder.
Olivia and Lorem spent the eight days ransacking the cargo around them, finding food to satisfy Onyx, before they became it. Boxes upon boxes of foodstuffs went missing, and not a single person noticed.
By night, Onyx and Bolt sat at the edge of the train cargo, right by the open entrance, watching the moon and the stars whip past them at high speed. Bolt showed Onyx the fun of sticking your head and tongue out of a moving vehicle, which she really enjoyed. When Onyx slept, Bolt laid beside her, with his tail wrapped around her side, keeping her warm from the Russian cold that blew in from the cargo’s huge entrance which never closed. He usually froze, but didn’t mind, knowing Onyx was okay and not cold.
Not a single person came in to check on the area for the whole eight days. No one stopped them from wreaking havoc and having fun back there in the cargo carriage. They smashed things, threw things, stole things, opened things, closed things and in Onyx’s case, ate things and didn’t get told off.
A long, fun, chaos-filled eight days later, the ride was over and before anyone could see the mess they had made, the five of them leapt off the train as soon as it arrived at Vladivostok, before the train had even stopped. (31) Onyx and Bolt had never felt closer and they strolled out of the station being gawked at, purely because a cat and a dog had their tails lovingly entwined.
Weirdly enough, the airport was right next to the station. The five animals surreptitiously entered the terminal, all wondering where they were going to end up next. Bolt looked up at the board - and his mouth fell open. All he saw was a bunch of symbols and gibberish; backwards Ns and Rs were jotted throughout the text; Ys and Hs were where they shouldn’t be and some shapes on the board he had never even seen before, or maybe once in Maths, another thing he couldn’t understand.
“Uh oh,” Bolt said, “does, um, anyone, by any chance, know how to read… Russian?”
“We can,” Olivia said, putting an arm round Lorem. “We can’t speak it, or understand it when they are talking, but we can still read it. Can’t we, Lorem?”
“We can, Olivia.”
“Then lets get reading.”
“You better,” Onyx said casually, “I can’t wait to get to wherever we’re goin’ next, I’m starving.”
That got them reading, alright.
While they were translating, Onyx and Holly were having a hushed argument about something Onyx had just remembered.
“I still don’t see how a cat, of all animals, can be a vegetarian.”
“You’re still going on about that?” Holly sighed. “Give it a rest, Onyx. Just because you eat everything, doesn’t mean the rest of the world does.”
“You’re a cat, Holly,” Onyx insisted, “and cats eat meat. It’s a commonly known fact.”
“So I’m different. What’s your damn problem?”
“I’m worried y’all not getting’ what your supposed to, as a cat. Eatin’ meat keeps us alive and runnin’. If we don’t eat it, we’re not getting’ what we need out of it.”
“Why are you worrying about me? What influence have I had?”
“Y’all my sis, Holly. And that’s what being your sis means to me. I wanna keep ya safe!”
“You don’t need to, Onyx. I take care of myself.”
“But what if y’all in danger? What do I do then?”
“I’m independent now, Onyx!” Holly flared up. “I’m not the kitten I used to be. My three years of loneliness has toughened me up, just like your three years of comfort and luxury has softened you, Onyx.”
Bolt, Lorem and Olivia looked round upon hearing Holly shouting. Were… were they having an argument? Onyx and Holly arguing??
“I remember the past, Onyx,” Holly growled. “You were tough, streetwise, you didn’t take hit from nobody. You were slim and athletic. You could fend for yourself, Onyx.”
“I still can now!”
“No… Only I can see what you have become. Can’t you see it, too? If you go back to family, civilisation and comfort, you will suffer. Trust me, Onyx, because it has already happened.” Holly lowered her head. “So stop trying to fix my life, when you should be working on your own… you flabby, childish moron!”
Each insult was like a stab in the chest for Onyx. Each one like a wound which was steadily growing bigger and what reliability and self-confidence she had were pouring out of it. She was only trying to help, trying to make things better…
And she was gone. Holly fled in anger, out of the terminal and into the freezing Russia cold. All hope of her returning evaporated as the names repeated over and over in Onyx’s head. Flabby, childish moron…