Bang!
The gunshot ignites panic in the car. The accused shriek, cry, and step over one another to get on. I’m pressed against the wall, looking around frantically for the others. Where’s Grace? She’s too short to spot among the throng of Sinners. Bruno is easy to spot. He sticks out like a sore thumb.
“Anyone else want to try to pull that stunt?” the voice on the loudspeaker screams.
My stomach plummets when I think about the day I was brought to the Hole, and I imagine how these people must feel. I wonder if they are all guilty of the crimes they’ve been accused of, or if they could possibly be like me, wrongfully accused. Soon, we’re all packed in like sardines. Shoulders to shoulders, backs to backs, and I’m breathing someone else’s spent air. Beside me, a girl who looks like she can’t be more than twelve years old stares back, terror but also hope crossing her face. I reach in my bag and offer her my water.
“It’s going to be okay. Here, take this.”
A small and timid hand meets mine as she takes the water from my grasp. I can’t look at her too long. My heart is breaking from this little gesture.
I feel lightheaded, and my clothes are almost completely soaked through with sweat. I focus on the vein pulsing in Cole’s forehead next to me.
“Guards! Seal the doors.”
I bite down on my cheek and duck my head, hoping to blend in to the crowd. But we aren’t home free yet.
Zeus lets out a low growl, but stays in place.
“It’ll be okay,” I whisper. I link my hand with his collar, for extra insurance.
A guard at the door fixes his glance in our direction. He stops and probes the packed car with his eyes. I move backward, accidently stepping on Zeus’s paw. He lets out a loud, sharp bark.
“Zeus, stop it,” Cole says, not realizing what happened. The guard’s eyes zero in on Zeus, and I consider putting myself between him and the dog. My breath catches as he lifts his gun. “No!” I scream, and then everything seems to happen in slow motion.
Cole is up, gun drawn, pointing at the guard.
I shove Zeus behind me and see the girl I gave the water to back away from me. She’s afraid of me!
I quickly turn back to the guard. He has a sick, sadistic smile plastered across his face. He recognizes me. I reach up and try to cover my brand.
His barrel’s now aimed at my chest.
“Lexi, get down!” Cole says.
Bruno shoves people aside like he’s swimming. When the guard pauses, Bruno grabs him. He gets his giant arms around the guard in what looks like a hug. Then, in a motion of sheer power, he violently twists his head. I hear a sickening snap as the body crumbles to the platform. Bruno kicks it away from the train, then whips his gun out from his waistband.
The people around him gasp.
“Excuse me, excuse me. I gotta get through.” Cole makes his way toward Bruno.
Sinners clear a narrow path for Cole while I shield the young girl from the gruesome sight unfolding.
For a moment, I think maybe we will get away with it. No one has noticed.
And then automatic fire sprays our railcar. Bodies hit the floor. Everyone’s fighting to get down, piling on top of each other. Bullets whip through the air around us, puncturing the walls. I manage to look up and see the door’s still open. Bruno and Cole are standing, firing back. Another man grabs a gun off Cole’s waist and begins firing.
The car begins to move. The sudden jolt puts everyone off balance. Zeus yelps.
For a moment, I sway left. But Cole’s figure in the doorway fuels me. Please don’t let this be it. I can’t let him die.
To my relief, the automatic door begins sliding closed. With a loud bang, Bruno and Cole relax, pressing their backs against the wall and trying to catch their breaths as the train picks up speed. I hunch over; my chest’s heaving for oxygen. Everyone’s screaming around me. My ears ring. My head’s pounding like a drum. All of a sudden, Cole’s at my side grabbing my face and inspecting it.
“You’re hit,” Cole says. He touches my cheek.
“It just grazed me. I’m fine,” I say. “How about you, you good?” I run my hands across his chest and then back.
“Yeah, I’m good.” Cole’s breathing is jagged. He looks past me.
I want to collapse, but instead, I survey the damage. People are piled on top of each other for protection. The floor’s slick with blood, and I smell vomit and feces. A soft, wet tongue licks my fingers, and I look down to see Zeus bleeding. It hurts like hell to inhale. I scan him. His wounds from last night have opened up again, but this time, he’s really bleeding badly.
“Cole, get me something, anything. He’s bleeding again.”
Cole frantically looks around, but a man next to him pulls his shirt over his head and hands it to him.
“Thank you,” Cole says. It’s the guy who helped Cole and Bruno fight back. He hands Cole his gun and nods his head.