Free Of Dreams and Rust by Sarah Fine

vulnerable. Using women and children to disguise your intentions.” His lip curls in disgust.
    â€œThey were all getting off at the next station,” says Leye from between clenched teeth. “But you killed all of them first. Don’t try to blame this atrocity on us.”
    Melik grimaces and turns away for a moment before glaring down at me again. “You were traveling to Vuda?”
    â€œNo, she was trying to get to Kegu, but we wouldn’t have let her.” Leye swallows, looking on the verge of vomiting.
    Melik doesn’t appear to hear a word Leye says after “Kegu.” He is too busy staring into my eyes, his brow furrowed under the brim of his dirty cap. “Is that true?” he asks me, a million other unasked questions clouding his expression.
    I nod.
    He sinks to his knees in front of me. “Why?” he whispers.
    Leye groans. “Her family lives there, you idiot.”
    Melik’s eyes narrow. He knows very well that’s not true.
    I bow my head. I have to find a way of offering this message without putting Leye and the others in danger, and I don’t know how. My mind spins with possibilities. Could I offer to tell them in exchange for the prisoners’ freedom? Is there any way to do that and still keep all of the Itanyai soldiers from knowing I am a traitor?
    A deep, rumbling voice calls out in Noor, and Melik jumps to his feet and salutes with his hand over his chest. A thick-bodied man with a long, silver-streaked brown beard strides toward us with Bajram at his side. Bajram gestures at us and then at Melik, who speaks in Noor, making more slicing, rapid-fire gestures as he does. As the older man listens, he slowly draws a revolver from his belt.
    At the metallic click Leye takes my hand. His dark eyes are riveted on the weapon. That he feels empowered to touch me without a reason tells me that he thinks it is the last thing he will do. Melik points at Leye and continues to speak the harsh, back-of-the-throat language, one that suddenly sounds ugly and cruel. The air is hazy with smoke from the destroyed railcars, and the wind is heavy with the scent of burned meat. I don’t want to think about what it really is.
    The older man points his revolver at Leye. Melik looks down at us, and I don’t think I am imagining the concern in his eyes. “Commander Kudret wants to know if there are other trains of soldiers coming behind this one,” he says. “He wants to know the timetable for the invasion.”
    Leye looks at his fellow soldiers, nearly a dozen in all, and shakes his head. “I won’t talk,” he says, his voice strained.
    The commander swings his gun to the left, and suddenly I am staring down its barrel. Melik begins to speak very quickly, gesturing at me and then at Anji. He points to the fire that still burns within the first derailed car. The commander frowns as he sees Anji and the carnage beyond. He lowers his gun and speaks sharply to Melik and Bajram, neither of whom look happy. He beckons to a few other raiders and then walks down the line of prisoners, pointing to the ones who seem most healthy and fit. Then he walks away, shouting and waving his arms, gesturing at the hills.
    â€œWe are leaving now,” says Melik, his expression smoothing over. “The pass is blocked and the rails are destroyed. No more trains will get through. We are returning to Kegu so the general can speak to a few of you.”
    â€œYou’re going to torture us, you mean,” calls out a soldier at the end of the bedraggled line.
    Melik’s gaze settles on him. “You have three days of hiking ahead of you, during which you may wish to think about what information each of you can use to save your own life.”
    A few more raiders jog over with a length of hemp rope. They yank the selected soldiers out of the line and bind them to one another, with the rope around their necks. Melik shudders and rubs at his throat as he