Champions of the Apocalypse (9 page)

Her attention was drawn to the metal strip running along the top of the cart that the ring and padlock were fitted to. She slid forward a few inches so she could get a better look. The strip was held in place by eight thick brass screws that were pushed into the old wood. She lifted her hand to the surface and checked each of them, they were all firm apart from the last one that wiggled just a little.

“Ah, got you!” she whispered to herself as she proceeded to remove the bolt.

The other screws where firm however and it required a full ten minutes of digging around in her clothing and inside the cart before she found a coin pushed inside her jacket. It was damaged but perfect for this most important of tasks. The carriage continued to rattle as they travelled along the tracks and towards the mountains. As they moved on Synne worked tirelessly on the band until she had loosened and removed all but one of the screws. With a gentle pull, she could easily lift the band that held her manacles to the side of the cart. As she freed herself, one of the others in the cart spotted what she had done and made to move towards her. Synne raised her finger to her mouth to make him keep quiet.

“Ssh, I will help you as well. Keep still, we can’t try to escape until it is completely dark,” she whispered.

The man nodded and watched as Synne replaced one of the screws so it was held tight before leaning to the others in the cart.

“Loosen the screws, don’t remove them yet though. When it is dark we’ll jump and head for the mountains. Okay?” she asked.

The passengers all nodded in eagerness and waited patiently. Synne looked back further along the train to where Jonas was still watching. Synne looked to his side and indicted towards the metal band. Jonas wasn’t quite sure what she was trying to communicate but following his eyes her noticed the band on his own cart. Synne lifted her hand a little but not too much to draw attention. She showed Jonas the coin before moving it to the metal band and the screws. Jonas quickly saw what she was doing and started to look around for a tool he could use.

Synne moved backwards and looked ahead, watching for signs of trouble from the guards. So far, it was clear they were obviously far more interested in watching the horizon than the beaten and dejected prisoners. The mountains were getting closer and Synne could see the train track followed a winding course that disappeared up into their craggy heights. The sun was getting lower now and the shadows from the mountains cast long, dark shapes across the open plains. She thought back to the map and tried to work out roughly where they might be. This track was too far north for it to be the tracks they had come across during previous operations against the Raiders. Unless of course the tracks turned away at some point, and travelled parallel to the mountains rather than heading between them. Either way it didn’t matter. The sun was setting to the left and that was the west so she was heading away from home. Her plan was simple, escape to the mountains and find shelter. Then work out a way back home, find her brother and seek vengeance on those that had caused so much death and misery. It was beginning to look like it would be time soon enough.

Synne looked along the train to Jonas who lifted something metal and nodded to her. She couldn’t make out what it was but the important thing was that he had removed his metal bands the same as Synne. With just a few twists, she removed the one on her own cart and with a tug it pulled away, the chains from the six prisoners clattered to the ground. Synne’s heart fluttered as she worried they would be heard. It shouldn’t have concerned her though, nobody could hear with the noise coming from the tracks.

Are you ready?” she asked the others with her.

“Now, when we’re moving? Shouldn’t we wait till we’ve stopped?” asked one of them, scared by the speed they were travelling.

“No, that would be the death of us all. If we wait and try to escape when the train is still we will be easily spotted and they will hunt us down and kill us. They are fit, strong and well equipped with weapons. Do you think you can escape them and their crossbows?
 
No, we have to jump, and fast, before we hit the rocks or it will kill us anyway.”

Synne checked the others, noting each of them was waiting for the word. She turned back to the obviously frightened man.

“It is dangerous but I’m willing to risk it. Are you?”

The man said nothing, he just sat there looking terrified.

“It’s up to you, I’m going. Ready?” she asked the others.

They nodded once more and readied themselves to go. Synne signalled to Jonas and he started to move about, hopefully making himself ready to jump. Synne gave one last look to the side of the train to check the ground, it was dark but this looked like the last stretch of grass before they reached the rocks and mountainside.

“Now!” she shouted.

With great effort, the six passengers lifted themselves up to the side of the cart. The ground below hurtled past at a frightening speed. It didn’t stop Synne though who jumped first, quickly followed by the other four. As they hit the ground and disappeared into the darkness a small group from Jonas’s cart did the same. Synne hit the ground hard but did her best to roll and she tumbled along the grass until coming to a halt. The rest seemed unscathed apart from Jenson who was howling in pain on the floor. Synne lifted herself up quickly and moved over to check him. As she moved, she heard shouting from the train. As it moved away, she spotted the man who had refused to jump. He was standing up on cart, presumably too scared to jump but waving his arms and drawing attention to them and himself.

“Stupid moron, he’ll get us caught!” cried Jonas who was jogging back towards the group.

A flash of smoke came from one of the guards on the train and the man tumbled in agony from the train and hit the ground hard. Synne ran over to him, followed by two of the others. When she reached him he was already dead, his neck or back must have been broken because he was completely still, killed outright.

“Look, his stomach,” said one of the escaped prisoners.

A pool of dark blood was forming on the man’s stomach and more dripped from behind him.

“What kind of weapon could do that?” asked Jonas.

“I think I know,” answered Synne.

Several more flashes came from the train and the whistle and whine of crossbow bolts and metal rounds flew past them to thud into the ground. The oncoming fire forced the group to scatter and try to find immediate shelter in the open ground. A scream of metal came from the tracks along with shouting. The train was slowing and alongside the wheels, great orange sparks sprayed like a great display. A horrifying scream from the grinding metal of the wheels in the tracks was all the signal the group needed to know their escape had been detected.

“You idiot!” shouted Synne, as she looked down at the man who had blown their opportunity,

“Come on, they’ll be here any second!” shouted Jonas.

Synne nodded and joined them as they turned and ran from the tracks and towards the rocks leading to the mountains. Synne and Jonas rushed over to Jenson who was still groaning as the rest moved ahead.

“Move it, Jenson, we need to go!” shouted Synne.

Jonas and Synne grabbed him about the arms and lifted him up. He howled but did his best to keep moving as they followed the rest as they made their way to mountains. Eleven prisoners were running as fast as they could, but the distance between the base of the mountains seemed to be just as far by the time the train had stopped. They kept moving though even though Synne felt her lungs would burst at the exertion. A flicker of light and smoke came from the dark train and another volley of ammunition blasted around them. It did nothing of note other than to give them all encouragement to keep moving. A dozen guards were now on the ground and running towards them. Every few seconds one would stop and fire his crossbows as they went.

It all seemed to be working when one of the prisoners from Jonas’ cart was hit in the shoulder. The impact was heavy and he stumbled and then fell into the undergrowth. Synne saw him fall and would have rushed to help him apart from the fact that she was already helping to move Jenson. The wounded man stood up and as he stopped to pull out the bolt, a second struck him in the back of the head killing him instantly. His lifeless body toppled forward and to the ground.

“We can’t stop, we need to get into cover!” cried Synne.

The first of the group had reached the lower rocks that stood almost as tall as a man and some of them stopped to get their breath, whilst the rest kept moving further into the rocks. Another volley of bolts flew overhead that brought down another prisoner.

A bolt clattered off the rocks in front of them as they made their way through the rough terrain at the base of the mountain. A short distance ahead was some kind of overgrown cave entrance and some of the prisoners were already forcing their way inside. Jonas turned to say something to Synne, when he took a wooden bolt in his left shoulder and crashed to the floor in pain. As he tumbled down, he dropped the wounded Jenson and tumbled over him. Synne managed to avoid them both and ducked behind one of the rocks as more bolts flew in.

“Give me a hand,” said Jonas as he tried to pull out the bolt.

“No, leave it in, it will cause more damage of you pull it out, trust me!” said Synne as she moved to leave the safety of the rock.

“Leave me,” said Jenson, “I can barely walk now.”

“No, I’m not leaving you behind for those animals,” said Synne as she grabbed him.

Jonas stood up and though in pain still managed to grab the man’s arm to help him move.

“She’s right, we’re not leaving anybody behind for them, come on.”

Jonas tried to pull the man, but he was as strong as he was stubborn, he turned and looked at them both and then without pausing staggered away and back in the direction they had come from, right into the path of the Raiders.

“No!” shouted Synne, but she was held back by Jonas.

The two watched the man in stunned silence. A number of bolts whistled past him but somehow he managed to avoid them. Then he dropped and it looked as though he had been hit. Incredibly, he stood up, this time holding what looked like a substantial rock and continued on his rush to them. He lifted it above his head and ran the last few steps, obviously intent on striking his pursuers. Half a dozen bolts must have struck him as he stopped in his tracks and then fell backwards, a whole host of wooden spikes protruded from his torso.

“Poor bastard!” swore Jonas as he stood up.

He and Synne looked at the options ahead of them. The cave was only twenty feet or so away but there was also a rocky path leading into the mountains to the right. So far all but one of the prisoners had chosen the cave, only one of the escaped women had chosen the mountain path.

“The cave?” asked Jonas.

Synne looked at their options and then quickly back at the closing enemy.

“No, the mountain. What are the odds that the cave is blocked or leads to water and we are trapped? The mountain give us options, come on!” she cried and with a mighty effort the two rushed from their cover and to the rough track.

It was almost dark now and with the sun gone, the air felt cool and dangerous. A light wind whistled through the paths and trails on the mountainside and though the weather was not bad, it made listening for danger very difficult unless they sought shelter from the wind. It was almost a full moon and the light reflecting from the pale disc provided some relief from the darkness and danger on the trail.

Synne and Jonas had been climbing the ever-steeper path for almost an hour before they stopped. Sounds of battle and the occasional blast from the power weapon had become fainter though they had no idea what had happened to the group in the cave. Jonas stopped for a moment, leaning against one of the many hard, jagged rocks as he got his breath back.

“Do you think they’ll keep chasing us?” asked Jonas between forced breaths.

Synne said nothing, she just stood there as she listened very carefully for sounds of the Raiders.

“The train hasn’t moved away and can you hear that sound?”

Jonas could hear nothing over his pounding heart and his heavy breathing. He did his best to calm down and breathe more slowly. As he did so, he could hear what sounded like shouting and it was coming from below.

“Damn!” he swore.

“Yeah, they are still coming,” said Synne.

She looked up the path and examined their options. The trail wound its zig-zag route along the side of the low mountain and continued on until it disappeared about half a mile further up. Near the top of the mountain, on one of the slightly lower peaks was a dark silhouette of something that looked manmade.