That second night, the Golden Age Express rolled up to a town named Murrieta, though Kora had heard people in the dining hall refer to it as Torch Town.
It would be stopped here for three hours for refueling, some maintenance, and the loading and unloading of passengers.
Kora decided to get off and visit this town that she'd never heard of. It certainly sounded interesting, and it looked interesting from the windows of the train.
Torches lined the main street through the town—which was named Torch Lane, according to the sign. Made sense. It was a small town. Mostly seemed to consist of this one main street. Not many people here.
The suns were down this time of night. The moons were providing some light, but the torches kept things nice and bright. The light on people's faces tinged red.
The street was dirt, flanked by raised-plank walkways.
The buildings were all wooden, some clapboard.
Some were painted fresh, trying to give the appearance of new.
Some were old and sagging, looked like they'd been there forever.
A few old men sat on the planked walkway in rocking chairs, in front of the barber shop, smoking cigars.
The train had stopped in front of gasoline pumps.
From the looks of it, the town was a gas town—built around the service of trains. They probably did much better WAY back in the day, when gas trains were the big ticket. Being that The Golden Age express was the only one remaining, the town looked like it was trying to adjust to not having as much work as it once did.
Trying to diversify its services, Kora could tell from the signs on the buildings.
The tavern seemed to attract the most attention.
There was a small Authority station for the local Authority guards. Probably two men patrolled the whole town. There was no such thing as local law enforcement. That was a thing of the past, before the Authority—Kora had learned from some of her crew mates. They were replaced by Authority guards, commissioned by the central government, bound to the central government, working for the central government. Local municipalities were a thing of the past, like gas-powered trains. Relics.
The old way was better, according to her crewmates. They said that local enforcement meant slightly varied priorities and more focus on each locality's individual needs. Also, local enforcement had often grown up in their respective towns and had more respect for the people. The patrolmen weren't simply posted to their location—oftentimes, they had grown up in the town or district they patrolled. Meant less chance of absolute collusion with the tyrannical central government, because each agency was isolated, to an extent.
Kora didn't know. Mostly didn't care.
She wasn't hungry. And she had no money, so there was no point in going to the tavern. She decided to walk the length of the street and see what was beyond it.
The final building, at the end of the street, was the Authority post—the jailhouse/office for the local Authority patrol. She saw an Authority soldier sitting outside of it, looking at her as she went past. She looked at him for a few moments, then set her eyes forward.
She walked past those final buildings, and then to the edge of the torch light—which cast out beyond the buildings.
The moons were lighting up the land well, but her eyes weren't adjusted after having walked through the overwhelming torchlight.
Going beyond the torchlight, she continued walking.
The dirt road extended out far ahead, cutting through the grassy field. Kora veered off the road, onto the grass. It was soft, easy. She continued as her eyes adjusted. She could see that the field went back and back, stretching hundreds of yards until it kissed the distant rolling hills. She could see a few houses, dotting the valley. She was sure there were more over the hills.
A small country town.
She envied it.
So she stood there, a cool breeze blowing past her, ruffling her dress a bit. She stared, thinking, breathing. Using up the free time before she had to board the train.
She wondered how life was out here.
Was it less oppressive than it was in the city?
She was sure the taxes were the same.
There didn't seem to be many jobs available.
"HEY, you!" a man yelled from behind her.
Kora spun around.
Authority soldier, standing there, hands at his sides.
"What's the problem?" Kora asked demurely, because why not?
"The problem is, you're wanted. You're Kora Diaz. Aren't you?"
Kora was unsure what this was about.
She was wanted? No, no, she was acquitted.
"I think there's been a mistake."
She noticed now that he was holding a rolled up paper in one hand. He held it out, shook it so that it unrolled. It was dark out here and he was at a distance so she could barely make it out.
"Wanted poster. Brand new shipment came in today," he said. "I recognized you as you walked past. You're coming in to the jailhouse or dying out here. Take your pick."
Kora was caught off-guard.
"I'm confused—"
"Choose!" he yelled.
His right hand was near the holster of his gun.
He wanted to fight. He was itching for a fight, to shoot her.
Sick guy.
She didn't have a weapon.
"I'll come in."
That's when a gunshot sounded off, twenty feet to Kora's right, from the darkness. She caught the muzzle flash out of the corner of her eye.
The soldier's head exploded—blood going everywhere.
The man collapsed.
Kora dropped to the ground—there was no cover out here. She felt exposed. She realized she needed to make a run for the Authority soldier's fallen body—get his gun.
They weren't far out of town.
Townspeople would have heard the gunshot, would be arriving soon to see what was happening in the otherwise quiet town. Probably not good for her.
"Kora Diaz," a voice shouted from the darkness to the right.
"Don't know where she is," Kora said.
"Funny."
The voice was coming nearer. Kora could hear the man's footsteps.
"I can find her for you," Kora said.
Then she got to her feet, ran for the fallen Authority soldier.
GUNSHOT!
A chunk of dirt just in front of her exploded into the air.
Kora dead-stopped. She laughed at her situation—two men trying to kill her in seamless succession.
The man in the darkness, that she could now somewhat see, was pointing a gun at her. "What do you want?" she asked, when he didn't say anything. He was approaching her.
"I'm a bounty hunter. Name is unimportant—"
"But what if I have a job for you?"
"Guy sent me."
"I hate that guy."
"He says if you don't pay now I'm supposed to kill you." He paused, stopped walking. "What will it be?"
"I love that everyone's offering me choices tonight," said Kora.
"What's your choice?"
"How much am I worth dead?" Kora asked, amused.
The guy was close enough that she could see him. He was wearing black slacks, a black shirt, a black overcoat.
"No wonder I couldn't see you."
He stopped fifteen feet out. He was holding a pistol in his hand.
Kora couldn't run at him.
The fallen soldier with the gun was also about fifteen feet out.
Couldn't run for him.
She glanced at Torch Lane—maybe fifty yards away. Some townspeople were standing at the edge of the light, looking out towards them. Wouldn't be able to see them. Too dark out here.
It was a strange situation—the Authority trying to arrest her for being WANTED and a bounty hunter commissioned by Guy saving her only to threaten to kill her if she didn't pay her debt. All at the same time. The coincidences were off the charts.
"I thought I had three days," said Kora.
"You did. But it seems you're wanted—"
"I noticed."
"—I need your payment before the Authority gets ahold of you."
"As much as I love the attention—"
That's when another gunshot sounded off. This time Kora couldn't tell where it had come from. A quarter-of-a-second later, the nameless bounty hunter's stomach tore open. Kora saw the blood burst out the opposite end, far back, into the darkness. Another shot—this one tore into his head.
He dropped.
Kora ran toward him, rolled, grabbed his pistol during the roll. Was back on her feet, aiming the gun around. The gunshots had sounded from far away, maybe over a thousand yards. A sniper rifle. The sniper had a night vision attachment on her scope for certain. Kora was worried, but somehow felt as though the sniper was protecting her. If she were wrong, she'd drop dead at any moment.
The people in the street were looking to the tops of the buildings on the left side. Perhaps that was where the sniper was perched.
Kora lay down behind the bounty hunter's body, pistol extended across his chest. And she waited. She waited ten minutes. It took that amount of time for the second Authority soldier to emerge from the Authority's office and venture out this way.
He had a big rifle in his arms, and stopped at the edge of the light. "What's going on out there?"
Kora realized she needed to risk getting up off the ground.
The Authority soldier didn't know what had happened.
Kora barely understood it herself.
He couldn't see her from where he was.
Of course, Kora was wearing a white dress. Might be easier to spot. Still, his eyes wouldn't be adjusted—he was still standing in the torchlight, exposed. She could easily pick him off if she needed to. For a moment, she wanted to.
Kora ran for the fallen Authority soldier—went to a knee beside him. She took the gun from his holster, dug through his pockets for a wallet.
"I can see you," the Authority soldier yelled.
Kora laid down on the lee side of the fallen body. She found the man's wallet. Finally she took the poster that he'd dropped in the dirt.
The Authority soldier pulled the trigger.
The bullet hit the dirt a few feet out.
It didn't cause her to hesitate.
The man obviously didn't have a good shot—not with this darkness and his distance.
So Kora ran, staying crouched, further into the darkness. It was easy enough to get back to the train. She went around the back of the town's left side. Walking. Went down a few alleys behind the buildings. She'd tucked the guns, wanted poster, and wallet under her arms, inside her coat. Then she was in the train, back in her cabin.
She closed and locked the cabin door, kept her window shades open so she could see if the remaining soldier was coming this way. She set the guns on the coffee table. They were nice: The Authority soldier's gun was standard-commissioned, gold-endowed. Good range. Dependable. The bounty hunter's had been modified—better range, could hold ten bullets instead of only six. Kora opened the soldier's wallet, found some paper notes and two silver coins.
Finally, she unfurled the wanted poster.
Sure enough, it was her. The picture was her mugshot from when she'd been booked. It was actually a flattering picture. Though it was in black and white, you could make out her freckles and perhaps even the green of her eyes. Or maybe that was just her personal impression, about the eyes, given that she had inside information.
Beneath her picture was the word WANTED. Beneath that, it explained that she was wanted for: "Prison Escape. Collusion with the Resistance. Smuggling." Her name was across the top, in a nice font, KORA DIAZ. Kora took off her top hat, set it beside her. She let the poster drop to the coffee table, and she ran her hands through her hair.
What was going on here?
The Resistance had told her she'd been acquitted, right? That was what Scarlet had said. If and indeed Scarlet was with the Resistance. Maybe she was lying, was some kind of bounty hunter herself. The commissioner, though, had told her she'd been exonerated.
Kora didn't understand.
But she knew she'd have to stay in this cabin the rest of the trip, in case the Authority soldier handed some of the wanted posters to the passengers of the Golden Age Express.
Fine by her.