Between Shadows (Shadows Saga bk2)

Chapter 16- Crisis Mode

Mara had been sitting in the dark for ten minutes, and she hadn't heard a single sound the entire time. She tried to keep herself calm, making sure to take deep breaths and focus on anything else but the fact that she was locked in a dark, tiny car on a train that had suddenly stopped running. 

Biting her nails nervously Mara thought about using her phone to call someone to see if they could possibly find out something. When she pulled the phone out though she saw something she hadn't seen before in the Magical Realm.

She had no service. 

Mara was completely detached from the rest of the world. She could try to break through the window of the train, but she assumed the glass was reinforced and nearly indestructible. Even if she could break through the glass, where would she go? She didn't remember seeing a single town, village, or house since they had cleared the werewolf kingdom. And at the rate they had been traveling, and with how long Mara had possibly been unconscious the kingdom could be many miles away. Much too far to reach on foot. 

Just then she could hear them, the screams coming from the other cars. Mara's breathing quickened again as the panic and fear laced through the shrieks of pain. She checked the doors again, knowing there was a gap between her car and the next. If she could get out then she could run for it. 

But would it really be a good idea to test her luck on foot? Mara had no idea what it was causing the panic. What if it's a fire? Mara wondered. The sound of the train hadn’t seemed natural; at least she didn't think it had been a normal train sound. And she couldn't tell which direction the screams were coming from. It was entirely possible that something had caught fire and that's what had caused the train to stop. 

If that were the case, then why was it silent until just a moment ago? 

If that were the case, then why are both of the doors locked? 

The small voice in the back of her mind kept asking her these questions. The more questions it thought of, the less sure she was that it was a fire. 

The screams stopped and Mara stayed perfectly silent, straining her ears trying to hear any sound at all. 

She could faintly make out the sound of whimpering. It was soon followed by the sound of wolves growling and more screaming. Mara smacked her head in realization of how stupid she had been. 

"I'm a witch for crying out loud. I'm not trapped!" She picked the side she thought the screams were coming from and took a deep breath before grabbing the handle to the door. She saw the door opening in her head, and a moment later the material door obeyed her will. Mara stood there thinking only a moment longer about what she intended to do. She then jumped onto the platform of the next car and made her way inside. 

There was a large group of people huddled together. Everyone jumped at her entrance, a few women squeaked in fear, and she could see children hiding under the seats. She knew they heard the screams too, though it was impossible not to. They were twice as loud in that car. 

Mara quickly made her way towards the other end of the car, making sure she didn't step on anyone. She tried to look through the small window to see what was going on in the car next to theirs. The moment her eyes focused on the other car, a splash of blood sprayed across the inside of the window of the next car over. 

Mara jumped back but tried to remain calm. She knew if she had any hope of getting these people out, she couldn't let them know what was going on over there. Not that she even knew what was going on, but it wasn't anything good. 

She thought back to the first time she had snuck out of the school with Marx and Trixle to go to Dorinyaka, and the spell she had accidently cast to make them invisible. She then turned towards the crowd, making her voice sound as even as possible.