Zero Sum Game (22 page)

No, I won't. I have a telephone in me.
Voice was advanced enough to place a phone call. It would be a piece of cake for him to find the right telephone number. But first, she had to be sure. If she didn't hear a train, that could mean two things: it was too far away for even her super hearing to pick up, or the authorities had already been alerted and the train had been stopped. But if she did hear one approaching, she would have to react fast.

She closed her eyes and enhanced her hearing. She heard the rustle of branches and leaves in the wind as if they were being banged together. When an animal stepped on a twig, it sounded like a log had exploded beside her. Caws became shouts, and whistles and chirps were ear-splitting screams. They died away as she tuned them out, focusing her energies on a specific sound. She listened to both directions at once. She heard nothing and released a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. She was about to order Voice to call the authorities when she heard the distinctive clanging of a train on the tracks. She listened harder, trying to determine the direction; the mountains around her created an echoing effect. She needed to pinpoint it.

It came from her left, past the bend. She ran to a different vantage point. The track stretched below her. Off in the distance a passenger train approached. She enhanced her vision and saw the conductor in the front car looking ahead. He didn't have a radio in his hand. Hina assumed he had no idea the line was blocked ahead. The dirt pile was not far from the bend; even if he threw on the brakes as hard as he could as soon as he rounded the bend the conductor couldn't stop the train in time. She would have to do it.
But how?

She had been learning about momentum in science class and knew she couldn't let the train slam into her, the way they portrayed it in superhero movies. She needed to slow the train down, but she wondered if she would have enough room before the train reached the dirt pile. She noticed part of the rails were bent and broken apart a few meters past the rocks. She had to act now. If she kept thinking about what to do, she wouldn't have time to do it.

She slid down the side of the mountain, which wasn't too steep. "Voice, can you get in contact with that train?"

"Yes," he said.

"Do it," she ordered. She arrived at the tracks at the mountain's base.

"I have the connection," he said.

As she squatted down and examined the rails, the conductor answered her call. "You have to stop the train," she said.

"Who is this?" the conductor replied.

"You need to stop the train. There's a landslide around the bend. You're going to derail if you don't slow down."

"I don't know how you got on this line but making such calls is dangerous."

"This isn't a prank," Hina said with urgency in her voice. "I'm serious. There's been a landslide and if—"

The conductor interrupted her, impatience thick in his tone. "I haven't been notified of a landslide, and after I hang up with you, I'm calling the authorities."

The line went dead before Hina could protest further. Frustrated, she set her mind to the task in front of her. Two rails bent outwards. Taking the thick metal in her hands, she bent it back straight, the metal screeching in protest. She did the same with the second rail, pushing it until it lined up with the rest of the track. The pieces were still broken and uneven but if the train ran across them, it should be fine.

She ran down the track, listening to the faint rumbling echo of the train reverberating off the mountains. She poured on the speed, rounded the bend, and headed straight for the behemoth bearing towards her. She was lucky that it was a four car train. She stopped, the train less than a kilometer away and spread her legs, putting one foot on each track. She leaned forward, similar to a sumo wrestler getting ready for a bout. She knew she couldn't do a dead stop, the momentum would throw everyone forward and cause more damage. She couldn't put her feet on the wooden ties in between the rails; it would give her better leverage, but the train would push her into the ground. She might stumble and go under the train. She thought her invulnerable body would derail the train if it ran over her.

She saw the conductor's eyes widen in surprise and heard the squeal of the brakes. His partner blew the loud air horn and grabbed the microphone, doubtless telling passengers to brace themselves. Hina held out both hands and turned her head to one side, letting out a small scream. The train hit her, pushing her back. Metal screeched as it bent against her body. She felt as if she was battling against the strongest wind she had ever encountered in her life.

The squeal of the brakes deafened her ears. She concentrated on keeping her feet on the rails, hoping they would act as a second, stronger pair of brakes. She bit her lip in effort and smelled her shoes melting because of the friction. They broke apart, and the pieces flew off in different directions. She stumbled but managed to keep her feet on the tracks. Her socks soon followed the same fate as her shoes, and then her bare feet were sliding across them as the friction made the metal warmer. Her toes tried to find purchase on the slick metal.

Hina couldn't tell if her plan was working. The train didn't seem to be slowing. She let out a scream of effort and pushed against the front of the train, making sure her feet stayed behind her so she wouldn't be knocked flat on her back. Her hands made deeper indents in the metal face of the train. The indents blossomed into craters as she pushed farther inwards. She felt the insides of the train underneath her fingers and she ripped into the metal like tissue paper. Her right foot came off the rail. They had reached the bend. She adjusted her stance and regained her footing but it was too late, they were going to hit the landslide. The train hadn't slowed enough. She closed her eyes and waited.

The impact swept her feet from underneath her. She fell to her back, her hands still gripping the front of the train car, shearing off two long strips of metal. She slid under the train, and the squeal of the brakes and the roar of the engine enveloped her, like she inside the world's largest alarm bell. The front car derailed with a loud crash. The train above her wasn't traveling straight. She screamed in terror and threw her hands above her face, rolling onto her side as the train dropped atop of her. The metal undercarriage pulled her along for several meters. From inside the cars she heard people scream. Bodies and luggage hit the walls with deep thuds.

The train dragged her forever or only ten seconds, she couldn't tell. She opened her eyes to daylight. No longer under the train, she sat up, brushed the hair out of her eyes, and looked down at herself. She was unhurt, without a scratch or cut on her. She didn't feel any pain. Even her school uniform was in one piece, albeit dirty. She watched the dirt being pushed out and fall to the ground; in a few seconds her uniform appeared as if it was fresh from the washing machine. Even her blue ribbon hadn't come untied. She sat in a pile of broken wooden railroad ties, destroyed by a combination of a multi-ton train and her invulnerable body.

She stood, feeling fine. Dust covered everything. Her eyes watered, and she wiped the tears away. She coughed a few times, driving the dirt from her lungs. She knew Voice was cleaning her body as well as her uniform; soon she wasn't coughing and her eyes were crystal clear.

Hina surveyed the damage. The back car was still attached to the third, which was upright but halfway off the tracks. The second car had disconnected and lay on its side off the tracks. The first car had been torn from the second and now lay upside-down, the undercarriage torn and twisted from its impact and subsequent slide across the ground. Hina heard people moving about, asking about their loved ones and checking on strangers, moaning in pain and fear. Some were crying. She wasn't sure if anyone had been killed, but she prayed everyone was safe. She decided to start at the last car and move forward.

It was in the best shape, still on the tracks and connected to the next carriage. The large metal locking mechanism was twisted like a bread tie and would require cutting through in order to separate the two cars. The soft, flexible barrier in between the cars, which protected passengers when they passed from one carriage to another, was torn on one side but still intact. Hina moved in between the cars; the floor came up to her shoulder and she realized how big the trains were. She had never noticed it before. She always boarded from a platform. The inside of the car seemed small, and with a tiny jump she could touch the ceiling. She didn't realize the train floor was almost a meter off the ground; the train was almost three meters tall.

She wedged herself into an opening and put her right hand by her shoulder, on the front of the last car. She stretched out her left hand and placed it against the third car. She made sure her feet were stable—amazed that she felt no pain or discomfort from the hard rocky ground even though she was barefoot—and pushed with her right hand. The train moved, and the third car pushed against her left hand. She kept that arm stiff, holding the car at bay while she pushed the last car with her right. There was a brief pause when the connector refused to let go, doing its job of keeping the cars together. Hina was far, far stronger, and the metal screeched as it was pushed past its tolerance limits. With a final snap, the connector tore apart, but the valley continued to fill with metallic cries as the passing coverings were ripped from their mounts. The cars were separated, and Hina let go. She pushed the fourth car backwards a few meters. When it was a comfortable distance away from the wreckage, she planted her feet and pulled instead, stopping the train on its tracks. A man stared through the small window of the passing door.

"Stay there," she yelled to the passenger. She hurried to the front of the third car. It was still upright but angled about forty-five degrees off the tracks. It wasn't connected to the second car, and she had room to maneuver in the front. She put both hands under the front edge of the car, took a deep breath, and wondered if this would work. She hadn't lifted anything heavier than her school bags since the test at the factory site. Voice had claimed the pallet of wood had been twenty-three tons, but she knew the train car weighed much more. She wouldn't know until she tried, so she tightened her grip and lifted.

The train was much lighter than expected and Hina almost lost her balance. She had put more effort into it than needed, almost jerking the train car over her head. She readjusted her grip, fingers digging into the soft metal, and sidestepped to the left, holding the train at shoulder height. It tilted to her right so she widened her grip to balance it. The muscles in her forearms bulged and her biceps pushed against her short sleeves. She took another sidestep; the train now moved with her. The back wheels squeaked as they scraped across the rails. When the wheels and tracks were aligned with each other, she set the train down. She heard several people yell in surprise as the train hit the ground.

She moved her attention to the second car, which lay on its side. With a better idea of what it weighed, she expected her plan to go smoother. She moved to the middle of the train, its roof rising up past her head. She heard a window open and stepped back to peer over the roof's edge. A woman was pulling herself up.

"No, don't do that," Hina yelled.

The woman twisted around. Her eyes were dazed and she stared at Hina with a blank expression. She pulled herself out and stood on top of the train. She gazed around her in silence, her face expressionless.

Hina jumped up and down, waving her arms to get the woman's attention. "You have to get down. It's dangerous up there. Please, get down, get down." Hina panicked. If this woman had found a way out, then more people might follow her, and that would interfere with what Hina had planned.
What should I do? What should I do?

The woman moved to the edge of the train and out of sight. A second later, Hina heard something hit the ground, then a grunt. She raced around the front of the train and saw the woman getting back to her feet. She stumbled away from the train car and over the tracks, her face still slack, as if she was in a dream. Now that the woman was away from the train, she ran back to the other side. She looked up to check if anyone else had followed the woman's lead. A man's arms come out of the window, followed by his head and shoulders. He was facing in Hina's direction, and she jumped and waved again to get his attention.

"Don't get out," she told him. "Get back in and tell everyone to hang on. Okay?"

The man nodded. "All right," he said, and lowered himself back inside.

Before anyone else could take his place, Hina stood next to the roof, making sure she was still at the halfway point. She squatted down, grabbed a handful of metal, and lifted. As she straightened up, lifting with her legs, the train tilted upwards. The roof passed her vision, then she could see the side of the car. Windows were broken and the paint was scratched. Rocks had gouged deep silver lines into the metal. People inside screamed in surprise and terror as the car moved. Thumps resounded as luggage and (she didn't like to think it) bodies hit the walls, seats, and each other.

Soon her arms were extended above her, and she paused, holding the train up with one hand while she readjusted her grip. When she had a better hold, she put her hands side by side, took a few steps forward, and repeated the process. In this way she continued to push the car into an upright position, and soon gravity did the rest.

The car left her grip and fell onto its wheels. People screamed, and the car continued moving, leaning over towards the other side. Hina was afraid it would tip over all the way, but it didn't. It hung in the air for a brief second, like a freeze frame in a movie, then tipped back towards Hina. With a small crash it was upright again. She had intended to move it back onto the track, but the woman who had escaped now stood on the ruined track, blocking Hina's plan. Hina moved around to the right side of the train. Since it had derailed, there was room between the train and the mountain's base. It would be a good point for the survivors to gather.