“Looks like it bled a lot.”

  “Not really. It was just a little gash. I must have caught my wrist somehow.”

  Clip nodded. As she looked around the carriage, she realised half of everyone was stained with blood, including Xavi. There was a dark handprint on his red T-shirt where he had wiped his hand.

  “I have nothing to do with this,” said Dan. “If that’s what you’re implying.”

  She sighed and nodded. “I know.”

  “Think we’ve all got our share of injuries,” said Dan, rubbing at his wrist again. “We should rest up a minute.”

  Everyone took a seat. Eric up front with Dan and Paul watching over him; Mudz, Kyle, and Jay at the back. Grant remained standing, singing to himself and staring out of the black windows as if he could see something out there. The coke in his system was doing its job, because he seemed perfectly content. Clip envied him, because the weed in her system was already tapering off.

  At least I had five minutes of not being terrified.

  Clip sat down on the other side of the aisle from Gina and Harley. Harley had his Rubik’s Cube again and was studying it intently. She could only imagine how terrified the kid was. Part of her wanted to gather him up in a great big cuddle, like she used to do when Richard was little. It had felt good back then, being a big sis.

  Xavi sat down beside Clip and put a hand on her knee. “This is not how I saw our day going.”

  “I know, right? You plan on spending an afternoon in lessons, but end up stuck in a void with a bunch of strangers. I hate it when that happens.”

  “It’s loco. I keep expecting to wake up.”

  “Me too, but we’re not going to, are we? Are we ever going to get out of… whatever this is?”

  “Of course we will. I won’t let anything happen to you, Clip. I… I love you.”

  She flinched. “You do?”

  “Is that so hard to believe? Somebody loving you?”

  Clip thought about it. Maybe it wouldn’t have been so hard to believe if somebody had actually said it to her in the last few years. The word sounded odd to her, like it was supposed to change things somehow. But everything felt the same. “I guess I don’t always feel particularly loveable. I work really hard on it, actually.”

  Xavi smiled, staring into her soul with those deep brown eyes of his. “Clearly not hard enough, because I love you.”

  He wants me to say it back. Can I?

  She leant in and kissed him. It clearly took him by surprise because his mouth was half-open. He soon settled, however, and the two of them made out. It felt good to lose herself in a kiss, and for a moment the world made sense. The train and its horrors disappeared, and all that existed was Xavi – a decent guy who loved her.

  “Gross.”

  Clip broke away, reminded of how this train journey had begun. This time, however, it was Harley, and not Mudz, staring at her with an expression of mild disgust. “Are you gonna get naked and bone?” he asked sarcastically.

  “Oi, amigo,” said Xavi. “Bro code. You can’t interrupt a man and his señorita.”

  Clip chuckled. “It’s okay, Harley. We were being rude. No more kissing, I promise.”

  “It’s okay,” said Harley. “I don’t really mind.”

  She smiled at him. “How are you doing?”

  He shrugged and stared at his Rubik’s Cube. “I’m worried.”

  “Me too, kid. Gina will look after you, though.”

  “I know.”

  Gina leant forward and smiled at Clip. “Talking of looking after Harley, do you mind staying with him while I go to the toilet? I’m bursting.”

  Clip nodded. “Sure thing.”

  Gina hesitated. “Um… do you mind lending me your boyfriend? There’s no way I’m heading into the next carriage by myself.”

  “Good point,” said Clip. “Is that okay, Xavi?”

  He looked unsure for a moment, but then nodded. “If I’m not back in five minutes, come get me, yeah?”

  “Just scream and I’ll come running.”

  “I don’t scream.”

  “There’s always a first time.”

  Xavi shuffled into the aisle and took Gina to the toilet. Clip smiled at Harley and patted the seat beside her. The boy came over and joined her. “So…” she said, “how long have you known Gina?”

  “Two months. She’s looking after me for a while.”

  “You like her?”

  He nodded. “She’s kind, and her house smells nice. I miss my mum, though. I worry about her.”

  “You worry about your mum? That’s not your job, kid. You just worry about you.”

  “I can’t help it. She’s not very well.”

  “Right.” Clip tried to keep her expression upbeat, but she could guess exactly what his mother’s illness was – either drugs or alcohol. Addiction studies formed part of her degree. “When will you go back to your mum?”

  “When she’s strong enough to look after me again. She’s in a special hospital at the moment where she’s getting better.”

  “Sounds like things have been tough on you, Harley.”

  He looked away and his blonde hair fell in front of his eyes. “I just want to go back to my real home. I need to do the chores and make breakfast. My mum does better at night, so after school we watch movies together, and she makes chicken coleslaw sandwiches.”

  Clip smiled. “Sounds nice. I hope she gets better soon. In the meantime, enjoy being with Gina. It’s okay for you to think about yourself.”

  “I know. It just feels like…”

  “Like what?”

  “Like my life is paused, and I’m waiting for someone to press play again.”

  Clip nodded. “Pressing pause can be good sometimes. Gives us a chance to rest.”

  “I feel stuck.”

  Clip laced her fingers together in her lap and twiddled her thumbs while she thought about it. The one thing she hated to do was talk about herself, but for some reason it felt okay to do it with this kid. A kid wouldn’t judge her, right? “I feel like I’m stuck, too, Harley. My mum and dad spend all their time looking after my brother, Richard, because he’s ill, and it makes me feel invisible. I know there’s this entire future ahead of me to look forward to, but it feels like I can’t quite grab it. I suppose I’m waiting for my life to get started, just like you.”

  “Do you want to leave home?”

  She nodded.

  “Is it not safe where you live?”

  Her gaze fell downwards as she spoke, a wave of shame washing over her. “My brother doesn’t mean to, but he lashes out sometimes. I’ve lost count of the number of black eyes and bloody noses he’s given me. Once, he even broke my little finger by grabbing me. He can be the sweetest thing, but when he gets angry, he just can’t control himself. It’s pretty frightening. The doctors say that eventually they will find the right medication to help, but…” She shrugged. “I don’t know.”

  “He can’t help being ill, though, right?” said Harley, nodding as if he understood. “That’s like my mum. She put bad things in her body when I was inside her tummy. That’s why my eye doesn’t work properly. It poisoned me, my nanny said.”

  “You have a nanny that looks after you?”

  “No, she died of old age when I was six.”

  Clip sighed. This kid’s life was one long list of tragedy. “How old are you now, Harley?”

  “I turned nine last week. Gina took me to the zoo.” He smiled, but it was short-lived. “I don’t know anybody at my new school yet, so it was just me and her, but that’s okay. It was a great day. I saw a hippo. Do you know they kill more people every year in Africa than lions do?”

  “Wow. That’s scary.” Clip put an arm around Harley and gave him a quick hug. “If you ever want to teach lessons on positivity, kid, sign me up.”

  He blushed, clearly proud of the compliment. “My nanny used to say that being grumpy can make you ill, but a smile can make you strong.”

  “I think your nanny was a clever lady. I would’ve liked to have met her.”

  “You should smile more often,” said Harley. “Then maybe you’ll be strong enough to push your brother on the floor.”

  Clip cackled. “Yeah. That would feel pretty good. Okay, Harley, I’m going to smile more often. Thanks for the advice.”

  “You’re welcome. Hey, why do you call yourself Clip?”

  She smiled. “It was my first word, apparently. My mum said I used to love horses as a baby and I would play with these little toy ponies going clip-clip-clip. It became a nickname, and then it just stuck.”

  “That’s nice.”

  “Yeah, I guess it is.”

  Xavi and Gina returned from the toilet, which Clip realised was an unexpected relief. The way things were going, a simple trip into the next carriage could be lethal.

  Harley got up and went back to Gina, while Xavi sat down beside Clip again. “Everything okay?” he asked her.

  She smiled. “No, we’re still completely screwed, but I’ve decided I’m going to make the best of it.”

  “Make the best of it? Tell me how?”

  “By smiling, apparently.”

  There was a kerfuffle at the front of the carriage. Eric was forcing his way past Dan into the operator’s cabin. Paul was trying to get him to sit back down but wasn’t having much luck. The old man had lost it, wailing and shouting and blaming everyone for what had happened to his wife. He shoved Dan, surprisingly hard, against the wall and then started grabbing at the train’s controls, yanking and twisting at anything he could find.

  Xavi turned to Clip, his eyebrows lowered. “Should we help?”

  “Help how? We’ll only get in the way. This train is getting narrower and narrower.”

  The kerfuffle continued, and Dan found himself, once again, pushed up against the wall of the cabin. Paul got a hand around Eric’s wrist and yanked him into the aisle, but he couldn’t calm the man down.

  “This won’t help anything,” said Dan, huffing and puffing and clutching at his ribs.

  “None of this is real,” said Eric. “It can’t be. It can’t be.”

  Paul tried to grab Eric by the shoulders, but the old man was spryer than he looked and ducked beneath his grasp. With nowhere to go, he bounded down the aisle like a startled deer.

  Gina yelped and pulled Harley into her arms to protect him.

  Dan pleaded for calm.

  Grant clapped, delighted by the drama.

  Eric rushed past the carriage’s first exit, but stopped at the second one near the back. There, he started tugging at the seam between the doors, trying to yank them open.

  “Yo, sit down, old man.” Mudz stood up and stumbled into the aisle. Kyle remained sitting while Jay stood next to his seat. “Enough with the noise, bruv. Man is tryna chill.”

  “I want to get off!” Eric yelled. “I want to go home!”

  Mudz moved up behind the old man and grabbed him around the arms, yanking him away from the door. “Calm down, bruv. The doors is locked, so just—”

  Eric threw his head back and smashed Mudz right in the middle of the face, squashing his broken nose.

  “Whoa!” said Kyle. “Calm down, old man.”

  “Motherfucker!” Mudz stumbled backwards, only managing to keep himself upright by grabbing one of the support rails near the door. He grunted in pain, trying to keep his obvious fury under control, but it escaped him through his fist, and he clumped Eric around the side of the head.

  The old man crashed against the carriage doors, his knees buckling. A strange sound escaped him, almost like a laugh.

  Xavi leapt to his feet. “Hey! What the hell are you doing? He’s an old man.”

  Mudz wiped a bloody hand on his hoodie. “Old boy nutted me, bruv. Got to give a response, you get me?”

  Xavi marched down the aisle, dodging Clip’s hand as she tried to grab at him. “You punched an old man in the face, you bully.”

  “Damn right I did. Man does retaliate. You want some, too, Pedro?”

  “Don’t do this, Xavi,” Clip shouted. “Sit down.”

  “This won’t end well,” said Paul angrily. “Stop it.”

  Xavi moved over to Eric and helped the dazed old man to find his balance. Then he turned and glared at Mudz. “You’re a thug. You belong in prison.”

  “Real talk.” Mudz took a step and went toe to toe with Xavi. He was two inches taller and a lot heavier, but Xavi showed no fear. “Man is acting tough in front of his spice, but we both know man is just a pussy hole.”

  Xavi shoved Mudz, causing everyone in the carriage to complain. He wasn’t listening, though. He was bright red in the face and seething. “You’re not so tough without your knife, gangster.”

  Mudz grinned. “That the best you got, Pedro?”

  “Not even close.” Xavi threw a punch.

  Mudz ducked the punch and shoved Xavi back against the door, where he collided with Eric. “You know what makes man a real gangster, bruv? He always carries two knives.” There was a familiar flash of metal and Mudz lunged at Xavi.

  “Look out!” Clip yelled.

  “Protect yourself,” cried Paul.

  Xavi turned and grappled Mudz side-on, causing the knife to sail past him.

  And thud right into Eric’s chest.

  The old man gasped, like he was flabbergasted at something, but really it was the air escaping from his lungs as the blade parted his ribs. His watery grey eyes almost fell out of his head. His mouth opened wide, a grey tongue waggling in the air.

  Xavi took a step back, clearly horrified. “What have you done? What the hell have you done?”

  Mudz moved away from Eric, pulling the knife out of the old man’s chest with a sickening pop! He shook his head, staring at the blood-soaked blade. “I… I didn’t… It was…” He turned to Xavi, and his shocked expression turned to anger. “You did this, Pedro. The shank was meant for you.”

  Xavi glared right back at him. “You’re a monster.”

  Eric slid down the carriage doors. Strangely, no blood escaped his chest, only a strange whistling sound. He landed on his rump and seemed to mutter a few silent words as his head tipped onto his shoulder. A few seconds went by and his eyes glazed over. A smile found its way to his face. “You’re so beautiful, my dear. I’m such a lucky man.”

  That was all he said.

  Dead.

  Clip covered her mouth. Harley started to cry while Gina held him. Kyle and Jay both stared at Mudz, shocked.

  “This is madness,” said Dan, shaking his head. “Madness.”

  Everyone fell quiet, stunned and horrified. Eric was the third person to die aboard this train, but the first to be murdered. Mudz was as dangerous as Clip had feared. And now he had passed the point of no return.

  She closed her eyes and tried to keep from shaking.

  Who’s next? Will any of us get off this train alive?

  Mudz took a step towards Xavi with the bloody knife still in his hand. “Old boy is dead because of you, Pedro. You should have faced me like a man.”

  “No,” said Xavi. “You’re a killer, and you’re going to spend the rest of your life in prison.”

  Mudz paused for a moment, staring at the floor and seeming to nod to himself. When he eventually spoke, his words were barely audible. “Man has nothing to lose, then.”

  He lunged at Xavi with the knife.

  The lights went out.

  CHAPTER 8

  “This shit is getting old,” said Kyle in the darkness. “Yo, Mudz, you okay, fam?”

  “No, fam. Man is well fazed.”

  Xavi grunted. “You killed Eric. We’re not going to let you get away with it.”

  “Maybe man should shank the lot of you pussy holes, then. Walk away without witnesses.”

  “Try it,” said Paul’s voice, a few feet in front of Clip. “Xavi,” he called out, “come back over this way with the rest of us. Last time the lights went out, we were attacked.”

  “By dogs,” said Jay. “I don’t hear no dogs, bro.”

  “Mudz is the one we should be afraid of,” said Clip.

  “Real talk.”

  “I hear something,” said Harley.

  Clip listened but heard nothing. “What is it, Harley? What do you hear?”

  “I hear my mum again.”

  Help me, Clip-Clip.

  Clip yelped and covered her mouth. The whispering was right in her ear. Her brother’s voice, and the woman’s.

  Two live. All die.

  Help me, Clip-Clip.

  “What is it?” Xavi asked her, still further down the carriage.

  “Nothing. It’s nothing.”

  Footsteps in the aisle.

  “Everyone, stay still,” warned Paul. “Anyone who comes near me is getting dropped on their arse.”

  Clip reached out in the darkness, afraid that Mudz would suddenly stab her without warning. Now that he had murdered someone, he really had nothing to lose. She called out to Xavi, making sure he was okay.

  “I’m okay,” he replied. “Just stay where you are.”

  “I’m coming for you, bruv,” said Mudz in a spooky voice, followed by an over-the-top chuckle that sounded like the Chucky doll from the movies.

  “Hell of a night,” said Grant. “Haven’t had this much fun since I toured with Amy Winehouse.”

  “You really are a psychopath,” said Clip.

  “I just like to look on the bright side.”

  “Jesus Christ. There is no bright side.”

  “I wouldn’t say that.”

  Jay suddenly shouted, “Hey, back up. Whoever that is, back the hell up away from me.”

  “Sorry,” said Grant. “My hands have a mind of their own sometimes.”

  Clip sensed movement nearby. Everyone’s breathing was fitful and fevered, their panic rising. Her panic rising.

  The lights came back on.

  There were no dogs. No monsters. Just the same old train.

  All is well. All is calm.

  Clip doubled over, letting out a sigh of relief. Gina reached out and put a hand on her back.

  Mudz was standing with Jay near the back of the carriage, while Kyle sat a few feet away from them. Paul and Dan were outside the operator’s cabin with Clip, Gina, and Harley. Xavi was further down the aisle, staring at the exit doors and muttering. “He’s gone. Just like his wife.”

 

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