Chapter 3

The Amtrak roomette was small, but it was mine.

Secure.

I locked the door, the click echoing the relief washing over me.

But the image of Darlene' s smirk, Junior' s casual cruelty, kept the vigilance sharp.

I sat on the narrow bed, phone in hand, and started searching.

"Old woman, boy, bus, theft, Appalachian."

The search results were a mix of news articles about rural poverty, missing persons.

Too vague.

I needed more.

Then I heard it. A commotion down the corridor of the sleeper car.

A familiar, grating voice.

"We're lookin' for a young lady. College girl. Dark hair. She needs our help."

Darlene.

My blood ran cold.

How?

They must have seen me head for the train station, or guessed.

Cletus' s low grunt followed, then Junior' s high-pitched whine.

They were going door-to-door.

My heart hammered.

I quickly started a TikTok live stream, phone propped up, silent, aimed at my locked door.

"Harassed on Amtrak. Creepy family looking for me."

The caption was blunt.

I heard Darlene's voice clearer now, closer.

She was berating Cletus, her dialect thick, words I barely understood but the tone was vicious.

"...lost that college girl, you useless oaf! She was perfect for... last one... upped and died after giving us Junior... and he ain't right in the head, that one..."

My stomach turned. "Last one"? "Upped and died"?

Junior was Cletus's child. With an abducted woman.

Just like they planned for me.

Other passengers were complaining now.

"Can you keep it down?"

"This is a sleeper car!"

Amtrak staff, a conductor, his voice firm. "Ma'am, you need to have tickets for this car. And you're disturbing the passengers."

"We got tickets! We're lookin' for family!" Darlene lied smoothly.

An attendant, a younger woman, approached. I recognized her. I' d called Amtrak earlier, distressed, about changing my ticket last minute from the bus. I' d mentioned needing to get away from a bad situation.

"Is there a problem, ma'am?" the attendant asked Darlene.

Darlene described me. "Pretty thing, rich-like, upset. Said she was on this train."

The attendant' s eyes flickered with recognition. She looked down the hall, towards my roomette.

She didn't point. She didn't have to.

Darlene' s head snapped in my direction.

A horrible, triumphant grin spread across her face.

"There she is!"