By Any Means

One tap on the window was enough to stir Jack Connelly. This was followed by two, three, four and so on. The sound of rain hitting the glass intensified which is a sound that Jack is familiar with due to his roots in Ireland, the only thing that perturbed him was the feeling of motion. One eye was able to separate, with the other not too far behind, but he wished he hadn't because of the immense pain he felt in his head. Like several hangover's had hit him at once.

Jack managed to calibrate himself and finally take in his surroundings. A train cabin. Old in style and decor, he figured it was similar to those he watched in films from the 1930's where each person had their own cabin, fit with the wooden sliding doors that could be locked from the inside only. Over on Jack's left was scenery that could only be described as majestic. Rolling hills for miles with a river running through it, with the train and its tracks attached to one of the hillsides. The colour scheme was a deep green, with oak trees lining the other side of the track. Jack couldn't figure out where he was, but it dawned on him that he couldn't even remember boarding this train in the first place.

However, his thoughts grinded to a halt when the television screen in front of him suddenly lit up the cabin. Jack couldn't see a remote, but his curiosity glued him to the red screen before him. It was at that moment the red screen faded away and a black screen emerged with one word written in white.

'WATCH'

What followed was a series of pictures of the world depicting luxurious locations. Jack thought that maybe he stumbled onto a holiday in which the travellers would experience these gorgeous pictures and just use the train as transport. Jack lost interest in the screen and proceeded to stand up and see if he could exit his cabin, he fiddled with the locking system, but to no avail. He thought maybe it was jammed, but he was no expert in locks. After a couple of minutes of wrestling with the system, a voice drowned out the noise of the carriage. It came from the screen, there was still just a slideshow of pictures so Jack assumed it was the captain of this train simply updating the passengers.

'Hello everyone. You're probably alarmed by where you are and what's going on. I would be too if I woke up in a train carriage destined for nowhere. That's correct, this train doesn't have a destination. However, there is one way of stopping it, and one way only...'

Jack was disturbed by the words he was hearing. A train with no destination, but can be stopped using one method? He almost didn't want to find out, but it's not like he could get off.

'Drum roll please... sorry, I like to provide a little bit of humour from time to time... Anyway, the only way to stop this train is to be the last surviving member on it. The last survivor will not only leave with their life, which I think is generous enough, but to also live the rest of their lives in complete luxury. Those images that have been rolling will be what you'll experience every day as the victorious one. Now, to make things that extra bit interesting, you'll each be provided with a unique weapon which you'll find in the cupboard above your television screen. Oh and before I forget to mention it, there are no resources on this journey if you think you can wait it out. There are cameras dotted all over the train, as I particularly enjoy watching what normal law-abiding citizens end up resorting to when their life is on the line. Lastly from me, good luck and may the fittest survive.'

The television cut out and Jack was left staring at his reflection. He then glanced to his right as the lock unpicked itself, Jack then reached over to see if the door now slid open and it did. He hesitated leaving the cabin to explore the rest of the train, but then remembered the weapon in the cupboard. With one sharp intake of breath, he pulled open the door and there his weapon lay. A small switchblade, reminiscent of the one his father owned when Jack was growing up. He was familiar with the mechanics of it as he often used it as a toy, much to his father's anger, but Jack always found his new hiding spots. He ended up cutting himself on a few occasions and one resulted in stitches, a scar that Jack still carries on his thumb.

Armed with the switchblade, Jack thought logically about his next move. He was 21, physically fit and standing at around 6'3. Imposing and rather adept at hand-to-hand combat due to the rough area he grew up in. Jack knew he would possibly be of the perfect requirements to survive this hell on earth, but he had no inkling on who the other passengers were and the biggest factor would be dealing with killing another human being in order to survive. The idea that he could wait and let everyone else do the killing for him did cross his mind, but to hide away was not how he was raised. He also had no idea the kind of weapons that the other passengers had and if everyone had the same idea, to hide away and not kill anyone, we'd all die from dehydration and hunger anyway.

Jack turned to face the door, he lifted up his top and slid the blade into his belt. He reached out for the door, pulled the lock and proceeded to step out of his cabin. However, as he stepped out, the television sparked into life again. Curious, Jack turned back and leaned against the frame of the door to absorb the next message. There was no voice though, there was just more pictures and even some videos. At this point, Jack fell back into his seat and in bewilderment he watched as moments from his life played out. Home videos of him as a baby, taking his first steps, playing football and everything else that was captured. Pictures of him with his friends, ex-girlfriends and his dog called Murphy.

A single tear rolled down his face, but soaked up by his beard. It wasn't a well maintained beard, but that's what girls liked back home. His rough, rugged and physical look earned him admirers from any walk of life. Coupled with a thick Irish accent, and mid length brown locks pushed back behind his ears, he found himself easily charming his way out of situations. It was the picture of Murphy that particularly hit Jack the hardest as he rescued the border collie from an abusive previous home. He knew that Murphy only trusted him so he was worried about what he might do in Jack's absence. But, he couldn't let his mind get the better of him and distract him from the task at hand, survival.

Once again, Jack made his way to the cabin door and stepped outside. The images and videos didn't stop playing, so he shut the door behind him and decided to head to his left. The cabins were all lined up on the left with only the walkway separating him from the other side of the train. But, as they were pressed right on the hillside, he couldn't see anything that could give away the size of the train. Jack knew another cabin was immediately on his left, so he slowly peered around the glass window to who was in there, if anyone. The door was shut, the television was playing and the cupboard left open. Whoever was in here, was now roaming the train. Jack took a few moments to watch the footage and made out a man, possibly in his 40's, featuring heavily in them. The man looked physically active himself, with many pictures featuring bike rides, mountain hikes and long walks. Adept to adventure, with a chance of understanding terrain very well and could also know how to provide for himself if required to.

Jack proceeded down his carriage with all cabins now empty. He had reached the end, but as he looked up he could see a lot of people in the carriage up ahead. It seemed as though this was the resting area for passengers to mingle and drink, when there's resources for it. He slid open the door and was immediately met with what felt like a thousand eyes. In reality there was a collection of around 30 people with ages ranging from 18 to about 70.

'Hi, I'm Jack...' He broke the silence with.

One man, who looked like the guy in the cabin next to him, greeted him back.

'Hey Jack. Do you care to join in as we find out a way to get off this train without killing each other? My name is Monroe, Joe Monroe.'

'Sure, I guess 30 heads together is better than one..' Jack smiled, but was quickly erased from his face as he was met with glares.' Jack responded with.

Jack sat down opposite a girl who could be no older than 20, and gave her a generous nod to imply that he wouldn't hurt her. Jack then continued to scan the room and pay a bit more attention to everyone sitting there. As his eyes were flicking from one person to another, it was an older gentleman sitting in the corner that caught Jack's eye. It was like he was staring right through him. A look Jack had only seen from his grandfather that served in World War 2. Trying to forget about the old man he continued with his assessment of the room and eventually brought his eyes to rest. But, not with one more quick glance at the man in the corner. His attire was all black with black industrial boots on, like he was ready to get dirty if he needed to.

Jack soon took his attention elsewhere and that was back to Joe who was now addressing the carriage.

'Guys, we don't know how many people are on this train, but if we as a group stick together then we can defend ourselves as well as come up with a plan to stop this damn train...' Jack figured this was probably Joe's leadership in the wild coming through. They survive no matter what and with constant ideas of how to achieve survival.

'I propose we tell each other what weapon we have and a bit of our background. Just to create a sense of familiarity. Anyone oppose?' Joe looked confident his idea would be met with a warm reception, but a few disgruntled passengers declined to be so open with what they've got and who they are.

One female spoke up and suggested that we'll be giving away the ace up our sleeves and if one of us has a gun, and no one else did then they could quite easily shoot everyone else without much resistance. The way she articulated herself actually swayed some people into her favour which would suggest that she's possibly got a career in politics or something to that degree. The room was now split with Joe and the lady exchanging words, in an attempt to thrash out an agreement. It would only result in a stalemate, which is when Jack spoke up.

'How about we go to a vote? The winner of the vote is how we do things.'

Voting seemed like the logical course of action to take, and one which was unanimously agreed upon. After some deliberation and votes counted up, Joe was victorious and set about a plan to safely reveal everyone's weapons.

'We'll go around the room and once you've shown your weapon you can leave it wherever you like. Who wants to go first? Jack, as you were last in the room?'

Jack lifted up the back of his top and placed his switchblade on the table in front of him. He pressed the trigger to reveal the hidden blade, which startled the girl sitting in front of him. One by one the rest of the train revealed their weapons. A variety of items were produced including a wrench, hammer, small axe and so on. However, Jack's interest immediately heightened when it was the turn of the old man. Jack anxiously peered over, as the man fixed some knuckle duster's on his hands. Something which he didn't take off when the next person revealed their weapon. No one else seemed to notice, but the old man knew Jack had seen him put gloves over the top and continued to look right through him as though he wanted him to see.

While trying to figure of what the old man's fixation on him was, it was finally Joe's turn to reveal his weapon. In a blink of an eye, there it was, everyone's fears glistening under the intense light of the table lamps. A gun. A sinister smile grew on Joe's face. The lady that opposed Joe was reduced to a shaking mess.

Joe looked at everyone and then back at his gun as he picked it up.

'I have enough bullets to kill everyone in this carriage twice over, so I will not be fucked with. If anyone so much as steps out of line, you'll get a bullet. So we do things...'

Before Mr.Monroe finished his sentence the faint sound of a gunshot was heard further up the train, followed by the muffled sounds of screams. A few people on Jack's carriage took cover behind whatever they could get behind, firmly gripping their weapons. Of course nothing they had could compete with a gun and it seemed like more than one person on the train had one.

Jack had his switchblade in his hand, but sheathed.

'Everyone stay calm!' Joe belted out as panic was settling into the passengers.

However, the screams were getting closer, but what stuck in Jack's mind was the fact that they were intermittent screams. Every five minutes there would be fresh noise that sounded that bit closer. Almost like someone, or some people were going carriage by carriage and eliminating whoever they liked. Jack triggered his blade discreetly and prepared himself for a fight.

Joe looked to his left, where the commotion was erupting from, and began to peer through the carriage window to see if he could see anything. Everyone else gathered behind him and frantically searched for something extra to protect themselves with. Some were trying to snap off table and seat legs. A couple were successful, even though a couple of table legs would be no match for whatever weapons the rest of the train had. Jack exchanged a look with the girl opposite him and gestured for her to hide behind. She obliged and without a word spoken, she crouched down behind him.

Joe was still trying to work out the impending threat when a bullet whistled straight through the glass. It missed Joe by a whisker, but caught another passenger straight in the chest and into the thick wood of the bar behind him. The man, in his 30's, doubled over in pain and began spurting out mouthfuls of blood. It was a direct hit to the heart and the man would be dead before he hit the floor. A woman next to the man shrieked in fear and began bundling her way to the opposite end where Jack was. Tears were rolling down her face as she barged through the door and back to where the cabins were. She was followed by a dozen or so more people.

Jack watched each one disappear down the walkway, but returned his focus to the man lying in a pool of his own blood. Joe was left petrified in the corner just next to window which was shot. He couldn't move, talk or even breathe. He looked dead to the world. A couple of passengers dragged the dead man away from the door and laid him further back. In the frenzy, Jack didn't realise that the old man had moved closer to him, they were separated by a couple of tables now.

Jack tried to ignore him, and moved himself closer to Joe, while making sure to take as much cover as possible. He reached him and tried to bring him back to reality, but no luck. The gun rested in his lap, Jack made a move to grab it and was met with no resistance. Joe had given up, a leader who had seen death flash before his eyes. Although people watched him do it, they didn't oppose Jack taking the gun. Despite the rugged look, Jack had friendly eyes. A deep blue, which in a certain light take on a shade of green. He looked like a man you would automatically trust without ever previously meeting him.

Jack turned to face those that remained and attempted to reassure them as best as he could.

'I'm not much of a leader, but I know my way around a violent situation. I have no intention of killing anyone except those that actively try and kill me. I still believe there is more than one way to stop this train and I need you all to help me, but we can't stay here.'

There was around 15 citizens left and each seemed like they knew how defend themselves. Jack ushered everyone to go to the cabins that he had emerged from, which he himself made his way towards, but ensured he was the last one to leave. One of the men left picked up Joe and carried him to where the others congregated, he nodded at Jack as he passed by. There was five cabins in total, but everyone filled up the first three, one being Jack’s. The girl that was accepting Jack's protection was watching his life on television, which was still showing. He glanced at her and gave her a small smile before heading back to the entrance to the carriage.

It was now five hours since Jack first woke up and while he didn't feel any signs of hunger or thirst, he knew other people would. If not now, then quite soon down the line. While his thoughts were engaging with the long term, he had a real issue in the short term and that was murderers running rampant. However, it had been around about an hour since he heard any more gunshots or screams. Curiosity settled in and Jack wanted to investigate, so returned to the cabins and asked if anyone wanted to go with him and assess what has been happening further up the train. A couple of men volunteered, along with the girl who Jack had been protecting and the old man. Jack hesitated saying yes to the girl and old man, but they were free to do as they please.

'You guys know my name, but seeing as we'll be heading into a dangerous situation, I'll need to know yours.' Jack enquired.

The two men revealed their names to be Peter Banks and Tom Powell. Next up was the girl who only gave her first name of Emily. The old man was next and after some reluctance, he gave in.

'Barry Toole is the name, pleasure to meet you all.'

Slightly taken back by how polite he sounded, Jack thanked everyone and gestured them to follow him slowly. They each made their way back to the carriage they all met in and began to tread carefully towards the next door. From this point on, they were heading into the unknown. Jack carefully nudged the door open with the gun primed and ready for action. His switchblade had returned to the belt of his trousers. With one large step, he edged the next door open and commanded the others to follow up behind.

'It's a shitty thing to say, but if you find any new weapons that are more suited to you then pick them up. Look for guns and ammunition.' Jack whispered to the ranks.

There was broken glass all over the walkway with smashed out cabin windows. Jack leaned into see the first cabin, the television was still playing, but empty. This was the case for each of the next four cabins. Despite the shattered glass, no evidence of blood was apparent. That was all about to change when they entered the next carriage. Nothing could prepare them for what they were about to witness.

There was enough blood to fill an entire cabin, but was cast off up the walls, the doors and everything else it could touch. The carpet was soaked, but it was when they all looked further up the carriage the first victim was seen. They were half in and half out their cabin, it was not entirely apparent how she died until Jack got a closer look. She had been shot through the head, but no signs of a struggle which would suggest an execution type killing. This didn't explain the other blood that covered everywhere else, but they all pressed on and arrived at the next door. Jack once again slowly peered through the window, but the lights were off. It was dark, with the only illumination coming from the moon.

More bodies. Five in total in this carriage, with each new body dealt a different kind of death. One poor woman had her throat slit, one man had his skull crushed in and the other three had lacerations in different areas of their bodies. When they reached the final body they hadn't realised, due to the darkness, that the head had actually been removed. Tom had seen enough and began throwing up, he mouthed an apology and made his way back to the cabins.

The five of them had become four, but Jack pressed on. Emily, Peter and Barry each continued with him. Although, Jack did notice that Barry looked particularly undisturbed by what he'd witnessed, almost like he expected to see it. However, there was too much going on to make sense of it right now.

Carriage after carriage produced more and more bodies. Each one becoming more grotesque, to the point where Jack was just numb to it all. They must've cleared 8 carriages before they would meet another human alive. They could hear voices before they could see them and it sounded as though it was a gathering of about five or six men. Jack assumed these were the ones who were taking down the rest of the train and had retreated all the way up here to rest as they all had their feet up and their weapons to one side of them.

Jack turned to his clan and whispered.

'I count five men in there and they're all armed and ready to kill. I can also see three of them have guns, which you can all do the math on.'

Peter enquired about a plan of action, with Jack's response being to reason with them. Barry instantly shut that suggestion down insisting they are kill on sight kind of guys and no words will ever work on them.

'Jack, you need to use the element of surprise and kill as many of them as you can, starting with the ones that have the guns.' Barry stated.

Jack hesitated, but knew deep down it was the only way. He hadn't killed anyone in his life, but he now felt responsible for the lives of those who came with him and those back in the cabins, despite how temporary that may be. With one intake of breath, he aimed the muzzle of the gun at one of the men, assuming the bullet would penetrate both panes of glass.

Bang.

The bullet ripped through both windows and flew straight into head of the man at the end of the sights. This startled the other men in the carriage who scrambled to get their weapons and that's when Jack unleashed a volley of bullets in every direction he could aim his gun at. Peter and Barry threw open both doors and went after any surviving member of the group. Barry was armed with knuckle duster's, while Peter found himself a small axe. Jack had taken out three men with his gun alone, but had to reload. That was the chance for the two survivors to launch a counter attack against the oncoming Peter and Barry.

Barry dealt a blow so powerful it knocked several teeth out of the man's mouth, this man was so stunned that before he had any time to react, Barry was on top of him and raining down punches. Face beaten to a bloody pulp, Jack looked on in horror as to how devastating Barry was. But, the horror turned to anguish as the final man that Peter came up against managed to get his knife through Peter's neck. The man threw Peter to one side, but Barry pounced on him and delivered another round of lethal blows to the face.

Jack, Emily and Barry made their way over to Peter's body where he was struggling to breathe. The knife had gone almost all the way through, there was nothing that could be done and eventually Peter took his final breath. Jack stepped over Peter and up to the other end. They were now at the front of the entire train. Jack opened the door to the driver's seat, but it was being driven remotely. There was no functions and nothing up here could be done to stop the train. Emily and Barry each had a look as the train was eating up the track quickly, they all wondered what kind of line would stretch this far and not come to an end eventually.

The thought played on Jack's mind as they maneuvered their way back through the carriages. He looked out across the scenery, as the morning was beginning to break through the night sky. He noticed that it was almost identical to what he saw when he first woke up, this train was just going in circles around this hillside. It didn't change anything, except that the mastermind of this death train could be residing in these hills. The thought would linger in the back of Jack's head as the true devastation that had been caused the night before was now more visible under the morning light. Emily could barely look anywhere without seeing something relating to death.

Barry was now up ahead with Emily behind him and Jack protecting the rear. Barry, whose demeanor is normally very relaxed, was suddenly alerted to something going ahead of him. To the point where he was in hysterics. Emily pressed herself against the side of the train as Jack barged through and up to where Barry was, gun ready as it was before. What Jack saw knocked him off balance and sent shockwaves through his body. The same stunned look that Joe had was now staring him in the face, only that dead to the world look was now all to real.

Every member of the original 30 that weren't already dead or had gone with Jack, were now all hanging in the carriage they all met in. They'd been there for a good few hours as the colour of their skin was reminiscent of a sky blue. Jack dropped to his knees and let out a scream that would be heard throughout the entire train. Emily cried to herself and slumped to the floor and even Barry couldn't bare to look at what was before him.

However, they were not alone anymore as a figure made their way through the bodies that were hanging. Jack realised in time and, through tears in his eyes, he aimed his gun and started firing off shots until the chamber was empty. The figure crashed to the floor, but two more figures made their way through the bodies and descended upon Jack. With a third figure going after Barry. Barry managed to get a good couple of hits away before he was struck in the head with a hammer, which sent him spiralling to the floor. Jack lept to his feet and in a rage, whipped out his switchblade and began slashing at the approaching figures. While still not fully able to make out who they were, he knew he must've caught one as they let out a scream.

Jack received a few cuts and blows himself before overpowering the next figure and jamming his knife straight through his eye. The one who had dealt with Barry launched himself at Jack, but was stopped half way by Emily who used her weapon to defend Jack. She used her axe to cut through this man and send him to the floor.

That's when the man who had been stabbed in the eye was wildly thrashing his knife around and managed to catch Emily straight through the neck. Jack was grappling with the other man as he witnessed her fall to the ground. Jack then pulled his knife out of the eye of the one who killed Emily and punched it through his neck, then in one swift motion, he sliced through the neck of the one he was struggling with. Blood poured from his neck as he flopped to the ground.

Covered in blood, the train jolted to a sudden stop. Jack had won.