Chapter Five: Derailment Part Two
The door shut behind Rebecca with a resounding click. Unlike the previous passenger car, this one was darker than the former and relatively quieter. Rebecca didn't spot any zombies tumbling in the aisle or between the seats. Though there was still that sound—a wet sound.
Rebecca took a step forward, handgun tight within her grasp. As her eyes adjusted to the dimness, she noticed a body hunched over another in the aisle toward the back of the car. The zombie's head shook, bending down and gnawing on the corpse beneath it.
Oh, my God, she thought. They're eating one another!
Rebecca raised a hand to her mouth, though she wasn't sure if it was to stop the scream bubbling in her the throat or the vomit threatening to rise from her stomach. The zombie froze. Rebecca raised her gun. Aim for the head, she thought. Nevertheless, she couldn't bury the guilt welling within her. This isn't some kind of mutated leech-thing—this used to be a human being.
The creature rose. It wore a bulletproof vest with the S.T.A.R.S. logo stitched onto the back. Rebecca gasped.
"Edward…no…" she said. Her stomach churned, and the threat of vomiting was renewed. Edward turned, arms outstretched. Thick, black blood dripped from his mouth and ran down his chin. A gray hue tinted his face, and his eyes were sunk in and white. A low moan came from his gaping maw. "Please," Rebecca said.
Her body shook. Edward stumbled forward, making no sign that he heard her plea, let alone understood it. Rebecca raised her gun again, though the crosshairs kept jumping around.
"No," she said. "Don't come any closer." Still, Edward lumbered forward. He stood a few feet away, so she could smell the sick scent of death clinging to him like cologne. Rebecca shut her eyes and fired.
A BANG erupted from the firearm. Something slump to the flood. Rebecca stood there for a minute—eyes shut, trembling, and gun still raised. Her legs wobbled, and before she could stop herself, Rebecca fell to her knees. The pain of the impact forced her eyes open.
Red. Dark, thick red. It was all Rebecca saw those first few seconds. Her eyes followed the puddle up to the source—the head in which it drained.
"I'm s..so…sorry," she muttered through sobs. Her limbs felt too heavy. Everything that had happened that night crashed down, and its weight threatened to crush her. I just murdered him—No. It was a mercy killing. Even with this thought, it was hard for her to swallow. Rebecca could still hear Edward's voice in her head, but it came from a far-off place—as though spoken in a time past than of an hour or two ago.
The puddle of blood edged itself closer to her knees, and Rebecca fell backward.
I'm not ready for this, she thought. Mom was right.
'You're not your father,' her mother used to say. Rebecca tightened her fists. She grabbed the armrest of the nearest seat and hoist herself up. Edward's body still filled her vision. She had hardly known him. Did he have family back in Raccoon? Friends? How many will miss him when the team returns?
If we return…
Rebecca stiffened and raised her chin, despite how fragile she felt. She checked her magazine. Fourteen more bullets-only one used…She shoved the chamber back into the handgun. The sound of metal against metal was lost under the sound of the rumble of the train.
The rain stung Billy's face. The scorpion snapped its claw, as though taunting him. Billy's knees remained locked, afraid a movement would incite the creature to attack. The standoff remained for several seconds before the scorpion gave a terrible shriek. It reared its body and charged forward. Billy raised his handgun, firing a round into the creature's flat head.
The bullet hit it square center. Another cry came from the scorpion as it bucked once again, flailing its arms about. Billy's eyes darted to the opening to the control room behind the creature. If only he could sneak past it while it was dazed-however, the scorpion righted its self. It lowered its head and tucked it behind its pinchers. Billy kept firing, but the bullets bounced off the creature's claws.
Click. Billy pulled the trigger again, but all that would come from the handgun was the same disheartening click.
"Shit," he muttered. The creature darted forward with its claws still protecting its face. It slammed into Billy with enough force to send him flying back and tumbling over the roof. The handgun flew from his hand and clattered across the roof until it slid off into the passing forest.
Billy thrashed as he tried to stay on top of the train, legs dangling over the side. His torso ached from the strike. Still, he tucked the pain away. Not now, he thought, clawing his way back to the center of the roof. The scorpion howled, raising its pinchers as though in victory. After a minute of crawling, Billy stood, clutching his side. There had to be some weakness to it…some way to get past—
Between the roof of the car and the underside of the creature's body was at least a foot of open space. The scorpion's six legs twitched—as though eager to attack once again.
Adrenaline flowed through him, warming his body despite the cold of the storm. Billy gritted his teeth and ran. The creature grew closer and closer. It seemed to know it, for it revealed its face and drew back its left pincher. Billy dived. The pincher darted forward, snapping shut just centimeters above his back. Billy hit the metal, and the momentum carried him over the slick roof until he came to rest a few feet behind the scorpion.
The creature turned its body to and fro, looking for its escaped victim. Billy's feet pounded against the roof as he darted toward the opening to the control room. The scorpion gave a howl that echoed in the night air. By the time it turned around, Billy already dropped into the room below. He darted back to the cabinet where the shotgun lay just where he and Rebecca first found it. He snatched it, and then rammed two rounds into it.
"Billy," a voice said through static. Billy glanced around. There was no one else in the room. "Billy," the voice said again before he realized that it was Rebecca on the walkie-talkie. He snatched the device off his waistband.
"I'm a little busy at the moment, Dollface," he said.
"I've disengaged the rear brake," she said. "Whenever you're ready."
Maybe the sudden stop will force it off. The thought struck him so quickly that it made him stagger. Billy tried to remember if scorpions (let alone one the size of a car) stuck to surfaces. He ran toward the leaver. Just as he drew within arm's reach of it, a shadow passed over the windshield. Billy dove back just as thick shards of glass rained down. One of the massive pinchers snapped open and close within the opening. Billy crawled back, shotgun still within his grasp.
The scorpion's claw reached in, extending nearly half of the small room. Its cry filled the room as it struggled to keep its body wedged in the tight space. Though, because of the narrow opening, the creature had minimal movement—leaving it wide open.
Billy smirked. He took aim and fired. The gun recoiled into his shoulder as the buckshot hit squarely in the creature's flat head. It shrieked once again as the impact blasted it out of its position. It tumbled over the face of the train but snagged the edge of the shattered windshield. The scorpion's body pounded against the train's side like a ragdoll against the wind.
"Coen!" Rebecca's squeaky voice yelled through the walkie-talkie. Billy leaped for the emergency lever and turned it.
The Ecliptic Express rattled down the track. The wheels bounced up slightly with every hit. Sparks flew from beneath as the emergency brake engaged. The tracks split into two paths, and the train continued down the right track. Not only trees whipped past, but now wooden sentry towers. The Ecliptic Express turned the bend, and there stood the barricaded entrance to a service tunnel. The train crashed through. One last screech carried up into the night as the scorpion hit the side of the tunnel's threshold, and its motionless body rolled off into the forest.
The track ended with a smaller barricade—this one made of steel and braced into the ground. Wheels lift as it collided. With a groan, the front car tipped, arching up for a moment before crashing down on its side. The train ground against the concrete ground for several feet, before it finally came to a rest.