Chapter 8 first quarter

When it was close to four o'clock in the morning on June 2, there were still countless stars shining in the early summer sky.A plane with red and green wing lights flashed across the dark forest far ahead.But the noise of that plane is inaudible in the train.The driver of the train, in faded dark blue overalls and the chinstrap of his uniform cap, sat on a hard seat, clutching the control lever, his eyes fixed on the two tracks illuminated by the train's headlights. The assistant forcefully opened the lid of the boiler, scooped up the coal with a shovel, and threw the charcoal into the boiler vigorously.

He had a stomach sagging from the violent vibrations of the locomotive, and he looked very pale.But whenever the lid of the boiler was opened, his cheeks would turn red from the light of the fire, and only at that moment would he turn red like a different person.Driving a steam locomotive is much harder than driving an electric locomotive, but they get very little pay. The train driver squinted at the assistant's movements, while the other eye continued to stare ahead.There is a reason why he is more neurotic than usual. Last night at around 11:10, the No. 783 freight train bound for Aomori passed Higashi Jujo Station and crashed into a large level crossing about 400 meters ahead. After getting on a large truck that crashed into the interrupter, it rushed into the railroad tracks.Although the accident was clearly the negligence of the truck driver, the truck driver died on the spot, so the train driver who was sent to the hospital with steam scalding his right half of his body, had to accept police investigation on the hospital bed even though his face was distorted by the pain. News.

The large truck was dragged for nearly 100 meters when it hit the collision. This not only damaged the front half of the locomotive, but also caused the truck to fly out with force, and also distorted the upward freight line and the track of the tram. As a result, traffic was interrupted for several hours (see attached photo 1). After two o'clock in the middle of the night, the condition of the descending cargo line was first ruled out, and the driver of Mujima who was not on duty was dug up and ordered to drive the train.Of course, the engine of this train has been changed.But when he thought of his colleagues who were severely scalded by the steam after dragging these dozens of freight cars, he felt extremely desolate, which naturally made him nervous.He worries about the condition of the wounded, but what weighs him down is the future of his colleague.Even if the reason is force majeure, as long as a driver has a car accident, his performance appraisal will decline. This has always been a practice.If you are unlucky, you may be fired just like that.And after the driver left the train, he was like a kappa on shore, unable to afford food and clothing for the whole family.What's even more frightening is that this fate may come to him one day.

The driver of Laodao was in a heavy mood and didn't feel sleepy at all.He tried his best to appease, scold, and encourage the trembling locomotive that roared loudly.After only an hour of holding the joystick, his face was black and dirty with soot, but his eyes still sparkled. When the train came near Kuki Station, he blew a loud whistle.Because there was a big turn one kilometer before the station and there was no one level crossing, so when the driver reached the corner, he leaned forward, and he let out a strange cry. "What's wrong?" "There are strange things, like people."

"Is it a corpse?" The driver didn't answer, he pulled the brakes and brought the train to a halt.It happened that the train had just slowed down, so it only slid about 100 meters before stopping.Perhaps expressing dissatisfaction with being stopped, the locomotive was blowing steam fiercely there. "Looks like someone committed suicide by jumping off a rail." "That's it." The assistant said. Although he was paying attention to the situation ahead, he didn't find anything resembling a corpse at all.Sure enough, veterans are different... He admired his senior's attention very much.According to Article 15 of the Service Regulations, when encountering such a situation, it is necessary to contact the relevant unit to investigate the accident.

"I gonna go see." The assistant walked down the exit steps to the railway.Contrary to the calm attitude of the driver, the assistant was very nervous. He had no experience in handling accidents, but after being exposed to the cold night air, his mood eased a little. Holding the flashlight in one hand, he walked quickly towards the rear of the train.The circular light kept dancing with his steps. After being illuminated one by one by the light, the "トラ (tora)" marks on the trucks, trucks with two-axle bogies and trucks, Then disappeared behind the assistant.When the train stopped, it was in a curved state, just blocking the line of sight. Behind the long line of freight cars, a gray-white head poked out from the window of the conductor's car.

"what happened?" "It looks like someone committed suicide by jumping off the rails." "Is it a woman?" "I don't know. Mr. Ubajima saw the corpse." The assistant answered out of breath. The captain's head disappeared from the window, and after a while, he saw a flashlight flashing sharply. The captain jumped onto the roadbed and made a soft noise. "I'll go too." The captain seemed to sense the nervousness of the assistant, and after he finished speaking, he led him away. The body was found quickly.Two human legs in trousers protruded from the ditch beside the railroad track on the inside of the bend.On the right foot was a short black shoe, while on the left he was wearing only a sock.The assistant expected to see the horribly crushed body, but after lighting the ditch with a flashlight, he was relieved that the hands and feet of the body were still attached.

"He just got knocked out, pull him out first." If the opponent is still breathing, first aid must be given as soon as possible.The two jumped into the ditch, one of them picked up the man's body, and finally dragged him to the ground.Although the man is not tall, he is obese. Even if two people move together, it still takes some effort to move.When the man's body was placed horizontally on the ground, both of them were already sweating profusely. The light of the flashlight shone on the man, his eyes were closed tightly as if he couldn't stand the strong light, his face was like an army general in the past with a tall mustache, and his pale face was completely bloodless.The driver put his ear on the man's chest for a while, and when he was about to look back at the assistant, the light from the assistant's flashlight shone directly on his face, forcing him to look away.

"Hey, it's too dazzling!" "Sorry, is this person still alive?" "He's dead. It's a pity that he died on the rails with such a beautiful beard." "That's right." The assistant also nodded in agreement in the dark.Those who commit suicide by lying on the rails are either the poor, the mentally weak, or the martyrs.But this man's face was full of oil, and he looked like an energetic person no matter how he looked at it. His suicide always gave people a feeling of innocence. "Call and let me know." After turning the flashlight above the electric pole, the captain said to the assistant.

"Juxi Station is nearby, so it's faster to inform them directly." After quickly reaching a conclusion, the two left the body at the scene and ran back to the train.Soon, after a short sound of the whistle shook the night air, the body of the train shook violently, and train No. 783 started.