Frozen in Time - Rescue
Part X - A Necessary Detour
The three stayed in the Priest Hole until Melanie could count to a hundred without hearing anything outside the door. While she was waiting, Melanie laid out her plan to Alex and Hes of how they were going to move through the train, cycling between the tunnels and Priest Holes along the way.
When Melanie reached one hundred without any sounds outside, the small space they were in fell into utter silence as they all listened carefully once more to the sounds outside. Melanie's greatest fear was that Wilford would leave a few guards at the forge. But as she went over the idea, she began to become less and less convinced he would do so, since it simply wasn't logical. Wilford thought they were trying to escape Big Alice. Staying close to the engine was about as far as they could get from Snowpiercer. She figured at this point Wilford had likely become fairly certain they were working their way towards the border and concentrate his efforts to stop them there rather than thinking they would be less than just a few meters from the forge. But all of it worked well into her plans as she finally opened the door a small crack and looked up and down the corridor before quickly ushering the other two out.
Her greatest concern at this point was Hes. While crafty and as cunning as Layton had warned her he could be, the one thing she had never known him to be without being directly assaulted by someone, was violent. Certainly he could be loud and intimidating when he wanted to, but his attack on Wilford was simply something she would never had expected the blacksmith to be capable of.
But Melanie also understood Hes' need for revenge. What Wilford had done to him was about the worse thing possible in Hes' eyes. Wilford had taken away from him his full ability to work the forge. To create his masterpieces, or just contribute to the survival of those on Snowpiercer. Over the past several weeks Hes had begun to become more and more a part of the daily operations of Snowpiercer. And as he mixed with others on the train and made additional friends, and as Melanie had promised, his responsibilities grew, he began to feel much more an integral part of those operations. He had even been given a seat on the council by Layton, since much of what he did directly effected every person on the train.
Although he hadn't mentioned the injury even once, she knew the loss of his hand had hurt him, and not just physically. Unable to work in his forge with the precision he was used to simply wouldn't be acceptable to him. Like separating her from her engine, the man would likely lose his purpose.
It was for this reason she had made a slight alteration in their plans to leave Big Alice.
She already knew first hand the pain of frostbite.
She also knew there were two people on Big Alice who seemed to know the cure for it.
Silently weaving their way through the corridors, Melanie never stopped looking for signs that told her where the next Priest Hole or tunnel would be located.
Alex had actually helped her find the last three tunnels they had used to move more securely towards their new destination. When asked how she knew about the tunnels, Alex had laughed softly, saying growing up on Big Alice was boring sometimes, and she used to investigate around a lot. It was on one such expedition she had accidentally tripped and hit the panel of one of the tunnels, opening it. It had taken her a week to figure out how to get the door open.
Melanie had asked her cautiously if Wilford ever found out about the tunnels. The teenager laughed again, saying she used them to escape punishments over the years. She would stay hidden in the tunnels until Wilford was more worried about where she was then remembering her transgression.
Melanie moved them along as fast as she could. Alex had questioned once why they weren't headed directly for the boarder, pointing out the corridor they were in was not taking them in that direction. Melanie had simply told her daughter to trust her. That she would get them off of Big Alice.
Quickly locating a Priest Hole that connected to a side tunnel, Melanie took the lead through the ice cold tunnel.
Behind her Hes lumbered along the cramped tunnel, with Alex following close behind.
Judging their location by how far they had traveled and the direction, Melanie stopped them in another Priest Hole and allowed them to take a short break.
Turning to Hes in the glow of the flashlight, Melanie side stepped asking him again what had happened to Wilford and instead asked him how he had gotten out of the room. Surely with Wilford screaming for his guards, and being closest to him, Hes stood a good chance of being captured.
The blacksmith shook his head. "Had help." He replied softly.
"Help?" Melanie asked in surprise.
Hes nodded. "Not sure who. Person only said number. Then told me to get to door and go right. Led me to where you and daughter were."
"Number?" Melanie suddenly asked. "What number? Do you remember it?"
Hes thought for a moment. "5847490B." He replied.
"B." Melanie repeated. "So that was our second contact."
"Contact?"
"There are people on Big Alice who are helping us." Melanie quickly explained to both of them. Each one identifies themselves by that number and a letter, 'A' through 'E'. This was 'B'."
Hes shook his head. "Never saw anyone. Just heard voice."
Melanie gave the information a slight nod. "That seems to be the way they operate. At least with us. They don't want to be seen."
Hes returned the nod. "Smart. If we are captured, can not identify any of them."
"Just the same," Melanie answered with a small smile, "let's try not to get captured."
Melanie kept them in the Priest Hole for several more minutes before venturing to the next door leading to an outside corridor. She quietly listened for any sound outside the door, but finally satisfied, she turned back to Alex and Hes.
"Our location should put us close to the Headwood's lab." She stated as she turned to Hes. "If we encounter someone, we may need to stop them from alerting anyone."
While Hes gave a short nod of understanding, Alex grabbed her mother's sleeve. "The Headwood's lab?" She stated. "That's nowhere near the border, mom."
Melanie paused for a moment as she cast a quick glance at Hes. She knew how he would likely react to her real reason, so she tried to cover it with another.
"The Headwood's may be a bit...questionable in some of the things they do, but I know first hand what their cure for frostbite can do. Our own doctors are nowhere near replicating their results. Another chance like this may never come our way again. If I can just get a small container of their gel, we could likely duplicate it that way. It's worth the risk to try."
This time Hes reached out and grabbed her arm with his good hand.
"Nay!" He stated.
"Hes..."
But the man stood firm. "Nay! Think Hes is truly dimwitted? Not going to lab just to get cure." He stated, holding his other hand up to her. "Are going for THIS. But one hand is not worth three lives!"
"And I already know what being able to work in your forge means to you, Hes." She replied just as firmly.
"Am not useless." The blacksmith stated in a less than convincing manner to Melanie's ears. "Can still teach. Guide others."
Melanie gave him a small smile. "But it wouldn't be the same, Hes. Any more than it would be for me if I could only spend the rest of my days on the train just teaching. And it isn't a lie. We're close to the lab already. And getting that cure would mean a lot to the people of Snowpiercer. It's worth the risk to try."
Hes paused for several moments, but then gave her a slight nod, though Melanie could tell he still wasn't happy with her decision.
Listening once more, Melanie cracked the doorway open a hair. The action only gave her a view of one direction in the hallway, but it also allowed her a clearer check for any sounds.
Satisfied the hallway was clear, Melanie pushed the doorway open the rest of the way and the three entered the deserted hallway. Signaling for them to follow, she quickly began leading them down the hallway. Her own body relished the warmth that now surrounded them. While it wasn't exactly comfortable, it was a definite improvement from the tunnel they had been in, and the temptation to stop and simply soak in the warmer feeling was almost overpowering.
Hurrying along the hallway, Melanie suddenly stopped as the sounds of footsteps approached them. Turning to the other two, Melanie quickly began looking for an escape route. But she suddenly felt a firm grip on her arm pull her back along with Alex and they both found themselves seconds later shoved down a smaller hallway off to the side that they had just past.
Hes quickly positioned himself in front of them, just a few scant feet from the entrance.
As the sound grew closer, Melanie clearly made out two sets of footsteps. But thankfully the two people in the corridor seemed to have their attention more focused on their conversation rather than on any side passages. But as they passed the corridor, Melanie held her breath as she thought she noticed the slightest hesitancy in the man walking on the outside, furthest from the corridor opening. She slowly let out the breath as the sound of the steps continued down the corridor, but it caught in her throat again as one of the men bid his companion goodbye, stating he had to check other areas per his assigned area.
The other man continued on, but Melanie could clearly hear the first returning down the corridor. To her surprise, the man stopped in what sounded to her like just inches from the corridor opening.
And so a silent standoff of sorts began. Melanie tried reasoning out why the man was just standing there, not doing anything. But she she kept getting distracted by Hes, who she could literally feel was priming himself up for a fight as he stood guard in front of them.
But after several tense minutes, Melanie suddenly heard a voice in the corridor.
"5847490C" Was all it said.
With a sigh of relief, Melanie pushed past Hes, heading for the opening of the hallway they were in. But a pole suddenly inserted itself in front of her from the side, keeping the man out of her line of sight.
"What are you doing here?" The man asked.
Melanie answered in a way that she felt didn't give away too much of their plans. "We're trying to get off the train."
The man didn't appear to be buying it. "Wilford thinks you're headed for the border and is concentrating security there. Why are you 'here'?"
Melanie gave a small sigh. "We were headed to the Headwood's lab."
The man paused before answering. "Why there?"
Melanie paused herself this time, unsure of how much to tell the man. But he was a contact, and the others had helped them up to this point. Maybe this man would, too.
"One of us is injured..."
"The blacksmith got his hand frozen. I know this. Why are you going to the la..." But the man stopped suddenly. "You want the cure they developed for frostbite." He quickly reasoned out.
"Hes' hand is very badly burned. We need that gel or he could risk losing the hand completely."
The man fell silent for several moments. But a loud, long sigh proceeded his answer, letting Melanie know he didn't approve of her decision.
"All right. I can clear this area for you for about thirty minutes. That's when the other guard will have made his rounds and we have to meet up again. The lab is just up the corridor. No one should be around. Get in and get out, Ms. Cavill. If you're caught, I won't help you further."
All Melanie could manage as she watched the pole withdraw was a quiet "Thank you."
But the pole suddenly shot back at them, this time solidly smacking the wall. "Just get off this train!" The man warned them.
The pole quickly withdraw and Melanie listened as the man walked off down the corridor.
"The guard said the lab wasn't much further down the corridor." She stated, turning quickly to her daughter.
Alex gave a quick nod to affirm the information, then pointed past her mother up the corridor in the direction of the lab.
Starting down the corridor again, Melanie could feel her relief growing with every step they took closer to the lab. All she had to do was find the gel to take with them back to Snowpiercer and they could be on their way to freedom.