•Tombstone• Brothers Under The Sun

Chapter 50

𝓐 𝓽𝓻𝓪𝓲𝓷 𝓻𝓲𝓭𝓮 𝓽𝓸 𝓗𝓮𝓵𝓵.

"The bridge can't hold the train at this speed!" Elle yelled as the wind blew around the fast moving train.

"We've got to get to Ash at the back!" Doc yelled back.

"No!" Elle stopped for a moment, "We can't let these people die!"

"Elle," Doc moved closer to her, "If we don't get off this train now, we won't ever make it to Colorado!"

Ellanora hesitated. There were innocent people on this train. She couldn't stand by and let them die.

"Go get Ash, move with the train and meet me at the very front!" Elle yelled before turning and forcing her body to go against the wind.

"Elle!" Doc yelled after her, his coughing fit returned.

Elle marched towards the front of the train as the wind went against her, trying to stop her from going any further. She saw in the corner of her eye, the robbers, jumping off the train and into the wagon of fellow men waiting by. They pulled away from the train as it continued to shoot down the track.

Gun shot rang from behind her causing her to stumble forward and lay on the train. Turning around, she saw two lawmen on top of the train, on the next caboose back. She didn't see Doc, so she was hopeful the men had not seen him.

The lawmen fired at her as she drew her gun. She didn't want to shot to kill, just to injury to slow them down. Ellanora started to aim for the arms and legs. But the wind was not her friend. It was hard to keep her hand steady when the wind was blowing on her back.

Giving up on shooting, she turned back around and got to her feet, she continued on her way up the train as the lawmen were close on her tail.

She jumped down between the two cabooses and hid herself in the sheltered part to wait for the men to jump down with her. One jumped down, his boots slamming on the metal below him. His back was turned to Elle but she took the opportunity to kick him in the back, causing him to stumble. She pulled him by the collar and pushed him into the nearby caboose. She slammed the door close and pulled a metal pole from the outside and put it through the doors handle.

Elle then peered up at the top and didn't see the other law men. Suddenly she was pulled up by her own collar and pushed onto the top of the train. Her clothes slid on the metal top that was cold from the night air. Her body dangled off the side of the train as the lawmen came closer to her.

Ellanora held on to the edge of the caboose as the lawmen pulled out his gun to arrest her. But her grip was slipping. She couldn't hold on much longer.

A gun shot fired through the air, making Elle close her eyes in anticipation for the bullet to pierce her skin. A thud sounded next to her as the lawmen fell to the metal with a bullet in his head. Elle looked behind her and saw Doc Holliday riding Ash, his pistol drawn with smoke blowing out of it.

Elle smiled to herself as Doc raced Ash closer to the train. Once the horse was close enough, Elle jumped from the side of the train and grabbed the edge of the saddle as Ash continued to run with the train. Doc reached his hand out and she grabbed it to steady herself up on the back of the horse.

"We've got to stop the train!" Elle said.

Doc urged Ash to run faster and beat the train. The train was already going faster, but Ash was even faster. Passing the last few cabooses, they made it to the front. The bridge wasn't too far away now, meaning they had to stop the train now.

Elle climbed up on the back of the saddle and waited for Doc to get Ash closer to the open front of the train. Elle breathing heavily now, she took a leap of faith, wind blowing her hat off and into the valley behind them. Her hands caught the side of the steps up to the control room. Her left hand slipped as she struggled to stay onto the grip she had. But she regained her balance and climbed up and stood in the centre of the control room.

The conducted was dead on the floor next to the controls. A bullet wound through his skull. Elle looked around and saw a fire raging behind her, causing steam to barrel out the top of the train. Turning forward she saw the bridge closer in sight as the train ran towards it.

"What a day to learn to conduct a train." She mumbled to herself as she looked around at all the levers and dials.

"Elle hurry up!" Doc yelled from outside, still riding next to the train.

Elle quickly looked around for something that would look like it would stop the train. Looking up, the uncertainty of the bridge was drawing closer. Doc yelled again for her to hurry up.

Reaching for the closets lever, she pulled it back and heard the train scream and jolt forward as the brakes kicked in. Elle fell forward as the wheels on the train screamed in pain as it tried to stop the fast train from going over the bridge.

She stood up and saw the train was still going fast, and the lever was pulled back. She reached for it again and struggled to pull it back with all her weight. The train again screamed as Elle held the lever pulled back for the train to stop. Surely, the train came to a slow stop at the start of the bridge.

Once the train came to a complete stop, Elle stumbled back and closed her eyes. She sat on the ground and wiped the sweat from her head and started laughing. Her body was weak and she was tired but she sat there, in the dark, laughing.

Doc heard noises from the train as she approached it. He jumped off Ellanora's horse and ran towards the front. Doc worried for a moment when he heard Elle making noises. He ran up the side steps and saw the women sitting in the floor laughing to herself.

"What's so funny?" Doc questioned, walking towards her.

Elle looked up at Doc Holliday, a smile on her face, tears in her eyes. "I just stopped a train."

Doc huffed a chuckled as Elle continued to laugh at the whole situation that just occurred.