Equinox (21 page)

“That implant again, huh?” There was tenderness in Pip’s eyes, and he lifted a hand towards her face but stopped halfway, uncertain, as if he wasn’t sure he was allowed to touch her. “Any numbers or …?”

“No, nothing.”

Pip slipped the com in his pocket and rubbed the back of his neck with one hand. “Um, Rosie, I’m sorry about how I acted before on the boat.”

His eyes glinted at her from under his dark hair and he drew in an unsteady breath. “I shouldn’t have gone off at you about the stims. I mean, it’s not like I’m perfect.” His mouth quirked down. “And I didn’t mean to pressure you about … what happened. I was just, I don’t know …” He stopped and Rosie couldn’t help him. Really couldn’t. Her insides were knotted up tight at the thought of voicing what had happened on the riverbank. She waited but he seemed to be struggling to finish, his mouth working like he couldn’t form the words.

“I was just angry that you got hurt,” he finally said. “That it happened, that’s all.”

Rosie nodded. “I’m okay.” Except she wasn’t, not even close. And she knew that Pip wasn’t buying it. “Um, Dalton’s probably wondering what’s going on.” She went to walk past him, but he pushed off the window, blocking her way.

“Wait.” His hand landed on her waist.

The word was soft, nothing, but there was an intimacy about his tone that made Rosie’s heart leap suddenly into her throat. She met his gaze and for a split second she thought he was going to kiss her. He swayed minutely towards her, his hand tightening on her waist. Her breath stopped somewhere in her chest. She was suddenly aware of every centimetre of skin beneath his fingers, but then a door slammed somewhere. They both jumped.

“Come on,” Rosie said. “We should talk to Dalton, figure out what to do.”

“Yeah.” Pip’s smile faded and he took a step away. Then he turned back to her, an odd determination in his eyes. “Actually, no, there’s just one thing.”

He was so quick, she didn’t have time to be surprised. One arm went around her waist, the other behind her neck, and he pulled her to him and kissed her.

Rosie stiffened, her eyes closing involuntarily. His lips were soft, open and then his tongue grazed her mouth. A ripple of heat shot through her and long-repressed need erased everything else. She put a hand around his neck and pulled him closer, pressing against him. He tasted like pickles and sugar, salt and sweet, so good. His fingers crept under her shirt, traced her ribcage and desire exploded inside her. She hooked a leg around his thigh, desperate to bring him closer and he staggered, overbalancing. They fell hard against the window, Rosie knocking her head against the glass, and they broke apart.

“Ow,” Rosie whispered, although it hadn’t really hurt.

“Sorry, you okay?” He was breathless, trembling. They both were. He rubbed her head where it had hit.

“Yeah.” She was embarrassed. They looked at each other for a second, then he let her go with a pleased but sheepish smile.

“Come on.” He tugged on one of her hands and stepped back. His T-shirt stretched between them. Rosie was still clutching a handful of it. His smile broadened. She let go and felt her face get hot.

“Shut up.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

“Just don’t–” She stopped. Don’t what? Do that again? Even though she had really, really not wanted to stop. She was suddenly angry at him and furious at herself. And her lips were still tingling from his kiss. She just hoped it wasn’t written all over her face.

Dalton had shifted to lean his back up against the window so he could put his legs up on the bench seat, and had the gun sitting in his lap. “Where have you been?” His gaze moved between her and Pip, a question in his eyes.

“I had an idea.” Rosie told him about Pip contacting his friends.

“The Freezone.” Dalton swung his legs to the floor. “Okay, but we still need an exit strategy for the train. I want to check out the freight car access.” He nodded at Pip. “You coming?”

“Fine by me.” Pip shrugged.

“I’ll stay here,” Rosie said. She needed a moment to process what had just happened. Her pulse was still rapid and every time Pip caught her eye it spiked.

“You want the gun?” Pip said.

“No. Just be careful.”

“We’ll be back before you know it,” Dalton said. “Lock the door, and don’t let anyone in except us.”

Rosie rolled her eyes. “Yes, Dad.” He grinned and shoved his gun in the back of his waistband.

Pip winked at her as he closed the door. “See you soon.”

Rosie went through the backpack, rearranging the food and water as thoughts went round and round her head. Pip must care. You didn’t kiss someone like that if you didn’t. Just thinking of it made her face warm – and how she’d wanted him closer, against her skin. She’d had fumbles with other boys, kisses in corners, but not like that.
Stop it, Rosie, get focused!

She tapped her feet, paced. They were taking too long. She was thinking about going after them when the train suddenly lurched and she was thrown back on the seat. A high whistle sounded.

She leaped back up and turned off the window darkeners. Lights. Pinpoints out in the dark getting closer, bigger. Glimpses of spindly shrub, wedges of rock flashed into view. The train was slowing to a stop. It could only mean one thing.

Helios had found them.

Rosie slung on the pack, fighting panic, and opened the door. There was no sign of Pip and Dalton. She paused in an agony of indecision. People were starting to move around in other compartments; she could hear outer doors opening and raised voices. She couldn’t stay here.

She ran down the narrow passage towards the freight cars, hoping Pip and Dalton were on their way back. A woman stepped out in her path, all sleepy-eyed, then leaped back with a squawk as she rushed past. Rosie glanced out the windows on her left. Darkness. Helios could be getting on anywhere. She dodged a man who took a hasty step back into his compartment and shouted at her, but she didn’t turn around.

She reached the end of the carriage and punched the door release. Nothing happened. She punched it again. Damn it! Everything must be in lockdown. She stared through the pane of plasglass in the door and her heart leaped in shock as she saw Pip at the opposite door in the next carriage, staring at her across the metre-wide space that separated them. He was saying something but she couldn’t hear a thing.

The stylus! She’d forgotten she had it.

Rosie shoved it in the lock but again nothing happened. She wanted to scream with frustration. She stared at Pip. His eyes were wide and he was gesturing at her. She shook her head. What? She held up her hands. What was he saying? Dalton leaned over Pip’s shoulder.

“Run!” he mouthed very clearly. Then he said something urgently to Pip and tried to pull him back.

Lights flickered outside the carriage the boys were in. Shadows moving. Fear leaped up and lodged in her throat.

“Run!” Pip’s words were easy to understand this time, with his frantic gesturing.

With one last frightened look, she turned and ran back down the passageway, ramming people out of the way, ignoring their protests. The Senate car was her only option now.

The door to the premium diner wasn’t locked, the tables empty. Rosie pounded past, her steps rattling the cutlery, and headed down a short corridor bisecting a kitchen. She halted at the door that led to the Senate car and shoved the stylus into the lock. The light turned green. The Senate car was empty, but Rosie had a bad feeling her luck wasn’t going to hold.

The car was the same size as the other carriages but had one lounge area and four larger compartments, two on each side of a short corridor. She listened at the first door on the left, then carefully opened it. It was a bedroom with a tiny bathroom, empty, but with nowhere to hide. The next was the same. Muffled noises were coming from the first cabin on the right and the thud of boots came from the next carriage, along with shouts of protest. Desperate, Rosie pushed through the exit door at the end of the carriage.

She was outside on a narrow metal ledge less than half a metre wide. A waist-high rail separated her from the gap between the carriage and the back of the engine car. It was still idling and a piercing beam of light extended from its nose into the night. The air stank of biofuel and dust. Nowhere to hide.

Then she saw it. At the back of the engine car, low down, was a square dark crawl space. She ducked under the rail and dropped down to the shimmering propulsion discs that connected the train and engine. They overlapped like cards in a deck and were still active. Heat burned up through the soles of her boots and she stifled a cry as she skipped across and leaped for the opening of the crawl space. She caught the top of it and swung herself inside, scraping skin, her bag banging the sides just as the exit door opened.

A man’s voice rang out. “Search the area around for footprints.”

There was a crunch of dirt and stones as someone jumped to the ground.

Another voice came, a woman this time, and she sounded irritated. “Where are your Senate orders, captain? I demand to see them. This is most irregular. I will not be happy if I am late for my appointment.”

“Your appointments are irrelevant.” The man’s tone was threatening. “Go back to bed and stay out of my way.” He called to his man on the ground. “Four minutes, then come back in. They’re more likely in the freight. Let me know.” The grunt answered in the affirmative and the door slammed shut.

Rosie didn’t move. The crawl space was a narrow dark tunnel, lined with dust-crusted mesh and stinking of fumes. She huddled against the side, barely breathing.

She guessed they must be somewhere in the no-man’s-land between Newperth and the coastal hub of Oak City. There was nothing out here but dust and the remains of cities that once were, now long abandoned to the encroaching desert. There was nowhere to run to, no choice but to hide. Her heart was thudding so hard, she could almost hear it echoing in the small space.

Her legs were crunched up underneath her and a pulse behind her knee began to throb. She heard the grunt coming back. There was a creak as he swung himself up onto the platform, then the carriage door opened and closed.

Rosie listened for another long moment then, satisfied he wasn’t coming back, shrugged the pack off and tried to get more comfortable. It wasn’t exactly possible. Her knees were jackknifed up and her feet pressed against the opposite side of the space. What was she going to do? She had no idea if Pip or Dalton were okay and no way of contacting them. Her head was aching again, dangerously aching, and that wasn’t the only part that hurt. Her entire body was a travelling circus of pain from the past few days.

She pressed her fingers against the underside of her breast and felt the thread of stimulant in her bra. Should she take some more? She had to be alert. She was trying to decide when she heard the sound of pulse fire.

Pip ran, his boots thundering on the hard carriage floor, Dalton on his heels. People peeking out from their cabins reared back in alarm as they saw them.

The boarding door was just ahead and already sliding open. The first grunt came through as Pip reached it and he ducked low and ploughed into the man’s chest. They went down, his neck jarring as the grunt hit the floor. Pip pummelled his fists into the man’s ribs and got in a good punch to the gut before the grunt threw him off into the wall. Plas panelling splintered under the impact and Pip landed on his back, staring at the ceiling. He rolled and was halfway up when Dalton shouted, “Down!” He ducked and a shot of pulse fire split the air over his head. The grunt, who’d just flipped himself back upright, smashed back down to the floor. The stench of singed fabric and skin filled the corridor. Dalton yanked Pip upright one-handed, like he weighed nothing. Dalton’s face was pinched tight, but he was in control, not panicking. Maybe Pip had misjudged the Central.

Dalton had locked the door but it wasn’t going to hold long. Two more grunts outside were firing at it, and both boys ducked instinctively as pulse fire whumped against the windows, which rattled in their frames. They didn’t break, but they wouldn’t last.

“Come on.” Pip jumped over the body of the grunt and led the way up the corridor towards the exit. Blood ran down his arm from a cut he didn’t recall getting.