Santa Cruz was a welcome sight for Dan's sore ass. Their train slowed to a stop at every small town along the way, dropping one or two cars, and adding others. Each time it meant a dash into the brush to hide while yard employees shunted cars. The train backed onto one siding after another until it was separated into sections before reassembling the whole thing and they could move out.

Halfway up the coast, as they were waiting on a siding, Sky spotted one of the engineers coming down the tracks. He must have been stretching his legs, but they peered around the side of the car, watching him make his way to the rear and quietly dropped to the ground taking their packs. They trotted into the jungle tangle up the slope from the rails.

Mindlessly, he followed until his buddy stopped with his foot in mid air.

"What the fuck? We're not far enough in. They can still see us."

"You want to get bit?" Sky hissed back at him, pointing into the ground cover.

The snake was banded red with black and white sections. Its head barely wider than the long lithe body slithering toward Sky's other foot.

He froze, trying to remember what he knew about coral snakes. This one sure looked like one, but its head wasn't the true triangular shape of a viper. The undulating curves of reptile skin flowed over his toes, and he let out his breath, carefully drawing in a new lungful of damp hot air.

"Shit, that was lucky. I thought it was a coral snake. Just a King, a buddy. They eat poisonous vipers, especially the little ones," Dan said as he watched the slender brightly striped reptile disappear.

"He's still gonna bite if we scare him," Sky insisted. "And even if it isn't dangerous, snake bites are nasty."

"Shit, do you hear that?"

"Buggering hell, run. It's getting ready to move."

The clank of brakes releasing up and down the freight train warned them.

"Move it, just grab a ladder and get on!" Sky yelled over the clanking wheels.

They raced back down swinging onto two different cars. It was getting easier with each time he jumped for a handhold.

He was a split second behind his buddy and the train was picking up speed. There was no choice about where to get on as the cars were picking up speed. Some of the units had steel mesh platforms reaching right over the connecting knuckle between them, but not this one. He knew he could make the leap, but Sky was cautious. If he missed, he was dead.

Sky shook his head at him when he went to hop over between the cars, and he settled in to wait for the next time the rail cops came looking.

The scenery changed subtly at first as they made the turn north east toward Mexico City. More arid, he sighed in relief as they left the sticky humid coastline and headed toward the central plains.

Next stop was the capital city, and they decided to get off before they hit the main marshaling yard. As their ride slowed to deal with switching lines, they jumped down and sprinted to the side of the road, ducking under the warning arms.

"Nice pick, we're close to the pyramids," Sky commented as they began walking toward the city.

"I figure we can grab a ride to the north of the city before we find our way back to the railway. I don't like the idea of being a stowaway and getting caught by police."

"Good point; let's see if we can get a ride," Sky turned to face the traffic coming behind them. He stuck out his thumb as he walked backward.