She folded her arms, leaning against the tree. Her fingers made red spots on her forearm where she clenched her hands, and she cast her gaze downward, her brow furrowed worriedly. Jude, for his part, didn't look too disturbed, the only tension indicated by his brow matching Eliza's. His hands were tucked in his pockets, his head tilted back. They would have noticed that he seemed particularly interested in the clouds that moved overhead. Half an hour passed, and they would hear a dull train whistle in the distance.
Eliza looked over before standing alert. "Wait to board. We need to give ourselves as much of a chance."
“No. A couple of minutes,” she said distractedly, eyeing the cargo car she planned for them to enter. It was made of red wood, with a bar along the outside of the door. She prayed it was empty. “Just to give ourselves an advantage.”
“Then we flee back to the woods. Meet up down by the water,” she said, loading the gun. “We all have weapons except for the Enforcer, and I’m sure he’ll be welcomed back home with open arms.”
The train was silent and Eliza glanced up at it with a frown, her eyes narrowed. A few minutes passed before she spoke. “Now. The red cargo car.” She hurried over and she and Jude pulled on the bar, tugging the door open. The car was mostly empty, with a few bales of hay against the wall. She gestured to the other two.
Jude got in by himself and Eliza glared before pulling herself in on her own as well, shutting the door of the car, leaving them in darkness. Jude spoke up after a few minutes. “Now what?” “I’ll light up the room after we get moving,” Eliza whispered. “For now, we have to wait.”
Vaughn frowned, sitting against the wall. Sona squinted in the darkness. "I wonder how long it'll take."
“Stay quiet for now,” Eliza whispered. “Just wait until we get moving.” The silence took over and minutes passed that felt like hours. The darkness pressed in on them and Jude closed his eyes tightly. Finally, there came a screeching that signified the wheels turning, and the train began to move.
Eliza lifted her hand and a light grew from her palm. She set her hand on the floor, and when she pulled her hand away, the light remained, casting dark shadows against the walls. Jude noticed the dark circles under her eyes and spoke again. “Eliza, you need to sleep now. Just for a little while.”
She hesitated before setting the gun next to her and resting her head back against the wall. "You'll wake me if anything changes...?" "Of course." Once she received confirmation, it only took seconds for her to drift off into sleep.
The humming of the train was soothing and they traveled for a long time. Around hour three, the door on the back end of the train opened, bright light shining into the chamber. Three pairs of boots came into the car, right next to Eliza and she woke, looking up and scrambling for the gun, but she wasn't fast enough. Gloved hands grabbed her by the neck and lifted her, pulling her into the air. Three Enforcers looked at them, their faces impassive. Vaughn would remember that they were trained to be impenetrable. The two that were not preoccupied were pointing guns at them. The one holding a struggling Eliza studied the rest of them before moving over to the side door. He gestured with his head and one of the two lowered their weapons to open the door. The train screeched and freezing cold air blew in from the outside as they moved at breakneck speeds.
Vaughn stood slowly, his expression calm. "Wait. I'm one of you. I was stationed in colony A6D. I found these three on the train and was keeping them under surveillance to determine their fates at the destination." He picked up the gun, a frown on his face. "I figured they might be due for a public execution to show the repercussions for misdeeds."
