Fearless Warrior: Isaacson Trilogy Book Two

25

He glanced behind him, turned back to Elsie, and squared his shoulders. He'd have to move fast, stay low to the ground to help spread out his weight, and pray to whichever gods were listening that everything would work in his favor.

Esmund crawled forward on hands and knees, moving as quickly as he dared, and reached out to pull the twisted shelving away first, but he stopped when he thought he heard Ulric shout his name.

He held his breath and strained his ears but heard nothing. It had to have been the wind playing tricks on him. When he gripped the shelves, he heard Ulric shout again, this time closer, "ESMUND!"

"WE'RE ALIVE," Esmund shouted back.

Snow crunched underfoot, branches snapped, and rocks clinked and scattered. He jumped a minute later when pebbles rolled and bounced down against the train with heavy thuds.

"Hold on, little brother," Ulric called out, "we're coming to get you."

Esmund sighed in relief and pulled the shelves away from Elsie. The car shifted, angling more steeply down the slope and causing Elsie to gasp in pain as the full weight of the benches fell against her.

He cursed and grabbed one of the benches by a leg, "Hang on, honey. I'm going to get you out of here." The bench refused to budge. "I think it's caught..."

Her lips trembled as she strained against the weight, "Please don't let me die."

There was no time to lose. If Esmund waited much longer, she'd be suffocated. He bit his lip as an idea struck.

Without berserkering, he was only at half strength, which was still more than the average human, but with the direction and slope of the car, half strength wouldn't be enough to do what was needed. If he popped a baneberry, he'd be able to hold the full weight off of her as long as required and still have sufficient energy to pull them to safety when the time came.

Of course, there were risks involved, death being chief among them, but now, with Ulric nearby, there was a higher chance of success. Slowly, he reached for the tin of baneberries in his front pocket, flicked the lid open, pinched a single berry between thumb and forefinger, and popped it in his mouth.

The bitter juice burned as it slipped down his throat and caused muscles and veins to bulge with immeasurable power. His hearing and vision sharpened, colors muted, and calm stole over him.

He held Elsie's gaze as he grasped the benches and pulled back with painstaking slowness until he freed Elsie's arm and lower body. She gasped in a lungful of air and started to push against the benches, but Esmund shook his head and grunted.

A series of thumps and scrapes against the bottom and side of the car had several passengers screaming in terror as the car shifted and slid. Esmund transferred the weight to his left hand and clutched Elsie's arm with his right. Every muscle in his body tensed, ready to tug her free.

"And you thought taking the train would be boring," Ulric said, poking his head through one of the broken windows a few seconds later.

Esmund turned and scowled at Ulric with a grunt. He would have said the same thing if he were in Ulric's position, but being on the receiving end made it not nearly as humorous.

Ulric shrugged, glanced from one end of the car to the other, and pursed his lips. "This thing's liable to go any moment, so we'll have to act fast." He motioned to the other survivors, "Each of you, move real slow, and I'll pull you up and out."

Two passengers helped finish tying a makeshift bandage over the wound of the woman with the gash on her forehead before she stood. Her body was rigid with panic as she took mincing steps toward Ulric.