Chapter Three- Train Terror
Getting to the train station was the easy part. Deciding what to bring was harder. After much thought, Scarlet decided on her trusty shotgun, a small crossbow, and the pistol her grandmother had given her on her eleventh birthday. She filled her bags with bullets, dead man's blood, holy water, salt, witch hazel and an assortment of other things she thought she might need including a two foot long silver plated machete.
Getting all of that through security was the hardest part. Luckily, her name carried some weight as the most famous Hunter in the country and after a lot of threatening and arguing and one broken thumb, Scarlet and Wolf made it onto the train with all of their gear. They settled into the tiny cabin and Scarlet turned to look out the window. Wolf laid down on one of the beds.
"How many werewolves have you killed?"
Scarlet turned to look at him. He was staring at the ceiling, his hands behind his head and his leg bouncing.
"How many humans have you killed?"
He was quiet for a long moment. "A lot."
"A lot." She repeated as her own answer.
"I meant it, you know." He said quietly. "Not all of us are evil. We just want to belong."
Abruptly, Scarlet stood up. She stomped to the cabin door and threw it open. "I don't know what you're hoping to accomplish here, but you're a job to me. That's it. I'm not here to make friends and I'm not here to advocate for your 'good monster' crap. The only reason you're still breathing is because you can lead me to my grand-meré. Don't forget that." She slammed the door, not caring if he had a response.
"Hey. You okay?"
She glanced down the hall. A man was leaning out of a cabin, concern painted on his face.
"I'm Ran. I heard you shouting."
"Scarlet. I'm fine."
"Okay." He said with a flirtatious smile. "Trouble with your boyfriend?"
"I don't have a boyfriend." She replied shortly.
"No? Then how's about I walk you to the dining car?"
"If you insist." She could feel her cheeks turning as red as her hair.
They'd made it only a few feet down the hall when Scarlet noticed something was wrong. She turned around and saw a wolf at the other end of the hall. A fully transformed wolf, no human characteristics. It had snowy fur and blood red eyes. She grabbed Ran's arm, intending to drag him to safety but he caught her wrist in an iron grip. She looked up at the stranger, bewildered. His eyes were glowing and his face had started to lengthen into a wolf's jaw.
She slammed her knee into his rib cage, freeing herself, and pulled out her pistol in one fluid motion.
She fired twice into his leg and then turned to the other wolf, firing a warning shot between its pointed ears. She heard a door being smashed open and then, in a blur, she was grabbed around the waist and lifted up. It took her a moment to realize that it was Wolf who had grabbed her. She fired again over his shoulder and struck Ran in the hand. He let out an earsplitting howl. Wolf barreled down the hallway and threw open the divider. He set her down and they quickly moved into the next car.
"We've got about three minutes before they catch up to us." He said through clenched teeth.
"Scarlet nodded. She noticed that even in the commotion, he'd managed to snag her bag of gear.
"Who were they?"
"Members of my old pack, most likely."
Scarlet rolled her eyes. "Wonderful."
"Don't move." Said a new voice.
Scarlet whirled around and pointed her gun between the eyes of blond young man holding a machete to Wolf's throat.
"Sorry ma'am, just taking care of a werewolf problem." He said in a charismatic tone.
"Sorry yourself. This one's mine. Who paid you to come after him?"
The man smirked. "That's not how I operate. I don't wait for someone to pay me to take out a monster. I just do it and I usually find someone willing to pay a pretty penny for wolf skin."
"Two minutes, Scarlet." Wolf whispered.
"Quiet, you." The man pressed the machete closer to Wolf's throat, drawing a thin line of blood.
Scarlet stood on tiptoe to look over the man's shoulder. "Look, there's an angry wolf pack on our tails. Can we take this somewhere less exposed?"
The blond man nodded and the trio muscled their way into an empty cabin.
"Now unless you plan to catch this bullet with your teeth, I suggest you release my companion."
With a roll of his blue eyes, he did. He sheathed his machete and Wolf moved to guard the door.
"Who are you?"
"Captain Carswell Thorne. Bounty hunter supreme, monster killer extraordinaire, ex-American military pilot, and excellent kisser." He said the last part with a wink and Scarlet forced herself not to gag.
"Okay, wonderful to meet you but as soon as we deal with our pals in the hallway, you're gone. Stay away from us."
"Who said I was helping you, sweetheart? I'm just trying to find a quick job and a quicker kill."
Before Scarlet could reply, Wolf piped up.
"How about taking down the whole monster organization at its source?"
"What?"
"After Paris we go to New Beijing. From there we can take down the Vampire Queen and end the killings for good. But if a 'quick kill' is more up your alley you can take your chances out there." He nodded towards the hallway.
Scarlet glared at Wolf. "When were you going to tell me this?"
He shrugged and fixed her with a burning green gaze. "When you were ready to listen."
The sound of something solid smashing against the door caught their attention.
"Too many to fight." Wolf muttered.
Thorne looked around and then yanked open the door at the other end of the cabin.
"Are you crazy?" Scarlet yelled over the rushing wind.
"You're gonna have to jump! Just go!"
Before she could protest, Wolf wrapped an arm around her waist and jumped. The ground met them with a hard, unforgiving kiss and they thudded and rolled until they were well into the brush.
Scarlet pushed herself to sit up, sore all over. She looked up just in time to see Thorne jump from the train, pulling two pistols from his waistband and nailing the white wolf in the face before he fell. The train roared past them and soon it was gone.
Scarlet and Wolf limped over to Thorne and dragged him to his feet.
He groaned. "Now what do we do?"
Scarlet folded her arms. "Who said you were coming, sweetheart?"
"I did. Just now." He muttered, rubbing his shoulder. "I'm up for taking out the Vampire Queen. Even if it means trusting a wolf."
Wolf ignored him. He reached out and brushed his thumb across Scarlet's cheek.
"You're bleeding."
Scarlet pressed a hand to her face and her fingertips came away red. She felt a shallow gash along her cheekbone.
Wolf tore a strip from his shirt and leaned down to press it to her bleeding cheek.
"Thanks." She mumbled, taking the cloth from him.
"Right... so anyways," Thorne interrupted. "Where do we go from here?"
Wolf tore his gaze away from Scarlet and looked up at the stars. "We're about fifteen miles from Paris. We walk. Once we're in the city, we meet up with my contact and retrieve Scarlet's grandmother. We'll figure out the rest once we're that far."
He started walking alongside the train tracks, while Thorne and Scarlet lagged behind.
"Why do you trust him?" Thorne hissed in her ear.
"I don't..." She replied, pressing the cloth tighter to her cheek. But after everything that had just happened, she wasn't so sure about that anymore."
