Chapter 3 - The Trunk Latch
Inside the vehicle, absolute horror set in.
Rosa fumbled in her apron pocket and pulled out a small folding utility knife. "Hold still, sweetie," she whispered, her hands shaking as she began sawing through the heavy ropes binding Elena’s wrists and feet. "We’re getting out of this."
The train blew its whistle again—a bone-rattling blast. The ground vibrated violently, rattling every bolt in the chassis. Elena tried forcing the driver’s side door, but Daniel had jammed the exterior handle.
"We’re out of time!" Elena cried out, tears blinding her vision.
Rosa’s eyes darted to the back of the cab. "The trunk access!"
She yanked the latch to fold the rear seats forward. They dropped, revealing a narrow passage into the trunk. Elena tried to squeeze through, but her eight-month belly blocked the gap. The secondary seat panel was jammed shut by a safety latch.
Rosa jammed her small knife into the hinge, using it as a lever. The metal blade bent and snapped in half, but with a hard kick driven by pure desperation, the latch finally gave way.
"Go! Go!" Rosa yelled.
Elena crawled frantically into the dark trunk space, with Rosa scrambling right behind her. They groped around for the emergency release lever and pulled it hard.
The trunk popped—but only opened a couple of inches. Daniel had tied a heavy rope around the outer latch handle.
The locomotive was seconds away, its terrifying bulk filling the entire rear view. Rosa jammed her arm through the narrow gap, gripping the broken stub of her pocketknife, and began furiously sawing through the thick rope fibers.
Ten feet. Five feet.
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Just as the metal nose of the train loomed over them, the last fiber snapped. The trunk door flew open.
Rosa shoved Elena out onto the jagged gravel embankment. But as Rosa tried to jump, her dress snagged on the trunk latch mechanism. Elena turned, grabbed Rosa by the arms with pure motherly adrenaline, and yanked her free just as the multi-ton freight train pulverized the sedan into a mangled accordion of twisted steel.
