“Why does it matter?” said Violet.
Hearst, far less worried about the two armed women behind him, threw open the door to the engine. Sweaty and frantic, he began to pull on the train’s levers. They wouldn’t budge. Not a single one. “God-Goddamn—! Why?!”
“What are you saying, Hearst?” Mei spat. Hearst rounded to them with true fear in his eyes.
“The train…We were supposed to turn left. Left goes to Butte.”
“And the right?” Violet asked.
Hearst shook his head, face pale. “The right…the right heads straight into a goddamned mountain.”
A new panic swept Mei and Violet, and they lowered their weapons. Hearst began desperately yanking on the emergency pull chord, but it did little to stop the locomotive. “Dammit!” He rounded to the women. “Pull on the chords! Pull on all of ‘em! Now!”
Vio
