Page 43 of Despair

“You’re cowards,” she said. “You follow like sheep and can’t think for yourself.”

Something in her words settled on him. His fear dissipated and he glared at her. “And I suppose you can?”

Her bat was in his face before she realized her arm had moved. Despair sliced into her gut, stealing her breath.

Tears stung her eyes as she lowered herself and hissed, “I’m nothing like you.”

He flinched again and tried to get away from her. But his eyes were settled. In his head he truly believed her to be like them. Her palms itched. The blood.

Daisy dropped the bat with a gasp. She’d done this of her own accord, and that was the most horrifying realization of them all. Her despair surged again, and she had to check the status of her tattoo. The yin-yang symbol edged into the dark. She had to get back.

Had to get to Axel.

To… absolution.

Gasping in stuttered breaths, she glanced around the cabin. What was the cargo on this train?

The Faithful saw her looking.

“It’s too late,” he said. “As soon as the animals are unleashed on the city, everyone will be decimated.”

The smell. She crinkled her nose. That’s what it was. This cargo train was filled with animals that had been modified to hunt sin and end it. She scrubbed her face and looked outside. They’d left the yard near the docks and were headed toward the city. But they hadn’t left the cargo track yet. If she could keep this train headed in the right direction, this track would lead across the Vermillion Bridge… the same bridge that had been destroyed in Julius’s attack on the city.

She shot the Faithful a dark look and then booted him in the face. He went out like a light. She wiped her face with her shirt and refitted the bat in her back holster. With a last rueful look at the three she’d taken down, she considered tossing the Faithful over the edge and giving them a second chance at life. Wasn’t that what Axel had said? Even the Faithful needed a second chance.

But she couldn’t do it.

She couldn’t bring herself to save them. Braving the gushing wind at the door, she wrapped the still dangling bullwhip around her forearm, and then swung back outside the train, hoisted herself on top, and untied the whip before jogging across the freight vehicles. Gravity tried to pull her back but she kept her footing.

There had to be someone driving. Someone who could change the track directions.

The further along she went, the more she heard and smelled the animals. Screeches. Barks. Growls. All kinds of furry creatures had been twisted into monsters for Julius’s sick gain.

She slotted herself into the gap between the engine car and the first boxcar. The cabin door was unlocked. She pushed herself through, prepared to fight.

Empty.

No. Despair coming from behind her.

Pain exploded over her head. She staggered forward into the controls. Her vision blurred but she wasn’t down yet. The person behind her rushed at her again. She rolled, flipped her whip out and wrapped it around his neck. She looped the length on a stick controller and used it as an anchor. She pulled. His head slammed down, trapped on the instrument board. His eyes rolled and he slumped, falling to land in an unconscious heap on the tiny floor space.

The clickety-clack and animal sounds seemed to grow in volume.

Daisy bent and slapped the man on the face until he roused.

“Where is this train headed?” she asked.

He groaned and tried to roll away from her but she held him firmly beneath her grip.

“Don’t make me force it out of you.”

His eyes latched onto her face. The white’s showed. She didn’t know what he saw in her eyes. Or maybe it was the blood on her face. Or the pain of her sticky fingers clamping his jaw… but he blurted, “Quadrant. Monorail.”

Daisy checked ahead. They were on the original seaside track, but up ahead was the junction. “Who’s changing the tracks?”

He pointed at a remote wedged into the instrument panel. She picked it up and inspected it. Two lights. One for each line. The light for the line heading into the city was on. She pressed the button beneath the other. It lit up. Daisy held her breath as the train plowed onward. It wasn’t until they passed safely over the junction that she exhaled. And with her breath went all her resolve.

“You’ve doomed us,” he croaked. “We’ll head straight into the sea.”

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