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The Empty Train Ride

A man awakens aboard an empty train without any memory of who he is or how he got there

By Roy TsukishimaPublished 2 years ago 12 min read
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A sudden jolt awoke a sleeping man. He looked around and saw he was on a train, which seemed strange to him as he could not remember boarding a train. He looked out the window and saw vast open prairies that looked undeveloped. He looked around on the train and noticed it looked old, like pictures he had seen in the old west. The train seemed to be going very fast, especially for a train from the old west. He estimated the train must have been going over 100 miles an hour, judging by how quickly the landscape passed by the window. The man then realized he did not remember his name or where he was from, but he thought he was from the twenty-first century and not living in the old west. He looked out the window and saw his reflection. The face he saw looked like a man in his forties, clean-shaven with blondish hair. He did not recognize the face that was staring back at him. He checked his pockets but could not find a wallet, keys, or money. He didn't even have a train ticket.

The man looked around and saw no one else on the train. He got up, started to move forward, exited the first passenger car, and entered the second. The second passenger car was also empty. The man thought this seemed strange. He went to the next car and found there were again no passengers. The man tried again in the next compartment but again found no one. He was now in the lead passenger car and could see the locomotive in front of him. Since he was in the last car to start, he knew no one else was on this train, not even a train employee.

The man then tried to exit the first passenger car to get to the locomotive to talk to the engineer, but the door was locked. He looked out the window and saw the train was now traveling over a long bridge. The man was frightened to see up ahead that the bridge the train was traveling on was starting to collapse. The man instinctively ran towards the back of the train. He got to the final car, opened the rear door, and stepped out. The man thought he could jump off the train and land on the bridge, but when he looked out, he saw the bridge collapsing behind the train.

In a state of shock, the man thought for a second. The bridge is collapsing in front and behind the train. The only way out is to jump and hope there is a river or lake at the bottom to save him.

The man took a deep breath and then jumped. As he cleared the train and the tracks, he looked back and saw that the bridge was now intact, in front and behind the train. The man looked down and saw a massive cavern with no water at the bottom. The man knew he would die, so he closed his eyes and hoped for a quick death. After what seemed to be an eternity, the man finally struck the ground.

The jolt awoke the man, and he found himself on another train. The man checked himself out, and he appeared to be okay. "Was that just a dream?" The man thought.

The man looked around and saw the train was traveling through a town. Judging by the cars on the streets, it looked like it was now in the 1940s. He looked around the train and saw that there was no one else on the train.

The man still could not remember who he was or how he got on the train. He checked his pockets but found no wallet, money, or ticket. He then looked into the window and saw his reflection, the same person he saw on the other train.

The stranger got up and checked the rest of the train. Like the first time, he could not find another person on the train. Looking out the window, he saw a World War II German Panzer tank. It then started firing towards the train. An explosion rocked the train as it just missed. The man again ran towards the back of the train as the tank continued to fire. As he reached the back of the train, the man was about to jump when he remembered what had happened the last time he jumped from the train. His vision was all an illusion, and he didn't have to jump. The man then decided not to jump and looked back at the tank as it continued to fire. This time the tank did not miss as the engine exploded in a ball of fire. As if in slow motion, the man could see the trailing cars slowly start to twist, turn, and fall off the track. Without thinking, the man jumped from the train, and when he looked down, he saw he was falling through a fast cavern, and as he looked back up, he could no longer see the train. The man closed his eyes and hoped for a quick death.

The thud jolts awoke the man. The man looked around and saw he was on another train. He checked himself out, and he appeared to be okay. The man still did not know who he was, so he checked his pockets. There was no wallet in his pockets, but he did find a photograph. He looked at the photo of what appeared to be an attractive brunette lady, who the man did not recognize. The man thought the woman looked like she was in her thirties but wasn't sure since someone took a red marker, drew red devil horns on the woman, and wrote "Bitch" on it. He stared at the photo for a few seconds, wondering why someone would deface the picture. He shrugged his shoulders and placed the picture back in his pocket.

The man looked out the window and saw they were driving through a city, and judging from the cars on the roads, and he thought it must now be in the sixties.

The man looked around and saw no one. He got up and explored the entire train, but no one else was on board the train. He went back to his seat and sat down. He thought, "The last two times I was on a train, it ended in disaster, but it seemed to be a mistake to jump from the train, so this time, no matter what, I will remain in my seat."

A few minutes later, the man looked out the window and saw a tornado heading straight for the train. The man, in a panic, forgot what he had told himself a few minutes ago and ran towards the back of the train. As he went through the back door of the train, he looked back and saw the front of the train, engulfed by the tornado. Without hesitation, the man closed his eyes and jumped from the train. As he fell, he opened his eyes and saw that he was again falling into a vast cavern with no sight of the train. He again closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable outcome.

Another thud awakens the man. He again looked around and saw he was on another train. He looked out the window and saw more modern vehicles, so he thought he must be back at his correct time. The man still couldn't remember who he was. He rechecked his pocket and found the same picture of the brunette lady he saw in his last vision, still having the red devil horns and the word "Bitch" written on it. He did not find a wallet or an id, but he found a man's wedding ring. He tried it on, and it fit. He wondered if he was married and, if so, to whom. Could it be the brunette in the picture? If that is a picture of his wife, why would he draw the devil horns on her and write the word "Bitch?" Are they having marital problems?

The man looked around and saw no one else aboard the train. He reluctantly got up and searched the train for other passengers, even though he doubted he would find someone since he could not find anyone before. As expected, the man was alone on the train headed for who knows where. He returned to his seat, sat down, and began to think. The last three times this happened, it all ended with some horrific disaster. He was sure this train was heading for a disaster, but he knew that jumping off the train was not an option. So what was he supposed to do? There must be an alternative to jumping, but what is it? After thinking this through for a few minutes, the man decided that no matter what happened, he would not leave his seat. He will do nothing and await the outcome.

As the man looked out the window, he saw the train heading directly towards a brick wall. His first instinct was to get up and run, but he remembered what he had told himself earlier, so he stayed sitting in his seat. After a few seconds, he saw the locomotive blast into the brick wall, and a massive explosion erupted as the rest of the passenger cars followed the lead engine into the wall. The man closed his eyes and awaited the outcome. He could hear explosions all around him, but the man refused to move. After what seemed to be an eternity, an unbelievable silence engulfed the man. The man was afraid to open his eyes but slowly opened them. He was no longer on a train. He was standing on a ledge outside an office building high above the street.

The man slowly regained his memory. He remembered his name was Bill Chambers. He checked his pocket and found the picture of the woman with the red horns, and he now remembered it was a picture of his wife, Helen. He has been married to Helen for almost six years. Recently he thought that maybe she was cheating on him, so he placed hidden cameras all over their house to see if he could get any proof. It didn't take long for the evidence to appear. He caught Helen on tape with her lover, who had been Helen's lover since they were young. There was one section in the video where Helen and her lover were bragging about how they convinced a rich man to marry Helen and even got him to agree not to have a prenuptial agreement.

Bill's memory had now fully returned, as he remembered when he found out about his cheating wife and how distraught he had become. How foolish was he to think Helen loved him; in reality, she only loved his money. At that moment, he had lost sight of everything and decided to end his life by jumping off the building. Not just any building, but the building of his corporate headquarters. Bill thought for a few seconds. What was the reason for those visions on the train? What was the message he was supposed to get? What was his last thought he had in the vision? Not to jump, as there is always an alternative. But what is the alternative? He could kill his wife and lover. But then he would probably get caught and end up in prison. He could make it a murder-suicide. He would still end up dead, but at least the bitch wouldn't get any of his money. No, there must be a better alternative. Bill thought for a few seconds. He and Helen were planning a romantic trip to France. They were supposed to spend an entire month there, but of course, he had to cancel as the takeover of a rival company was heating up, and he couldn't afford to be away. There was a section on the video where Helen told her lover that she suspected Bill would come up with an excuse for canceling the France trip. Of course, she and her lover would still go on the journey without Bill. Helen had already booked a trip on the high-speed train from Paris to Amsterdam. Bill now remembered meeting a man who worked for the company operating that high-speed train. The man was drunk when they met, and he told him how easy it would be to cause a train derailment, and no one would be able to link it back to him. At the train's speed, no one on board would survive.

"What was the man's name?" Bill thought for a few seconds and then shouted, "Francois Laurent! I know he gave me his business card, and I wonder how much money he will demand to do him this favor. It doesn't matter, as it would be money well spent. Better to give the money to Francois than have the bitch get it." But how will he contact Francois? He can't leave any clues that link himself to Francois. He needs a disposable cell phone that would not link back to himself. Also, how will he pay Francois? Any bank transaction could lead back to himself.

Then Bill remembered winning big in Monte Carlo before he met Helen. At the time, he didn't know what to do with the money as he did not want to declare it, so he put it in a safety deposit box in Paris. He didn't tell anyone about the winnings, not even Helen, so there was no way that money could trace back to him. "How much money was there? I think it was over 12 million Euros. That should be enough money for Francois."

Bill now had an alternate plan. He smiled and climbed down from the ledge. "Helen's trip to France is in a month, so I must work quickly to get my plan in motion."

Mystery
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