Chapter 12 - Fire in the Snow
Marcus didn't hesitate. Survival instinct stripped away all fear, replacing it with cold, mechanical efficiency. He tore away the rotted burlap sacks, exposing the rectangular iron service grate that led directly to the track bed beneath the train.
With a roar of effort, Marcus hauled the heavy grate upward.
""Emily, listen to me,"" Marcus said, kneeling before his daughter, his hands gripping her small shoulders. ""You take Leo. You drop down between the rails. Stay flat. Crawl to the other side of the embankment and do not look back until I touch your shoulder. Do you hear me?""
Emily’s eyes were wide with terror, but she nodded bravely, biting her lower lip. ""I won't let go of him, Daddy.""
""I know you won't. You're the bravest girl in the world.""
He lowered Emily down through the hole. She hit the gravel quietly, instantly turning to receive Leo as Marcus gently passed the toddler down into the freezing shadows beneath the carriage.
Heavy blows began to strike the exterior door. Cross was using a sledge or a breaching tool. The iron latch bent with an agonizing groan.
Marcus turned back to Frank. The old investigator’s face was ashen, his breath rattling in his throat. He had propped himself against the wooden bulkhead, the snub-nosed revolver held firmly in his right hand, resting on his knee.
""Come on, Frank. I’m carrying you,"" Marcus demanded, reaching for his arm.
""Don't be an idiot,"" Frank coughed, a thin trail of crimson spilling from the corner of his mouth. ""I can't crawl through the dirt with a ruptured gut, Marcus. I’d slow you down. He’d catch all four of us in five minutes.""
""I’m not leaving you to die!""
""You're not leaving me. You're giving me a front-row seat,"" Frank whispered, a fierce, defiant grin stretching across his blood-flecked lips. He reached into his canvas coat and pulled out an old magnesium flare, striking the cap with his thumb. The blinding, hissing white flame bathed the dark interior in an ethereal, violent glare.
""There’s fifty gallons of diesel leaking from the ruptured tank two cars down,"" Frank whispered. ""Run, Marcus. Get my granddaughter justice.""
Granddaughter. The word hit Marcus like a thunderbolt. Frank wasn't just an old contact; he was Helen’s estranged, disgraced father from her first marriage, the family secret she had buried beneath layers of wealth and deceit.
""Go!"" Frank roared.
Marcus dropped through the hatch, hitting the icy ballast stone beneath the carriage. He scooped Emily and Leo into his arms, scrambling out from under the train on the opposite side, lunging down the snowy embankment into the thick cover of the hemlock trees.
Behind him, the freight car door finally blew open with a deafening crash.
""Drop the weapon, old man!"" Cross’s voice bellowed.
May you like
""Say hello to your mother for me, Helen,"" Frank’s voice answered, calm and triumphant.
A second later, the night vanished in an apocalyptic roar of fire. The explosion threw Marcus forward into the snow, the shockwave snapping branches overhead as a mountain of orange flame consumed the train car, lighting the winter forest like the midday sun.
