1931 The Grand Punk Railroad: Express/Prologue VIII: The Rail Tracer

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Synopsis
The young conductor tells the story of the Rail Tracer to his older coworker. The other conductor shares his own story of the Lemures and prepares to fire his gun at the young conductor. However, the young conductor knocks the gun from his hand and points the barrel at the older conductor instead. The older conductor begs the young conductor - Claire Stanfield - for his life, but Claire declines. Before he pulls the trigger, Claire assures him that there is no way to escape the Rail Tracer, the monster that will be awakened by his sacrifice. After the older conductor is killed, another conductor enters the compartment to see the dead conductor and Claire points the gun at him. The new man - a fake conductor - is shocked when Claire drops his gun and resolves to use torture. Claire disappears, prompting the fake conductor to look outside. He is grabbed and pulled under the train by Claire, who proceeds to question him about his identity. The fake conductor was Dune from the Russo Family and was working with Ladd Russo. He killed a conductor at the Chicago station to get the uniform, angering Claire. Just before he kills Dune, Claire reveals his identity as Vino, the legendary assassin. Claire covers himself in blood and begins his work as the Rail Tracer.

Characters in Order of Appearance
Claire Stanfield (The Young Conductor; the Rail Tracer)

The Older Conductor

Dune

Quotes
"I'm a monster. The monster that's going to devour you all. I have become your Rail Tracer." - Claire Stanfield