Chapter 48 Larkin
Larkin
Aflickering orange glow appears through the maze of trees surrounding me, beckoning me forward.
I’ve already started to move before I realize I’m barefoot, walking on cold, rocky soil to get closer to the light.
As I tread through the woods, I finally hear the noise I’ve been expecting: the crackling and popping of a fire.
Eager to get warm, I break into a run, sprinting until I pass the tree line.
My stomach sinks the moment I make it to the clearing, and I almost turn to run back the way I came.
A woman stands in the middle of the train track cutting though the open space.
Fire surrounds her, her mouth open on a scream, but the only sound aside from the raging flames is the whistle of a train.
The shrill sound grows louder, getting closer, intensifying until it ricochets around my skull.
I cup my hands over my ears, bearing down until it’s painful, but it does nothing to dull the noise.
The fire burns, but it doesn’t seem to be consuming the woman it engulfs. Instead, it burns around her like a sickly aura. She pulls at her wavy black hair, knotting it around her fists. The inferno reflects off her misty grey eyes, making my knees buckle—it’s Salome.
She continues to scream silently, letting go of her hair to reach for me. Her singed white nightgown ripples like she’s moving, but she never leaves the track. The flames grow larger around her, threatening to cut between us.
“No!” I scream, but the sound fades into the wailing of the whistle. A bright yellow light appears in the distance, hurtling towards us as the train comes into view. Plumes of steam roll into the chilly night air, intertwining with the smoke billowing from the flames. “No!”
The train barrels through the space Salome is frozen in, nearly knocking me down with a burst of air.
I fall to my knees anyway, my heart shattering.
When I build the courage to look up again, she’s gone.
Salome’s gone, and so is the train, as though they’ve evaporated into the night.
Only charred tatters of her nightgown remain on the track where she once stood.
I leap to my feet, bolting ahead to scoop up the fabric, afraid it too might vanish.
I hold the scraps to my chest like I could will her body back into existence.
The train’s whistle screams again, and I barely have time to lift my head before the same yellow light blinds me.
It’s the last thing I see before there’s only darkness.