Violet Grenade(93)

"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.





Chapter Sixty

Vacancy

We ride the train through four station stops until Texas plains give way to the flatlands of Carlsbad, New Mexico. This time when the train stops, we disembark and jog along the tracks. Then we walk for several miles, my mouth dry and sticky, until we spot a red-and-white motel with a buzzing vacancy sign. Three tin horses sit on springs out front for children to play on, but the paint has long faded, and the horses' grins seem sinister in the fading light.

I pay the desk guy half our money for a room while Cain and Poppet wait outside. If Eric and his guys find out we landed in Carlsbad, I don't want this employee saying he saw three travelers come through together.

The hotel room has two queen beds with a white rose pattern, and a television that picks up six stations. Although for an additional twelve dollars we can have all the adult movies we want. Tempting.

Poppet scrunches her nose. "This place is glamorous."

I plop down on the bed. "Don't act like you've stayed in better."

"A girl can pretend, can't she?" Poppet climbs beneath the covers and tucks that pink elephant beneath her arm. "I'm so tired I feel sick, but I'm afraid I'll never be able to sleep."