Chapter 15

CHAPTER 15 Monster? The word hit Janie like a kick in the guts. But what did Janie expect? She'd lied. Tricked them all. Of course they hated her. She deserved it, she guessed. She swallowed the lump in her throat and turned to go back to her hiding place, to wait out

the night. But then Miss Wade's voice echoed in her mind. It's not your fault. She'd been talking to Frederick. So why did Janie feel like those words could have been meant for her? A strange feeling—a hot jolt—shot up her spine. "It's not my fault," she said softly. And then louder. "It's not my fault!" "Who's there?" Mr. Bailets called out. But Janie didn't budge. Her mind was swirling. All that had happened to her—losing her parents, living with Aunt Barbara, running from the police, hiding stolen jewels. She didn't choose any of it. She didn't want to be a criminal. She wanted to be the girl she was on the train, the girl who people trusted and cared about. But… wait. Janie's eyes widened as a thought popped into her head. What if that girl was the real janey

And those people… her friends… Could she make them understand? Would they maybe forgive her? Before Janie realized what she was doing, she was rushing through the dining room. She flew past Mr. Bailets. "Janie!" he called. She pushed through the door and out into the rain. Thunder boomed. Lightning slashed the sky. Rain poured down, mixing with the tears that streamed down Janie's cheeks. There they were up ahead—Mr. McBride and Miss Wade. And trailing behind them was Frederick. They were heading back toward the sleeper car. "Wait!" Janie called. "Wait!" Mr. McBride and Miss Wade didn't seem to hear. But Frederick turned. "Janie!" Frederick exclaimed. He ran toward her. "We've been looking everywhere!" Boom! Thunder shook the ground.

"I'm not a monster!" Janie cried. "What?" Frederick said as a bolt of lightning lit up his face. He didn't look angry or disgusted with her. He looked relieved and sad and confused. But then he seemed to realize what Janie was talking about. He grabbed her hand and their eyes locked. "My father wasn't talking about you! He was talking about that evil man, Malvo." In that moment, something deep inside Janie seemed to burst open. All those dark thoughts and feelings she'd been pushing away—the hurts and terrors, the tears, the questions, the memories… she couldn't hold them inside anymore. She heard a strange sound. Whump! Her body shook. The ground trembled. A low roar filled her ears. For a split second, Janie thought it was coming from her, from somewhere deep inside her bones. But no. "What was that?" Frederick said.

Janie spun around. She stared up at the mountain, which was brightly lit by a flare of lightning. Except it didn't look like the same mountain. It seemed to have shattered apart. All the snow that had covered it was racing down the steep slope. "It's an avalanche!" Frederick cried. It was moving faster by the second, coming toward them. And toward the trains. "Run!" Janie shouted.

该页暂无翻译