Torment

Survival

We followed Curtis in silence, the only sound was the echo of our footsteps. As we travelled through more carriages the lavish lifestyle of the front section passengers became apparent. Yona had made her way by Curtis's side, her clairvoyant skills a benefit to us all. We walked down a red and gold decorated hallway, beside us were mahogany doors, obviously leading to first-class sleeping quarters. I reached around my back, grabbing my rucksack. I pulled it in front of me, unzipping it and rummaging inside. We were low on bandages; they were the only few supplies I had left. I dug further into the bag, stopping as my fingers brushed cool metal. I pulled out the axe I had used during the battle yesterday. I gripped the wooden handle; glad I hadn't actually misplaced my weapon as I thought. I slung my rucksack onto my back as I gritted my teeth.

As we continued to march forward a bell boy working in the carriage shouted towards us. Before he could argue Yona demanded he opened the door. The boy did as he was told, putting in a code on the nearby keypad. Yona's actions were rewarded with a Kronole block from Curtis's coat pocket. We walked through the door and soon began passing more rooms owned by the rich. One lady was seated by her window, peeling an apple as she read. We also passed a dentist and tailor, all luxuries we thought had gone extinct. Soon we came to a much more open carriage. Inside was a two-tier bar. Women with heavy makeup, dressed in fur, sat drinking martins, we walked past them, all eyes on us.

After walking up some stairs, a beautiful spa room greeted us. Women were seated, dressed in silk golden robes, their hair and nails being looked to by beauticians. I looked away as the gorgeous women stared at us, what I would've given to be in that seat over the last 18 years. As we continued through the train, we entered a room filled with small shallow pools, obviously an extension from the spa. Big windows, from floor to ceiling, acted as walls from the cold outside. Looking briefly to my left I noticed that the train was currently passing over a circular piece of track. It allowed me to see much of the lower section of the train. The Snowpiercer was enormous, the carriages continued for miles. As I was staring, the sudden smashing of glass pulled me from my thoughts. Yona's screams brought my attention to the commotion. Bullets were cascading in from the window behind her. Small holes created by a gun's fire indicated that someone was shooting at us from one of the carriages further back. We all took cover, hiding behind the small structures in between the rooms windows.

There was nothing I could do, without a gun I wasn't able to fight back, but Curtis on the other hand could. He stood boldly in front of the glass. Bullets ricocheted off of the window he stood behind but due to their immense thickness, they barely made a dent. Curtis began firing his own gun. By shooting in the same place continuously he created a small hole out to the frozen world. The sounds of guns firing filled the air. I looked at the others in a panic. Seeing Nam holding onto Yona desperately I decided to crawl my way across the floor to them. I didn't know if she'd been hit or if the smashing glass had injured her.

"Are you hurt!" I shouted over the gunfire, pulling my backpack in front of me, and dropping my axe to the floor. Yano pulled away from her father and shook her head. I sighed thankfully, putting the rucksack back and grabbing my axe. I stood up, noticing the new chill in the air thanks to the bullet holes. Soon empty noises came from the gun in Curtis's hand. He lowered his weapon staring at the carriage where the gunfire had come from. No bullets were coming from the enemy either, they must have been reloading. Curtis scanned the room for me, I could tell he was checking me over for wounds as he reached into his pocket and reloaded his gun with the last remaining magazine. "Curtis, shouldn't we keep moving? You're not making a dent!" I stated truthfully. "No, I have to protect you, Hazel, I have to protect all of us," Curtis answered, pulling the gun up to his head, breathing heavily as he closed his eyes, willing himself on.

Curtis quickly aimed back at the shooter and shot one singular bullet. He was greeted with one himself. It stopped inches from his face thanks to the glass. Curtis pulled his gun down realising I was correct; this wasn't going to stop our assailant. Curtis looked to Nam and indicated towards the next door. He and his daughter rushed forward, playing with the control panel to open them. Curtis stood in front of me, gun aimed to the last set of doors we walked through, he wasn't taking any chances. As Grey, I, Tanya, Nam and Yona stood by the door waiting for them to open, bullets hitting the door behind us caused Tanya to scream. Her actions made me jump, but I knew it was only a matter of time before the man in the suit made it through those doors. As if on cue, Nam opened the doors closest to us, sealing our fate. We all bundled through, panicking as Nam shut them behind us.

I took a deep breath, clutching my axe as I learnt against the door. Safe for now. Curtis gripped my free hand. "Hazel," he began. "We can do this, we just have to keep breathing, keep moving, keep surviving." I nodded silently, following his lead as we left the doors, hearing the suited man and his men approach the door from the other side. The truth was, I didn't know what to do any more. I didn't have a gun, I had no useful medical supplies, I'd lost my dearest friends, and now I was currently running away from extremely dangerous men and hoping Curtis, the love of my life didn't die in front of me. This whole thing was just fucked, if I and the other tail sectioners were never treated like shit then there would never have been this revolt or the ones prior. Blood wouldn't have been shed and lives wouldn't have been lost. This was all on Wilford's hands, money, and greed ruins humanity, it's happened many times over the history of man, and it will continue until our extinction.