The Dragon Warrior

Chapter 2

Emma had noticed too. She turned to Noah, alarm clearly defined in every feature of her face. "You can't get on that train. He'll rip you to pieces."

Noah sighed. "I know, but every train we wait for there'll just be more men."

"So we won't go on a train!"

"We have to! Our home was sold!" Noah scowled. He glanced towards the back of the train. There were no men in the caboose.

"Look," he said to his sister. "There's no one in the back car. We can hide in the boxes."

"Noah. He'll find you. We have to leave, now."

"No! I'm done running away from things!"

"Noah, there are some things you must run away from!"

Her eyes softened. She hugged him, wrapping her lanky arms around his slim frame. As she did, she whispered in his ear. "I'll go. But it's your fault if we get killed." She rolled her eyes over his shoulder. Her brother could be very stubborn if he wanted to, and sometimes with stubbornness came stupidity.

This being agreed, they turned to drag the matron along, but they found she wasn't there. They looked all over for her, craning their necks and standing on their toes to peep over the heads of the crowd.

Emma had keen eyes, and she finally spotted the matron. About to get on the main entrance of the train.

Noah rolled his eyes. "How she ever got that job, I don't know," he muttered as he started to weave through the crowd, following his sister.

Then he thought of the strange-eyed man. He was still watching them, still looking amused. Noah supposed he thought they had come to the conclusion they had to get on this train. He smiled inwardly. And then he had a thought.

They were nearing the middle of the crowd now, avoiding people's toes, mumbling quick thank yous as they navigating their way through the bustling masses. He grabbed Emma's arm.

"We don't have to tell her. He doesn't know we're with her, she hasn't been near us the whole time."

Emma considered this. "So what do we do?"

"Follow the plan. We'll get off at the same place."

"What will she think we're doing?"

"I don't know, ransacking the pantry? Come on, we'll make it look like we're going towards the exit."

They turned around and started heading the same way they came, saying thank you to the same people they had passed on their way forward.

Once they got near enough to the entrance not to be seen from the train, they changed course and began heading to the balcony attached to the caboose. Noah had one last fleeting glimpse of the strange-eyed man. He was leaving, presumably going towards the exit to meet his henchmen. That was the first time Noah saw him. But it wouldn't be the last.

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They crept towards the back of the train stealthily, glancing behind them as they went. Emma took the lead, peering around corners and swinging herself over the railing first.