"Go, we've got to get on board!" I shouted racing to the nearest trailer, running alongside looking for the opportunity to jump on, Whisperer raced behind and grabbed on, hauling himself up the side of one of the drums, KC scrambled on the flat bed in front, as the train picked up pace I ran faster, my leg protesting all the way. Whisperer threw out a hand to haul me up as his carriage passed.
"Now what?!" KC yelled from her flat bed
"Get to the front, stop the train!" I shouted, trying to keep my balance, hand holds didn't exactly come as standard on these things.
"You need a hand?" Whisperer shouted, I shook my head
"I'll be fine, just get up front, and help KC"
Suddenly the light went out; the train passing through a large tunnel, rock passed mere inches from my body, the wind now catching my hair whipping into my face and my eyes.
"Lathain is on board, he's by the front, they have some resistance" Whisperer shouted, I nodded and waved him off, at least Lathain was aboard, and if Lathain was on then maybe Wizbit would have found a way round too. KC set off ahead, Whisperer quick to catch her up, my leg made mine slow progress, but eventually I hit the flat bed, collapsing in a heap. KC and Whisperer had gone over the top of the drums where hand rails and locking chains gave support. There was only dim light to see by and all I could hear was the roar of the train echoing in the tunnel and the rush of air, damn I was tired. I rolled onto my back to stand when I saw a huge axe swinging towards my head.
I rolled and the axe hit the flat bed, digging deep and getting stuck, the owner a huge troll with tusks as thick as my arm tugged then bellowed in frustration, I sprung to my feet, unsteady in the wind from the train, he must have come from behind after seeing us jump aboard, Whisperer had said Lathain had met resistance, looks like this wasn't to be the walk in the park we had hoped for.
The troll came at me, no doubt hoping to knock me from the train, but even with a damaged leg I was quick on my feet and easily dodged his huge swings, stay in the centre of the bed; then he wouldn't be able to pin or throw me that was the plan. He swung again and I moved to dodge, his other arm coming up to grab me round the throat, a feint! For the second time that day I was being strangled, this time though I had my charge, nice and hot, I let it loose.
The electricity shot over the troll's body, the burn so hot I felt my throat where he held me begin to blister slightly, he dropped me and I fell hard, coughing and drawing in breath, at first I thought he was simply dazed, he stood there motionless. The train hit a small bump, enough to rattle the floor and he fell over, solid and as one unit, not a collapse, more a fall as if he were made of stone, his eyes were open, but as I checked his throat I could feel no pulse. Ouch, this is the kind of damage I feared most from this kind of magic, to simply kill someone in a single charge.
I noticed a small pack on his belt, a med kit, my own kit was still on Convoy's truck, I unbuckled his belt, noting the odd shine it carried and the strange weight, and slid the med kit free, inside were a few dressings and a couple of patches, I slapped a stim patch on, feeling a little more energised. I took a few precious seconds to properly dress my leg and add a suppressor to it, should stop it from bleeding further. I looked to the troll's belt again, curious, pulling it free, it shone and flexed, end on the top ridge there was a . . .
I flicked the small catch and the buckle slid further out, or in reality the blade it was concealing did. A memory blade, it withdrew, flexible in the air for a moment before hardening to a short sword. The sheen of the belt had been my clue; I'd heard of memory blades before but never seen one. I replaced the blade, on contact with the belt it became pliant once again and allowed me to slide it together. Too valuable to leave behind I looped it through my own belt loops, attaching the med kit also. Then I followed Whisperer and KC over the top.
Over each carriage I half jumped, half stumbled, damn my leg, I really needed Wizbit, I noticed a few hastily stickered plastic blocks by the couplers; this must be Whisperer's plan to blow the carriages and stop the train, smart man.
A sound behind me caught my attention, a couple of trolls were scrambling over the top of the carriages, one carried a large axe, the other a club, though I couldn't see in great detail from where I was I was pretty sure there'd be a nail in it. I drew my little pistol and unloaded the barrel at the approaching pair, one hung back, the other ducked between the carriages out of range. I couldn't pick them off at this distance and I didn't think I'd survive a one on one encounter, let alone a one in two, my best bet was to catch up to the team.
I was getting close to the front by the time I caught up with everyone, I looked over the top of the last drum, picking my way carefully, from my view point I could see mana blasts seemingly from no-where which told me Wizbit was around, Lathain was getting his arse handed to him by an Orc who's sheer size was scary, even if the twin bladed sword he held wasn't. Whisperer and KC were tag teaming a group of smaller Orcs, taking them out one by one.
Suddenly from the dim and gloom, there was light, light and heat, the echo of the cave disappeared and the train was out in full sunlight, in the open heading towards Chicago. Damn.
I heard popping sounds behind me, the drum beneath me shook violently, I lost my grip and slid over the edge. I half screamed and thrust out a hand, just catching a railing before I could fall to my death, the shoulder still tender from my fight with Whisperer burned, and my fingers began to slip. I gritted my teeth and hauled myself up so I could grasp the railing with both hands, just in time as above me a small hatch opened and red liquid poured over me in a heavy stream. Blood.
I coughed and turned my head from the spray, the railing now slick and slippery, I tried to slide across it, managing to get free of the spray. I blinked trying to clear the blood from my eyes, red haze vision showed me the carriages behind were all dumping the blood along the tracks in a steady torrent. This was what the blood was for, this was how they would connect the two circles!
We had to stop the train before it reached Chicago.
I swung my legs up, coated in blood they were slippery and it took several tries to get the anchorage I needed to haul myself above the flow of the other openings and towards the group. I could barely breath now, blood covered every inch of me, I ached all over. I slid to the edge of the drum and readied myself to drop to the bed beneath.
". . . not here yet" I heard KC shouting over the noise, below me an Orc went overboard.
"Stop the train!" Wizbit's voice yelled
"Not yet!" Lathain and Whisperer's objection rose in unison, a second Orc went overboard and Lathain's Orc soon went with it.
"One or many Lathain?" Wizbit shouted
"Shut up, give it a minute and by the way, we have company" KC shouted, indeed we did, three hind choppers could be seen coming towards us from the base, I doubted very much that they were to give us a hand. I lower myself down and dropped onto the flat bed. The sound of a shot and pain spread across my arm, KC's barrel pointed towards me.
"SHIT!" she shouted, dodging another Orc, Whisperer knocked him overboard as KC ran over to me, "Damn woman I'm sorry, I thought you were a . . . well a . . . one of them" she finished. I hissed in pain, my blood mixing with the now drying blood from the spray. I couldn't blame her; I bet I barely even looked human right about now.
"NOW!" Wizbit shouted, KC pulled me from the edge of the bed, the last of the Orc's was sent flying as we passed, each running, or in my case being dragged, to the next carriage up, a basic port-a-cabin on the bed, we moved inside and braced what was left of the door, I assumed that was KC's or Lathain's work. Whisperer pulled a small remote from his pocket
"Hold on to something" he said and pushed the button.
The whole carriage rocked and tilted, threatening to derail and go overboard, papers, folders and glassware broke and fell around us, and through a gap in the door I saw the other carriages come away from the main, some tipping over, breaking the drums and spilling blood everywhere, the explosion setting fire to a few of the carriages, the blood being burnt up, the flat bed we had been on was being dragged, having partially de-railed.
"We better move upwards" Lathain said, "stop the train properly, and figure out a way to get rid of those hinds" I wasn't going to argue with that.
We moved up the carriages, port-a-cabin to port-a-cabin until we hit another flat bed, Lathain turned to me and KC. "Ladies, go on ahead and stop the train, we'll sort those guys out" he pulled a grapple from his pack . . . he was going to pull one of his hair brain stunts again. I'd rather not have the heart attack of watching. Me and KC raced ahead as quick as we could, the hinds now flying over, there was the sound of gunfire, both from the air and the ground.
"You gonna be OK?" KC asked, I nodded, tearing the arm from the other side of my shirt and tying around my new bullet hole; we continued until we hit what appeared to be the final carriage, this was a permanent structure, rather than a set up in a cabin attached to the train, we bolted through the door and stopped dead in our tracks.
The room was a laboratory, lining the walls and on tables, strapped down in a maze of tubes and pumps were the oddest collection of Meta humans we had ever seen.