by Logan Jacobs
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “But he was acting strange before the attack. He climbed to the top of the passenger car to ask if we were going to shoot anyone who tried to attack the train.”
“He looked shocked when he saw the guns,” Sorcha noted, “but that might have been because he didn’t realize anyone else would carry one.”
“And that it might screw with his plans to blame everything on the mutants,” I added.
“But why would Ahmed want to stop the train?” the guard demanded. “His family is heavily invested in it.”
“Maybe too heavily,” Darwin mused. “Or maybe he doesn’t agree with his father’s decision. Or maybe just to get back at his father. I can think of a lot of reasons.”
The guard gaped at Darwin for a moment, then shook his head.
“Ahmed’s a good guy,” the guard insisted. “I can’t believe he would do anything against his family.”
“We’re assuming that whoever did this, did it of their own free will,” I reminded them. “But we know that’s not necessarily true.”
“You think Anselm had access to a gun?” Sorcha pondered.
“I don’t know,” Darwin replied. “It wasn’t in the images he gave us.”
“His backers may have found the gun,” I suggested. “After his failed attempt to recruit us. We did wonder if he would try to find someone else.”
“Do you mean that whacko who’s been holding those rallies?” the guard demanded.
“He’s a mage,” Sorcha said calmly. “One who can control other people’s minds.”
“Aw, for the love of….” the guard moaned as he scratched what was left of his hair. “How did this become so out of control? It’s just a test run!”
“Let’s start by talking to Ahmed and the other passengers,” Darwin suggested. “We’ll see if anyone saw or heard anything, and press Ahmed on why he saw the need to visit you on top of the passenger car. We should conduct a search for the gun as well.”
“I think I know where the gun is,” I admitted.
“You felt it,” Sorcha guessed. “Like you did with the other guns.”
“I thought maybe we’d left a gun in one of the saddle bags, but now I’m sure it’s a gun I haven’t handled before,” I replied.
“What the hell are you talking about?” the guard demanded.
“I’m a mage,” I sighed. “I can sense guns.”
“And other old technologies,” Darwin quickly added, and I nodded in appreciation for his quick thinking.
“So that’s how you found the guns you have?” the guard tried to puzzle everything out.
“Yeah,” I admitted, though I didn’t try to explain how I had created several of them.
“Well, that makes that part easy,” the guard grumbled.
“Why don’t you two find the gun,” Sorcha suggested. “Darwin and I will start talking to the other passengers one at a time. If one of them is under Anselm’s influence, I’ll be able to tell, and I imagine Darwin is quite good at questioning people.”
“I used to be,” Darwin agreed. “Guess we’ll find out if I still have the skills.”
“I think I should be here when you question people,” the guard protested.
“We’ll just get the ball rolling,” Darwin replied. “The most important thing is that we find and secure this other gun, and since you’re the head of security for the train, you’ll need to be the one who does that. Once we have the gun, you can use it during the questioning. You know, see if anyone acts like they recognize it.”
The guard scratched his head again and looked back and forth between the three of us.
“I don’t know you people,” the guard grumbled. “You could be a part of this plot as well.”
“All the more reason for you to hold onto the gun,” I suggested. “You can turn it over to Joker Riley yourself when the train returns to Scranton-Barre.”
“Fine,” the guard muttered. “Let’s go find this gun.”
“We’ll be in the cattle car,” I noted.
Darwin and Sorcha nodded, neither surprised that I knew exactly where to look. The guard still looked doubtful, though I didn’t know if that was because he wasn’t sure we weren’t part of the conspiracy against the train or because he didn’t believe I could find this mystery gun. Despite his misgivings, he followed me from the bunkroom, as did Sorcha.
When I reached the front door, I glanced back and saw Sorcha speak quietly to the banker. He listened intently, then nodded. He followed Sorcha back toward the bunks, though that barely seemed to register with the other passengers. Freya, for her part, kept the rest of the men entertained with lots of smiles and questions about their jobs, all of which they were happy to answer.
The guard nudged me, and we stepped out into the cold once more. This time, though, I knew what to expect, and I shielded my eyes from the stinging cold with my arm. We made the jump between the cars, then quickly dodged inside the animal car. The sheep and the donkeys baaed and brayed at yet another interruption, and the guard tried to offer a few reassuring pats.
“So where’s this other gun?” the guard demanded as I tried to look around the car.
The itch was about to drive me crazy, but all I could say for sure was that the gun was nearby, probably somewhere beneath the feet of all the surrounding animals. That, I suddenly realized, could be a recipe for disaster, as I imagined one of the sheep stepping down just so on the gun and firing another round.
“We need to find it before one of the sheep steps on it and sets it off,” I announced as I leaned down and peered at the floor.
I pulled out the pink light, even though the slats allowed some sunlight to enter the car. The crystal flickered, then came to life, much to the amusement of the nearest sheep. I was soon down on my knees, feeling my way across the floor of the cattle car, and after a string of curse words, the guard soon joined me.
It was hard to set up any sort of pattern to our search since we had to push our way between sheep, donkeys, the two bays, and even a few crates of chickens. It was slow, frustrating work, but as I neared the door at the front of the car, my hand found something cold and metallic that shouldn’t have been there.
“I think I’ve found it!” I called out as I grasped the metal in my hand and then stood up.
The guard walked over to me, holding up his own light so we could see what I had found.
“That’s sort of a strange looking thing,” the guard commented as we both looked at the gun. “Are you sure it’s a gun?”
“It’s definitely a gun,” I replied as I looked at it. “But you’re right, it is odd looking.”
The gun had a grip like a pistol, but it was little more than the magazine for the gun. The barrel was longer and thicker than the ones I’d seen before, even at the museum display that had started me on this strange journey. In fact, if it hadn’t been for the grip and the nearly invisible trigger, it would look like nothing more than a piece of black pipe. Still, I knew enough now to figure out how to remove the magazine from the grip and to clear the chamber. I placed the bullets into my pocket and then tucked the gun beneath my jacket.
“I think everyone on this train knows you have guns,” the guard pointed out.
“But only the killer knows that the gun was tossed in here,” I replied. “No need to alert him to the fact that we found it.”
The guard considered that for a moment and then nodded.
“Let’s get back,” the guard suggested. “I’m ready to start asking a few questions. Maybe we can have this wrapped up by the time we make it to Willsport.”
“I’m sure Mr. Riley would appreciate that,” I said with a grin.
We stood up and dusted off the bits of hay and animal fur we had collected on our clothing, then pushed our way toward the back door. The guard pulled the door open and stepped onto the platform as a wave of cold air swept past him. The animals all protested, and I started to step onto the platform so I could close the door when the guard suddenl
y paled then shoved me back into the train.
“What the hell--” I started to protest as the guard slammed the door shut.
“Mutants!” the guard exclaimed as he pointed toward the sides of the car.
I scrambled between several of the sheep and peered between the slats.
“Ah, shit,” I mumbled as I saw horses race toward the train.
But we could outrun the horses, I knew. It was the two mutants with wings who flew straight toward us that were the real danger.
Chapter 10
“This is insane,” the guard grumbled. “Why is there so much happening on this one run?”
“There are a lot of people who want to stop the train,” I replied as I tried to keep an eye on the two winged mutants.
One of the mutants reminded me of a red-shouldered hawk, while the other was a dusky gray with patches of white that I couldn’t identify. Both were men, as far as I could tell, with slender builds, and both could fly a lot faster than the horses could run. I heard the crack of one of the rifles, and both bird mutants sailed higher into the air and started to circle like a pair of raptors on the hunt. The mutants on horseback, meanwhile, had charged out of the trees at an angle that would bring them alongside the train in a matter of minutes unless the engineer could push a little more speed out of the engine.
“Why don’t you just shoot them?” the guard demanded as he glared at the mutants.
“I don’t know what the range on this is,” I replied as I pulled the mystery gun from my pocket. “And they aren’t close enough yet to really get a good shot with the revolver. I’m also not sure how easily I can hit one of the mutants when everyone is moving.”
“Not much good, then, is it?” the guard complained.
I ignored him and turned my gaze skyward again. It was hard to see the two bird mutants through the slats, and I ended up hunched over with my face pressed against the cold metal bar as I squinted into the sun. All I could make out were two dark, vaguely birdlike shapes that continued to circle above the scene.
I heard the rifle crack again and looked toward the rest of the mutant pack. A big red horse near the front suddenly veered away wildly with its mutant rider slumped over in the saddle. One of the other riders gave chase, but the rest of the mutants continued to close the distance.
“I need to get the other rifle,” I declared as I stood up and moved back toward the door. “Stay here if you want.”
The guard hesitated, then scurried after me. I flung the door open, but before I could make the jump to the next car, a large shadow passed overhead and something heavy landed on the roof of the car.
“Awww, crap,” the guard muttered as we both listened to the sound of the footsteps moving across the top of the car.
I pulled the Colt revolver from my pocket as I retreated into the car again, and then ran toward the footsteps as best as I could with all the animals in the way. When I thought I was directly underneath the mutant, I aimed upward and pulled the trigger.
The sound of the revolver in the confines of the cattle car was ear-splitting, and my ears started to ring almost as soon as it went off. I inhaled the acrid scent of the shot as I tried to peer through the fresh hole in the ceiling. Unfortunately, I didn’t see the mutant nor any blood, and when I could finally hear again, all I heard was the sound of the animals trying to escape the confines of the car.
“Did you hit it?” the guard yelled as we both stared at the hole.
“I don’t know,” I yelled back. “I don’t hear anything. Do you?”
The guard shook his head, and after a brief hesitation, I decided there was only one way I was going to find out what had happened to the mutant. I pushed my way toward the back once again, and eased the door open just enough to look outside. No shadows passed overhead, and nothing leapt out at me, so I stepped onto the platform and found the rungs.
Between the swaying of the car and the ice on the rungs, the climb to the top of the cattle car was a lot more difficult the second time around. I forced myself to focus on the rungs and to ignore the sight of the rail passing quickly below.
“Don’t think about the wheels,” I murmured as I nearly slipped off one of the rungs.
When I made it to the top, I slowly lifted my head high enough that I could just see over the lip of the roof. The mutant, the grey bird, was still there, although he was crouched over with his back to me. I could see blood along one of his wings, though I wasn’t sure if that’s where I had shot him, or if it was splatter from another wound.
I started to pull myself to the roof as quietly as I could when I heard the warning cry of a hawk. The gray mutant suddenly looked at me with golden eyes, then threw himself into the air as I scrambled onto the roof of the car. I tried to fire the revolver again, but the mutant skimmed low over the snow and then disappeared into the trees before I could get a good shot.
I did, however, have a good look at the mutants on horseback. Several had managed to get close enough to the train that they could reach out and grab parts of the car. I saw one pair try to grab onto the slats of the cattle car, but there was nothing that made for an easy foothold. The two mutants, a man and a woman who both looked like ferrets, hung onto the side of the car with nowhere to go.
And then the man managed to get his feet into the space between the slats, and he slowly started to climb along the side of the car. I tried to aim at the man as he worked his way higher, but something whizzed past my ear, and I heard something clang against the roof of the car. I dropped to my stomach and realized I had made the same mistake Billy had made before. I had been an easy target for any archers in the mutant mob and I was lucky one of them hadn’t already hit me.
I shook off the fear that vibrated through me and told myself I’d have plenty of time for self recriminations once I made it through this. I heard another shot from the rifle, and two more from the Glock and realized that the passenger car was under attack as well. I inched my way toward the edge where I had last seen the ferrets and peered over the side. The woman had found her footing but hadn’t started to move yet. The man, on the other hand, was just a couple of feet below me, and we stared at each other for a moment as the world rolled away beneath us.
A heartbeat passed, and then the bird man gathered himself into a ball and sprang up into the air. He shot straight up, and past my head, though with the train’s speed, he nearly missed the roof of the cattle car. He landed on the edge of the box and his arms swung wildly for a moment as he fought for balance. And then he put every pound he had into his forward motion and charged straight toward me.
I still had the revolver in my hand, and that extra second I didn’t have to spend pulling it from my pocket probably saved me. The ferret man was fast, even on the slippery roof. The burst of flame and smoke from the end of the barrel was just in time as the ferret man’s long, narrow face closed in on me. There was a splatting sound, as the cold, hard metal punched through soft skin and muscle, and then warm blood sprayed out. I felt some of the liquid splash across my face, but I was already scooting back as the ferret man’s body started to fall toward me.
I’d hit the mutant in the chest, near the heart, and I’d hoped the momentum of the strike would push him away from me, but his own charge kept him moving forward, and I ended up with the mutant’s body sprawled across my legs. I managed to kick him off, but I heard another thud, then, and when I glanced around I saw that the ferret woman had made it to the top and was already hustling toward the front of the train.
“Cripes,” I muttered as I wiped away the blood and staggered to my feet. “All we need now is a few red robed mages to show up and the party will be complete.”
The ferret woman was as fast as her companion and a great deal more surefooted on the cars than I was. Still, I couldn’t risk letting her get to the engine, though I could still hear shots being fired from the passenger car. As quickly as I could manage, I ran across the top of the cattle car and made the jump to the next carriage.
The ferret woman paused when she reached the end of the cars and found herself at the piles of coal. She seemed uncertain what to do next, which gave me enough time to reach the car and aim the revolver. She spun around, suddenly aware that I was on the same car with her, and then she dove over the edge just as I fired.
We were so close to the engine that it was difficult to hear the sound of the gun, but I couldn’t ignore the alarm bells that were going off in my head. I had one shot left in the Colt, and then it would disappear. I cursed my luck, and then remembered the odd weapon I’d found in the cattle car. The one I had removed all the bullets from per Darwin’s instructions.
Hoping the one bullet in the revolver would be enough, I ran to the front edge of the carriage and peered over the side. The ferret woman had landed on top of the coal and without any obvious bullet wounds. One of the men who shoveled coal stood on the edge of the next coal car and called her a string of names, but the woman shook herself and started to climb across the black pile.
I took aim again, and this time the woman had no way to avoid the bullet when the sound of the revolver boomed across the space between us. The smoke from the gun was still in the air when I saw the woman’s body jerk and a blossom of red start to spread across her back. It flowed quickly, and by the time the mutant collapsed into the coal, the whole of her back was red and I could see tendrils of blood start to drip into the coal.
“Damn straight!” the coal man called out as he shook his shovel at the body.
I looked down at my now empty hand and sighed. I could still hear the occasional crack of a bullet from the back of the train, and as I crouched down on the roof low enough to avoid any arrows, I could still see mutants on horseback following the train. They were behind the train now, and I wondered why they hadn’t given up, but as I risked a look over the edge, I could see why. Other mutants still clung to the sides of the carriages, and while my companions had some success with those mutants who had attacked the passenger car, others were still moving along the sides of the cattle car and the freight cars.