The train roared toward Bordeaux. The cabin shook hard, screens flashing red. Jennifer stood by the door, swinging her metal pole at infected hands clawing through the cracked glass. Chloe held the first baby tight, rocking it as it cried. Marie sat on the floor, clutching her newborn, Kenna, her face pale with fear. The tunnel was gone—bright station lights glowed ahead through the big front window. But the train was too fast. The brakes weren't working right. Jennifer had slowed it a little, but not enough. They were going to crash.
"Thirty seconds!" Jennifer yelled, checking the speed screen. It blinked wildly—still too high.
Chloe's voice shook. "What do we do?"
Jennifer swung at another hand. "Engine room. We stop it there."
"Where?" Marie asked, holding Kenna closer.
"Past Car 1," Jennifer said. "Controls are there."
The door cracked more. An infected face pushed through—white eyes, bloody mouth. Jennifer smashed its head with her pole. It fell back, but more came. "We need to move now!" she shouted.
Chloe stood, the baby in her arms. "How? They're right there!"
Jennifer looked around the cabin. Buttons, levers, a small hatch in the wall. "That!" she said, pointing to the hatch. "It's a way out."
Marie frowned. "To where?"
"Outside," Jennifer said. "Then to the engine room."
The train jolted, tilting hard. The speed screen beeped louder. Twenty seconds. Jennifer ran to the hatch and pulled it open. Cold air rushed in, smelling like oil and metal. The train's side was close, shaking under them. "Climb out!" she yelled.
Chloe went first, clumsy with the baby. She squeezed through, gripping the train's edge. "It's tight!" she called.
"Go!" Jennifer said. She helped Marie next. Marie tied Kenna to her chest with the tablecloth, her hands shaking. "I can't," she said.
"You can," Jennifer said. "I'll push."
Marie nodded and climbed through, slow. Jennifer shoved her gently, then followed. The hatch snapped shut behind her. The infected broke into the cabin just as she got out, their growls fading inside.
Outside, the wind hit hard. The train sped past station lights, blurring them into streaks. Jennifer clung to the side, her pole tucked under her arm. Chloe was ahead, holding the baby with one hand, the other gripping a rail. Marie moved slow, Kenna crying against her chest. "Keep going!" Jennifer shouted over the noise.
The engine room was near the front, past Car 1. They crawled along the train's side, the metal cold and slippery. The station loomed closer—platforms, people, buildings. Ten seconds, maybe less. "Faster!" Jennifer yelled.
An infected hand burst through a window behind them—Car 2, maybe. It grabbed at the air, snarling. "They're out here!" Chloe screamed.
"Ignore them!" Jennifer said. "Focus!"
They reached a small door on the train's side—the engine room entrance. Jennifer banged on it with her pole. It didn't budge. "Locked!" she yelled.
Chloe pointed to a keypad. "Code! Like Ken used!"
Jennifer remembered—5-3-9-1. She punched it in. The door beeped and slid open. "Inside!" she said. Chloe climbed in, then Marie. Jennifer followed, pulling the door shut. It locked with a click.
The engine room was loud—machines roared, pipes hissed. The floor vibrated hard. Big control panels lined the walls, blinking with lights. Jennifer dropped her pole and ran to the biggest one. Levers, buttons, a screen showing speed—still too fast. "We need brakes!" she shouted.
Chloe set the baby on the floor, safe behind a pipe. "Which one?"
Jennifer scanned the panel. "This!" She grabbed a red lever marked "Emergency Brake." She pulled. It stuck. "Damn it!" She hit it with her fist. Nothing.
Marie leaned against a wall, holding Kenna. "Try something else!"
Jennifer looked at the screen. A warning flashed: "Brake System Failure. Manual Override Required." "Manual?" she said. "What's that?"
Chloe pointed to a hatch in the floor. "There!"
Jennifer knelt and yanked the hatch open. Below was a mess of wires, gears, and a big metal wheel. "This must be it," she said. She climbed down, her feet hitting the shaking floor. The wheel was rusty, stuck tight. She pulled. It didn't move.
"Help me!" she yelled. Chloe handed the first baby to Marie and climbed down too. They grabbed the wheel together and pulled. It creaked but held.
"Harder!" Jennifer said. They yanked again. The wheel turned an inch. The train jolted, slowing a little. "It's working!" Chloe shouted.
Outside, the station was close—platforms full of people waving, unaware. The train's horn blared, loud and long. Jennifer and Chloe pulled again. The wheel spun more. A loud screech filled the air—metal grinding metal. The speed dropped, but not enough.
Marie called down. "They're at the door!"
Jennifer looked up. The engine room door shook. Infected hands banged on it, cracking the small window. "Keep going!" she told Chloe. "I'll check!"
She climbed out, grabbing her pole. The door bent inward. White eyes glared through the glass. "Hold on!" she yelled to Marie. She swung at the window as it broke. An infected arm reached in. She hit it hard, breaking it. The arm pulled back.
Chloe kept turning the wheel. "It's slow!" she said.
"Keep trying!" Jennifer shouted. She swung at another infected breaking through. The door cracked wider. "Marie, help Chloe!"
Marie set Kenna down and climbed into the hatch, shaky. She grabbed the wheel with Chloe. "Pull!" Chloe said. They tugged together. The wheel spun faster. The train screeched louder, slowing more.
Jennifer fought at the door. Three infected pushed in now. She smashed one's head, then another. The third grabbed her pole. She pulled, but it yanked harder. "Chloe!" she yelled.
"Almost!" Chloe called. The wheel locked with a loud clank. The train jerked hard, throwing Jennifer back. The infected fell too. The speed screen blinked—slowing, slowing. Bordeaux was right there—platforms, lights, people running.
"It's working!" Marie said, climbing out with Chloe.
Jennifer stood, grabbing her pole from the floor. The infected got up too. "Door's gone!" she yelled. "We fight!"
Chloe grabbed a wrench from a shelf. Marie held a pipe she found. The babies cried behind them. Five infected rushed in now, fast and wild. Jennifer swung her pole, hitting one in the head. It dropped. Chloe smashed another with the wrench. Marie swung her pipe, weak but steady, knocking one back.
The train slowed more—almost stopped. Station lights filled the room. "We're close!" Jennifer shouted. She hit another infected. Chloe got one too. Marie stumbled, tired. An infected grabbed her arm. She screamed.
"No!" Jennifer yelled. She swung her pole, freeing Marie. The infected turned on her. She ducked and hit its legs. It fell, and she finished it.
The train jolted one last time. A loud crash came—not a full crash, but a hard stop. The floor tilted, then settled. They'd hit the platform, but slow enough to stay on the tracks. "We did it!" Chloe said, panting.
Jennifer looked at the door. No more infected came. The station was outside—people yelling, lights flashing. "We're here," she said. "Bordeaux."
Marie picked up Kenna, tears in her eyes. "We made it."
Chloe grabbed the first baby. "Yeah."
Jennifer dropped her pole, breathing hard. Her backpack with the BioGenesis box was safe. "Let's go," she said. "Out."
They moved to the hatch—safer than the broken door. Jennifer opened it. Station air rushed in—warm, smoky. People screamed outside, running from the train. She climbed out first, helping Chloe and Marie. They stood on the platform, shaky but alive.
Soldiers ran toward them, guns up. "Hands up!" one yelled.
Jennifer raised her hands, holding the backpack. "We're not sick!" she shouted. "We've got proof—BioGenesis did this!"
The soldiers stopped, unsure. A man in a black coat stepped forward. "What proof?" he asked.
Jennifer pulled the box from her bag. "This. And papers. They made the virus."
The man took it with a frown. "Get them out," he told the soldiers, then handed the box back to Jennifer. "Quarantine."
Soldiers grabbed them, gentle but firm. Jennifer didn't fight. They were safe—for now. The station was chaos—people running, infected breaking out from other cars. The train smoked behind them, wrecked but stopped.
Chloe held the first baby tight. "We're okay," she whispered.
Marie kissed Kenna's head. "Yeah."
Jennifer looked back at the train. Ken was gone. Monsieur Dupont too. But they'd made it. The truth was out. She'd tell the world—if they let her. The soldiers led them away, into the noise. The fight wasn't over, but this part was. They'd won.