Chapter Text
The Raid
The train’s whistle shrieked in the distance, a lone cry piercing the silence of the Sense Woods. Juniper crouched on a low-hanging branch, gripping the antlered skull tied to their belt. Below, the others waited—hidden among the trees, horses shifting restlessly beneath them. The Cove had done this a dozen times before, but every raid carried the same risk.
“Positions,” Juniper whispered.
Mary nodded and signaled the others. Chase and Kyren tightened the straps on their masks—Chase’s was a sleek fox skull, Kyren’s a heavy boar. Lily adjusted its owl-like mask while perched on a fallen log, Bianca gripping its shoulder. Even Ivy, barely five, clutched a rabbit skull too big for her head, her tiny fingers wrapped around Willow’s sleeve.
The train rumbled closer, wheels clanking over rusted tracks. A fortress on wheels.
“Wait for it…” Juniper murmured.
Then, the moment came—where the train slowed at the bend before the bridge, just enough for them to jump.
“Go!”
Cady and Axel sprinted first, leaping from the embankment onto the train cars. Cadence followed, barely catching the ladder, Emmi right behind them. Haylie landed on the roof with ease, rolling to absorb the impact, while Mary swung up beside her.
Inside the train, the guards were few but armed. They weren’t used to fighting kids—especially ones dressed like spirits of the woods. The Cove moved fast. Haylie’s knife flashed as she cut into the crates. Food. Medicine. Ammunition. Everything they needed.
Kyren and Chase tossed supplies down to the others waiting below. Willow secured them to the horses, patting Ivy’s head when she tugged on her sleeve, eyes wide beneath the rabbit mask.
“Time to go!” Emmi shouted.
They grabbed what they could, then jumped—horses galloping alongside the train as the last of them leapt down. The moment their hooves pounded the dirt, the train crossed the bridge, picking up speed. Too late to turn back.
Juniper turned, heart still hammering. They met Mary’s gaze, both breathless. Another successful raid.
The woods swallowed them once more.