Page 104 of Unhinged Alphas

The wind howls in my ears as I cling to the drone, my muscles screaming from the effort. I have seconds before the other drones calculate I'm hanging off one of them. My eyes lock onto the locomotive at the front of the train, a squat metal beast spewing smoke and sparks.

I swing my body forward, using my momentum to propel the drone toward the front of the train. The engines whine in protest, but I grit my teeth and push harder.

Just a little closer...

The other drones fall into formation behind us, red lights blinking ominously. I can almost feel their targeting systems locking onto me, the fine hair on the back of my neck and my arms prickling.

Now or never.

I release my grip on the drone and drop, my stomach lurching as I plummet toward the train. For a heart-stopping moment, there's nothing but air beneath me. Then my feet slam into the roof of the locomotive, the impact jarring every bone in my body.

I roll, barely catching myself before I slide off the edge. The wind tears at my clothes, threatening to rip me away. But I dig my fingers into a seam in the metal and hold on for dear life.

Above me, the drones open fire where I was just standing.

The night explodes into chaos. Laser fire streaks past me, slamming into the locomotive with deadly precision. Metal shrieks and twists, the engine erupting into flames.

The train bucks and shudders beneath me. I risk a glance back and my heart stops. The last few cars have already derailed, wheels sparking and screeching against the tracks. From this angle, I can't tell if Wraith and Valek are even still on the train to begin with. For all I know, they've fallen into the snow-covered mountainside sloping down from the tracks.

What I do know is we're out of time.

We have seconds, maybe ten, before the train reaches the bridge spanning the deep valley between this mountain and the next. There's no way the partially derailed train is going to be able to take the next curve without coming off the tracks entirely.

And then we'll plummet hundreds of feet to our deaths.

The locomotive groans, smoke billowing from its ruined engine. We're slowing down, but not fast enough. The mountain track curves sharply ahead, a sheer drop waiting to swallow us whole.

I swing myself into the burning cab, my fingers bloody from gripping the icy metal. The heat from the engine sears my face, but through the flames, I spot the emergency brake. It's partially melted, warped by the heat.

Fuck it.

I plunge my hand into the inferno, fingers closing around the scorching metal. Pain unlike anything I've ever felt sears through my arm. I grit my teeth and pull with every ounce of strength I have left.

The brake gives way with a shriek of tortured metal.

The world tilts sideways as the train finally loses its battle with gravity. I'm thrown clear, tumbling through the air as the ground rushes up to meet me.

Snow. So much snow.

I hit the slope and roll, my world a dizzying blur of white and pain. The roar of the derailingtrain fills my ears, punctuated by the thunderous impacts of cars crashing into the mountainside.

I come to a stop at the bottom of the slope, my body a mass of pain and cold. For a moment, I just lie there, gasping for breath, snow melting against my burning skin, soothing the already numb yet persistently needling pain.

A mechanical whine cuts through the air. My head snaps up, heart pounding harder as I spot three of the drones circling overhead. They're partially melted from the heat of the destroyed train, but their red targeting lights still paint the snow around me, zeroing in on my position.

This is it. I'm dead.

I close my eyes and grit my teeth, bracing for the searing heat of laser fire. But instead of death, a robotic, heat-warped voice blares from the drones.

"OMEGA. HOLD FIRE. OMEGA. HOLD FIRE."

My eyes fly open. What the fuck? How did they?—

The drones' weapons systems power down with an audible purr. For a split second, relief floods through me. Then reality crashes back in as they descend, surrounding me.

No. No no no.

Terror claws at my throat. I'd rather die than betaken again. My body moves on instinct, lunging for a fallen tree branch half-buried in the snow. My fingers close around the rough bark just as the first drone swoops down.