The Children of Fear (11 page)

“You'll be all right,” he promised her. “I'll find you a doctor.”

Luke rushed to the door that led into the matron's private compartment. He turned the knob and yanked, but the door stayed closed.

Locked! It's locked, he realized. He banged on the door, but there was no one to open it. The matron was dead. No one had come to replace her.

We're trapped! He looked at Mary. Her face appeared so pale. A thin sheen of sweat covered her brow.

“Don't worry,” he called to her. “I'll find another way to get help.”

Luke raced across the boxcar. He struggled with the sliding door and shoved it open.

The wind rushed in, pushing him back.

He hung on to the side of the boxcar and leaned out. He spotted the wooden ladder that led to the roof about an arm's length away.

He glanced down at the huge iron wheels of the train. They spun so fast.

His mouth grew dry. If I fall …

Don't think about that, Luke ordered himself.

He listened to the sound of the wheels. The rhythm pounded in his head.

Must save Mary. Must save Mary. Must save Mary.

Luke stretched his arm toward the ladder. His fingers only skimmed the side.

He leaned farther out. Straining to grab hold of the ladder.

The train jerked to one side. Luke's feet slid out from under him. He was falling. Plunging toward the ground.

He snagged a rung of the ladder with one hand. The muscles in his arm burned as he struggled to support the weight of his body.

Luke took a deep breath and swung his body around so he faced the ladder. He grabbed the rung with his other hand—and started to climb.

The rickety ladder trembled with each step Luke took. He scrambled onto the top of the train, pressing himself flat against it.

He studied the train in the darkness. Up ahead, he caught sight of the smokestack and the gray smoke billowing into the night. It's not too far to the engine,
he thought. If I can make it up there, the engineer will help me get a doctor for Mary.

Carefully Luke drew himself to his feet. Like a tightrope walker he'd once seen at the circus, he walked slowly down the train.

The train lurched, and Luke stumbled to his knees. Pain shot up one of his legs. He stood and continued toward the engine car.

There was no time to waste. Mary needed every second he could give her.

He reached the end of the car. He studied the distance between it and the car ahead of him.

Dizziness hit him as the train clacked over the tracks. Everything blurred—the tracks, the train, the ground.

Luke crouched down and wrapped his hands around the edge of the car. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. He began to repeat Mary's name in his mind.

He opened his eyes and stared at the next boxcar. He judged it to be at least six feet away. It swayed as the train rushed over the tracks.

He glanced down. His gaze locked on the iron wheels. They could cut me in half, he thought.

I have to do it, Luke told himself. He shoved himself to his feet.

Then he ran. Ran hard.

And leapt.

He hit the boxcar hard. The air rushed out of his lungs. He didn't bother trying to stand. He crawled to the end of the boxcar on all fours.

Splinters dug into his feet and hands.

When he had almost reached the edge, he stood up
and ran. He jumped onto the next car and stumbled down it without pausing to rest.

Only two more to go, he thought. The cool wind whipped around him.

He crossed the boxcars as quickly as he could. He imagined the poison pumping through Mary's body. There wasn't much time left.

Luke climbed down the ladder on the side of the engine car. He swung himself inside.

The engineer jerked his head toward Luke. “What are you doing in here?” the man shouted.

“It's one of the orphans. She's been bitten by a black widow spider,” Luke told him. “You've got to get her some help. Quickly, or she'll die for sure.”

The engineer's eyes widened. “A black widow! I'll stop as soon as I see someplace where we can get help.”

“Thank you,” Luke said. He reached for the ladder and felt a strong hand grab his arm. He glanced over his shoulder.

“Stay here,” the engineer ordered. “It's too dangerous up there.”

“No. She needs me.” Luke jerked free and clambered out onto the ladder before the engineer could grab him again.

His heart thundered in his ears as he climbed back onto the top of the car.

The train rumbled. It lurched back and forth. Luke knew it could easily throw him off.

But Mary must be terrified, he thought. I have to tell her that we're going to get her to a doctor.

Luke made his way down the train as fast as he could. He climbed down the ladder, swung back
inside the orphans' boxcar, and slammed the door closed.

He ran over to Mary and dropped to his knees beside her.

She gazed up at him, her blue eyes round and shining with fever and fear. He smoothed back her hair and felt her forehead.

She's burning up. He noticed that her clothes were drenched in sweat.

“You'll be all right, Mary,” Luke said. He cupped her cheek and turned her face toward him. “The engineer will stop soon. You'll be all right.”

Her beautiful blue eyes glazed over.

“I saw the evil,” she whispered. “I saw the evil, Luke. You must kill…

L
uke stood in front of Mary's grave. Corey whimpered softly beside him. The little boy clutched Luke's leg tightly.

A black wrought-iron fence circled the small cemetery. Nearby, a white clapboard church served as a silent sentinel.

Leah waited at the gate. She refused to come into the cemetery.

She had not smiled when Mary died.

But neither had she cried.

The train had finally pulled into this tiny town near midnight. But it had been much too late for Mary.

Perhaps it is too late for all of us, Luke thought bitterly.

When Luke closed his eyes, he could hear Mary's dying words. I saw the evil. You must kill …

But he couldn't. He couldn't kill his sister.

Even though he believed she killed Mary by sending the black widow to bite her, Luke couldn't kill his sister.

Corey's whimpers turned into sobs as he placed the mangled wildflowers he'd picked on Mary's grave. He had begun to cry the minute Mary died. He cried through the night, in his sleep, as he tossed and turned.

He is so small, Luke realized. Too young to see so much death.

Luke looked one last time at Mary's grave. Then he turned away and studied the small town that stretched out before him.

Last Chance.

An odd name for a town, Luke thought, but it looks like a good place for a family to make a new start.

Stores lined both sides of the dusty main street. All the buildings were wooden. The general store, the bank, the hotel. At the end of the street, away from everything else, loomed a big stone building.

The words
INSANE ASYLUM
had been carved in the stone above the door.

Is that where Leah belongs? he wondered. If I put her in a place like that, would it prevent her from hurting anyone else?

Someday, he thought, someday soon I will have to make that decision. But not today. Today I must find a family to adopt us, a home where we can live.

Perhaps Leah will return to her old self and all of this will seem like a bad dream.

The train had gone on without them, taking the orphans farther west.

Maybe Mary was right. Maybe it was the orphan
train that brought out the worst in Leah. Maybe with a family, Leah would start using her gift as Father wanted her to. She could use her gift to guide the animals. Not turn them into monsters.

Last Chance.

This town will be our last chance to be a family, Luke realized.

We'll start over here, he decided.

We'll find a family in this town to adopt us.

Corey will talk again and Leah will stop her evil ways.

I'm sure of it.

Leah, Corey, and I will stay together. As a family.

And no one will try to hurt us.

♦ ♦ ♦

Luke walked along the dusty road, Leah and Corey following him. Oak trees gave them plenty of shade to protect them from the sun.

Leah grunted as she lifted Corey into her arms. “How much farther, Luke?” she asked.

Luke could see smoke spiraling from the chimney of a nearby farmhouse. He pointed. “We'll try over there first,” he told her.

“First,” she mumbled, and shifted Corey on her hip. “Are you expecting a second, and a third, and a fourth? How many in all?”

“As many as it takes,” Luke replied, and quickened his pace.

As they approached the large two-story white farmhouse, Luke's hopes soared. The front had four windows on the first floor and four windows on the second floor. If each window belongs to a separate room, they should have space for us here, he thought.

A plump woman sat on the front porch, churning butter. Three small girls sat at her feet. Another girl swung on a thickly knotted rope hanging from a nearby tree.

The woman smiled kindly as Luke stopped in front of the porch. “ 'Afternoon, ma'am,” Luke said. “I'm Luke Fier—”

A boy dashed around the corner of the house, another close on his heels. Luke jumped back before they could collide with him. Six children. He'd seen six children so far. Still, he hoped …

“My brother, my sister, and I are orphans.”

The woman's smile faded.

“We're looking for a place to call home,” Luke continued. “I know how to work the fields—”

The woman rose, raising a hand to stop Luke's words.

Luke knew what her answer would be before she opened her mouth.

“I'm sorry, but we already have twelve children. The farm hasn't done well this year. We can barely feed those we have. You might try the Greens. Just follow the dirt road. You'll see a bright yellow house. Try there.”

“Thank you, ma'am.”

The woman dropped her gaze to Corey. “Let your little brother come play with my children once you get settled in.”

They found the Greens' house without any trouble. It reminded Luke of a big yellow canary sitting in the middle of a big green nest. He had never seen a house painted bright yellow.

Lacy white curtains billowed out of all the windows on the first and second floors. Smoke spiraled out of
the brick chimney. Someone had painted the chimney yellow as well.

On the white front porch, two empty yellow rocking chairs rocked in the breeze.

A man dressed in overalls and wearing a rumpled hat shoveled slop around in a hog pen. Six black hogs with white spots grunted and lumbered around the man.

Luke had never seen such huge hogs. They stood taller than the man's knees. Their deep grunts and squeals echoed across the yard.

That must be Mr. Green, he thought as he watched the man shove a hog out of his way. His tall, thin body looked lean and strong. He wore a pleasant expression as he tended the hogs. White hair stuck out in all directions from beneath his hat.

Luke looked back toward the house and saw a woman kneeling before a flower bed, digging the dirt around some bright yellow posies. That must be Mrs. Green, Luke realized.

He didn't see any children. He didn't hear any children.

He moistened his fingers with his tongue. Then he slicked down his hair. He did the same to Corey.

“Be on your best behavior,” he said as he knelt in front of his little brother.

“You sound like the matron,” Leah said, and Luke could hear the resentment in her voice.

“I'm sorry,” Luke said as he stood. “I don't mean to sound like her. But I'd like us to find a home, and this looks like a nice farm.” He sighed heavily. “Please try, Leah. For Corey's sake. He needs parents. Once he has a home, I'm certain he'll feel happier and talk again. We might all feel happier,” he added.

Leah exchanged glances with Corey. Reluctantly, she nodded. “All right, Luke. I'll be nice.”

Leah's promise had excitement thrumming through Luke's veins. With Leah's cooperation, he thought they might have a chance to find a home here.

And put the evil behind them.

Taking Leah's and Corey's hands, he walked toward Mrs. Green.

“Excuse me, are you Mrs. Green?” Luke asked quietly.

The woman jumped back, pressing a hand to the white lace that circled her throat. “Oh, my goodness. You startled me.”

Mrs. Green smiled, and her eyes crinkled at the corners. “Yes, I'm Mrs. Green. Who are you?” she asked in a kind voice. She lifted a hand and touched her white hair. She wore it in a bun. But it wasn't a tight bun like the matron had worn, Luke noticed. It looked soft.

“I'm Luke Fier. This is my brother, Corey. And my sister, Leah,” he told her, pulling Corey and Leah forward. “Our parents died. We were traveling on the orphan train and now we're looking for a home—”