Chapter Twenty-Eight
I f I thought the camp was chaos, it didn’t hold a candle to the anarchy we stepped into. Thousands of people swarmed the station. The trains weren’t supposed to leave until tomorrow, but it seemed everyone had the same thought as us. No one wanted to risk getting left behind.
I scanned the crowd, taking in the faces of strangers. Almost everyone’s arms were full, some filled with bags, in others children, and in too many, weapons. At the first sight of a gun, Aiden, Murphy, Rainer, and Warner all slipped a weapon from their waistbands. In that moment, I realized there was a slim chance we didn’t have to fight our way onto the train.
A line of people stood at the entrance to the tracks, each of them armed, blocking anyone from stepping past their boundary. It seemed that even with Murphy’s radio message informing the world of the end that was approaching, some people weren’t willing to abandon their posts.
Maybe they thought it meant a greater chance for them to get on board. Or maybe they simply didn’t know how to disobey, ignorant to the detriment they caused.
“How are we going to get around them?” Murphy asked.
No one had the opportunity to answer him. Not when the first gunshot rang out. The chaos devolved. There could have been a solution, a way for people to get on board without violence, but all that evaporated with the shot echoing through the air.
I couldn’t see more than a few feet in front of me, had no clue where the gunshot had come from, but I knew somewhere a body was lying on the ground. It was the beginning of the end of any chance at peace.
More bullets began spraying through the air, aimed from the line guarding the trains and from the crowd. Screams of terror deafened me, but fear kept my feet rooted. Frantically, I glanced around, making sure we were still standing, all together still.
Thankfully, no one dared to move a muscle. The four men created a barrier around us, protecting us from anyone who threatened to come near us.
We were in a bubble of protection, but the train was a beacon calling to me. We couldn’t stand here forever. Somehow, someway, we needed to make it on the train.
My gaze traveled through the crowd, straining to see over the bodies in front of me, trying to pinpoint a path forward. Think, Alessia, think. I begged for an answer, hoping would miraculously pop into my head, but to no avail.
There was only one way we were getting on that train, and I had instructed the people of the camp to do the same. We were going to fight.
“Rainer,” I said, and his head whipped toward mine.
I didn’t need to say more. He saw the determination in my eyes. He knew the situation, read it as clear as day. But with my go ahead, he prepared to lead us one final time.
“Murphy, you’re on my right. Warner, take my left. Aiden, secure the back,” he snapped out the orders in quick succession. “Everyone else, stay tight to our backs.”
We congregated together, Mina’s hand finding mine, our fingers locking together. We shared a look of fear and then, together; we pressed forward.
The three men at the front pushed through the crowd. People were running in every direction, some leaving to avoid the bullets still trailing through the air, others following our path, trying to push their way onto the tracks.
A group of people halted our movements, guns raised when we pushed at their backs. Warner didn’t hesitate, his finger pulling the trigger, the group falling to the ground at our feet. Elizabeth shielded Lucas and Stephanie’s eyes, but their wails sounded nonetheless.
As we neared the tracks, a rumble sounded, louder than anything else. With crazed eyes, I turned toward the train, fearing the worst. And the worst came true when I saw the smoke billowing out of the top of the train.
They were going to leave. They didn’t care about the schedule, not when everyone was threatening to jump aboard today.
Our movements became faster, Emmanuel and Elizabeth scooping the kids into their arms. Aiden stayed at my back, his presence never faltering. My heart started beating faster as we neared the tracks.
Rainer, Warner, and Murphy took down multiple people as we crossed the distance. Each body falling caused me to flinch, but I pressed forward, refusing to think about the blood on our hands. Not right now.
The engine of the train began sounding louder and louder, my heart pounding with the rhythm. The promise of safety, the promise of a chance, slipped through my fingers.
With one last shove through the crowd, we stumbled onto the tracks. But this wasn’t the end. The line of guards stood their ground, shooting anyone who dared to come close. Body after body fell to the dirt, their lives lost before they had the chance to survive.
“How are we going to get past them?” Mina whispered, her palm sweaty in mine.
Rainer and Warner shared a look, an unspoken agreement passing between them. There wasn’t time to decipher what they expressed, no time to ask them what the hell they were about to do.
But before they could move, Emmanuel dropped Lucas to his feet, moving from our circle. He slid past Murphy, ripping the gun from his palm. Elizabeth called out for him, Stephanie screaming, daddy. His movements didn’t slow and instinctually, we chased after him.
I realized too late that had always been his intention. With a skill I didn’t think him capable of, he aimed at several of the guards, taking them down in seconds. The other guards were too busy with the onslaught of people to our right, Emmanuel’s decision creating the distraction we needed.
“Go!” He yelled and we didn’t hesitate.
Sprinting past the deceased guards, we aimed for the train, the back door open, people that had slipped through piling into the interior. Murphy hopped up first, grabbing the twins from Elizabeth’s hands before yanking her up as well.
Mina was hoisted up next, crawling into the cabin of the train and pulling her knees to her chest, shock immobilizing her. Sasha clambered up, batting Murphy’s hand away.
Someone shoved into my back, the crowd pushing closer and closer, and I spun on my heel on instinct. But it wasn’t a civilian, it was a guard and I was too slow; the gun raising before I could blink.
Suddenly, my body was shoved aside once again, this time towards Aiden’s waiting arms. He climbed into the train, pulling me up with him. I faced the mouth of the train car, searching for the familiar faces.
Horror gripped me when I spotted Warner, battling with the guard who had almost shot me. Rainer wasn’t faring much better, taking aim after aim as he rushed for the lip of the train.
“Daddy!” The small voice screamed, her lungs having to burn with the effort.
But it wasn’t Stephanie’s voice I heard, mine echoed in my head as I saw what she did. A guard with perfect aim, sending a bullet deep into Emmanuel’s chest. His body fell limp to the ground, feet stepping over him, not a care for the father, the husband, who had sacrificed his life.
A choked sob came from Elizabeth and Murphy turned them all away, ushering them further into the train.
My focus didn’t stay on Emmanuel’s for too long. Not when two men were still outside, fighting to get on. They had the upper hand, taking down men and women alike as they headed for us, but there were too many people.
They pushed and pushed, their faces set in determination as they raced toward us. My feet jostled beneath me, my body pitching forward, but Aiden’s arms were there to catch me. The train was moving.
Everyone in the vicinity realized what was happening. Several people, guards and civilians alike, made a last ditch effort to hop onto the train, but it wasn’t the two men I hoped for.
I struggled against Aiden’s hold, kicking my feet into the air as he pulled me back. But I couldn’t stop, couldn’t leave them behind.
“Let me go,” I yelled, pulling against Aiden’s arms, but he never released me.
My movements grew sluggish, energy draining from me as my gaze locked onto Warner and Rainer. They were merely two men in a sea of people, all of them left with no options, but they were the only ones I cared about.
Rainer looked solemnly at me, his gaze passing over my shoulder, and I knew Murphy was at my back. My gaze switched to Warner, a smirk dotting his lips, and then the asshole, the absolute asshole, he winked.
They didn’t chase us down. They accepted their fate. But as the image seared itself into my brain, I knew I’d never be okay.