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SEVEN. DEAD IN THE EYE
new monsters , -lantsov
"dirtyhands and his serpent"
˖⁺ 🪶⋆ ୭ ⚔️ .⋆｡⋆༶⋆˙⊹

VERA COULD VERY vividly remember her first (and last) trip through the Fold. It had been a terrible experience with a horrible ending, but at least she had been on a skiff. This time, Vera was on a shoddy-looking train car that was making way too much noise.

She could practically see her death already.

The fabric in her arms was no longer comforting: it had become less of a makeshift blanket and more of a weight. It didn't help that the car shook endlessly, rattling along the rails like some sort of demonic noisemaker. Vera had always prided herself on never showing fear, but her foot was tapping against the floor nervously, and she knew Kaz was well aware of her nerves. Kaz always knew when she felt uncomfortable, it seemed. He was much more attentive than Jesper, and while Inej was a great spy and informant, she paid little attention to the actions of those close to her.

A bell sounded out, and Vera looked up from the floor curiously.

"What was that?" Jesper asked.

"I've erected a system of timers along the line. Bits of metal hung on poles to keep me apprised of our pace," the Conductor explained calmly.

"How did you know where to put the poles?" Kaz questioned him.

"Physics and engineering account for... most of my success," the Conductor said.

"And the rest?"

"What we might call divine intervention. What others might call luck. And after all, the Fold is thick with volcra, and the tracks are not complete. Coal please."

Vera did a double-take, a confused look washing away her nerves. "Excuse me?"

"Did you say the tracks weren't complete?" Jesper asked.

"I said they aren't complete."

Vera's hand darted up to her neck and rubbed the skin there. As he spoke, Vera could practically feel the volcra out in the Fold waiting to prey on them. They were ravenous monsters, and Vera did not want to die to them. She would not die to them. The only death she would accept would be at the hands of Kaz Brekker, because with him she would know it was for a reason.

So if Kaz fucking Brekker wasn't breaking through the roof disguised as a volcra ready to beat her to death with his cane, then Vera would not die.

Jesper also didn't seem to be comfortable with being on incomplete tracks, but he was more vocal in his distaste and began to move in his seat.

"No moving," the Conductor commanded. "We're a tad late. More coal."

"Back to the real issue," Jesper said. "We're on tracks that don't connect to other tracks?"

The Conductor nodded. "Yes, there's a gap but—"

"You said you could get us through," Kaz said.

"How much of a gap?" Jesper asked.

"I built slats on the car. They roll into place under the wheels. The turbine generates enough wind to push us all the way to the eastern track. As long as we don't shift our weight." Another chime rang out, "now, the noise may attract volcra, but it's the only way across."

The Conductor pulled a lever, and the train car sped up. With the speed came more noise, a noise that made Vera scowl. The moment the tracks ended, the car sunk onto the sand and jumbled around before righting itself once more. Vera's hand darted to her gun as her eyes locked onto Kaz's. He gave a small shake of his head 'no', a movement so small and meaningless yet somehow restoring Vera's peace. If he wasn't scared, there was no need for her to be.

"Now, there's a nest nearby," the Conductor explained, "but we'll be fine. If they haven't attacked us in..."

A loud growl cut the man off, and Vera's eyes darted back to Kaz again. The usually expressionless man looked surprised, and there was a look of alarm in his eyes that was just barely noticeable. Vera grabbed her gun again, turning to face the wall she was leaning against and hoping to catch a glance of the volcra nearby out of the small windows.

"Well, now we've got a problem."

"No shit," Vera snapped at him.

The Conductor jumped to his feet and began messing with the controls of the car, a sense of urgency in his movements that was apparent to everyone in the car.

"How do you fight them off?" Kaz asked.

"I outrun them. Open the throttle and toss in all the coal, which works when there's twenty pounds of it."

There was a loud snarl, and then a squelching noise. The goat bleated and darted towards Jesper as Vera slowly stood up and looked out her window. It was pitch black out there, but Vera already knew a volcra had gotten itself impaled on top of their car. The Conductor opened a viewing panel and looked out.

"Damnit, the stupid thing impaled itself on the spike," the Conductor said, confirming what Vera had already known to be true.

"We need to get it off. The others are going to stand on it," Kaz said.

"More coal!" The Conductor shouted.

"We're down to fumes!" Kaz replied. A loud clang came from the top of the car. "We'll never make it with this extra weight."

"Give me a second."

Jesper, who was now visibly sweating and looking ghastly, remarked, "this is how we die?"

"Jesper, grab the goat."

"I'm not throwing out the goat!" He yelled.

"Grab the damn goat! It's not bait. It's for you! I need you to calm down. Hug the goat. Shut the hell up."

Vera watched as Jesper picked up the goat and held him close to his chest, his posture relaxing and face going lax again. More thuds came from the roof, and Vera knew the volcra were getting closer and closer to them.

A chime rang out again. "We should have hit that twenty seconds ago."

"And twenty seconds is?" Kaz prompted.

"My timings are precise to get us outside," the Conductor answered. "Even twenty seconds behind means the train stops inside the Fold and... that means we die. There's more coming."

Vera clutched her gun tighter, her foot tapping the floor at a rapid-fire pace. There was no way she would be caught inside the Fold. Not in this lifetime.

"You may want to make your peace."

Vera wasn't a big believer of sankts, but she was a hypocrite, so she sent out a prayer to Sankta Marya and Sankt Demyan. She grew up on the stories of sankts, so there was no denying that they had been a big part of her childhood, but Vera knew them for what they were. Grisha. Not superior beings with heavenly powers, simply Grisha. Grisha like the two that used to live in Vera's village and yell at the children when they got too close. Yet there was comfort in believing they could provide protection, so she prayed.

Jesper stood, catching Vera's attention and pulling her out of prayer. With the goat in his arms, he walked towards the front of the train car, eyes closed and face calm. He pulled a gun out of his holster, spun it, and aimed it at the roof.

With the confidence that only Jesper Fahey could possess, he fired shots off through the roof and windows, the injured screeches of the volcra telling them that Jesper was hitting his marks. The goat was miraculously unbothered by it, and when Jesper was done, he set him down and allowed him to bleat and run around the car.

"Are they all dead?" Inej asked.

As if baited by Inej's question, a volcra tore straight through the ceiling in an ugly and loud racket. The Conductor let out a scream, and Vera lifted her gun quickly. Before Jesper had the chance to put his gun back up, Vera had shot the ugly bitch, and it had flown away with a cry.

She had hit it dead in the eye.

Another chime rang, and suddenly light came through the windows. In the light, Vera remembered they could see her better, so she tried to wipe her shaken expression off before the others could notice. She holstered her gun and shook out her shoulders. They were out, and she was free from the volcra.

Jesper was smiling happily, playing with the goat as they reached the end of the tracks. Inej looked relieved, and the knife held tense in her hands had been put back in its strap. Kaz looked, well, like Kaz: unbothered and apathetic. Forever and always the Dreg's favorite indifferent leader.

Vera's hand dropped to her lap, the itch on her neck that always arose when she got nervous disappearing again. She allowed herself to let out the breath she had been holding in the Fold. Clean air rushed into her lungs and filled her with serotonin. They had made it out.

She had made it through again.

˖⁺ 🪶⋆ ୭ ⚔️ .⋆｡⋆༶⋆˙⊹
Episode Three : The Making at the Heart of the World