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Zed
When I finally burst through the door into the engine room, I found Wu at the controls and two humans I didn’t recognize shoveling coal into the firebox.
Wu’s greeting left something to be desired. “We’re not going to make it.”
“Yes, we are,” I said. “Bravo and Carmina are moving everyone up so we can dump the other cars.”
“It won’t be enough.” Wu pointed out the front window.
The gates were way closer than I expected. They were metal and looked strong enough to keep out a determined giant—or keep in a train of soul-weary prisoners.
“We should have had Tuck use that dynamite on the gates,” Wu said.
“That would have derailed us,” I said. “Have a little faith, Wu.”
The train surged faster. Bravo and Six must have begun uncoupling the cars as they progressed through the train. From my count, there were five more cars to go. I just hoped we had enough time to get the remaining four unhooked to get the speed we needed. There were only a couple with people, though, so hopefully it would go fast.
A loud explosion sounded far behind us. I ducked my head out to see a plume of smoke rise over the commander’s building. Judging from the fire, it had caused a lot of damage. The bad news, of course, was all the guards it was supposed to kill were currently chasing the train.
Even as I had this thought, a motorcycle pulled even with the engine. I pulled Wu down just in time. A bullet cracked the glass of the train’s front window.
“Damn it,” Wu said. “We’re going to need a miracle to pull this off.”
“I don’t know about you,” I said, “but I lost my faith in the gods a long time ago. We’ll have to pull this off without divine intervention.”
The train sped up again. This time the increase was faster, which I hoped meant they’d gotten two cars unhooked at once. That only left one more.
“I’m going to go check on them.”
“Hey, boy,” Wu said.
I stopped at the door and raised my brows.
He tilted his head toward the looming gate. “When we crash through that thing, you better hold on to your ass.”
I saluted him. “Yes, sir. You just make sure we stay on the tracks.”
I let the engine room door slam behind me. In the gap between it and the next car, the wind whipped through, nearly dislodging me from the narrow platform. When I finally made it into the next car, the lack of wind was a huge relief, but it wasn’t quieter there. Bodies crammed into the car like sardines in a can.
“Carmina! Bravo!” I yelled, but my voice was swallowed by the panicked whine of the children and the cr
ies of men and women. The sound of bullets against the side of the car created a nerve-wracking rhythm, a sensation only heightened by the claustrophobia of all those unwashed bodies in the tight space.
I pushed through the crowd as fast as I was able. Eventually, I made it to the other end only to find the rear door open and even more bodies coming through. A man standing by the opening helped people across the gap between it and the next car.
“Where’s Bravo? Carmina?”
He shrugged. “Don’t know them.” Then he dismissed me because he needed to help a woman carrying a toddler across. I waited for that pair to make it before leaping over to the other car myself.
A handful of people crowded near the next door with Bravo at the front. She grabbed my hand to pull me across. “Where’s Carmina?” I shouted over the rushing wind.
She pointed back over her shoulder.
I leaned in. “We need to hurry. We’re almost at the gates.”
She nodded and pushed me back to get busy. “All right everyone, faster now.”
The people behind her parted to allow me into the car before resuming their exodus.
