Survival Instinct (The Adventures of Eric and Ursula Book 2)

by A. D. Winch

  Agent Carme took the guard’s arm tenderly and carefully led him into the next carriage.

  “You must be tired after your adventure,” she said. “Have some of this, it will give you a buzz.”

  The guard’s sight was starting to return, but he couldn’t see what he had been handed clearly. It felt like a bar of something and smelled of cocoa. He took a bite. It was bitter, dark chocolate, but tasty.

  “Sit down,” said Agent Carme and helped the guard. He fell into the chair and was asleep before his bottom hit the upholstery. Agent Carme made sure he did not look suspicious and returned to Andrea.

  As she entered the guard’s room, she took two strips of material from her pocket and quickly gagged and blindfolded Andrea.

  “I can handle her now,” she said to Agent Arche, who was still sat uncomfortably on Andrea’s back. “Get Carpo and then go and get those kids.”

  Agent Arche got up awkwardly and left the guard’s room. He shut the door behind him.

  In his ear piece, he could hear Agent Hoover saying, “Arche and Carpo, time to retrieve White King and Black Queen.”

  In the background, Alexander shouted from the toilet, “Hello, hello! I’m stuck. Can someone let me out, please?”

  Agent Carpo returned to the toilet door and shook the handle without trying to let Alexander out.

  “It seems to be jammed,” he said, “Sit tight and I’ll get the guard. There is no need to shout or you’ll wake the whole train.”

  He walked off and joined Agent Arche outside the children’s compartment.

  “Try and keep it simple first,” instructed Agent Hoover.

  The door was thin and flimsy. Both agents knew that one kick could open it, but they did as advised and knocked first.

  Inside, Ursula was sat by the window watching the green countryside whizz past the train. She had changed her clothes and had put on her trainers, old blue jeans and yellow vest top. Above her, Eric was still asleep. At one point, he had shouted out, “It’s mine,” but had not woken.

  The knock startled Ursula. She jumped up from the window and approached the door.

  “Who is it?”

  Agent Arche made no attempt to disguise his voice and replied, “Passport control.”

  “Er, please wait. I’m just getting my clothes on.”

  Agent Arche smiled at Agent Carpo and whispered, “Easy as taking candy from a baby.”

  “Eric!” hissed Ursula into this ear. “Eric, wake up!”

  There was no response.

  “Eric!”

  There was still no response, so Ursula pinched his nose until he woke up, which was almost immediately.

  Before he could utter a word, she had put her hand over his mouth. Eric was far from happy with the situation. If looks could kill, Ursula would have been dead.

  “Just listen,” she told him. “Alexander and Andrea are not here. Outside the door is a man with an American accent asking for our passports. What shall we do?”

  Gently she removed her hand away from his mouth so he could speak.

  “Show him the passports,” he whispered bitterly.

  “But Andrea told me not to open the door.”

  “So? Do you always do what you are told?”

  “Yes,” answered Ursula, surprised at such a question.

  “Then do what you want,” said Eric and turned his back on her.

  For a second, Ursula thought about what to do and then turned back to the door.

  “I’m sorry, but my friend is asleep right now, and he knows where the passports are. I don’t really want to wake him as he can be really miserable and unhelpful if woken too early.”

  Eric huffed.

  “Can you come back later?”

  Outside in the corridor, Agent Arche smiled again at Agent Carpo.

  “Of course we can,” he replied.

  He waited twenty seconds before delivering an almighty kick to the door.

  Back to Contents

  ***

  Chapter 19 – Out the Window

  Ursula had just sat down when the door exploded off its hinges. It flew past her nose and smashed into the window. Several large cracks snaked across the glass, and wind whistled into the compartment. The glass began to move and pulse as if it was a beating heart.

  Eric looked up from his pillow and then placed the covers over his head. He did not see Agent Arche entering the compartment, and he pretended not to hear when Ursula shouted for help.

  Agent Arche stood in the thin aisle looking at Ursula. His shoulders touched the bunks, and he moved slowly towards her. When she shouted for Eric, he looked at Eric’s bunk. There was no movement, so he ignored the sleeping bundle and continued forward.

  Ursula jumped up and stood on the door, which lay broken on the floor. There were two men - one approaching her and one waiting in the corridor. She had seen similar looking men when fleeing down Mount Vesuvius. They had also been big, strong and menacing. There was no question in her mind that they were OSS agents.

  She thought she could get past one agent but didn’t feel so confident about evading two. Desperately, she scanned the compartment for something, anything, she could use as a weapon. Apart from Andrea’s tablet there were only pillows, sheets and the small metal ladder near to her. There was nothing else available, so she grabbed hold of the ladder and swung it upwards.

  The movement was so fast that it took Agent Arche by surprise. The bottom rung caught him right in the jaw. He stopped moving for a second before taking a firm hold of the ladder. He pulled it towards him and then pushed it away again with all his might but did not let go. Ursula careered backwards and hurtled into the window. She hit it hard and felt the window give way behind her. As if in slow motion she was pushed out of the carriage, while still hanging onto the horizontal ladder. She clutched at the rungs and held tight as the wind tried to force her off.

  For what seemed like forever, she hung in the air as the train raced onwards. Below her, she could see the sleepers on the parallel track shooting past in a blur. When she looked up, Agent Arche was smiling at her. It was a satisfied look, and she wondered when he was going to drop her. He didn’t.

  In the distance, coming towards her, was another train. She tried to climb along the rungs and back into the compartment but every time she moved forward Agent Arche pushed the ladder further out. The approaching train was getting closer and closer. Ursula could make out the engine driver trying to make sense of what he was seeing in front of him. He sounded his horn. In one strong pull Agent Arche brought the ladder and Ursula back into the compartment and pinned her against a bunk.

  The other train flashed past at a deafening volume. The curtains were sucked out of the window and ripped off their hangers.

  “You’re not going anywhere,” Agent Arche said with a twisted smile.

  He put the ladder under his arm and, still pinning Ursula down, walked towards her. Just as he was in reach, Eric sprang out from under his covers with a skateboard in his hands. The skateboard arced over his shoulder and then came down like a sledgehammer on Agent Arche’s head.

  Agent Arche collapsed into a heap, and Eric jumped down from his bunk. He stood in front of the missing window with his skateboard and looked down at the semi-conscious agent.

  “You owe me,” he said to Ursula and he meant it.

  “I agree,” boomed a voice from behind.

  Before he had time to turn around, Eric was struck in the torso with the force of a battering ram. He flew out of the window and out of the train.

  Ursula looked from the agent to the missing window and back again.

  “What have you done?” she screamed through tears.

  “We only need one of you,” replied Agent Carpo. “Now be a good girl for me. I don’t want to hurt you as well.

  “I won’t give you that chance.”

  Ursula’s fingers hunted for a part of the window frame without broken glass. She knocked out some loose shards, took hold of the frame and then st
epped into the opening. The countryside flew past. Trees were a blur, cars on a nearby road were being left behind, and the wind was trying to pull her out. She tightened her grip with one hand and very carefully released the other until she had twisted around to face the agent.

  “I’m not coming back in,” Ursula shouted decisively. “I’ll jump! And then you won’t have either of us.”

  “Don’t be silly, sugar. You don’t want to jump,” and he cautiously approached her with a hand held out, inviting her to take it.

  “You don’t know me very well,” smiled Ursula as she blinked back tears. “I like jumping.”

  On her final word, Ursula leapt out of the window and launched herself into the air.

  Agent Arche cursed loudly. He ran to the window and stuck his head out to search the tracks. He never got the chance. Ursula’s foot stamped down on his head as she scrambled to grasp hold of the carriage. She used the leverage to propel herself up onto the curved roof. The wind pushed against her, and she slid down the carriage before managing to find a hold.

  In the past, Agent Hoover would have had to admit that he admired the physical exploits of White King and Black Queen. Now, however, he was beginning to get annoyed by them.

  ‘I’ll leave it in your capable hands,’ Agent Angel had told him, and these words were ringing in his ears. ‘I’ll leave it in your capable hands.’ In other words, ‘if you screw this up you’ll be in serious trouble.’

  The girl was on top of the train but at least he could see her. The satellite camera had locked onto her. She was lying on the grey roof in the centre of one of the many screens in front of him. This was not the best situation to be in but at least she could be tracked. There were not many places she could go from here.

  “Get her,” Agent Hoover ordered.

  The pillow felt comfortable under Agent Arche’s throbbing head, but he groggily got up.

  “Where is she?” he slurred.

  “On the roof,” Hoover replied.

  “She’s not going anywhere,” said Agent Carpo, removing shards of glass from his chest. “Why worry? We’ll get her when she comes back down.”

  “No, you won’t! You’ll go and get her. If the train slows down, or stops, she’s likely to jump. White King is no longer in reach. Black Queen is your only target.”

  The two agents decided not to climb through the hole where the window had been. They left the compartment; walked past the guard’s room and toilet to the gangway between the carriages.

  Agent Carpo opened the door and removed a large knife from near his ankle. He thrust it into the material near to the metal plates and sliced upwards; over his head and down again.

  “Let’s do this,” he said to Agent Arche and put the knife back.

  Grabbing hold of the supports, he hoisted himself out of the train. Agent Carpo warily followed behind.

  Up on the roof, both men were buffeted by the speed of the train and the wind. It pushed them back and forced them down onto their fronts. They looked up and saw Ursula about ten metres ahead of them. After two failed attempts to stand they decided to crawl and inched their way towards her on all fours.

  Nobody on the train knew what was happening directly above their heads. Most were still asleep, and those that had woken up were still dozy and not yet fully aware of events around them. Those few passengers who were looking out of the window saw nothing out of the ordinary. If there had been windows in the ceiling maybe one or two would have looked up and seen two men chasing a girl on the roof.

  Ursula lay in an X-shape. Her arms and legs were spread wide, and her head was turned to the side. Moments earlier she had seen movement in her peripheral vision. She lifted her head, and her heart sank. The two agents were slowly crawling towards her. Initially, she slid herself backwards, and kept the men in her sights, but the agents were gaining. Ursula turned around on her stomach until she was facing in the direction of the train engine and started to pull herself forward. She moved like a snake, sliding across the curved roof with her cheek brushing against the cold metal. Looking over her shoulder, she saw the two men doing the same.

  The noise of the train engine changed, and the train slowed down slightly. A loud horn honked and Ursula took this as a cue to move faster. She glanced over her shoulder again and then moved into a crouching position. The agents were not giving up. There was another honk on the horn and Ursula, still looking over her shoulder, stood up. Just above her head were electrical cables, and she was careful not to touch them. She looked ahead and then flung herself back down onto her stomach.

  Coming quickly towards them and getting larger and larger was an entrance to a tunnel. Within seconds, they were inside. The noise of the train increased to an ear-splitting volume, and they were soon plunged into darkness. Darkness didn’t concern Ursula, but the fear of the two agents approaching did. The sound was intense, and the memory of Eric trapped on the rails in the tunnel in Prague flashed across her mind.

  “Eric!” she screamed involuntarily.

  She realised that she had not thought about him since he had been thrown out of the window. Unfortunately, she could not help Eric now, if at all. She had to worry about herself and snaked forward.

  A faint light began to grow in the darkness, and Ursula looked over her shoulder. The two men were still the same distance behind. The light grew stronger and in the blink of an eye the train was out of the tunnel. Fresh air filled her lungs, and the bright light made her blink until her eyes adjusted.

  The train honked again, and Ursula sprang to her feet. Wind whipped around her, forcing her back slightly until she found her balance. Tentatively, she stepped forward and pushed against the wind. With every step, she became more confident and began to move faster and faster towards the engine. She glanced over her shoulder, and the two agents were doing the same.

  When she reached the edge of the carriage, she jumped forward into the air and leapt over the gap. Her feet hit the roof of the next carriage, and she slipped. Behind her, the two agents followed. The noise of the engine rose, and the train increased its speed. Movement became harder; she had to use all her strength to continue at the same pace and to jump between the carriages.

  After four more carriages, there was nowhere else left to go. There was only the engine in front of her. She could feel its heat from where she stood, and she decided not to go any further. Dropping her hand to her sides, she spun around to see the two men jump onto the other end of her carriage. With the engine in front and the agents behind, she was cornered. The agents were moving purposefully towards her.

  Ursula prepared herself for a fight and clenched her hand into a fist. Her fingers brushed against the plastic of her belt, and an idea sprang into her head. She yanked the belt from her jeans and held it in her left hand. Above her head, the electricity cable drooped. Ursula kept hold of one end of the belt and threw the other over the cable. She caught it cleanly and gripped tightly as she jumped into the air, pushing her legs out in front of her.

  Beneath Ursula, the train continued at over one hundred kilometres an hour while she remained virtually still. The two agents shot towards her. Ursula braced herself and extended her legs towards them as they collided with her. Agent Arche was hit squarely in the chest. He dropped onto the roof, rolled towards the edge and then fell off of the carriage onto a grass verge beside the tracks. Agent Carpo and Ursula fell into a heap back on the roof of the sleeper wagon. He tried to grasp her foot, but she kicked him away, sprang up and ran back towards the engine.

  In the distance was a small cargo station that they were rapidly approaching. There were a number of tracks leading into it with wagons, freight and rusting engines. As they neared, the driver slowed the train down, and the brakes screeched.

  Ursula was thrown off balance but quickly regained it and continued running towards the engine. Agent Carpo, only a few metres behind her, fell but quickly got back to his feet. Ursula reached the engine as they moved through the station between two long, station
ary, cargo trains both carrying large containers. Agent Carpo was now virtually on top of her.

  There was nowhere else to run. Ursula looked right, and without thinking, jumped off the carriage towards the cargo train beside them. She just made it onto a blue container, stumbled but retained her footing.

  Agent Carpo hesitated.

  “Jump!” ordered Agent Hoover, into his ear piece.

  Agent Carpo jumped and landed flat on his face on a wagon some distance from Ursula. He looked up to see her jump back onto the last carriage of the moving train and accelerate past him out of the station and onwards to Amsterdam.

  Agent Hoover put his head in his hands and let out a defeated sigh. He stayed there for a moment and assessed his options before coming to a conclusion.

  “Two agents, down,” he said into his microphone, “I repeat two agents down. Agent Carme you are on your own. I advise extreme caution. Shoot to kill, I repeat, shoot to kill.”

  Alexander had been trapped in the train toilet for over twenty minutes. Initially, he thought the door had genuinely jammed shut. However, the loud smash of glass he heard shortly after, followed by noises above his head soon made him change his mind. His location did not help his fears. There were a white sink and toilet, a cracked mirror, tracing paper on the toilet roll, a frosted glass window and nothing else. He could not see anything at all; his hearing was muffled, and the smell was distracting.

  Water, for both the toilet and sink, was activated by pumping a pedal on the floor. Only after using the toilet himself and then continuing to pump for over ten minutes did he manage to flush the smell away. The contents of the toilet had been washed down the hole leading onto the tracks. Conversely, some fresh air had come back up through the hole making the room slightly more bearable. He could not sit as there was no toilet seat, and he hoped that the liquid on the floor was only water but he was not going to crouch down to find out.

  After Alexander had heard the smashing glass, he had shoulder charged the door. It had wobbled but had not opened. He felt helpless and stood beside it, listening intently and waiting for someone to come. If he heard someone outside he would shout. Otherwise, he felt he was wasting his breath. So he waited and waited and waited.