Chapter 37 Chapter 37
They shoved through the side exit and into chaos. Trucks were backing up, men shouting orders in Hungarian. The crates they’d seen moments ago were being loaded in a frenzy, the Circle’s serpent crest flashing in the light like a warning.
Nina ran behind Adrian, her boots splashing through puddles. The sound was deafening — engines, gunfire, shouting. It all blended into one unbroken noise, a storm made of metal.
“Down!” Adrian grabbed her shoulder, dragging her behind a stack of barrels as bullets tore through the air above. Sparks flew from the steel. The siren cut off abruptly, replaced by shouted commands.
“They’re sealing the gates!” she said.
“I know.”
“What now?”
He looked around, eyes scanning the yard. “Freight line—there!”
He pointed toward the far tracks, where a freight engine sat idling under half light, ready to depart. Beyond it, the open rails disappeared into the dark.
Nina hesitated. “You want to get on another train?”
“It’s moving. That’s all that matters.”
They sprinted from cover. The nearest guards shouted and turned, raising rifles. Adrian fired back, short bursts that sent them ducking. Nina kept running, lungs burning, the slap of boots echoing off the metal walls.
They crossed between two loading bays. Smoke curled from a burning truck — someone had overturned a fuel drum, flames licking up its side. The fire threw harsh orange light over everything.
Adrian stopped just long enough to reload, his movements fast, mechanical. “Left!” he said.
They cut behind a row of stacked crates. The noise was disorienting — a mix of shouts in different languages, the hiss of the fire spreading, the deep rumble of engines revving. A forklift crashed somewhere nearby.
Nina nearly collided with Adrian when he stopped suddenly. “What?” she gasped.
He pointed. “Gregor.”
Down the lane between the crates, the man from before was shouting orders, pistol in hand, face lit by firelight. His gaze swept the yard — hunting.
Adrian’s hand went to his gun, but Nina grabbed his wrist. “Don’t.”
“He won’t stop.”
“Neither will we if you shoot. We need to move.”
For a second, she thought he’d ignore her. Then he let out a sharp breath, eyes still locked on Gregor. “Fine,” he said. “But next time—”
“There won’t be a next time,” she said, pulling him forward.
They broke cover as a truck skidded sideways, blocking part of the yard. The chaos gave them seconds — just enough. They ran through the smoke, the heat biting at their faces. Bullets pinged off the metal siding behind them, sending sparks into the air.
Ahead, the freight engine’s headlight flared to life, bright and blinding. The low rumble deepened — it was moving.
“Go!” Adrian shouted.
They sprinted, the ground shaking beneath them. Workers scattered as the locomotive groaned forward, wheels screeching. Nina could see the ladder on the side, the one chance to grab hold before it was gone.
Adrian reached it first, catching the rail and swinging himself up. “Give me your hand!”
She jumped, catching his wrist. For a second her feet slipped on the wet rail; then he hauled her up, muscles straining. She slammed into the side of the car, breath gone, heart pounding.
Shots cracked behind them. Metal rang. A bullet tore through the corner of the ladder, missing her by inches. She didn’t dare look back.
“Inside!” Adrian ordered.
They clambered over the edge into the open freight car, landing hard among scattered tarps and chains. Adrian dropped beside her, rolling to the wall. The train lurched, gaining speed.
Wind tore through the open car, carrying smoke and sparks. Nina crawled to the edge, peering back at the yard. It was chaos — fire spreading, men running, trucks blocking one another. Gregor stood near the loading bay, shouting into a radio. Their eyes met, just for a heartbeat. He raised his weapon, but the distance was already too great.
The train thundered out of the yard, swallowing the world behind them.
Adrian slumped against the wall, breathing hard. “We’ve bought time,” he said. “Not safety.”
She nodded, chest still heaving. “He saw you.”
“I wanted him to.”
“Why?”
“So he’ll follow.” He looked at her, expression cold and certain. “I need him to lead us to Raske.”
“You’re baiting him.”
“I’m finishing it.”
For a long moment, neither spoke. The clatter of the train drowned everything else. Nina sat across from him, watching the light of the fires fade into the distance until only darkness remained.
“You could’ve killed him,” she said.
“I could’ve,” he agreed. “But if I had, we’d never find the others.”
She leaned her head back against the steel. “Then what happens when we do?”
Adrian met her eyes. “Then we end it. For good.”
The way he said it sent a shiver through her, not of fear but of something heavier — inevitability.
The wind shifted, colder now. The train crossed a bridge, the sound of the river below lost in the thunder of the wheels. Sparks trailed behind like fireflies. Nina wrapped her arms around her knees, watching Adrian reload his weapon with slow, careful precision.
“Do you ever stop?” she asked.
He gave a half-smile. “Not until it’s done.”
“And if it never is?”
“Then I keep moving.”
She looked out at the horizon — nothing but darkness and the faint gleam of the rails. The air soft against her face. “You and this train,” she said quietly. “Always running.”
“Maybe,” he said, eyes distant. “But this time, we’re running toward something.”
They sat in silence after that, the night rushing past in streaks of shadow and light. Behind them, the signal yard burned — a wound against the dark horizon. Ahead, the line stretched east, endless and waiting.
Nina closed her eyes, the rhythm of the wheels steady beneath her luring her to sleep.
For the first time in days, she let herself breathe. Life was now a rollercoaster, and she didn't know where she would end up.