Carnal

Chapter Thirty - Meticulous

The back of the truck opened with a loud metallic screech and I winced.

"Get out," Zak said.

It was weird hearing the sound of his voice. I didn't think I'd ever get used to it.

He grabbed my upper arm as I hopped out of the truck, nearly pulling me to the ground.

"Easy," I said, yanking my arm out of his rough grip.

I barely managed to grab the paper sack with my breakfast in it before Zak ushered me away from the truck and towards a long, silver train; much like the one I'd ridden in with Cain.

We were in the middle of nowhere as far as I could tell. Surrounded by towering trees, I couldn't see mountaintops or the village.

It looked as if the train had made a random stop along the track. There was no platform or station, just the train and the track.

A man stood on the train in between cars, waiting for the three of us to walk over to him.

Weber led the way with Zak and I walking closely behind.

Zak had his hand just below my neck on my upper back, guiding me towards the train. This was something he always did when we walked together and it used to make me feel protected and cared for. In that moment, I felt vulnerable and complacent. His hand might as well have been around my throat with the feeling of unease that it brought me.

Snow began to fall lightly as we stood beside the train, listening to Weber converse with the conductor in a language I couldn't identify.

The sun was coming up and I could tell that Zak was watching the daylight that began to spread across the sky anxiously.

Finally, after a few minutes of freezing in the snow, the conductor instructed us to join him aboard the train.

Weber and Zak hopped up onto the iron platform with ease but I didn't have such luck. My feet kept slipping off the ladder and my hands couldn't get a good grip on the railing.

Zak finally picked me up and lifted me onto the platform like a child.

As we made our way inside, I noticed the familiar interior.

Was this the same train?

Zak went around the car we were guided into and pulled all of the shades down, immersing the room into darkness.

A few moments later, the lights in the car flickered on allowing us to see. 

Weber pushed me into a chair at the back of the car next to a window as the train began to move.

I could barely see outside through a small crack where the shade didn't quite cover the entire window.

The train emerged from the trees and I could finally see the sunrise.

"Enjoy it," Zak said. "It will be the last one you see."

I turned to look at him as he walked away.

"What happened to you?"

He stopped and turned to face me.

"It's best you worry about yourself from here on out," he said.

I just shook my head.

"You used to be the most compassionate person I knew," I told him. "You joined the army because you wanted to help people. Now all you do is kill them? It doesn't make sense."

"I never joined the army, Ella. It was all a very well-constructed lie. When are you going to stop trying to see the best in people and start seeing them for who they are?"