Darwin’s Race

Photo by Greg Rosenke on Unsplash

Gerald yawned and stretched. The night shift hauling coal was boring, but he was good with that. His shift would end in Kansas City in a couple of hours.

An emergency stop was the most excitement he ever experienced during his nineteen years on the job. Barry, the conductor, forced an unscheduled stop in a small town without a station. A pair of drunken hobos were fighting over who was smarter. Gerald thought they were both ridiculous. If either had had any sense, neither would be riding in the dirty coal cars.