Chapter 9 - The Broken Bone
The sickening crack of bone echoed louder in my own head than the roar of the train.
Blinding, agonizing pain exploded through my right arm.
I screamed, nearly losing my grip on the freezing crossbeam as my right hand went completely numb.
My flashlight tumbled from my grasp, shattering instantly on the tracks below.
I was plunged into darkness, hanging beneath a runaway train with a broken arm.
The Lancaster curve was less than two miles away.
I closed my eyes, fighting back the waves of nausea and shock radiating from my fractured wrist.
I couldn't use my right hand to turn the heavy brass bleed valve.
And the valve required immense torque to break the rusted safety seal.
"Natalie!" Marcus yelled from the gaping hatch above me, shining his own flashlight down into the darkness.
"I can see the valve!" I yelled back, my voice strained with agony.
"But my arm is broken!"
I reached awkwardly with my left hand, pulling myself inches closer to the massive brass lever.
My fingers brushed the cold metal of the valve handle.
I gripped it tightly and pulled with all my remaining strength.
It didn't budge a single millimeter.
The safety seal was rusted shut from years of minimal maintenance.
"It's stuck!" I screamed into the roaring wind.
"I need more leverage!"
I heard movement above me.
I expected Marcus to climb down to help me.
Instead, a pair of expensive trousers and ruined silk stockings dropped into the hatchway.
Sloane lowered herself onto the crossbeam beside me, her face pale with absolute terror.
"What are you doing here?" I yelled.
"I am not letting you die alone under this train!" Sloane shouted back.
She wrapped her slender arms around the cold steel beam to secure herself.
"Tell me what to do!" Sloane demanded.
I looked at the heavy wrench still hanging from my utility belt.
"Take my wrench," I instructed, my voice shaking from the pain.
"Lock the teeth onto the brass handle."
Sloane reached across me, her hands trembling violently as she secured the heavy steel wrench onto the valve lever.
"Now what?" Sloane asked.
"I am going to wrap my belt around the wrench handle," I explained.
"When I say pull, we both throw our entire body weight backward."
I unbuckled my heavy leather utility belt with my good hand and looped it tightly around the wrench.
I handed the loose end of the belt to Sloane.
"On three!" I yelled, bracing my steel-toed boots against the undercarriage.
"One!"
The train began to lean slightly as we hit the very beginning of the Lancaster curve.
"Two!"
May you like
Sparks began to shower over us as the wheels strained against the turning tracks.
"Three! Pull!"
