In this world, individuals could be born with a ‘jitter’.

Many believed the jitters were the world’s way of counterbalancing the evil brought on by Lurkers. Exceptionally rare and unique, those who are born with them are often considered blessed. They provide the person with a power unlike any other, and no two people were ever born with the same ability. Shrouded in mystery, all that is known is that those with a Jitter tend to draw the attention of Lurkers.

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Three Years Ago

A torrent of rain pelted the exterior of the train’s caboose. Perched on her elbows, Sunny peered through the window while Papa manned the train through the storm. With him behind the controls, Sunny knew she would be safe. There was no one better.

“Hey!” a voice cried from behind Sunny. She looked over her shoulder to see a boy who appeared around a year younger than her. Emerald eyes bore into Sunny from beneath a head of messy brown hair. His face was littered with freckles, and he was missing a tooth. “Wanna play?” he asked, his voice whistling through the gap in his teeth.

Sunny drummed her fingers against the windowsill, looking away. Papa was always traveling, and by extension, so was she. Friends made were friends lost. Sunny found she spent more time on the trains than she did in her own home. Returning home was sometimes a chore as well, as it meant much of their time was spent dusting off furniture or shopping for groceries that would rot anyway.

To make matters worse, she could barely remember what her room looked like. There were stuffed animals on her bed, that much she knew. But what was on her desk? Hung up on the wall? The color of her carpet?

She had no idea.

“Come on!” the boy said. “Let’s play tag!”

The urge to play was too great. Sunny hopped down from the seat, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. “Okay! But let’s make some special rules!”

“Whaaaat? What kinda special rules?” The boy frowned. “You’re not gonna cheat, are you?”

“No, silly!” Sunny said, putting a hand on her hip and wagging her finger at him. “This will make it more fun!”

Every day was spent like this. Another friend made… another friend lost.

An hour later, the train pulled into the station. Steam blew from the machine’s pipes, and an old bell rang throughout the caboose. Humans and Denizens exited through the doors one by one. As family members waved hello to each other, Sunny stayed behind and waited for Papa.

“Hey!” said the boy from earlier. Sunny turned toward him, and soon she felt sad to say goodbye again. “I had a lot of fun! Let’s play again!”

“Yeah, sure,” Sunny said with her head bowed.

“Now, come along, Charley. Let’s leave the little lady alone,” said an older woman, presumably the boy’s mother. Tipping her hat to Sunny, the older woman took the boy’s hand and led him off the train with the others. The boy waved frantically up until the moment the doors closed.

Another friend made. Another friend lost.

“Who was the boy?” came a gruff voice behind her. She looked up to see a weathered man in a black suit and tie. He wore a white button-up shirt underneath. Beneath the man’s cap was a head of black hair speckled with hints of gray. Eyes as blue as the ocean’s depths looked upon her with fondness. Sunny could spot a smile behind his rugged beard if she looked hard enough.

“Papa!” Sunny squealed with delight.

“How’s my girl?” he asked as he went down on one knee. Sunny threw her arms around her father’s neck, pulling him as close as her little arms would allow.

“I’m okay,” she whispered into Papa’s ear. “A little sad, though.”

“I know, sweetheart. I know.” After a while, he parted from his daughter’s hug. “I promise it won’t be like this forever.”

“I know.”

“Hey, listen to me.” He pulled her away and locked eyes with her. “I want to talk to you about something since we got about a half hour until the next group arrives. There’s gonna be a lot of Denizen civilians boarding the caboose. Do you remember what I said about them?”

“Always give them space, and don’t talk to them!”

The man smiled wide. “That’s my girl.” He ruffled the pink-blonde hair of his daughter, eliciting a giggle.

“Oh, Papa! Look what I can do now!” Sunny clapped her hands against her chest and shut her eyes. The muscles around her shoulder blades tensed; moments later, she could feel it. The wings were sprouting from her back. She drew a deep breath and opened her eyes. Sunny could see the whites of Papa’s eyes. “Papa?”

The man ran his hand across his beard. Sunny knew that Papa did this whenever he was thinking. Like a good girl, she decided to wait.

Papa got comfortable and sat down, crossing his legs.

“Did I do something wrong?” she asked, shrinking beneath his gaze. 

“No, sweetie.” Papa smiled, and Sunny sat down in front of him, mimicking his gesture. “Do you remember when we talked about your jitter? Way back when you were even smaller.”

Sunny nodded. “Mhm! It’s a gift!”

The man chuckled and tapped her on the nose. “Yes, that’s right. It’s a gift. And when we get gifts, what do we say?”

Sunny knew the answer. “We say ‘thank you!’”

“That’s right.” Papa hesitated. The smile vanished. “You’re a big girl now.” Papa craned his head over his daughter. Sunny hoped he found her tiny wings cute. “You’ll hear many different things from people about Jitters.” He leaned back and relaxed. “It might not make sense to you right now, but I need you to remember something for me.”

“Anything, Papa!”

“Never pity those without a Jitter. Never look down on them.” His tone caught Sunny off guard. This was a serious matter. “Do you understand?”

“… Why would I do that?” Sunny’s smile vanished; with it, so too, did her wings.

Papa shook his head. “You’ll understand someday. I promise. Can you do that for me?”

Sunny paused, then nodded her head. “I can do that! Everyone is equal, right?”

“Yes.” The smile returned. “Everyone is equal.” Papa took the cap off his head and put it on Sunny’s head. “I’m proud of you.”

Sunny tipped the cap forward to hide her blush. “Thanks, Papa.”

Time flew by in an instant. As the civilians boarded the train, Sunny kept to a corner of the caboose, her back against the wall. The Denizens began to board the train. While she didn’t have the official names for them, she could see some with fur, others with scales, and a couple of unique ones with something in between. A few others had horns protruding from the sides of their heads. A pair of girls with oil-colored skin and slim features practically slithered onto the train with whip-like tails behind them.

Some of these Denizens were a first-time sight for Sunny.

Sunny’s knowledge of the Denizens was minimal at best. Papa used a lot of complicated words to describe them. Something about a divide, Denizens and humans not getting along, and how interactions were complex and tense. At some point, a truce had been made, and those who sought peace sided with the humans—sometimes reluctantly.

Yet somehow, it was still strange to her. If the Denizens were trying to get along with humans, why was Papa always so insistent on her staying away from them?

Weren’t they all equal?

“Ah, ‘scuse me, ‘scuse me, just gotta talk to the conductor,” said a man from the back of the mob. Sunny caught one of his long arms over the shoulder of a minotaur. “Hey, buddy. I need to get over there. Mind movin’?” The minotaur grunted and moved to one side. “Hey, thanks!” A man, someone younger than the usual fare, snaked his way through the crowd and approached the door to the next caboose—the conductor’s room.

The man jiggled the lock, sighing. “Fucking really?” he whispered under his breath.

“You should watch your language,” Sunny said. She would’ve never dared to say such a thing to a Denizen. But she knew what she could get away with when it came to humans.

“Oh, crap! Sorry, you weren’t supposed to hear that,” the man chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

“You shouldn’t interrupt the conductor either. My dad will get mad at you.”

“Nah, he knows me!” the man said, waving his hand through the air. He jiggled the door a second time, and Sunny grew more irritated.

“Be patient! Wait on the caboose with everyone else!” Sunny said. Patience was a virtue. Did this man not know that? He looked older than her, so he should’ve known better.

“You’re the conductor’s daughter?” He blinked. “Huh, I guess that makes a little more sense why you looked so familiar.”

The door to the other caboose opened abruptly, and an irritated Papa stuck his head through. “Ren, you’re pushing me,” he warned.

Ren put his hands up. “Hey, man, come on, we do this all the time!”

Papa sighed. “Two and a half hours. Now sit your—” Papa stopped, catching Sunny from the corner of his eye. “Sit your butt down, sir.”

Ren clicked his tongue twice and flashed a toothy smile before taking the nearest booth by the door. He leaned against the windowsill on his elbow, tapping his foot to some unheard beat.

What a strange man.