track left between us to safely stop the train now. We'd
passed the point of no return, as they say, which brought
a smile to my face. I'd suffered a lot in the last four and
a half years—from my family's tragic car accident, to
my subsequent downward spiral that left my daughter
hating me and me living on the streets, to my time in
Hell here with Dr. Marshall and D r a k e — and it was all
finally coming to an end. It should have ended back in
Buffalo, back before I let Drake and the promise of easy
wealth lure me into this crazy detour, but I wasn't even
unhappy about that mistake.
If I'd killed myself as originally planned, Dr. Mar¬
shall and Drake would still be alive, carrying on their
warped sense of scientific advancement for years—maybe
decades—to come. Countless people would have suf¬
happen now I didn't consider myself a hero, no way, but
I'd proven to myself I was more than the worthless ex¬
pendable burn they'd thought I was. It was useless to
think it now, but maybe my daughter would have been
proud of me. It made me feel better to think so, anyway.
Good-bye, Arlene. Take care of yourself, sweetie.
Fifty yards, and still coming hard.
There wasn't much left to say. N o t really. No words
of wisdom or epic conclusions about life sprang into
my head. My life didn't even flash in front of my eyes
the way you always hear it does at times like this. That
sucked. I'd been looking forward to that. I wasn't sure if
this was the end of everything, or perhaps the begin¬
n i n g of the next phase in my existence. I'd never been
really given up hope God was out there somewhere,
keeping an eye on me even if I wasn't worthy of his at¬
tention.
Thirty yards, and closing.
W i t h death racing toward me on multiple steel
wheels, and the wooden ties below me vibrating with the
approaching thunder, I began to pray. If anyone was
listening, I asked for only one thing. I wanted to hold
my wife and son in my arms again, hold Jackie and little
Daniel close and kiss them and try my best to apologize
for the damage I'd done. I'd made a mess of Arlene's life
but I'd outright destroyed theirs. They'd both deserved
far better than me but perhaps I could make it up to
them in the afterlife. For one chance at that, for a shot
sand trains. Ten thousand. Love can be funny that way.
Ten yards away.
Five yards.
Two.
Sommario
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX