Chapter One Scre-e-e-e-am The train barreled straight at me It was the train’s piercing whistle that made the screaming noise The whistle shrieked at me now like an accusation I was at the edge of the platform I stood on the other side of the painted safety line the one you weren’t supposed to cross 2
I had tried out the ride a few days earlier I wasn’t going on it a second time The darkness the screams that cries-of the-dead echo once was enough Besides this was another type of thrill to miss getting hit by inches The gush of air from the speeding train felt good We were in a two-month drought that showed no sign of breaking The white sun blazed on the metal shield of the approaching locomotive From the shield’s center the woman with the snaky hair glared out Medusa In Greek mythology Athena goddess of war carried Medusa’s head around to scare off enemies Yeah I could see how that would work The train ride called Medusa’s Scream was the new tourist attraction in British Columbia’s Fraser Valley The locomotive ran on autopilot It wrenched nine open-air cars on a twisty 3 Medusa’s Scream
plunging ride through an old converted gold mine I was here to see the manager about a job I was early I could have waited in the lobby but I was the restless type More fun to pass the time standing almost in the path of a zooming train The ad had read Cook needed at Medusa’s Scream food truck Summer position Just starting out No problem Being in high school I was more like pre-starting out I’d gotten into cooking after Mom died Dad didn’t like cooking and the taste of takeout lost its appeal after a while So I threw on an apron Eventually I’d zeroed in on pie making Not dessert pies Savory pies that we could have for dinner Meat fish veggie you name it I realized I could combine all the Canada Food Guide requirements under one roof that is one crust The all-in-one meal 4 Melanie Jackson
And a great way to keep the dish washing to a minimum I’d also discovered I enjoyed it I liked trying out ingredients seeing how they worked with each other It was like being a combination of artist and mad scientist And now I needed to find a job So here I was waiting for an interview I didn’t seriously think I had a chance at the cook’s job More likely I’d get some part-time shifts flipping burgers at McDonald’s If I was lucky But anything was worth a try The train slowed I got a look at the shield close up before the locomo tive slid by Medusa’s mouth was set in midscream Who could blame her with a hairdo like that In the myth Medusa and her slithery scalp could turn people to stone But I wasn’t worried about getting a stone makeover 5 Medusa’s Scream
