The countdown on the bright monitor at the front of the car clicks down, one second at a time.
30 seconds until departure.
I suck in a deep breath and watch the doors. Any second, someone will find me, drag me away, and lock me back in the hospital. They're going to brainwash and experiment on me. Then...I will kill my family.
My heart drops when a man and a woman, dressed in white Elite suits, appear in the doorway. They glance up and down the car.
No.
After a moment, they take seats near the front.
15 seconds until departure.
A burning spreads through my lungs, aching every muscle in my legs and arms. Sweat drips down my nose and onto my knees, as my eyes flash between the monitor and the doors.
My heart pounds in sync with each flashing number. The world slows down, each second lasting an eternity.
5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
No one.
The doors slide closed and I release my breath.
Is it over? Am I free?
The train begins to move, slowly at first, through the station. The world just outside the window starts to blur. Light suddenly disappears as we leave Cronus and plunge into the mountain.
A cry escapes my lips. I cover my mouth.
My family, the Sectors, the world is safe. For now.
Nick's bombs did the trick. Nick's bombs...
My body goes cold as I imagine it, him, destroying our home.
The kiss, his willingness to do anything to protect me, and the bombs leave a new mark on him, like one of his Vaughn-induced scars. The cheery, tooth-gapped, street kid I knew growing up vanishes as someone else takes his place.
Guilt begins to swirl with fear. He helped me, because I screwed up and didn't follow my instincts. Not even Vaughn can save him from Cronus. No one can.
I'm sorry Nick Larsen.
My thoughts fall silent as the train sways and shifts, navigating countless kilometers under the mountain. It jerks me around as I rest my chin on my knees and stare at the streaks of green lights lining the aisle. Just the green streaks and the bright monitor glow against the darkness.
I remember when Cameron made this trip with me. He, Nick, Diego and I sat in this very car, talking, laughing and eating. The world changed in less than a year. And now, all three of them are back there, in the aftermath of the hell I left behind. Swallowing the knot in my throat, I force my thoughts to other things.
No emotion. Not now.
Exhaustion weighs heavily on me, but my muscles won't relax. They feel stiff and tight, ready for anything, as my heart keeps pounding.
All it'll take is one sighting of me in that lobby, and this train goes back to the station.
We make one last shift before sunlight pours in through the windows. I squint, turning and lifting my head just high enough to peek outside. An endless landscape of deserted and toxic land stretches beyond the horizon. We're out of the Capital City, but this is still technically Cronus territory.
The neon blue symbols flash on the monitor.
San Francisco, Limon: 4 hours and 26 minutes until arrival.
YOU ARE READING
CRONUS
Science Fiction[5X FEATURED] After discovering she's been turned into a cyborg assassin by her government, Ray Lovas - a sixteen-year-old fighter with impulsive anger problems - must survive in the enemy country, The Mhinto Empire, to save her family and keep the...
