Twin Peril by Laura Scott

going to be dark soon, and we won’t be able to find our way.”
    “We only have to go a little farther, Mallory,” Jonah urged. “But we need to hurry.”
    She thought it was possible he was losing his mind, but since following him was better than standing in the middle of a field, she decided to go along.
    There was a humming sound that seemed to gradually grow louder. “Come on, Mallory. Hurry.”
    Hurry? What on earth did he mean? It wasn’t until she saw the train tracks that she understood what the sound was. “Is that a train?”
    “Cargo train. I saw it go by earlier today.” Jonah walked over to the edge of the train tracks and turned until he faced south.
    The sound of the train engine grew louder, and suddenly she knew what Jonah intended. “No, I can’t,” she said with a horrified gasp.
    “You have to,” he insisted, his hand tightening around hers. “Mallory, if you want to get out of this place, we have to jump aboard the train.”
    She felt as if she were frozen in place as the light of the train approached. The train was going too fast. Jonah was nuts if he thought they could really do this.
    “Ready?” he asked, running alongside the train.
    “No!” she shouted, the sound of her voice drowned out by the train as it went by.
    “Now, Mallory!” he yelled directly into her ear. “Grab one of those railings! I’ll be right behind you!”
    Her heart lodged in her throat as she ran. She gauged the distance to the railing the way she would if she were about to do a jumping snap kick to break boards in Tae Kwon Do.
    She took a deep breath, jumped and grabbed. She cried out in surprise as pain shot up her arm from being wrenched off her feet. Ignoring the pain, she found another handhold along the edge of the car, securing her precarious position.
    She’d made it! She wanted to laugh and cry at the same time.
    Feeling like Spider-Man clinging to the side of a building, she lifted her head and glanced to her left, peering intently through the darkness.
    She’d made it safely on the train—but where was Jonah?

FIVE
    M allory tried to rein in her panic, taking several deep breaths. What if Jonah hadn’t made it on the train? She wanted to believe he was farther back because he’d forced her to go first, but what if he had misjudged the distance and hadn’t made it at all?
    She was too afraid to move, even though she knew she couldn’t just stay here like this forever. Would the train slow down at some point? Or did it keep going at the same speed until they reached their destination? And how many miles away was their destination anyway?
    “Mallory!” Jonah’s voice brought a rush of relief. She looked to the right and could have kissed him when she saw him standing in the opening, on a narrow metal ledge between the two cars. “Grab my hand.”
    She stared in terror as Jonah reached out for her. The thought of letting go of the metal railing only made her tighten her grip. “I can’t.”
    “Sure you can. The distance is only about a foot. Let go of the railing with your right hand and reach out for me. I’ll do the rest.”
    She looked at him across the distance, trying to trust him. Her eyes pricked with tears, but she told herself they were only watering from the force of the wind whipping past. Tightening her grip with her left hand, she took a deep breath and let go of the railing. When Jonah’s fingers closed strongly around hers, she let out a gasp of relief.
    True to his word, the rest was easy. With Jonah’s guidance, she managed to find firmer footing on the small platform between the two cars. When his arms closed around her, she leaned against him, burying her face against his chest.
    “It’s okay,” Jonah said, speaking close to her ear so she could hear as he rubbed a soothing hand over her back. “You were very brave, Mallory. We’re safe now.”
    She wished she could believe the part about being safe. As far as she could tell, they’d have to keep running