Chapter 54 Larkin
Larkin
Smoke engulfs the room, and I fall out of the chair onto gravel, the whistle ringing in my ears. I hold both hands to my head, screaming for Salome. When the dust clears, we’re no longer in the library but back at the train tracks.
The burning smell overpowers my senses, making my eyes water and chest tighten. I frantically look for her, scrambling to my feet as I slide across the loose rocks. “Salome!” I cry, tears streaking my cheeks. “Salome, where are you?”
“Larkin!” she responds, but her voice sounds far away.
I run down the tracks towards the abandoned station, clouds of smoke and ash rising behind it.
Fuck, I hope I’m not too late. I’m still not even sure how I got to this place; maybe I passed out, and in a minute, I’ll wake up to Salome’s disappointed face above me.
“Larkin!” she screams again, her voice garbled with pain.
“I’m coming!” My bare feet barely gain traction, but I run as quickly as I can towards her voice. When I round the corner behind the station, the sight of Salome brings me to my knees. Just like the dream, flames engulf her, but this time, the woman from the portrait burns beside her.
The flames don’t appear to be touching them, but the pungent aroma of burning hair and flesh gags me. Wounds on their skin glow, like they’re burning from within. They both mouth silent words, and I rush towards them but don’t seem to get any closer.
“No!” I scream, falling to my knees again and attempting to crawl. “No, you can’t have her! Take me. Take me instead. Please.”
Salome tumbles forward, crashing down beside me and howling in pain.
In a panic, I brush off her skin, running my hands over every place I saw the eerie orange glow.
My hands blister, but I continue holding her, pulling her closer to me.
I don’t realize we’ve fallen to the track until I hear the nefarious shriek of a locomotive.
I cup Salome’s cheek, keeping her head turned towards me and wiping away her tears with my thumb.
“I’m so sorry,” I whimper, squeezing my eyes shut and cradling Salome as our doom barrels toward us. “I love you, Salome.”
A hard shove comes from my right, knocking both of us over, sending us tumbling into the dirt.
Cinder and gravel fill my mouth as I faceplant, flailing my aching limbs at my side to reach for Salome.
Fingers find mine, pulling me up. Salome’s smoke grey eyes lock with mine, and we both scramble from the track, too afraid to look behind us.
The wind crashes into us from the approaching train, and when I’m finally brave enough to look, I see our savior: Silvey.
She’s standing in the middle of the track, screaming with arms outstretched.
The phantom train crashes into her frail frame, splintering her apparition into thousands of pieces that turn to dust in the wind.
I gasp for air, checking myself and Salome over for injuries, but her skin is smooth and whole again.
Her hair hangs in soft curls around her face, only tears staining her cheeks.
“She said,” Salome sobs, taking gulps of air between words, “she said...she wanted to see if anyone would come save me.”
“What?” I choke, looking at her then back to the train roaring beside us. “What the fuck does that even mean?”
Salome stares at me, eyes wide and bottom lip trembling. She bites it, expression searching, like she’s trying to find the words for what she wants to say. “Silvey…it’s her. The woman from the poem. She said no one came for her...that you wouldn’t come for me.”
“I will always come for you, Salome. Over and over again if I have to, because you’ve always been there to save me,” I promise, hugging her tightly and nuzzling into her hair. It still smells singed, and I start to sob thinking of how close I came to possibly losing her.
As the train passes, steam and dirt swirl around us in a cloud, blocking out our vision.
We’re lost to everyone but ourselves in a sea of grey, the squeal of the train against the tracks drowning out even the sound of our heavy breathing.
I keep holding on, her arms squeezing my waist as everything goes dark.