They each took one end of the car and began forcing open storage compartments and breaking into cabinets that lined the walls.
“Hey, check this out,” Nick said from the other side of the car. He’d pulled open one of the cabinets and taken boxes from it. Kneeling on the floor, he was ripping them open.
Todd stood over him and leaned his hands on his knees. He blew out a few quick, short laughs and said, “Ho-ooh. Can we be that lucky?”
Nick grinned and pulled a small container from the box, turned, and held it out to Todd. “Open and see.”
Todd twisted the top from the container and bobbed his eyebrows. Inside were white, glistening crystals of salt. “Are all these boxes salt?”
“It looks like. Probably for the passengers.” Nick moved to the cabinet beside it and pried that open. “This one has boxes marked pepper and salad dressing.” He ran his fingers down a stack of boxes. “Sugar, tea, coffee…all in little individual containers and packets.”
“Let’s get back to the others,” Todd said. He scooped up two of the boxes, and Nick balanced another two under an arm while they made their way back to the exit. “We found a supply of salt,” he told the others as he jumped down from the train.
“And some other supplies, but I don’t think there’s anything we want to eat,” Nick added as he tossed the two boxes he carried to Todd. “Who knows how long it’s been there and what it’s been exposed to.”
“How’d you make out?” Todd asked Sal.
“We got into the control room. It’s a mess. Junk and wires everywhere. Looks like there might have been at least one fire at some point,” Sal said. He shook his head and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Clara still isn’t sure she can get the train powered and running, but while you were inside, I did some assessing outside. Even if we could get it going, we’d have to spend a good deal of time clearing out the cars. Some of those seats would have to go to make room for us. We could get the people inside, but not all our wagons, and only some of the livestock.”
Todd nodded. “There would be the issue of how to get these folks’ belongings into Yellowknife without the wagons.”
“Yes,” Sal agreed. “However, I did have the thought that if we could get the bullet train moving, we could pack a lot of supplies in it to transport. The wagons would be much lighter and easier on the horses. It might take a day or two to get any lights we can use operational. And even then, maybe not. We might be relying on our Faraday lamps and good ole fashioned fire torches.” He shrugged. “There is ventilation from somewhere. I can still feel a slight breeze, but no idea where it’s coming from.”
“Time to head back to the wagons and get those people moved. We’ll bring them here. Inside that bullet train will be safe. How long until you know if you can get that panel and the next set of lights on?” Todd asked Clara when they were all gathered together.
Clara sighed and gazed down the tunnel for a few minutes. “Realistically, I think if I can’t get it working in a day, I won’t be able to, no matter how much I want to stay and try.”
Todd offered her the most sympathetic smile he could muster. “I know it’s frustrating, but our goal is to get through to the other side. Not make these tunnels something usable, at least not right now. That’s another project for another time, and with better-prepared crews.”
“The hard part right now is going to be getting the wagons safely through the section inhabited by spirits,” Nick reminded them.
Todd nodded. “At least we’ve got some extra ammo to use.” He pointed to the boxes full of tiny salt containers.
The return trip through the tunnel was quiet until they approached the trouble area. As soon as they were close to the first control room, dirt and rocks began flying up from the ground just outside the barrier they’d constructed.
“Getting horses and other animals through here is going to be tricky,” Nick shouted above the din.
The area was unsettling for Todd, and he was used to this sort of thing. He could only imagine what it was going to be like for a group of people, many of whom were children, to cross this section of tunnel.
They decided the caravan would split into three groups. Nick enlisted the aid of some of the older children to find appropriate material and create as many blindfolds for the animals as possible. It wouldn’t stop them from hearing or feeling the effects of the spirits, but it would help keep them from being spooked by flying objects. Then all the children were tucked away safely inside the wagons. The majority of the livestock was secured in lines and attached by rope to their owners’ wagons. Using the wagons themselves as a second layer of protection, the goal was to keep the animals between the tunnel wall and the wagons.
To be safe, Nick and a few of the other adults who excelled at handling the horses led them on foot while those who were better drivers assisted and guided the teams from the wagons. The teams couldn’t be blindfolded; those horses needed to see where they were going, as they simply didn’t have enough people capable of leading them all. Word of what had befallen Trey spread through the group quickly, and no one wanted a repeat of the incident. Whether each individual believed in ghosts or not became irrelevant. The fact there was danger here was evident. The cause was secondary.
The first two groups made it through with only minor incidents, mostly involving curious children who were frightened by moving rocks. The second group lost a goat, which created a few moments of panic, but in the end, Faye helped keep order and got everyone through.
For reasons neither Todd nor Nick could determine, the spirits became much more agitated as the third group began to move through. Maybe it was because the people were all getting tired and more irritable; spirits did tend to feed off those sorts of negative emotions.
Bricks and rocks were ejected into the air and plummeted back down in a constant wave, each one crashing to earth louder than the one before. In a very short time, it was impossible to hear anyone, even someone standing beside Todd. There were goats and saddle horses anchored to the center few wagons. The steadier, calmer horses were in the lead and end teams. Nick was with the last wagon, Todd nearer the front.
They’d divided the children into three groups, and this last group was comprised of older kids, teens, and a few preteens. Rock hit the rails and bounced off, striking some of the wagons. That sent up a round of shrieks and screams from the children inside. A volatile chain reaction was set off. Things careened out of control in a matter of seconds.
“Mother—too many spirits expending all the energy needed to do this can’t be good,” Todd muttered.
One of the goats tied to a wagon skittered sideways, baying and bleating. It kicked and bucked frantically. In one instant it was attached to the wagon, in the next it was loose and running.
“No! Brownie, no!” A girl of maybe fourteen jumped from the wagon and ran after the goat.
Todd barely had time to take a couple of steps toward her when a dust storm whirled into the air and was flung toward the wagons. The girl and her pet goat were obliterated from view.
“No! Stay! Stop!” Nick bellowed. He ran in from the opposite direction.
The girl got her arms around the goat’s neck as it was being sucked into the dust and debris that now formed a ground-to-ceiling wall. Even though there was no wind, the kinetic energy created and then expelled by the spirts took on a life of its own, feeding on itself and expanding. The phenomenon was extremely rare, but documented. While Todd understood how it worked and had read about other sentries dealing with this circumstance, this was the first time he’d come face to face with it. The cloud churned and swirled, grabbing up everything close to it. The horses in the teams reared, skittered sideways, and jumped forward.
“Get them going!” Todd shouted to the lead wagon. A galloping horse couldn’t buck and rear; it could only go forward. He slapped the nearest horse in the lead team and used its forward momentum when it startled and tried to bolt to get them going faster.
The woman lea
ding the team jumped on one horse’s back as the driver gave them a harsh slap with the reins. Between the two of them, they maneuvered the team along the tunnel at a good clip. The great thing about horses was they’d follow each other.
Todd ran to the next wagon, waving his arm. “Go, go, go!”
The second team needed almost no incentive to go from an easy walk to a quick canter in a few steps. Horses’ hooves and wagon wheels turning added to the din and reverberated off the tunnel walls.
Hearing anything became impossible. Todd ran to the third wagon, the one the girl and goat had been separated from.
The wagon team leapt ahead just as the girl grabbed for the side. She was flung back and, still holding the goat, she stumbled over the tracks and fell so her head and shoulders were outside the barrier formed by the rails. Todd pitched a handful of salt at the cloud, which weakened that section, and pounced on her. He got both arms around her legs and scrambled backward.
Two other men appeared beside him, hauling him and the girl up. They were shoved into the wagon’s side. Todd hauled the girl to the back of the wagon, snapping, “Get in and stay there!”
One of the men vaulted in behind her, goat in his arms. The other man grabbed Todd’s arm and jerked him around. His face was ashen and he pointed farther down the line.
Nick had stopped a few feet from the second-to-last wagon. Bricks flew overhead and smashed against the far wall. The horses darted away from the noise, causing the wagon to swerve and sway precariously.
A barrel of water broke loose from the wagon side and broadsided Nick. He stumbled sideways and looked as if he was going to fall over the tracks and outside their protection, but regained his balance and footing. The horses shied away and hurtled forward, but were blocked from going farther by the wagon in front of them. They tried to go sideways and slammed full force into Nick.
The blow flung Nick across the tracks. He landed on his back and immediately flipped over, reaching for the rails. Something yanked him farther away before he could get a grip with his fingers.
Heart in his mouth, Todd sprinted to Nick. The man who had warned him was right beside Todd. Flinging himself at Nick, Todd fell across the tracks, just catching onto one of Nick’s wrists. He felt a weight on his legs and heard shouting.
Nick was lifted off the ground in a horrible tug-of-war between angered spirits and Todd.
Todd intended to win.
Moving his loose hand, Nick got to his pocket and pulled out one of the salt containers. He flipped off the top, twisted around, and threw it into the hurricane of debris. That tiny amount of salt wasn’t much against the onslaught, but it was enough. For a brief second, the commotion over Nick’s legs quieted.
Todd reeled Nick toward him. He felt someone grabbing his legs, shoulders, and arms. They were both pulled back to safety. The second Nick was close enough, Todd grabbed him and held him close.
“Are you alright?” Faye shouted. She knelt beside them, a hand resting on Nick’s shoulder. “You’re hurt and bleeding.”
Todd scrambled to his feet, pulling Nick up with him. Nick stared at Todd wide-eyed for a second before he started shaking violently. Poor Nick looked dazed and beyond confused. His hands and face were streaked with tiny abrasions oozing blood. He balanced on one leg. Todd saw his jeans on his other leg were ripped, and there was a gash across Nick’s knee.
Faye turned around and called, “Get those horses moving!” She and Todd’s rescuer each took one of Todd’s arms and steered Nick and him to the second to last wagon.
Todd pushed Nick into the back of the wagon and shoved the man in after him. “Stay with him.” He turned to Faye. “Help me with the last wagon.” They hurried down the track before Nick could protest. It took Faye no more than a couple seconds to get onto the back of the lead horse and dig her heels into the gelding’s sides.
Jumping onto the wagon bench, Todd took the reins and shouted while he slapped the horses to a faster pace.
Chapter 6
Nick stared at his hands and watched blood trickle between his fingers. The wagon bumped and thumped and jostled the passengers inside.
“I gotta find Todd,” Nick mumbled and tried to stand.
Someone pushed him back down, and a rough, deep voice—not Todd’s—said quietly, “Son, sit for a few minutes. We’re all safe, thanks to you.”
Nick halfway considered simply slugging the man and freeing himself, kind words spoken to him aside. He turned and glanced at the man and decided against that course of action. The man holding Nick in place with a hand to his shoulder was grizzled, with long hair pulled back and a scraggly beard. He was probably as tall as Nick and easily twice as wide. In truth, Nick simply didn’t have the energy to put up a fight.
“The other sentry is driving the last wagon,” the man said. Nick knew his name but couldn’t get his brain into gear long enough to remember what it was. Grizzly leaned forward and pulled the flap aside so Nick could see out. Following at a few yards’ distance was indeed a wagon, and Todd was on the bench seat, guiding the team.
Nick’s arms and legs felt like heavy weights. He was so completely drained, holding his head up was almost too much effort and trouble. He wanted to tell the man he needed to get to the wagon Todd was in, but moving his lips and making sound come out of his mouth seemed like a tremendous amount of work. What Nick really wanted to do was curl against his mate’s side and feel the safety Todd always offered.
That would have to wait for a while, however.
“You okay?” Grizzly asked. The man moved Nick around and peered closely at him.
Nick nodded and croaked out, “Yeah. Ghost attack…saps the energy right out of you.” He inched to a vacant spot and leaned back. “I need to…” Nick couldn’t finish his sentence. The world went from colors to grays to a black he sank reluctantly into.
* * * *
Voices swirled around Nick, and there was movement, but not from the wagon. It was from people in the wagon shuffling around.
Finally Todd’s voice filtered out from the rest. “He’s fine. It’s normal when this happens. They suck the energy, and sometimes the life, right out of you. This time we were lucky.” Nick felt Todd’s hand against his cheek, then around his biceps. “C’mon, Nicky, I know you feel like crap. Our wagon is right over there. You can sleep it off in your own bed.”
Nick pried his eyes open and focused on Todd’s face. He licked his lips and tried to form coherent words, but failed miserably. Some noise came out of his mouth, and whatever it was made Todd smile and shake his head. Grizzly sort of chuckled and looked away.
“Interesting reaction,” Grizzly said to Todd.
Todd nodded and brushed a hand through Nick’s hair. “Yeah.”
Good God, Nick had probably just said something horrifyingly embarrassing. He pulled in a deep breath, slumped his shoulders, and looked at Todd, feeling miserable. He clamped his lips shut. Looking down at his torso and legs, he was relieved to see he was still fully clothed. He wiped a hand across his jeans and smeared blood down his thigh.
“Don’t worry.” Todd put an arm around Nick’s shoulders and guided him out of the wagon. “We’ll clean those—” he nodded at Nick’s jeans “—and you up.”
Nick had to look at his feet and concentrate on getting them to move in the right order. He was happy to let Todd steer. Grizzly took Nick’s other arm, and together he and Todd got Nick moved the few yards from one wagon to the other.
“I got it from here, thanks,” Todd said and shifted Nick’s weight so he completely supported Nick. He moved his hands to Nick’s waist and helped Nick up the few steps and into the back of their wagon. “Sit there.”
Nick nodded and settled down in the middle of the bed. Todd pulled off the knife sheaths strapped to Nick’s forearms, then Nick’s jacket and shirt followed. Reaching into a trunk, Todd extracted a bowl, soap, and bandages. He poured water into the bowl and set that between Nick’s legs. “Can you wash your hands off?”
&n
bsp; Nick nodded. Even that simple task took up too many brain cells. Sitting beside Nick, Todd took one of his hands and began wrapping some bandages around it. After Todd finished, Nick rested that hand on his thigh and held out his other hand while Todd repeated the process. Then Todd took a washcloth from the trunk, dampened it, and wiped off Nick’s face and neck.
A tremor coursed through Nick, then another and another until he was shaking all over. His first encounter as a sentry was with ghosts, and they were the one thing that still terrified him beyond all else. Todd moved the bowl of water and set it on top of one of the trunks lining the wagon’s sides.
“It—they wanted me,” Nick whispered. “Like they kn-knew I-I was th-the one who sensed th-them.”
“It’s okay,” Todd said softly. Todd pulled Nick close and held him tightly, rubbing his back with one hand, the other cupped Nick’s head. Todd’s grip strengthened even more when Nick pulled in a wet, broken breath and shuddered it out again.
Nick pressed his cheek to Todd’s shoulder. “It was personal.” He managed to get his arms around Todd’s back and hang on.
Todd kissed Nick’s cheek and tucked him in even closer, murmuring, “It’s okay. You’re okay.” His voice trembled and cracked.
Shifting closer, Nick pulled in a few more deep breaths. His body finally quieted, and fear was replaced by the comfort and security Todd offered. A few minutes later, Todd leaned back a bit and held Nick’s face in both hands.
“You’re okay,” he repeated, more firmly this time.
Nodding, Nick managed a weak “Yes.”
“Let’s get your jeans off and clean that gash on your leg.” Todd helped Nick shimmy out of his pants before reaching for the water, soap, and washcloth again.
“Does it need stitches?”
Todd snorted a laugh. “You’re the doctor. You tell me.”
Nick squinted at his leg, scrutinizing it for a few seconds. After Todd cleaned off the dried blood that was caked across his flesh, Nick saw it was a narrow, long scrape. More like road rash than a cut. He shrugged. “Nothing to suture. Bandage would be good.”
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