Chapter Fifty-Nine
Back Pocket Hope
The three of us step over barbed wire fences, and voluptuous cow patties, and deep holes where rattlesnakes might lie. And eventually, we spot the tracks in the distance. Cain, Poppet, and I bunker down nearby, and wait an entire dread-filled hour before I hear the telltale sound of a train approaching.
I run out from our hiding spot, and Cain jogs beside me. Poppet hangs back, ready. Cain and I position ourselves on the tracks, arms waving wildly, ice forming in my lungs. The train travels closer, bright lights cutting through the darkness. It’s a unit freight train, no passengers, one type of cargo. I love this type of train—the simplicity, the efficiency. It does one thing and it does it right. And tonight, it just may save our hides.
The red-and-white arms descend on either side, and a yellow flashing bulb illuminates Poppet’s face. And then, farther down the road, a vehicle appears. A red siren swirls on the hood, dirt kicking up in a cloud behind the gold sedan.
The ice in my lungs shoots to my fingertips. Eric has found us. Even if the train slows enough for us to jump aboard, we may not make it. Cain and I exchange a look and wave our arms faster. My heart sledgehammers in my chest, and Poppet screams over and over that Eric is coming.
The train engineer spots us and hits the brakes. A screeching sound blocks out anything else. The sound of Poppet yelling—gone. The sound of Eric’s manic siren—gone. Now there is only this metal fiend rocking down the tracks, attempting to slow its momentum. The driver doesn’t want to kill us, but he will anyway if we don’t move.
This isn’t a suicide mission, so I grab Cain’s arm and we lunge off the tracks. The whoosh of air throws me off-balance, and Cain has to jerk me upright before I lose my footing.
“There! there!” Poppet points to the first open train car she sees, and together we start running. The train hasn’t stopped, but it might be slow enough now that we can attempt boarding it.
“Run alongside it!” I yell. “Run as fast as you can, and let the car come to you!”
The light from Eric’s vehicle paints everything in red, and though I’m too afraid to look, I can feel the shadow of his car as it approaches and stops, can sense his footsteps as he lunges toward us. A blast rings through the night, and I cry out.
“He’s shooting at us!” Cain roars.
“Keep running!” My chest heaves, and sweat drenches my arms and neck. We’re close. So close to freedom but I can’t think about what Eric is doing. Can’t wonder whether his bullets are a warning or something worse.
The train car Poppet spotted approaches, catching up with us as we run, heads back, mouths open.
Another shot is fired, and Eric shouts. No longer able to stand it, I look back. He’s running after us, waving a Glock, his face redder than seems possible.
Cain reaches for the handle outside the train car. Misses three times before grabbing hold. He jumps like a natural athlete and barely stumbles before pulling himself inside. In a flash, his arm is back out, reaching for me. I grab the handle with one hand, and onto him with the other.
I’m pulled inside to safety.
Poppet is the only one left, running barefoot, her face painted with fear.
“Reach for me!” Cain says.
The train is gaining speed again. The engineer must be familiar with this, teens teasing his pet. So he brushes off what he saw and focuses again on his precious schedule.
Eric runs behind Poppet, closing the distance between them. He’s near enough that I can see the saliva wetting his thin lips. I stretch my arm out, fear wrapping itself around my throat, and beg her to run faster. Faster!
Poppet reaches for Cain.
Eric reaches for Poppet.
Cain sweeps her up and into the train car. As soon as she’s out of reach, Eric trips and rolls away. Poppet leaps away from Cain and into my arms. The two of us lie on the rusted floor and pant for breath. I don’t want to let her go. All my fears at being touched vanish as her heart beats against mine. She’s here. She’s safe.
We’re safe.
That’s when I see the pink elephant grasped in Poppet’s hand. I can’t help but laugh. “You brought the elephant.”
Poppet rolls off me and faces the ceiling. Cool air rushes through the opening and sweeps over our bodies, carries our fear up and away. “It’s the only good thing I got from that place.” She frowns. “I couldn’t make it on with the whole bag.”
Cain offers us each a hand and pulls us to our feet. “What are we going to do now?”
Poppet brushes off her backside. “Domino will figure it out. If she can get us on a moving train, she can do anything.” She slaps my rear playfully. Then her fingers move over my back pocket with intention. “What’s in your pocket?”
Cain glances at me sideways, and I shrug. Digging my finger in, I feel a thick fold of something warm and crinkly. I pull it out, and tears sting my eyes.
“Whoa,” Poppet says. “Where’d you get the money?”
I look at Cain, a cautious smile spreading across my face when I remember Angie’s awkward hug. “It was Angie. She slipped it into my pocket.”
It’s not enough to start a new life. But it is enough for a motel room and something to eat. And it may be just the thing we need to make it far enough away to ask for help, for us, and for the girls we left behind.
As the train clatters through the night and Cain and Poppet smile in my direction, I close my fist around the money a quietly defiant woman gave me, and imagine everything will be okay.
Maybe, just maybe, we’ve already made it out safely.
And that no one got hurt in the process.