I screeched to a halt, heart pounding. Pitch black surrounded me like oil in a barrel. I couldn’t breath, I could only whimper in bursts of terror that brought in no air, only soot, and filled my lungs, coating them with darkness, until there was only the dark outside and pitch inside and I couldn’t see a thing.
“Taylor.” Justin was shaking me. “Twenty seconds, that’s all, come on, count with me.”
“I-I…” I stuttered. I couldn’t think, I certainly couldn’t count.
“One, two, three, four. It’s going to be alright. Seven, eight, nine, ten. Halfway there. Twelve, thirteen, fourteen. We’re getting you out of here in a few seconds. Sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty. Go, Taylor, GO.” He spun me and shoved me towards the end of the tunnel. I stumbled a few steps and my feet caught on something. I fell and smacked my head on a rail.
My ears rang as I touched the huge egg-shaped lump growing above my eye. My legs were moving though, as if I was still running. They knew what I should be doing.
“Get up!” Justin pulled at my elbow and I let him help me to my feet. Then a whoosh of air yanked my hair into a stream behind me. A McDonalds wrapper tangled on my ankles on its way into the tunnel and I tried to spin.
Suddenly the rush of air reversed. The train was on its way into the station.
Dimly, I heard more screaming. It wasn’t coming from me. My mouth was open, but no sound emerged. The sounds were from above; from the platform.
“Go. You can make it.” I couldn’t see Justin, or the panic in his face, but I could hear it in his voice. I broke into a run.
When I scrambled out of the tunnel entrance the man who had offered me his arm was still there, shouting and cursing at me. I reached for him, but he was too far away.
Behind me the pressure of the oncoming train struck my back, as if it was pushing the air ahead of it, compressing it into a smaller space. “Oh God.”
The words barely formed on my lips and Justin was there. Like a rugby player he slammed into my thighs and hurled me upwards. My gloved hand closed around the stranger’s wrist and he hauled me up, tearing my shirt, hurting my shoulder, but pulling me out of the way of the train. My feet cleared the platform edge just as the engine screeched into the station.
I rolled and the man and I pitched into a clutch of white-faced commuters.
“What the hell were you doing?”
“Stupid cow.”
“Jesus, are you alright?”
Their voices faded to nothing as the train doors hissed open and I spun back to face the tunnel.
Where was Justin?
An arm grabbed mine. “Move it.” I blinked. It was Pete, shoving me through the cluster of angry watchers. “Security will be on their way. Head for the way out.”
“Hey! I don’t think you should be going anywhere.” It was the man who had saved my life. He closed his fingers around my wrist, just above my filthy, soot-stained glove.
“Get off her.” James slammed his fist into the guy’s forearm to break his hold. Then Tamsin and Pete gripped both of my elbows and hustled me along the platform.
“I… I…” I wanted to say thanks. I wanted to find Justin. I’d never seen one of the dead hit by a train. Could you get more dead?
“I can’t believe you did that.” Tamsin was wheezing with laughter. “You should see your face. You should have seen all those people. That might be the best video yet. You reckon, Harls?”
Harley nodded. My feet barely touched the floor as they bundled me past the glowing Way Out sign and up the first staircase.
“Here, take my cap.” Pete jammed a baseball cap over my hair. “The transport police will be looking for you.”
“It’ll take more than a cap.” Tamsin was already removing her jacket. “Put this on. Quick.”
Moving on autopilot I shoved my arms into the body-warm sleeves looking around frantically. Where was Justin?
“Where’s your Oyster card? We can’t stop at the gates.” Tamsin shook my arm. “Get with the programme, Oh. Do you want to spend the night locked up?”
I shook my arm free of her grip and pulled my card from my jeans. I showed it to her wordlessly.
“Come on then.”
We were facing the giant escalator. Tamsin pushed me onto the stair ahead of her and the others crowded on. “Run, Oh.” Tamsin gave me another shove and I forced myself to speed upwards, trying not to trip as my eyes blurred the lines on the stairs and turned the escalator into an illusory slope.
There was an angry shout behind us and I paused long enough to turn around. A guard stood at the bottom of the escalator, walkie-talkie in hand.
“We’re not going to make it,” Tamsin gasped.
“Harley, Pete – diversion,” James snapped.
Pete and Harley shouldered past, sprinted to the top of the moving stair and vanished.
I grimaced and held onto my side as a stitch drove a spike through my kidneys.
Above me Pete began to shout.
“They’ll close the station any minute,” Tamsin called.
My legs felt like jelly and I was shaking all over, exhaustion, adrenaline… rage. I forced one last effort from my body and hurtled up the final steps. I staggered off the escalator like a drunk and doubled over.
“Only one more.” Tamsin patted the middle of my back then gave me another push. “Not so long this time.”
“I know,” I gasped and stood up. James and Tamsin hemmed me on each side and forced me to move faster. We ran up the last escalator and emerged into daylight. Only one gate was open and guards were checking cards and faces.
“You’ll be fine,” Tamsin whispered. “We’ve got out of stations before.”
I nodded, too shattered to disbelieve her, and got into the queue.
Just as I was about to place my Oyster card on the gate, shouting broke out. I turned along with everyone else. Pete and Harley were having a fist fight. My mouth fell open. I’d never in my life seen Pete hit anyone.
They rolled to the floor, howling and yelling at one another and all but one of the staff ran through the gates to separate them. The single guard remaining wasn’t too interested in peering beneath my cap, especially as they were looking for a bare headed girl in filthy clothes. I ducked into the fresh air, where I inhaled as if I’d never breathed before.
Tamsin and James flanked me once more. “There’s a Pizza Express down the road. You can clean up and we’ll wait there for the boys.” Tamsin fingered her jacket with distaste. “You’d better keep this till you get home. Dry clean it before you give it back.”
I wrapped my arms around myself with a sigh. Now I was in the open air I could smell the Poison seeping from the designer threads. My stomach lurched, but she was right. I had to stay covered up for the journey home. I glanced down. My jeans were blackened and torn at the knee; who knew what my shirt looked like.
While Tamsin and James slid into their chairs I sidled past the tables and ran down the steps into the toilet. I cleaned my clothes up as best I could with paper towels and water, then pulled off the cap and stared into the mirror.
My right cheekbone was scraped and bleeding and I had a lump on my forehead that was already bluish purple and surrounded by angry red swelling. I touched it gingerly and winced. My left hand was also scraped and I ran it under the tap as I pulled the filthy glove from my right. I couldn’t go home without it. I hesitated for a moment then put it back on. I held a wet towel against the lump on my forehead and tried to run my fingers through my hair. They came up against another bump on the back of my head and a snarl of knots so tight there was no moving it.
I rammed the cap back on. I’d deal with it later.