Chapter Thirty-Seven
Contains spoilersOverview
Anna finds FBI agent Reginald “Reggie” Davis stabbed in the galley and performs emergency first aid, moving him to his compartment and suturing his wound with a sewing kit and vodka. She, Reggie, Jack Lapsford, and Sal Lawrence deduce Judd escaped onto the train’s roof. After stabilizing Reggie, Anna steps into the corridor as the lights fail and, alone in the dark, sees a horrifying apparition of her supposedly dead brother Tommy that approaches her, prompting her to scream.
Summary
Anna locates a first-aid kit in the galley and applies makeshift dressings to Reggie’s deep stab wound in his lower left abdomen, recognizing he will bleed out without stitches. With no suturing supplies in the galley and fearing Judd remains nearby, she helps Reggie stand and arms herself with Reggie’s gun, which she pockets.
They reach the dining car as Jack Lapsford and Sal Lawrence arrive from the opposite end. Learning no one passed through, the group infers Judd fled via the roof. Moving together into the lounge, Anna grabs a bottle of vodka for antisepsis and continues to Car 11, where she asks Sal for a sewing kit. Sal retrieves it, and Anna orders Sal back to her room to lock the door and avoid windows.
In Reggie’s compartment, Anna sterilizes a needle tip with vodka and cleans the wound. Reggie drinks the vodka for pain and, semi-coaching, describes how to suture while Anna, inexperienced, follows his guidance and closes the gash with loops and knots. To distract from the pain, Reggie makes small talk about hobbies and musicals, invites Anna to attend one after this is over, and gently challenges her single-minded pursuit of vengeance.
As Anna sews, Reggie reveals his father was murdered and that he joined the FBI to seek justice for families like his, clarifying his earlier stance that authorities should handle such crimes. Anna finishes the stitches, knots off the final loop, and Reggie slips into an exhausted, vodka-and-pain-induced sleep. She cleans her bloodied hands, noting her haggard reflection.
Needing a brief respite, Anna steps into the corridor, watching dawn lighten the snowy landscape as the train’s lights begin to flicker, then go out entirely. In the darkness, a man appears at the far doorway, his face partially lit by predawn glow. As he approaches, Anna recognizes him as her brother, Tommy, whom she believed dead.
Tommy speaks to her fondly, but as he moves closer, his smile reveals rotting teeth and blood, and his form degrades into a grotesque mass of blood, bone, and sinew. When the figure reaches to embrace her, terror overwhelms Anna and she screams.
Who Appears
- Anna
protagonist; administers first aid and stitches Reggie’s stab wound; deduces Judd fled via the roof; experiences a terrifying encounter with an apparition of her brother.
- Reginald “Reggie” Davis
FBI agent and hidden ninth passenger; stabbed in the abdomen (by Judd, per his account); drinks vodka for pain; guides Anna through suturing and reveals his father’s murder as his motive for joining the FBI; falls asleep after treatment.
- Jack Lapsford
passenger; meets Anna and Reggie in the dining car; helps infer Judd’s escape route; continues moving with the group.
- Sal Lawrence
forger coerced by Kenneth; retrieves a sewing kit for Anna; follows instructions to lock down in her room.
- Judd Dodge
witness who faked his poisoning; identified by Reggie as his attacker; believed to have escaped onto the train’s roof; not seen directly this chapter.
- Tommy
Anna’s brother, believed dead; appears as a horrific, possibly supernatural or hallucinatory figure that approaches Anna, causing her to scream (new).