Good Morning, toot toot!
I am a train. Toot toot!
You are my passenger.
I don’t think we’ve spoken before. Hi! How are you? Nice bed head, by the way. Did you have a good sleep?
Unfortunately, I’m not doing so well. You (toot) see (toot), corporate’s been cutting a few corners and my breaks are shot to heck. Oh well! Anything to save money, right? Besides, now I’m blessed with the American freedom to race out of control and run myself into the ground. It’s kinda a rush.
What do you mean you’re not supposed to be here? Of course you are!
What do you mean trains can’t talk? Of course we can.
Haven’t you seen Shining Time Station? Starlight Express?
How did you get inside me?
Why ask?
I’m a train! I was made to carry you. I need you to buy tickets, and you need me to take you places. Relax and look out my window. See the world through my glassy eyes. Take in the scenery.
Behold! A snow capped mountain, dotted with birches and firs! It stretches up towards the sky. The sun rises over it. Is it idyllic enough for you? Are you mollified?
Look! The sky is purple and pink. Colors are pretty, toot toot. Have you resigned yourself to your fate?
To the left, a brackish river, brown like the rust on my creaking, hissing, toot-toot-tooting frame.
To the right, a graveyard.
There are creatures in the trees.
The mountain is grumbling.
I grumble back.
Toot toot! Toot toot! Toot toot!
It’s exhilarating to be a runaway train! As I race faster, turn your eyes back towards the sky. See how the colors blur together.
To the left, men in uniforms. They smile and wave as I whoosh by. Hello, men in uniforms! I am a train! Trains are endearing and fun!
To the right, laughing children. They point and shout: “Mommy! Daddy! A choo choo train!” I whistle at them. If you find this all unsettling, it’s your own fault. You need to get used to the world passing you by. That’s how the world works.
To the left, nothing in particular, just another distraction.
To the right, an enthralling void. Neat!
To the front, a never ending expanse of rickety tracks, and a girl walking on them.
She steps carefully, humming a tune to herself. Her hair is brown. It hangs like a noose down her back. She’s tall. Her legs are long. Her arms are long. She wears a grey coat. She’s on the tracks and so are we.
“Stop!”
Not possible, toot toot.
“Stop!”
Sorry, my breaks don’t work. I know I was griping about that before, but now I think it’s kinda cool. It’s kinda an adventure.
“Stop!”
I get it. You want to be an agent of change. You want to make the world a better place.
Have you tried praying for the girl?
How ‘bout tweeting at the train manufacturing company? I offer complimentary WiFi to make this task easier for you.
You could create a TikTok to help raise awareness of the dangers of runaway trains. In fact, I bet you could get some good footage of me running over the girl. The blood spatters will make you go viral for sure.
Not your thing?
No sweat.
Forget about the girl and the lack of breaks. The real issue is that my dining car sells water in plastic bottles. Not enough people recycle them, but you can. That may not solve the problem at hand, but it will make a minuscule dent in entirely different problem.
We all do what we can.
Splat!
Welp, that’s the end of little miss grey coat.
Try not to worry about it.
Not every passenger gets to control the trajectory of their journey.
If you were a train, you’d understand.
About the Creator
Rose
This is just a hobby.
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Reader insights
Outstanding
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Top insights
Easy to read and follow
Well-structured & engaging content
Excellent storytelling
Original narrative & well developed characters
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Arguments were carefully researched and presented
Eye opening
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Comments (5)
What first hooked me was thinking it would be a quirky POV from the train. Then I clicked on it and saw that it was a horror and was even more intrigued, lol. I also love how you put in some callouts on the current state of the world without losing it's tone! All in all, a very unique idea and fun read! Can't wait to see what else you've got!
This was so creepy and I loved it so much! You did a fantastic job on this story!
Wow
Very amazing images! I love it.
An excellent unusual take on the challenge, loved it