An unexpected train ride with a stranger

I’m suddenly aware of my body and the feeling of being in motion. I’m in the foetal position on a hard surface, I concentrate on regaining my consciousness. Clack, clack, clack sounds are coming to focus, and I realise it’s the sound of a train on its tracks. I am indeed in motion; only I don’t remember buying a ticket. My eyes spring open and all that I see is darkness, I look around confused. I stretch out my hand and as I do a blanket moves with it. The light is too bright after the darkness, and I blink many times before I can take in my surroundings. I’ve been curled up on a bench seat in a small carriage of the train. Opposite me a man appears to be sleeping, no one else is with us. The blinds are drawn on all the windows, so I have not yet seen anyone else. I sit up, inducing a slight dizzy spell. Had I fallen and hit my head? Or had I been drugged? Maybe I was just dehydrated. There was no one I could ask, I would have to wait and hope my memory came back to me. I peeked behind the blind of the outside window, it was cloudy and grey. Not at all helpful in telling what time of day it was. I saw trees and mountains, we appeared to be quite high up, but I saw no buildings at this point. The trees are all blurring into one another, it almost makes me feel like the train is going faster than it should be. A heavy, uneasy feeling begins to grow in the pit of my stomach.

The man whom I don’t recognise has not stirred once, it’s making me even more uneasy. What if he’s faking being asleep? Or worse… I get up slowly, keeping my eyes on him the whole time. Softly I walk over to the carriage door, he still hasn’t stirred but I can see his chest rising and falling evenly from here. I turn to the door and ease it open, poking my head out I look up and down the corridor. I can’t see anything, it’s just black. I’m flung back inside the carriage and the door is slammed shut. Our mystery man is standing over me, now that he’s standing up, he looks rather large. He shoves me back down onto the bench seat and says nothing.

Scared into stillness I studied the man across from me. He looked quite small when he was slouched against the seat. He must be tall though if he could stand over me the way he did, I had felt his strength as he shoved me back onto my bench seat, so I knew he was strong too. He was quite normal looking really, he had dark hair and pale skin, sharp cheekbones and a pointy nose. In all honesty his face was proportioned quite nicely. His clothes were nice once perhaps, but they looked a little worse for wear. I look back to his face and realise he’s been watching me. I notice his eyes are dark and the circles underneath them are even darker… he looks like he’s been through hell, whoever he is.

He doesn’t say anything just continues to hold my gaze, it’s an intense gaze which is making my heart race out of nerves, I wonder if I should be more scared. I take a deep breath and ask

“What’s your name?”

My only hope of working out where I am and what’s going on is for him to give me some answers. He continues to hold my gaze without saying anything. I raise my brow; I’m beginning to get somewhat annoyed.

“You can’t just stare at me! I have a right to know what’s going on. Why won’t you let me leave? Why are we going so fast? And why haven’t I heard any other people?”

With a sigh he tears his eyes away from mine and says “look, I don’t have the answers you’re looking for, ok? All I know is that if you leave the carriage, you won’t come back. There are other people on the train, but you don’t want to meet them.”

My heart begins to sink as I watch him, I can tell that he’s being honest there’s pain in his voice.

“How long have you been here?”

His eyes find mine again and there’s a flicker of something in them, pity maybe? Is it pity for me or himself?

“I tried counting at first, tried to go off the scenery when it’s light or dark but it was useless. However long it’s been, it feels like forever.” He pauses for a moment as if he’s unsure he wants to say the next part, “in the time I’ve been here there’s been two other girls in here with me.”

My breath catches in my throat, I want to ask but I fear I don’t want to know the answer. He reads the question on my face and answers “they left the carriage, and they didn’t come back.”

“Maybe they just got off the train when it stopped?”

He looked at me incredulously, the train hasn’t stopped since I’ve been on it. I don’t even know how they’re getting you girls on here. Besides, I went with the second one. Becca. We got a few steps down the hall and she was grabbed, it’s completely black out there and I couldn’t see anything. She started to scream and then it was muffled by something or someone. After that all I could hear was my own breath. No one grabbed me but I couldn’t find any way out. So, I just came back here and not long after you were pushed through the door.”

“Pushed through the door? Was I awake? Who pushed me?” I have more questions than I started with.

“You weren’t really awake, kind of drugged up. I caught you and put you on the bench. I couldn’t see anyone behind you. It’s like you just appeared.”

This was all too much. Why had I ended up here… where even was here. My eyes wander over to the window, and it gives me an idea.

“Do we ever go over water?”

“Huh?”

I point to the window “do we ever go over water? Maybe that’s our way out.”

He looks at me blankly for a second and then just laughs. “Have you seen how fast we’re going? I’ve never been able to tell where we are.”

“What about the window, does it open?”

“Uh I’ve never actually tried” He looks a little sheepish admitting this.

I roll up the blind and inspect the window. There’s no latch but I think it could be slid open. I see trees in the distance, but I can’t tell what’s underneath us, the train seems to be elevated.

“Come help me get this open, this might be our only chance!”

He joins me and we manage to slide the window up, a fresh breeze blows in around us. Cold air has never felt so good against my skin. I lean out slightly and look down. All I see is blue, it looks a long way down. We must be on a bridge.

I look over and nervously ask “So we should jump right?”

He holds my gaze for a moment, I can see the fear in his eyes. “Yeah, I think this is it.”

“We won’t fit at the same time… I’ll go first” I manage a shaky smile “I’ll see you down there?”

“See you down there” he agrees.

I climb out the window and suck in a deep breath, my heart is pounding. I let go and plummet towards the water. Possibly to my death.

As I fall I realise he never told me his name…