Jack's POV – Raccoon Forest
The Unit 03 bike roared into the forest night, mud spraying under its tires.
The VSS flickered into view across Jack's vision:
[VSS]
[New Milestone Reached: Defeated Juggernaut – Flamethrower Variant]
[Adaptation Progression Unlocked]
Reflex Response → Tier 2
Effect: Noticeably enhanced reaction time. Improved weapon handling and evasive movement. Accuracy increased with all firearms, not just pistols.
Jack blinked, letting the glow fade into the back of his mind.
The forest blurred past in streaks of gray and green, the bike's headlamp cutting a narrow path through the mist. Jack leaned low, mud spraying as he pushed the machine to its limit. Every jolt, every slip of the wheels sent a sharp pulse of pain through his battered body, but he kept the throttle open.
Up ahead, a horn wailed—low and haunting. The faint glow of headlights burned through the fog.
The train.
Jack's jaw tightened. "Becca…"
He cut across a slope, nearly losing traction before the tires bit dirt again. Branches whipped his arms, rain slicking his hair. The tracks came into view—steel lines glistening wet in the moonlight, the Ecliptic Express thundering over them like a beast of iron.
Jack twisted the throttle aggressively, forcing the bike onto the narrow service road that paralleled the tracks. The ground shook with the train's weight, its wheels screaming against the rails.
That was when he heard it.
A growl—low, guttural, inhuman.
From the treeline, shadows burst forth. Dogs—emaciated, hairless in patches, their flesh split with black infection. Cerberus. Their eyes glowed with fevered hunger as they closed in, teeth bared.
"Shit!" Jack jerked the handlebars as one lunged, its jaws snapping where his leg had been. He kicked out, boot connecting with its muzzle, sending it tumbling beneath the bike's wheels. Bone cracked under the tires.
Another clamped onto the rear fender, dragging. Jack swung his pistol down one-handed and squeezed the trigger. The round punched through its skull, and the dog fell away, body rolling under the train's shadow.
He was about to exhale in relief when gunfire erupted.
Spotlights swept the trees as an Umbrella jeep tore onto the service road behind him, soldiers braced in the back with rifles. Bullets sparked against the dirt, chewing through branches overhead.
"Survivor confirmed! Eliminate the witness!"
Jack cursed, weaving the bike across the mud as rounds spat at his heels. He raised the M4 in one hand, firing blind over his shoulder. A soldier dropped, tumbling from the jeep.
The jeep pulled closer, its bumper scraping at his rear tire. Jack swerved hard, guiding the bike toward a fallen log that bridged a ditch. He shot across it, wood cracking under the weight, then spun the bike sideways.
The jeep followed—too fast. It slammed into the log, suspension buckling, and flipped onto its side. Fire erupted as the fuel tank ruptured, engulfing the forest in orange flame.
The screech of the train's wheels blared again—closer now. He was alongside it. The cars roared past, windows shattered, metal streaked with blood. For a moment, he swore he saw Rebecca's silhouette in one of the lit compartments.
"Almost there."
The service road narrowed to a bridge running level with the tracks. Jack leaned into the throttle, pulling even with one of the forward cars. The roar of the wheels was deafening, the bridge rattling under both train and bike.
A shadow dropped from the roof.
Cerberus. It landed on Jack's shoulders, claws digging into his back, jaws snapping inches from his face. The bike veered wildly, skidding toward the edge.
"Not today!" Jack snarled. He jammed the pistol against its ribs and fired twice. Blood sprayed hot across his arm as the beast fell away, crushed beneath the train's wheels.
The bridge ended in broken guardrails. The service road dropped away into a ravine.
Jack had seconds to choose.
He slammed the throttle, lining the bike with the train's siding. Sparks shot from the rails as he leapt from the seat, arms reaching.
Metal slammed against his palms. His fingers clawed the lip of the train car, body dangling inches from the screaming wheels below. The bike plummeted into the ravine, exploding in a fireball.
Jack dangled, teeth gritted, every muscle screaming as he hauled himself up. He slammed against the side of the car, chest heaving, mud and rain streaking his face.
The train roared on, unstoppable.
Inside, muffled gunfire echoed. Rebecca was still fighting.
Jack pulled himself higher, fingers locking on the window frame. His jaw set, blue eyes burning.
Rebecca POV – Ecliptic Express
Rebecca pushed deeper into the train, pistol raised, every step shaky but determined. The car rocked violently on the rails, shrieking like the machine itself was tearing itself apart.
Her red bandana was soaked with sweat, sticking to her brow. She steadied her breathing.
If I can reach the engine… maybe I can stop this thing. If I don't, it'll derail—and I'll die with it.
The lights flickered. The air grew heavy.
Something slammed against the ceiling.
Rebecca froze.
A massive claw punched through the roof, scattering sparks and steel. Another followed, ripping open a jagged gap as something forced its way down. Its chitinous shell gleamed under the stuttering lights, pincers snapping through the rows of seats. A barbed stinger curled over its back with a hiss.
Rebecca's eyes widened. "A… scorpion?"
It shrieked, the sound high-pitched and piercing, and lunged.
Rebecca dove sideways as a claw smashed down, shattering the floorboards. She fired twice—bullets sparking uselessly off its armored shell.
The scorpion lunged again, a pincer cleaving through the seats. Rebecca rolled behind the wreckage, her heart hammering.
She steadied her grip, eyes darting to the joints in its armor—the softer gaps between plates.
The stinger speared down. Rebecca twisted aside, the barb sinking into the seat where she had crouched. She leveled her pistol and fired into the exposed joint. The creature shrieked, ichor spraying across the floor.
It thrashed wildly, tearing its stinger free.
Rebecca scrambled back, fumbling a fresh magazine into the pistol. Her hands shook so badly she almost dropped it. The scorpion barreled down the aisle, pincers snapping, stinger coiling for the kill.
She raised her weapon, sweat now stinging her eyes beneath the slipping bandana.
"Come on, Chambers… don't miss."
She squeezed the trigger. One round struck its eye, bursting it in a spray of black fluid.
The monster convulsed, shrieking in fury.
The train lurched violently, throwing both of them against the walls. Rebecca slammed into the next door, her shoulder screaming in pain. She clawed at the latch, glanced back—
The scorpion reared, its stinger poised to strike again.
Rebecca forced the door open and dove through just as the barb slammed into the frame behind her. She hit the floor hard, rolled, and kicked the door shut. The monster's shriek echoed behind it, muffled but relentless.
She pressed her back against the cold steel, chest heaving.
Without delay, she stood again, pistol trembling in her grip. The train rocked hard, metal screaming against the rails. Rebecca staggered forward, breath ragged from the fight, but she kept moving.
Then she heard it—footsteps. Heavy, uneven, but purposeful.
Her heart stopped.
The door at the far end burst open, and a figure pulled himself through, rain-slick and bloodied, blond hair plastered to his forehead. His tan jumpsuit was torn, covered in mud, but his blue eyes burned with life.
"Jack…" she whispered.
For a heartbeat, neither of them moved. The roar of the train swallowed everything, shadows flickering around them. It was like all the hardship, all the terror they had endured—collapsed into this one moment.
Jack didn't hesitate. He ran.
Rebecca did too.
They collided in the middle of the aisle, arms wrapping around each other in a desperate embrace. Rebecca buried her face against his chest, his warmth grounding her, pushing back the terror. Jack pulled her closer, holding her like he'd never let go again.
The shyness that had always held them apart, the unspoken words—it was gone.
Jack pressed his cheek against the top of her head, his voice rough. "I told you I'd find you."
Rebecca's lips trembled as she clung tighter, her own words muffled against him. "I knew you would."
For a moment, the chaos outside—the monsters, the gunfire, the unstoppable train—didn't exist.
But the train lurched again, the metal groaning like it might tear itself apart, and reality came crashing back.
Jack eased her back, though his hands still lingered on her waist. His voice was steady. "We'll talk later. Right now—we need to stop this train."
Rebecca nodded, wiping her eyes, her grip tightening on her pistol.
Together, they turned toward the front car.