The rogue flung backward and hit the floor, a small round hole dug between his brows.
Idalia's grip around Arik tightened as she scurried away from the door from which a man in leather shoes, long jacket, and a hat - all black, emerged.
He had that metallic weapon in his hand.
By Argon, he had a gun!
Different from the ones the policemen in the Cider District carry.
He must be one of the warriors from the Midline.
A menacing growl drew her attention back to the chaos, and her hand hit something as she crawled back to her feet.
Her knife.
She grabbed it, sprang to her feet, and hurried past the man into the next coach, only to find it empty.
What?
She could hear voices in the next coach, low whispers,
This place must have been cleared out, probably by that man.
By Argon!
He must know what they were; he must be here to kill them all.
Her head began to spin.
She turned back hurriedly and saw the rogue in the other coach, moving quickly in a zig-zag manner across the walls, the roof, and the floor towards the man with a gun. He swiftly pulled out another weapon from his jacket and fired a shot right into the rogue's chest.
He dropped to the floor with a thud, and this time, he seemed to be dead.
Idalia let out a gasp.
Grandpa Alfred was right about the guns. It could kill them so easily, and right now, in these two coaches, there was only them: crying Arik, her, and the man with a gun.
They were next.
Fear spiralled in her veins, and she jammed her hand on the red, unresponsive exit button as the man turned to her.
"Please open this door, please help us. HELP MY BABY!"
The lights were still flickering, and every time she looked back, he seemed to be closer to her than she estimated he would be.
Madly, she banged her hand against the door, as a gut-wrenching cry rang out from the depths of her throat, her breath hot against her face due to her mask. "OPEN THIS DOOR! PLEASE!"
No response.
Still.
She sucked in a breath, turned sharply to him, and pointed her knife at him, her hands trembling and her eyes fogging with tears in fear that of all the enemies she had encountered tonight, this might just be the one she couldn't save Arik from.
He pointed his guns at her just as quickly.
The air seemed to go still.
Tension grew.
Light flickering.
Arik crying.
He had been crying for way too long. Her poor son. And she couldn't do anything about it, not right now.
Her hands tightened around the knife, tears running down her cheeks, her other hand firmly shielding Arik with her bags as much as she could.
Then slowly and cautiously, with his eyes pinned on her, he gently placed his guns on the floor at either side of him, as far out of his reach as possible.
Idalia frowned.
What?
Oh, of course. He must want them alive and intact for their cruel science. That must be it. He would still attack her to subdue her; there must be more weapons in his jacket.
He took a step forward, and she took a step back, her back hitting the door.
Trapped.
Her hand tightened around her knife, her whole body trembling, her heart pounding.
He stopped, pulled off his jacket, tossed it aside, and raised his hands in a form of surrender.
A second passed in the stillness.
Two.
Three.
Ding!
The door to the exit pulled open, not to the other coach…but outside the train!
Without a second thought, Idalia dashed outside into the crowd of emergency responders at the station, as they poured into the train.
While she kept running, she looked back to see if she was being followed or stopped, but she saw no sign of that. Before she could heave a sigh of relief, though, she felt eyes on her and her attention instinctively jerked back to the train's door. There the stranger was, standing eerily still with his hands in his coat's pocket. Although his hat still cast a shadow over his eyes, she knew he was looking right at her.
She could feel it.
A chill ran down her spine, and she took a sharp turn to another direction of the train station where his gaze couldn't follow.
What was that?
He hadn't stopped her from leaving the train.
He hadn't even tried, and only a moment ago, he had just watched her run away.
What was going on?
More importantly, who exactly was he beyond just being a warrior from the Midline?
What could he be playing at?
By Argon, that didn't matter. None of that did. She just had to make sure not to fall into the hands of Alpha Kalio's searchers and never to meet the man with the gun again.
That was all.
"Welcome to BuyNow, the largest supermarket in Centra-City! All you want is right here, so what are you waiting for? Buy now!" The overhead announcement said the moment she stepped into the train station's supermarket, louder than Arik's sniffling and lower than the gentle music playing out of the speakers.
Centra-City?!
They were in Centra-city and not in Ashfield?
The train must have made an emergency stop then.
That would have brought a smile to her face before, but now that she knew that the searchers were heading out to every nook and crook of Outer Metro to find them, nowhere felt safe anymore.
Except, perhaps, Echelon.
But getting tho that part of Valmere was impossible.
Ah, this was such a pickle.
She grabbed a shopping basket from the stack and moved rapidly between the aisles, along different shelves of colourful goods, and past many customers.
Good.
A crowded place was the best for them right now.
Finally, at the end of an aisle, she swiftly pulled off her coat, checked on Arik to ensure he wasn't hurt, then strapped him back against her while she breastfed him. Her whole body ached, and her hand especially stung with pain from the knife's cut, but time wasn't on her side to take care of herself yet; she had to get back on the run as soon as possible.
Some customers had been so kind as to inform her about the safest, closest, and most affordable hotel to stay for the night after she had earned their sympathy with her practiced lie and the presence of a baby. Armed with that information and with Arik now sleeping soundly against her, she dashed out of the Supermarket, took to the road, and headed to the Casa hotel.
There were high buildings on either side of the street, colourful lights from different shops and restaurants, along with the yellow street lights lit the night, the honkings of cars on wide roads, chatter of passerbys, and laughter of people filled the air, colliding with the different aromas of food.
Centra-city was more beautiful than Grandpa Alfred said it was; it was filled with a different kind of life that Cider District did not have.
For a moment, she breathed in peace amidst her chaos.
Another car was parking close to the sidewalk.
There were so many cars in Centra-city, and many kept parking close to the sidewalks that she no longer flinched at the sight of them. Her gaze was fixed on the Casa hotel, which was a small distance away now.
Her heart raced.
With relief?
Fear?
She couldn't even tell.
She just needed a break.
Just then, she found herself in an embrace, with a needle buried in her arm. She yanked herself away from the man whose face held not a trace of familiarity, her hand swiping over where she had felt the invasion to find nothing there.
"Let's go home. I'm sorry, okay? I won't forget our anniversary again."
What?
"Get away." She wanted to yell, but her words came out in a slur.
What?!
What was going on?
"Oh, my love, you are drinking again?"
Her legs were beginning to feel too weak, and her mouth was disobeying her orders to speak; images were beginning to blur, and her head was starting to feel very heavy.
He had done something to her!
No!
No!
The man carried her in his arms and effortlessly settled her into the black car. She kicked and screamed in her mind, and physically, she could do nothing.
Her body was consumed by what had been injected into her to paralyze it, and though she fought a thousand battles to stay awake and struggle for Arik not to be taken away from her —for them to escape this stranger, she lost every one of them.
Unconsciousness seized her, and the car began to move.