DOUBLE TROUBLE WITH THE TWIN WOLVES - FOUR

C H A P T E R F O U R --- M A D D I S O N

"Calm down, Mads. It's okay. There's nothing wrong. "On this train, there are just a few of commandos," she told herself aloud, trying to focus on drawing a breath every now and then rather of succumbing to terror.

Panicking, on the other hand, sounded so much easier.

She'd taken her legs out of the seat and stowed the book. She ran over every potential scenario in her brain while keeping an eye on the door to her room. Although the smoke wasn't as heavy back there, she could tell it was almost certainly coming from the engine by peering ahead. And that was a mistake.

The fact that no one had said anything on the intercom didn't help her relax. To make matters worse, she had a feeling the train was speeding up ever since she heard the first loud bangs that sent Tim and Tom running out like they'd just gotten the call to go to Afghanistan.

Maddison stood up and moved closer to the window that looked into the corridor, chewing her bottom lip. It was completely devoid of life. She couldn't see anyone at all. Dana was near to the back of the train, where the sleeping cars were, but she was used to seeing a little more action even on the sluggish National Railways.

I shouldn't leave the house. I think I'll stay here. I shouldn't get involved in whatever nonsense is going on, right?

It appeared to be absolutely logical. She was aware that that was reasonable. Nonetheless, she preferred to go and do something useful rather than huddle in the rear, hoping the storm would pass her by. Even more importantly, she would like to know whether the world was collapsing around her so that she could at least make peace with it.

Maddison, you're getting a little melodramatic, she admonished herself as she wrapped her arms about herself.

It was all well and good telling herself that everything would be OK and that the two men with whom she'd been having such a heated debate weren't terrorists hell-bent on taking the train off the tracks, until another explosion rocked the train. It felt like it was right behind her this time.

Maddison exclaimed, clutching her jacket and purse.

She jumped to the door after putting on her jacket and securing her leather rucksack over her shoulders. She had no intention of sitting around waiting for the inevitable to conk her over the head now that things were going south so quickly.

She eased the door open carefully and looked both ways, almost expecting to be tackled by some guys in all-black. But there was no one else in the corridor, and she was completely alone.

Maddison couldn't tell if this was fantastic news or the most worst scenario she could be in.

She silently stepped out and locked the door behind her. She wasn't sure why she was being so cautious about remaining silent, but it felt appropriate. She virtually rushed to the opposite end of the passenger vehicle, which was empty, and her heart plummeted as she approached the door. The damned thing refused to open.

She slammed her fist against it a few times, trying to pry it open with her tears of panic, but it felt like it was locked securely. Perhaps someone had gone by her chamber and missed her because of the shadow that the smoke poured over the windows, lowering the light? Maybe she hadn't noticed them?

Maddison was trapped, which caused bile to rise in her throat.

"All right, concentrate. What would commandos do in this situation? " she muttered to herself, her gray eyes wandering across the empty hallway and the rooms on each side.

They were not going to lose their calm. Maddison forced some sense into herself by taking a long breath. She could feel her limbs and legs again after another big gulp, rather than just a head floating around and talking to herself.

A snarky little voice in the back of Maddison's head observed, "The commandos would also have huge weaponry, training, and a Shiftastic sense of direction better than yours."

Sure, everything was true, but that didn't mean she wanted to hear it. She was completely screwed. But, if she was trapped in the center of some weird train drama, she may as well... act? Perhaps she wasn't the only one trapped in the back. Perhaps there were more trapped in the sleeping carriages who couldn't get out? That was something she could manage. It's all about safety in numbers.

Maddison marched forward through the car, squaring her shoulders and checking both sides for anyone else cowering in the neighboring sitting rooms. She really can not find anyone, and when she got to the other door that led to the first sleeping car, it was only partially open. It slid open with a forceful shove from her shoulder, though she guessed that wouldn't have been nearly as easy if she'd tried it from the other side.

She briefly considered whether the same thing had occurred to the second door she'd tried, but she believed it had held together much better. She strode on, mentally shrugging, examining the sleeping rooms by banging on every door. No one emerged. The carpet beneath her feet shuffled her movements and muted the knocks a little, the length of the car not as hollow and lifeless as the seated car's.

She got all the way to the finish and then carried on, finding the door wide open. She felt increasingly concerned as she moved forward, for better or worse, when no one emerged.

She chewed on her lower lip, her palm wrapped firmly around the strap of her purse, thinking, "There has to be someone else back here too." It can't be just me.Maddison was about to turn around and try her luck with that damned stuck door once more when she overheard a faint dialogue someplace farther on. She sneaked ahead, frowning, suddenly more aware of her feet, wanting to remain unnoticed and unheard. The voices became louder with each step she took ahead. It was definitely male, with a loud, buzzing noise that she could not really place. Her hand was on the lever that would open the door to the final sleeping compartment and lead into regions normally off-limits to passengers, but she paused to listen.

"Come on, we need to get moving! " said someone, his voice tense and irritated.

"We're moving as as quickly as we can," said another man, clearly irritated.

Maddison's palm shook as she held on to the handle, unsure of what was going on. Was there someone else trapped behind her? Was she tripping over something she shouldn't have? Before she could decide whether or not to open the door, it flung open in front of her, revealing a towering, severe person dressed entirely in black. He gave her a sardonic grin that pulled at his lips like a huge cat looking for a mouse to play with.

"It appears that we have visitors," the guy stated softly.

Maddison sprang back, stunning her new and unexpected friend with her quickness as fight or flight erupted in full force. Adrenaline caused the body to perform strange things. Maddison could see a helicopter's rotor whirling at breakneck speed behind him, throwing up dirt as it raced to keep close to the railway. Two other guys, dressed in such unremarkable attire, were tossing items from the train to the chopper, which were caught and stacked behind him. The bundles were rectangular, about the size of a loaf of bread, and the men were dragging them out of a large wooden container that had been smashed apart.

She could see the unconscious or maybe dead bodies of three Police Guy lying against the compartment's wall. One of them had his neck slashed, leaving blood on the front of his jacket and his head drooping at an odd angle.

Dead.

It was the only thought that ran through her mind as she whirled around in terror, preparing to flee down the corridor. But she was yanked back into the wooden frame of a wall going into a sleeping vehicle by a hand that wrapped around her arm like a vice. She felt a surge of anguish that was so bewildering and excruciating that she feared she'd throw up. Nothing except a scream crept up her throat, and suddenly she was pulled backward with a palm clamped over her lips.

"Be quiet, honey. The guy muttered, "You wanted to come and play, so come and fucking play."

Looking up, she could see his magnificent blue eyes become gold for a brief time, his features contorting slightly as the corners of his eyes crinkled with delight. As he brought them back into the compartment with the Policemen, her air was sucked out of her lungs, and the two other men scarcely looked at her. Even when her assailant shoved her against the wall so hard that she thought she'd pass out, she could see their features perfectly.

Everyone is tall, broad-shouldered, and athletic. They had icy, lifeless eyes and no masks, as if they didn't care if they were seen or were convinced they would kill everyone who did. The broken open crate featured a placard that stated "US Navy, Ammunitions" and a series of characters and figures that Maddison couldn't understand.

As the guy hovered over her, peering down at her with his unrelenting sneer, she slumped to the ground, automatically bringing her knees up to her chest.

"Just fucking shoot her," the irritated guy murmured, casting a glare at her. "I don't want anyone around for this nonsense."

"When the train rolls off the rails, they're all going to die anyhow," the third man replied, bored and uninterested.

Maddison's thoughts couldn't comprehend how someone could seem so casual about killing a large number of people, no matter what they were attempting to hide. A quick glance at the Marines revealed that they didn't give a damn. It's not about human life, or anything else. And she'd walked in on them at just the wrong time.

"This is the final one," the grumpy one stated, tossing his box to the person on the helicopter and receiving a thumbs up from his chopper opposite. "Come on, Jes, we've got to get out of here."

Jes, the guy standing over Maddison as she struggled to breathe, grinned even wider before taking his revolver from his hip and effortlessly cocking it. With the freight hauler's side door open and Maddison hunched against the other door, thick black tendrils of smoke from the front of the train were creeping into the vehicle. She blinked tears away, urgently seeking a way out, a way to live. Her hands were balled into fists and rattling along with the train's hard passage through the landscape.

"I think we won't be able to play." "It's a shame," Jes grumbled as his colleagues leapt from the train to the chopper, where they were dragged in like freight.

"Fucking move, Jes! " yelled the grumpy one, his voice nearly drowned out by the sound of the blades whirling through the air.

"Fucking hell, Duke, untangle your motherfucking underwear," he said over his shoulder, his weapon aimed at her head.

Maddison knew he was about to say something, but she never heard the next nasty thing he wanted to say; instead, she was bathed in blood and bits of tissue as his head exploded like a pumpkin hitting the ground. His body remained standing for a gut-wrenching moment, as if debating whether or not he had truly lost a head, before collapsing to the side.

Maddison's eyes were as big as saucers, and the world appeared to come to a halt for a brief moment. Her body seemed to be stuck in time, but adrenaline kicked in when she spotted the guys in the chopper, so near to the railway car and yet visible through the open door. When they lined up their rifles, pointing at her now that Jes had fallen on the floor, pouring blood, she flung herself to the side.

She could see Tim pounding down the corridor, his assault weapon pulled, his face distorted in wrath, as she tried to hide in the blind nook to the left of the open door. The aircraft peeled up and back in time to escape a tight collision with a tunnel before he could get within range of it. Maddison could only see the small red light flickering on the top of the gun when the light was sucked out of the compartment. But that didn't appear to slow Tim down in the least.

He walked over to her and kneeled in the front of her, one hand on her shoulder, jerking her out of her stupor.

"Are you all right? Are you in any pain? Talk to me, Maddison."

His comments were tranquil, as though the water was quiet before a storm. As they emerged from the tunnel, the light returned, and Maddison could see him again, his lovely face so near to her, his green eyes gleaming with anxiety and something else she couldn't name.

"I'm okay. But, they're all... dead," she faltered, staring around at the four lifeless guys with whom she was sharing a compartment.

"Don't be concerned about them." Okay, one difficulty at a time. "Let's get out of here," he remarked, grinning as if everything was OK and nothing unusual was going on.

Maddison believed she was plummeting straight into hell as his eyes flashed a rich, amber type of gold for a second. She drifted out a split second later, contentedly embraced by soothing darkness.