Point Blank

careened forward. Soot blew into his eyes, blinding him. He thought he was going to fall. Minutes seemed to pass in mere seconds.
    But then, miraculously, they burst out into the light. Alex fought for his balance and then brought the horse back under control, pulling back with the reins and squeezing the horse’s flanks with his knees. He took a deep breath and waited for Fiona to appear.
    His horse had come to rest on the bridge that she had mentioned. The bridge was fashioned out of thick iron girders and spanned a river. There had been a lot of rain that month and, about fifty feet below him, the water was racing past, dark green and deep. Carefully, he turned around to face the tunnel. If he lost control here, it would be easy to fall over the edge. The sides of the bridge couldn’t have been more than three feet high.
    He could hear Fiona approaching. She had been cantering after him, probably laughing the entire way. He gazed into the tunnel, and that was when Fiona’s gray horse burst out, raced past him, and disappeared through the gate crossing on the other side of the bridge.
    But Fiona wasn’t on it.
    The horse had come out alone.
    It took Alex a few seconds to work it out. His head was reeling. She must have fallen off.
    Perhaps her horse had stumbled. She could be lying inside the tunnel. On the track. How long was there until the next train? Twenty minutes, she had said. But at least five of those minutes had gone, and she might have been exaggerating to begin with.
    Alex swore. Damn this wretched girl with her spoiled brat behavior and her almost suicidal games. But he couldn’t leave her. He seized hold of the reins. Somehow he would get this horse to obey him. He had to get her out, and he had to do it fast.
    Perhaps his desperation managed to communicate itself to the horse’s brain. The animal wheeled around and tried to back away, but when Alex kicked with his heels, it stumbled forward and reluctantly entered the darkness of the tunnel for a second time. Alex kicked again.
    He didn’t want to hurt it, but he could think of no other way to make it obey him.
    The horse trotted on. Alex searched ahead. ‚Fiona!‛ he called out. There was no reply. He had hoped that she would be walking toward him, but he couldn’t hear any footsteps. If only there were more light!
    The horse stopped and there she was, right in front of him, lying on the ground, her arms and chest actually on the line. If a train came now, it would cut her in half. It was too dark to see her face, but when she spoke he heard the pain in her voice.
    ‚Alex…,‛ she said. ‚I think I’ve broken my ankle.‛
    ‚What happened?‛
    ‚There was a cobweb or something. I was trying to keep up with you. It went in my face and I lost my balance.‛
    She’d been trying to keep up with him! She almost sounded as if she were blaming him—as if she had forgotten that she was the one who had whipped his horse on in the first place.
    ‚Can you get up?‛ Alex asked.
    ‚I don’t think so.‛
    Alex sighed. Keeping a tight hold on the reins, he slid off his horse. Fiona had fallen right in the middle of the tunnel. He forced himself not to panic. If what she had told him was true, the next train must still be at least ten minutes away.
    He reached down to help her up. His foot came to rest on one of the rails …
    … and he felt something. Under his foot. Shivering up his leg. The track was vibrating.
    The train was on its way.
    ‚You’ve got to stand up,‛ he said, trying to keep the fear out of his voice. He could already see the train in his imagination, thundering along the line. When it plunged into the tunnel, it would be a five-hundred-ton torpedo that would smash them to pieces. He could hear the grinding of the wheels, the roar of the engines. Blood and darkness. It would be a horrible way to die.
    But he still had time.
    ‚Can you move your toes?‛ he asked.
    ‚I think so.‛ Fiona was clutching him.
    ‚Then your ankle’s probably sprained, not broken. Come on.‛
    He dragged her up, wondering if it would be possible to stay inside the tunnel, on the edge of the track. If they hugged the wall, the train might simply go past them. But Alex knew there wouldn’t be enough space. And even if the train missed them, it would still hit the horse.
    Suppose it derailed? Dozens of people could be killed.
    ‚What train comes this way?‛ he asked. ‚Does it carry passengers?‛
    ‚Yes.‛ Fiona was sounding tearful.