Gun Mage 4: Surviving a Post Apocalyptic Magic Earth

by Logan Jacobs

  “Wait, is that what he was going to do?” the coal man demanded. “He was gonna shoot the three of us?”

  “The gun was just in case,” Gerald asserted. “I was only supposed to use it if I couldn’t find another way to stop the train.”

  “Or to shoot your way out of here if you were discovered,” Darwin snapped.

  “Fuck you, Gerald,” the coal man barked.

  “I’d never used one before,” Gerald moaned. “But they said it was easy. Just point, shoot, and then pull the back end part out to load the next bullet. Even let me try it a couple of times on some old cans. When Hank turned around and started toward me, I thought he was going to beat the snot out of me. And then I remembered I had the gun, so I pulled it out and told Hank I would shoot him if he didn’t shut up.”

  “And then what?” Sorcha asked quietly.

  “And then he started to laugh,” Gerald admitted. “Called me chicken-shit and said I’d given him a headache again. Told me he needed a drink and so did I. He pulled out his flask and ducked between some of the boxes so no one would see him if they were looking for him. He held out the flask, and I shot him.”

  “I don’t remember seeing a flask,” I commented.

  “I think it rolled behind the boxes,” Gerald sighed.

  “Who gave you the gun?” Darwin asked again.

  “Don’t know,” Gerald insisted, which drew another shake of the head from Sorcha.

  “If you don’t tell us, Gerald,” Darwin warned, “I’m going to let my friend Sorcha here pull your brain apart to get the information. You’ll be lucky to remember what your own face looks like, much less that of your wife and kids.”

  Sorcha, to her credit, remained stone faced as Darwin made this proclamation. Gerald looked at the beautiful blonde woman for a moment, and then his lips twitched as he tried not to laugh.

  “Be gentle with him,” I suggested. “We would still like to know who’s behind this plan.”

  Gerald glanced at me, and I heard him snigger. But then his face contorted into a look of fear and his eyes swung back to the mage. Sorcha still looked serene, and only someone who knew her well would have noticed the barest narrowing of her eyes and the slight trace of sweat near her hairline.

  “What the fuck are you doing?” Gerald asked hoarsely.

  “Just demonstrating what I can do if I need to,” Sorcha replied.

  “Look, I don’t know any names,” Gerald insisted. “The only thing I can tell you is that my wife’s bills are to be paid by someone named Harper.”

  Sorcha finally released Gerald, and he curled up into the nearest corner.

  “Who the hell is Harper?” Darwin asked everyone in the cab.

  “Ahmed may know,” I suggested.

  “He does seem to know all the players,” Darwin agreed. “You’re in luck, Gerald. You get to spend the rest of the trip in the passenger car, though you’ll be in handcuffs the whole time.”

  I pulled the lineman to his feet and tugged him toward the steps even though he still groaned with every step.

  “You said you’d give me some of the stuff to help me sleep,” he whined.

  “Billy has some,” Sorcha replied. “He can take care of you.”

  I let Darwin hop down first, then let Gerald tumble into the snow. The lineman took one half-hearted swing at the ex-trooper before collapsing into a ball in the snow. Darwin grabbed an arm and pulled the saboteur to his feet as I jumped down, and then with both of his arms locked firmly in our grasps, we half-dragged, half-carried the murderer back to the last car.

  The rest of the train crew lined up to watch our progress, and though none of them had heard Gerald’s confession, they seemed to sense that at least some of our woes were due to Gerald. Gerald refused to look at any of the linemen, and it wasn’t until we were back at the passenger car that he finally took his eyes off the ground.

  “What’s this?” Ahmed asked in surprise when we started to pull Gerald onto the platform.

  “This man is under arrest,” Darwin replied. “For the murder of Hank.”

  “He killed Hank?” Ahmed demanded. “But why?”

  “It’s a long tale, but one you might be able to help us untangle,” Darwin said as he opened the door and we dragged the prisoner inside.

  Ahmed followed in our wake, though he looked like he wasn’t sure what to do with the information we’d just given him. Barnaby and the security guard were already in the passenger car when we stepped inside, and while the guard looked surprised at our appearance, Barnaby had instantly stopped whatever he was doing and waited for a command from me.

  “Gerald here killed Hank,” I told the guard. “And he tried to sabotage the train.”

  “Gerald,” the guard said in such a disappointed voice that Gerald sagged in our arms.

  “Do you have handcuffs?” Darwin asked. “Or something we can tie his hands with?”

  “Rope,” the guard replied after several moments. “There’s some rope in the cattle car.”

  “We’ll need that, then,” Darwin observed as he started to pull Gerald toward the bunks. “And we’ll need to lock the door and window.”

  “I have the keys,” the guard called out as he started toward the cattle car.

  As he stepped out, Freya and Shelton stepped inside.

  “We watched you coming back,” Freya announced. “What’s going on?”

  “Gerald killed Hank, and then tried to sabotage the train,” I explained again.

  “We’ll answer your questions in a minute,” Darwin called out from the bunk. “In the meantime, we need to secure Gerald.”

  Shelton patted his pockets and then shrugged.

  “The guard went for rope in the cattle car,” I said.

  “Gramps, did you pack any of those plastic ties?” Freya called out as she started to poke through our satchels.

  “I think we left them with the ATV when we left the tire repair kit,” he called back.

  “Shoot,” Freya sighed.

  “We still have those bungee cords,” I suggested.

  “Too elastic,” Darwin replied.

  “Not to mention old,” Freya snickered.

  “I heard that,” Darwin yelled back. “And I’d like to keep those. They’ll be helpful later on.”

  Freya rolled her eyes and then winked at me.

  “I heard that, too,” Darwin warned.

  The guard returned then with a thick piece of rope in his hands. I followed the guard as he carried the prize to the bunk where Darwin had deposited Gerald and found the ex-trooper looming over the larger man. Gerald, for his part, was slumped against the corner of the wall with a forlorn expression on his face.

  We tied Gerald’s hands behind his back, then left him curled up in the corner of the bunk while the security guard took up position. Both men looked sad as the guard sat down on the bunk opposite Gerald, but the guard laid his blade across his legs and kept one hand on the hilt.

  “He’s not going anywhere,” the guard assured us when Darwin and I hesitated in the door.

  “We should lock him in,” Darwin suggested.

  “No, I can handle him,” the guard insisted.

  “We’ll leave the door open, so you can call for help if you need it,” I stated as I pulled Darwin back toward the seats. “And I’ll leave Barnaby with you.”

  The Weimaraner perked up at his name, and when I pointed toward the bunks, the silver dog moved into the doorway and sat down. The guard studied the dog for a moment, then nodded in agreement.

  “We really should lock him in,” Darwin grumbled when we rejoined the other passengers at the front of the car. “How do we know Gerald was the only one on the payroll?”

  “We don’t,” I admitted. “But we also have no idea who else might be involved. If it is the guard, he’s the one with the keys and whether or not he’s a secret agent, he won’t turn them over to us.”

  “Do you know who paid Gerald?” Freya asked.

  “Someone called Harper,
” I replied as I looked at Ahmed. “Does that name ring any bells?”

  Ahmed scowled for a moment and then pulled out the notebook he had scribbled in earlier. He looked through several pages of his handwriting and then nodded.

  “Yes, I know that name,” Ahmed confirmed. “He is a lawyer in Johnson City.”

  “Johnson City?” Freya puzzled. “Surely there’s someone named Harper in Scranton-Barre that would be more interested in this mess than some lawyer in Johnson City.”

  “No, there wouldn’t be,” Shelton replied as he perked up. “Because the lawyer in Johnson City is the personal attorney for Ben Castle.”

  “And Ben Castle would be?” I pressed.

  “The owner of the largest coal mine in the Johnson City area,” Shelton replied.

  “But wouldn’t he be in favor of the railroad?” Darwin asked. “It could carry his coal across the country.”

  “Oh, he’s in favor of the railroad,” Ahmed agreed. “But not this one. He’s been quietly backing an attempt by one of his former mine managers to restart a rail line based in the nearby town of Endicott.”

  “Castle is a silent partner in the deal,” Shelton added, “but there have been tons of rumors about where the money was coming from.”

  “We had a report that the Johnson City line was trying to come up with enough money to buy the Scranton-Barre line so they could connect the two,” Ahmed mused.

  “Something that would be a good deal easier and cheaper if the rail line fails,” Darwin snorted. “I knew this was all about the money.”

  “Well, that explains Gerald,” I agreed. “But we can’t be sure they’re the ones behind Anselm or these other attacks.”

  “Still, it gives us a starting point,” Shelton noted as Ahmed nodded in agreement.

  “None of which is any good if we don’t reach Willsport,” Freya pointed out.

  “To that end,” I sighed, “I should go check on Sorcha and the engineer.”

  I left Freya and Darwin with the surveyor and the banker as the four tried to work out how, and even if, everything tied together. I found that the linemen were still on watch, though they were looking less enthusiastic the longer we stayed put. A few still gave me angry looks, but I ignored them and tramped through the mud to the engine.

  I climbed inside to find that Sorcha and the coal man had the engineer sitting up and drinking water from one of the canteens. He scowled as Sorcha offered him a small pill as well, but he accepted it and swallowed it with a large gulp of water.

  “I’m glad to see you up again,” I told the engineer.

  “I have you and your friend here to thank for that,” the engineer acknowledged.

  “I don’t mean to push, but do you think you’re up for getting the train moving again?” I asked.

  “I think so,” the engineer agreed. “As soon as I can get to my feet without feeling woozy. But we could use an extra pair of hands up here. Someone to help with the coal, but maybe also help me. I’ll show you how to handle the controls.”

  “Uh-huh,” I stuttered. “You want me to run the train?”

  “Well, shovel coal,” the engineer replied. “And run the train if I can’t do it anymore. It’s not that hard, and we don’t have that far to go.”

  “Hex will be happy to help,” Sorcha declared.

  “Oh, sure,” I said with less enthusiasm.

  “We should get everyone back onto the train, then,” Sorcha noted. “Hex, will you walk me back to the passenger car? We can notify the linemen along the way.”

  “Okay, yeah,” I mumbled.

  The Irish mage stood up and waited patiently for me to climb down first, then offer her a hand down as well. I let her take the lead as we started back toward the passenger car, and she stopped by each linemen we met along the way to tell them that the engineer was awake and ready to get the train moving once again. The news soon spread ahead of us and to the other side of the train, and by the time we were back at the passenger car, we were surrounded by a crowd of happy, cheering linemen.

  Sorcha was carried back inside by a swarm of burly men who had proclaimed her to be the savior of the railroad. The Irish mage smiled at her admirers, and as she was swept inside the passenger car, she gave me a wink and blew me a kiss.

  When the last lineman had closed the door, I stood still for a moment and soaked in the sudden quiet. Aside from a few birds in the sky, the world had gone still for the moment. As beautiful as it was, though, I also knew that there were still plenty of dangers lurking in the shadows. I shook off a few flakes of snow, pulled the rifle from my shoulder, and turned to trudge back to the engine.

  I double-checked for stragglers as I went and even peered beneath the cars just to be sure, but I was the only person still outside. Reassured that we had everyone back on the train, I clambered into the engineer’s cab to find the coal man and the engineer already in place and ready to go.

  “Let’s get the train moving, and then I’ll show you how to handle the controls,” the engineer suggested. Although he was on his feet, he leaned heavily against the wall and he still looked too pale.

  “So we just shovel coal?” I asked as the coal man handed me a shovel. I set the rifle nearby and looked at the coal man.

  “Only one man does it at a time due to space, but yeah,” the coal man replied. “And Trevor will help us set the pace, but you’ll get the hang of it.”

  “I guess we’re finally going to Willsport then,” I replied as Trevor blasted the whistle and the train started to move forward.

  It sounded simple enough, but if there was one thing I had learned on this journey, it was to be suspicious of anything that seemed easy.

  Chapter 13

  The train was moving again, and the world passed by in a blur. I barely had time to watch as we shoveled coal to keep the beast of an engine fed. It was hot, sweaty work and I didn’t even notice that the sun had vanished and angry black clouds had crowded in. The snow started to fall heavily, though in the heat of the engine cab, it went unnoticed.

  We were close enough to Willsport to pick out the snow covered rooftops and a collection of pre-magic buildings when the engine started to slow, and then stopped. I looked up in surprise, and then panicked when I saw the engineer slouched against the frame. I tried to remember what he had told me about driving the train as I scrambled toward him, but then I heard a voice outside the train shout something to the engineer.

  “What’s going on?” I asked as the engineer turned around with a scowl.

  “Snow drift ahead,” the engineer replied. “They’ve got people working to clear the rail, but for now, we’re stuck.”

  “Can’t we just plow through it?” I suggested as I thought about the power of the train that I had just witnessed.

  “Up to a point,” the engineer explained. “But this has been collecting since early this morning, and some of it’s frozen now. Best to let them clear the rail first, and then we can continue on.”

  “We’re so close,” I noted and I tried to keep the whine out of my voice.

  “And we’ll be there soon enough,” the engineer assured me. “At least we’re close enough that we won’t run into any mutants.”

  “I guess I should let everyone know what’s happening,” I sighed. “Maybe if we throw a few extra hands at it, we can get the rail cleared even sooner.”

  The engineer nodded at the idea, and after I’d exchanged my shovel for the rifle, I climbed out of the cab and found myself in a very thick and very high pile of snow. I could feel my denim pants start to get wet, and a handful of the cold stuff even made it down one boot.

  “Crap,” I muttered as I tried to avoid the worst of the drifts.

  “There’s more coming,” someone called out.

  I glanced to my right and saw a figure bundled up in a thick coat, a bright purple scarf, and a furry hat to rival Freya’s. The voice had sounded male but there were so many layers of clothing it was hard to be sure. The man had a red flag in his hands, whi
ch I figured was how he caught the attention of the engineer.

  And it was a good thing he had, I realized as I peered down the rail. I could barely make out the figures that were flinging snow just a short distance away, and even if the engineer had somehow managed to spot them, he probably wouldn’t have been able to stop in time.

  “Will they be able to clear enough off the rail before we get hit again?” I asked.

  “Probably,” the man replied as he studied the clouds. “But a few extra hands wouldn’t hurt.”

  “I was just on my way to find some recruits,” I replied.

  The walk to the passenger car was more like a march as I had to lift my knees up high just to keep my forward momentum. The wind didn’t help, either, and I’m sure I was red-faced when I finally stepped up to the passenger car. I was also feeling a bit put out, since no one had left the warmth of the passenger car to investigate why the train had stopped again. Footsteps in the snow showed where at least two people had briefly ventured outside, and as I looked back toward the engine, I spotted the man with the flag easily enough. So someone must have decided that this stop was one they could wait out.

  “Hex!” Sorcha and Freya both declared when I stepped into the car.

  “What’s going on?” Sorcha asked. “They said there was a flagman by the rail.”

  “They had a lot of snow earlier and there’s more on the way,” I replied as I tried to shake some of the watery mess from my shoulders. “They’ve got people working to clear the track, but they could use some help.”

  The remaining linemen looked around the carriage and then stood up slowly. Shelton joined them, and even Ahmed started toward the door.

  “You’ll watch Gerald?” I suggested to Darwin.

  “I can do that,” the ex-trooper agreed. “But we should probably make sure we have someone watching for trouble, even though we’re close to the town.”

  “Sorcha and I can take care of that,” Freya suggested.

  “I think I need a break from shoveling for the moment,” I said. “And I’m sure Barnaby could use a walk. I was thinking we’d patrol alongside the train.”