The old conductor reached his hand into his large pocket, whips out his thin, silver-gray whistle, and blew on it so hard that it almost deafened the children's ears.

Giving attention to the piercing noise, two men in dirty overalls, got up from the soggy wet floor, scrambled towards the enormous rusty valve, and twisted it open so the train can enter. 

"Holy shit!" exclaimed Caleb. 

His mouth opened wide to see a tsunami of indignant tides storming towards the silver train. But instead of tearing it apart, the water swallowed the steam caravan in one gulp. 

Some passengers deepened their nails into the pearly white seats while others like Dove watched the excitement through the thick glass.  

Sea glass and basalt flew right past the Poseidon Express. They clinked against each other then grew apart like old friends. 

And speaking of old friends, Dove Applewhite talks about her experiences in her old prep school. 

"Preparatory School for Girls was awful." she shudders. "They have strict rules, mean teachers, and obnoxious rich girls."

Caleb laughed out loud. 

"Obnoxious rich girls?" he wheezes. "Are you serious?" 

Dove gives him an I-said-it-and-I-meant-it look. 

"God, I wish I was back at Idlewild." she moans. "It was more exhilarating than that privileged shit camp." 

Nessa's eyes widen in shock. "Whoa, Dove! I have never heard you swear before." 

Dove blushed. "I am sorry. Is that bad?" 

Laughing, Johnny shakes his head. 

"You don't have to apologize, Dove." he insisted. "In fact, we know how you feel."

"Really?" Dove frowns in disbelief. "You guys don't seem like bad kids."

Brooke frowns at her genuine remark. 

"Thank you for being sweet," she begins to say. "But to be honest with you, we're not perfect."

"What do you mean?" 

Taking a deep breath, Nessa told Dove every crime they committed over the past few days.

"We stole from a school snack machine and robbed a privileged sleaze's car," she said in a hushed tone. 

"Not to mention we broke a door."

A puzzled Dove twists her nose."You mean the one in the old barbershop?" 

"Yeah." Nessa laughs nervously. "We tried to find a way to open it, but Triton told us that the wood is too powerful to break." 

Dove nods in an understanding way. 

"Yeah," she says slowly. "I think I remember the train conductor boarding up the hole because vagabonds kept entering the bathroom."

Brooke raised her eyebrow at the shocking news. "You're serious?" 

"Yeah, the conductor always complains that homeless people would enter the hole so they can smoke, drink booze, and sniff cocaine." 

"But why steal snacks from a school vending machine? You guys do know you can buy some from a grocery store, right?" 

Johnny glares at Nessa. "Why don't you ask her?" 

"Hey," she growls. "You call it stealing, I call it 'taking advantage of the rich'."  

"What are you, fucking Robin Hood?" 

"No," described Nessa. "I am more like Dirty Harry." 

Johnny frowns. "Why?" 

"Because no one is a saint, Johnny." she snorts. "That's why."

An old woman permits herself on the first car, pushing around a cart full of plastic-wrapped sandwiches, chips, candy, and fizzy drinks.

An enticed Nessa buys two milk chocolate Hershey bars and hands one to Dove.

"Thanks." Dove peels the brown wrapper and bites the hardened chocolate with her front teeth.

As they munched on their candy bars, Brooke noticed that Dove's hair is turning white. 

"Hey, Dove." 

Dove swallows a small piece of her candy and blinks at Brooke. "Yeah?"

"Your hair is as white as snow." 

The girl's face reddens, smoothing down her white curls. 

Unlike her old classmates in Idlewild, Dove is an incredible shapeshifter. She can alter her appearance, change her hair color, and mold her body into anyone she chooses. 

Looking at her hair, Dove murmurs: "Oh, sorry, I get so anxious when I am around people."

Within a few seconds, her hair dramatically changes back to brown.

Observing her cheerful face, Caleb asks: "So why did you come back to California, Dove?"

Dove shrugs her shoulders. "I wanted to visit my grandmother." 

"Is she okay?" inquired Brooke.

The shapeshifter bobs her head. "Yeah, my grandma is having a hard time moving around."

"Jesus." Johnny grimaces in disgust. "I wish there was something we can do." 

Dove did a sigh. "I am grateful, but I don't think there is anything you can do to stop my grandma from dying." 

A hurtful Nessa crossed her arms. "Why not?" 

"The doctors are trying to find a replacement for grandma's heart," she explains. "But she is tired of the medications, bills, and my parents arguing behind her back."

Caleb watched as Dove stares at her candy bar.

Just the thought of her grandmother resting uncomfortably in her hospital bed scared Brooke.

"Sometimes I think my grandmother wants to kill herself."

Caleb, Nessa, Brooke, and Johnny stared at her in shock. 

According to Dove, her grandmother is a kind old woman who teaches at a local community and gives out free sugar cookies to orphaned children. 

Sure, Dove must be joking—her grandma does not wish to kill herself. She seems to be a woman capable of taking care of herself and others. 

But apparently, appearances don't last. 

As the conductor moved down the soft red aisle, his hands were filled with tickets shining underneath the brilliant light.

One by one, he asked affluent men, women, and children for their train tickets. His black eyes glimmered at the comfortable civilians, hoping they were having a good time. 

But when the conductor encounters the teenagers, he asks them about their parents' whereabouts. 

"Well, our parents are in the bathroom," lied Brooke. 

The train conductor, studied their faces for a moment, then sighed, "Do you have your tickets with you?" 

Dove, Johnny, Caleb, Nessa, and Brooke presented their golden slips to the conductor who politely accepted them off their hands. 

"Okay," he said, tucking the tickets inside his pockets. "Now, I want everyone to buckle up and enjoy the ride. Trust me, it's going to be a doozy."

Five teenagers exchange weird looks at each other. 

How in the world are they going to "buckle up" when there are no seatbelts around?

Minutes after the conductor leaves, Nessa takes a good look at him. 

Other than his dark eyes, the train conductor sports a dark brown perm that had died in the 80s. He was adorned in a navy blue jacket, black slacks, and loafers chewed by what appear to be dog bite marks. 

Entrances were fastened shut. 

Malicious bubbles and toxic smoke started rising from the silvery-gray chimney as the train begins to shift. 

Glass chandeliers rocked from side to side. 

Porcelain teacups jiggled on white satin tablecloths, prompting the passengers to hold onto their drinks.

Things took an exciting turn when the steam engine caravan permits itself through the metal passageway. 

A captivated Brooke pressed her hands against the cold glass. 

Vibrant seaweed, colorful sea animals, and mythical beasts all flocked close to the train see it change direction. 

Watching from a distance were exotic water nymphs who were astounded that the Poseidon Express had the ability to travel underwater. 

Underneath the iron wheels are train tracks that run across the splintered ocean floor. 

Caleb recognized a tremendous leviathan sleeping on the ocean floor.

Its body was as large as a pirate ship; the leviathan's skin matched the color of azure green while its malformed tentacles looked as though the monster had gotten into a nasty fight.  

Luckily, no one had the intention to wake it up. Especially two newborn seals who were floating above the glossy red corals. 

"Aw," Nessa crooned, gaping at the adorable seals. "They are so cute!" 

Brooke nods in agreement, peeling her hands off the mirror. Her head rests on Caleb's left shoulder, encouraging the boy to slide his hand on her waist.

Meanwhile, Johnny rests his head against his comfortable chair.

He takes his black Walkman out of his bag, placed the purple headphones on his ears, then played "In the Evening" by Led Zeppelin. 

As his head slightly bobbed to the music, Nessa asked: "Why do you like listening to Led Zeppelin so much?"

Johnny did a shrug.

"I don't know," he says. "Why do you like listening to Pearl Jam all the time?" 

"Because Eddie Vedder is hot," she states as a matter of fact. "If he was fifteen, I would date him in a heartbeat."

Dove furrows her eyebrows at her ex-lover.

"Didn't you say that you used to like Lisa Turtle from that show Saved by the Bell?" 

Nessa's cheeks turned bright red. 

"Lisa Turtle?" Caleb repeats, scowling. "What possesses you to like Lisa Turtle?"

"Yeah," Dove agreed. "What's wrong with Kelly Kapowski? She's totally hot!"

Nessa did a shrug. "Kelly is cute, but she is not my type." 

Caleb and Dove give her a funny look. 

As the train headed south, Brooke caught the sight of a dark tunnel that appears to be surrounded by exotic men with blue skin. 

They have glossy black eyes, tough fish gills, no clothes, webbed feet, and their fingers are sharp as knives. 

"Holy cow," Caleb peeks into the window, gawking at the amphibian men. "I have never seen anything like this." 

"Could they be dangerous?" Dove whispers. "I have read every book about sea monsters, but not these creatures."

Brooke chuckles nervously. "Let's pray that they're herbivores."

As soon as the train stopped, one of the exotic creatures swarmed towards the entrance and politely knocked on the door.

The timid conductor stopped collecting gold tickets, then stood in the center of the car. 

"Ladies and gentlemen," he says in a nervous voice. "We are having some difficulties. The train will be up and moving in no time."

Caleb scowled at his conspicuous lie.

Reaching into his pocket, the conductor pulls out a piece of gum, unravels the silvery-gray wrapper, and chews it slowly. 

As a result, three gills appear on each side of his beefy neck, allowing the conductor to breathe underwater.

Opening the door, the conductor lunges into the frigid ocean and closed the door, leaving behind a puddle of water and bouncing clownfish.

Sitting three chairs away from the teenagers is a human-sized frog cloaked in blue England dress robes.

Watching the clownfish hop on the wet floor, the creature protracts his snake-like pink tongue around the fish's tail, reels it in, and devours his meal in two seconds. 

"Mm, Delicious!" he sighed dreamily.

Some of the wealthy passengers wrinkled their noses in disdain while others couldn't care less.

In fact, they would rather focus on the train's unexpected stop than judge the frog's nasty appetite.

"What's wrong?" asked Brooke, analyzing Caleb's discomforted expression.

"The old man thinks that these guys are dangerous." he moaned.

Dove panicked, "Are they going to eat us?" 

The young telepath calmly shakes his head.

"These monsters are not going to eat us, " he explained. "They want us to go somewhere else."

"Why?" frowned Dove. 

"Well, because we killed their fish, polluted their oceans, and used them as scientific research," Johnny explained, putting down his headphones. 

The teenagers stare at him questionably.

"What?" he scowled. "I like watching nature channels."

"And to think, Johnny is a gloomy teenager who likes to sigh a lot." thought Brooke. 

Nessa anxiously chipped the blunt tip of her pinkie nail with her teeth. Her eyes wander at the three sea creatures, praying that the train conductor is alive.

Hunching in their chairs, the frightened train passengers craned their necks to see the conductor discussing something private with the strange creatures.

A curious Caleb politely removes his hand from Brooke's waist. He doesn't know what is going on, but he knew it wasn't good. 

Just then, the conductor reaches into his pocket and takes out two golden guineas. 

"Here, please take them." he insisted. "If you want more, I won't mind. But please, let me and the others get inside your cave." 

The creatures exchange wary looks before snatching the coins out of his hands.  

"We will let you through," the leader spoke. 

The conductor was overjoyed. "Thank you—"

However, the amphibian leader cuts him off. 

"But be warned," he snarled. "Your kind will not be given any special treatment from us." 

Everyone trembled at the ominous threat.

Even though they had nothing to do with the polluted ocean, the passengers were well aware that they are not welcomed in their territory.

Including the children. 

As soon as the conductor climbs aboard, the creatures moved out of the way so the train can get through. 

Dark caverns greeted the Poseidon Express, sending chills down everyone's spine.

Barnacles glued themselves onto the jagged walls. Small fish flutter past the windows, attracting the little children.

Watching the kids from a distance, Dove ate her chocolate bar in silence.

"So, where are you guys heading to?" asked Dove suddenly.  

Nessa looks to see Dove growing bored of watching confused sharks or sleepy sea monsters. 

Johnny looks at Brooke, who confided Dove about her vision. 

"Wait, you think there is a demon murdering all of Triton's friends?" 

Nessa bobbed her head. "Yeah, or at least that's what Triton thinks."

"And where is Triton?"

Caleb looks around until he saw the former gym teacher communicating with a lovely African-American couple. 

The woman wore a leather brown coat, a black skirt, and long black boots. A visible scar stretched from her forehead to the gap between her hazel brown eyes. 

As for her husband, he wears a dark gray rain jacket, baggy jeans, and black boots. Old burns appeared on his hands and neck.

Scrunching her eyebrows, a surprised Brooke asked: "Why are my parents here?" 

Johnny, Dove, Nessa, and Caleb all turned around to see Brooke's parents having a lovely chat with Triton. 

"I think that is your mom and dad," he mumbled. "What are they doing here?" 

"I don't know," Brooke whispers. "My visions never predicted that my parents are going to be in the same car as us. Is this some sort of prank?"

"No." a stern voice responded. "This is an intervention, Brooke." 

The children all glanced up to see Brooke's mother standing in front of them. Her manner is stoic but her eyes lingered on Brooke's nervous face. 

"Mom," she whispered. "When did you and Dad get here?"

"We come from a long line of clairvoyants, Brooke." her mother replied. "You should know that by now." 

Feeling the tension, Dove returns to her seat so Brooke's mother could join the children.

"Your former gym teacher had given us an update about your whereabouts." Brooke's mother explained. 

"He tells me that Brooke had a vision. Is that correct?"  

"Yes, Ms. King," Johnny answered. 

"I see."

Brooke gives her mother a bitter smile. "So, what brings you here, Mom?"

She did a sigh, then said something that nauseates Brooke: "Your father and I are here to keep a close eye on you and your friends."