👉 Previous Decision: You chose to surround Julian with Ethan and O’Reilly while Nora uses the keycard in the friction brake panel.
“He’s not touching that panel again,” Nora declared, her face grim. She snatched the override keycard from O’Reilly’s hand. “Get him away from it!”
Ethan, his face contorted with rage at Julian’s deception, lunged. O’Reilly, a professional instinct kicking in, moved with him. They grabbed Julian, pinning his arms, shoving him away from the brake panel. Julian struggled, snarling, but was outmatched by their combined strength.
Nora, a retired paramedic who had seen her share of crises, moved with decisive speed. She located the secondary pneumatic brake panel, a small, manual override tucked beneath the main console. She inserted the keycard.
A green light flashed. Nora gripped the heavy lever. “Everyone brace!” she shouted, pulling the lever down with all her might.
A violent lurch ripped through the train. A deafening hiss of compressed air erupted from beneath the carriages. Sparks, brilliant white against the midnight darkness, flew from the wheels as metal screamed against metal. The air filled with the smell of burning rubber and ozone.
The train shuddered, groaning under the immense friction. The relentless acceleration finally began to fight back. Deceleration. Hard.
Maya, holding Lily tight, felt the powerful drag. The carriage rattled, shaking her teeth. Through the window, the faint outline of the Black River Trestle, its gap yawning, was four hundred yards away. They were slowing, but it was agonizingly close.
“Hold him!” Nora yelled, straining against the lever. “Don’t let him go!”
Julian continued to fight, thrashing against Ethan and O’Reilly, his face contorted in a mask of fury.
➡️ Read CHAPTER 11A to continue the story
+ There are no comments
Add yours