Farther down the platform, the Spiders surrounded Overton, clawing at the ground and shrieking like predators trying to intimidate their prey. He fired the last of his rounds and threw his rifle at the closest one before retrieving his pistol. “Come on, you bastards!” he screamed, squeezing off several shots, which ricocheted harmlessly off their shields.

Sophie watched him fall to his knees, overwhelmed by the creatures closing in around him.

Scratch, scrape, scratch, scrape.

Soon the sound would be replaced with tearing flesh and human screams. She couldn’t bear to watch. The sound of Spiders’ claws was drowned out by the scraping of the Sentinel’s tail as it dragged its spikes across the concrete.

Defeated, she watched the ugly creature slither toward her.

Good-bye, Emanuel. I tried.

Tears crept down her cheeks just as a brilliant flash of light washed over the platform, killing her HUD. Sophie blinked, struggling to see through the fuzzy display. She heard gunfire, the chatter of high-powered rifles. When her vision finally returned, she saw Jeff step out of the train and fire a round of shots at the Sentinel. The bullets sunk into the alien’s chest, blowing several melon-sized holes out of its back.

The boy grabbed her shoulder and pulled her into the belly of the train. He then raced back outside and began firing at the Spiders that were still circling Overton. His shots were surprisingly accurate, dropping several of the creatures.

Overton scooted back across the concrete and managed to push himself off the ground. He took off running, the bullets from Jeff’s gun whizzing dangerously close to him.

“Why didn’t you tell me you had electromagnetic concussion grenades?” he shouted, jumping onto the train.

“You didn’t ask,” Jeff said. He pried the fuel cell from Sophie’s numb grasp and ducked into the conductor’s cabin. Scanning the dashboard, he quickly located the power interface and shoved it home. The display panel glowed to life.

“Now my HUD’s dead and I can barely see shit,” Overton said. He slipped into the compartment and shoved the boy out of the way. “I got this.”

With a single click of a button, the train flared to life. It rolled forward, picking up momentum. Overton watched the Spiders and several Sentinels racing across the tracks toward the train, and with a grin hidden behind his helmet, he engaged the autopilot.

“Watch this, kid.”

The train picked up speed and raced forward, splattering the Organics in its path all over the tunnel.

Overton returned to the second car to check on Sophie. He found her spread out on one of the benches, David kneeling next to her.

“She’s hurt bad, mister,” he said.

“Don’t worry, kid, she’s going to be all right,” Overton said. But his eyes had already found the foot-long gash along her side.

“Shit,” he whispered. “Hang in there, Sophie. I’m going to get you home.”