Chapter Eighteen (continued)

Diana felt the explosion and woke with a start. For a moment she thought she was back in the hotel, and looked around wildly for Auntie and a path of escape. The sunshine and smell of summer grass confused her. Then she remembered where she was, and she remembered the train. Why had everyone left her up here sleeping? Did they think she was weak? She grabbed one of Will's shirts and pulled it on as she started down the hill. Her knees were still shaky, her thoughts scattered, but the water, food and rest had done some good.

When she got to the point where the trail curved and she could see the valley below, she stood for a moment, mesmerized. The two engines lay on their sides like great dying beasts, sending up clouds of smoke and steam. A trail of overturned cars lay in the grass in their wake. The first were coal cars, then what looked to be a passenger car of some kind.













She saw Galileo ride up, toss a grenade through an open window and gallop away ahead of the explosion. Tiffany and Ikea were shooting survivors as they hauled themselves out of another overturned car, and farther down the line, Will struggled to open a burning livestock car so the animals might be saved. Coyote shouted something, then wheeled his horse as a train passenger climbed onto a boxcar and opened fire.

Diana ran toward where the spare bows and quivers were waiting. Her wounded shoulder ached, but there was no time to doubt if she was up to the task. She grabbed the biggest bow, nocked an arrow and lit the tip. She loosed it into a pool of coal diesel spilling from a tanker next to the boxcar. The fuel ignited in a burst. Will and Coyote spurred their horses out of the way. The man on the boxcar saw the danger too, but before he could leap to safety, the tanker caught and exploded in a burst of oily orange flames, scattering sparks to the other cars nearby. The boxcar caught and exploded, consuming the sniper on top. A passenger car behind the tanker caught too, sending panicked soldiers out the doors and windows, where Will and Coyote picked them off with their rifles until Will tossed a grenade through an open window, putting a stop to the escape.

There were a few cars still upright on the tracks, but they appeared to be just freight. Will, Coyote and Galileo, trotted their horses down the line while Diana grabbed a gun and joined Tiffany and Ikea in examining the wreckage for survivors.

Professional and intent on their mission, the sisters treated Diana's presence as entirely expected. They went down the line of derailed cars inspecting each one for signs of life. Diana had already seen enough death for one day, but she suppressed her distaste for the task and shot any man who appeared to still be breathing. One in particular, unconscious and still clutching a trumpet case to his side, looked so young that her breath caught and she hesitated. Just then a bloody bear of a man launched himself at her from behind a row of seats. She wounded him with her first shot and fired again, just to be certain. By then the boy with the trumpet had regained consciousness and was fumbling with a pistol. With an inward sigh of despair, she dispatched him, too. Poor kid. What insanity had led him to invade another country at his age?

When finally there were no more survivors, everyone gathered in a huddle near the livestock car. Coyote was on a destruction high, eyes bright, words tumbling over one another. "Wasn't that the best ever? You guys were great! And the train—" He paused to catch his breath, beaming in pleased wonderment at the smoldering cars. "That was incredible!"

"We're just lucky there weren't very many troops," Galileo said. "Let's not spend too much time congratulating ourselves. We need to be gone before the night train gets here, in case there's more soldiers on it."

"We'll blow up the night train, too."

"I don't think so."

"But we've got more weapons and ammo now— the last two cars are full of it, and there's still a full fuel tanker. The derailment will be no problem this time because in the dark they won't see the other train in time to stop. It'll be a big crash and an explosion. . ." Coyote's eyes blazed with excitement. "The night train is always just freight, anyway."

"Under the circumstances, we can't assume that." Galileo turned to Diana. "Just how big is this threat from México Lindo? What are the chances there will be more soldiers on the way?"

Diana’s burst of energy was fading and it depressed her to think of moving on when she only wanted to eat and rest, but she considered the matter truthfully. "I think we need to leave. We can't take a chance that they won't be moving troops on the next train, and the one after it, too."

Coyote opened his mouth to protest, but seeing that everyone was in agreement, he turned away in disgust. "Fine. Let's at least see what we can salvage, okay?"

"That was always the plan." Galileo looked at the assembled group. "Who wants to go with me to get the carts?"

"I'll go," Diana said. "It sounds easier than crawling around the train."

"Eat something before you come back down," Will told her.

"Don't listen to him," Coyote said. "There's food somewhere on this train, and I bet it's better than the crap we've got in camp."

"Save me something then, okay?" Diana looked around, her gaze falling on Tiffany's horse. "Do you think. . . ?"

"Go on. I don't need her."

While the others scattered to pick useful treasure from the wreck, Diana swung herself into the saddle and followed Galileo up the path.














"Are you up for this?" he asked, once they were away from the others.

"I don't have much choice."

"I don't know what happened back there in San Eusebio, but a person would have to be blind to see that you're not yourself. If you'd rather rest. . ."

"No, Will is right. I just need to eat."

"I don't want you thinking you have to be a hero."

"Hero?" Diana remembered the face of the boy on the train. He had probably spent most of his short life dreaming of the places he would play his trumpet. "I'm beginning to think none of us are heroes."

"It sounds like you're starting to gain a little wisdom."

"Is that why it's not fun?"

"Only fools and children think this is a game." He noticed she was staring vacantly at the landscape. "Come on. We'll get you some food and see if that doesn't help a little. If you don't get to feeling better by the time we're ready to leave, I'll make a pallet for you in one of the carts."

"I can ride."

"No heroes. Remember?"

"What ails me is in my head. A pallet in a donkey cart won't fix that."

Eighteen

Everything was in place for the afternoon train. Coyote was in his element, arranging and rearranging people and equipment as he got new ideas. Finally the explosives were set, fuse lines run, rifles and extra ammunition placed in optimal spots. There was even a small fire where they staged bows and quivers of arrows with flammable tips, in case some of the fuses proved to be duds and didn't ignite the powder.

Coyote peered down the track through the binoculars, kicking a loose tie and frowning at the empty horizon. "Let's get our horses," he said to Will.

"Is the train coming?"

"It's got to be. It always comes through about this time."

They waved to Galileo, who brought them their horses. "My only concern," the man said, gazing up the track, "Is what if it turns out to be a dedicated troop train? There's no way even with the explosives, we could kill them all."

Coyote mounted his horse and tugged on its reins. "That's the only thing we don't have enough supplies to handle, so there's no point worrying about it."

"Maybe I should wake Diana," Will said. "Just in case we have to make a run for it."

"No, she's safe."

Will wasn't sure if that was a pronouncement from "them" or simply an ordinary guess, but there was no time to ask, because they saw a hint of movement along the horizon. Coyote sent Will and Galileo to their stations and trotted his horse up and down the line, watching as the train went from a pinprick to a rapidly growing line of diesel engines and dusty cars.












He tethered his mare to a tie lying in the grass and readied his flints and signal flag, breathing hard with anticipation as he waited for the perfect moment. When he could bear it no longer, he waved the flag, lit the tinder, and touched off the fuses. The twine sparked and caught, and the flames raced down the line in pursuit of the oncoming engines.

The earth rumbled and the chugging of the engines became louder. With a screech of metal on metal, the wheels hit the first of the spikes scattered along the rails and began to skid. The engines rocked, the motion moving down the line of cars and setting them all swaying. Then the first of the charges lit, and the sound of the pistons was drowned in a series of explosions. More metal on metal as the engine careered wildly, picking up loose spikes as the engineer scrambled to set the brakes.

The engine and lead cars hit the diverted section of rail and veered off into the grass, tumbling over and crashing as the last of the charges went off, shaking the ground like an earthquake in a thunder of flame and smoke.