The Fast Train To ?

What's happening to me? I don't know what's worse: the pain in my head or the pain in my chest. Why can't I see clearly? Everything is blurry, and what's that rocking motion? Mike Fox thought to himself.

As his vision began to clear, he could see people appearing one by one, as if a mist was being lifted from them. That's when the realisation of being on a train hit him. He could hear a strange announcement over the tannoy; it kept repeating itself over and over again. "Those of you that wish to depart from this train, please speak to the guard in the front carriage." Why was the voice repeating itself? "I can not think clearly with that noise." He felt like he was just about to have a panic attack, which seemed strange to him as he had never had one before and didn't know what a panic attack felt like, but he couldn't think clearly enough to make sense of the situation. "Calm down. I must calm down and think clearly about this situation. "

Mike started to ask himself questions. There were so many questions to be answered. How did he get here? Why was he here? Why can't he remember anything about his life? Why does the tannoy keep repeating itself? So many questions. Where to start?

While he was trying to remember anything about his existence, he started to look around at the other people in the car with him. He noticed that they all looked confused, or at least that was how their expressions read in his mind. Sitting in the seat in front of him was a middle-aged woman with dark hair and olive skin, possibly Eastern European. She had a hard expression, like someone who had had a tough life. Maybe she grew up on a farm. She was wearing a brown headscarf with a red paisley pattern and a lime green knitted jumper that looked old and home-made.

Opposite her was a small, well-dressed man, about five feet tall, wearing a dark pin-stripped suit with a bright red tie and a bowler hat. He looked like he was in a lot of pain with a bright red face. He was clutching his stomach with both of his hands. And he was making a strange, loud groaning noise. "Oh, God," he said weakly, "Am I dying?

Still not being able to answer any of the questions that were flying around Mike's head, he started to look out of the window. He noticed the train was travelling fast, faster than he had ever experienced before. Everything outside was just a blur.

Mike closed his eyes to concentrate, but all he could think about was the pain in his chest, which felt like someone was repeatedly hitting it with a hammer boom boom boom, and the Tannoy was still constant "Those of you who wish to depart from this train, please speak to the guard in the front carriage," and that's when he noticed a young girl crying, but when he looked around at the other passengers, he couldn't tell where the crying was coming from. Sitting back in his seat, Mike tried to ignore the crying as he felt he had his own problems to deal with, but once he had heard it, he could not stop hearing it. The crying seemed like it was getting so loud in his head and the sound of the tannoy was incessant, still with the same message, "Those of you that wish to depart from this train, please speak to the guard in the front carriage."

Mike stood up and felt a sharp pain like a lightning bolt in his chest that was so painful it knocked him back into his seat again, where he sat for a few minutes. Again, he heard the crying. He must get up and investigate where the crying is coming from. With a big deep breath, he stood up again and wandered to the space that was between two carriages, where he found a young girl sitting cross-legged on the floor with her head in her hands and tears streaming down her face. She was wearing a blue dress with pink stripes, the kind you would expect to see someone wearing to a party. Mike guessed she was about 12 to 14 years old.

Mike knelt down and said, "Hey little girl, what's up with you?" Are you hurt or in discomfort? Are you in need of a doctor? " The young girl then turned to face him and replied, "no. I want to leave this train, but I'm too afraid to approach the train guard by myself. " Mike gritted his teeth and agreed to accompany the girl so they could see the train guard together, even though he really wanted to go back to his seat and take a rest. However, he couldn't leave the poor girl on her own. Mike helped the girl to her feet, she dried her eyes, and they began to walk through the carriage together.

Mike and the girl walked through several carriages before the pain in Mike's chest became unbearable and he had to sit down for a few minutes. While they were sitting down, Mike said to the girl, "What's your name? I am Mike." At that point, it dawned on him, that was the only thing he could remember about himself. The girl looked deep in thought for a few seconds, as if she was trying to work out a riddle or a maths equation. She looked at Mike and said "Emma, my name is Emma." Mike was holding his chest. The pain was unbearable. "Well Emma, we should keep going. Let's get off this train." With that, he got to his feet and helped Emma get to hers.

Sometime later, they came to a tall man with a pale complexion wearing a train guard uniform. "Are you the train guard?" Mike shouted with a mixture of pain and excitement. "Yes I am, how can I help?" said the train guard. Mike looked around, but Emma had gone. Mike said, "I want to get off this train."

"He's alive." "We have him back," was the first voice Mike heard. As he opened his eyes, he could make out a man sitting over him, wearing a uniform. He could not quite make out what was happening. "Get him in the ambulance, we need to rush him in," the voice said. As Mike's vision became clearer, he could see two crumpled cars in the road and lots of activity. There were Police and paramedics all over the place. It looked like firemen were trying to prise open the door of one of the cars.

The next morning, Mike was awoken by a bright light. He opened his eyes to see a nurse had opened the curtains to a bright sunny day. What happened to me? Why am I here ? " Mike asked the nurse. She went on to explain, "You were in a nasty car accident. We thought you had died, but the paramedic was able to resuscitate you. You are very lucky, Mr. Fox". "What about the other car? Was anybody else hurt?" Mike asked. "Yes, I am afraid a young girl died at the scene." "Do you know her name?" Mike asked, sitting up as best he could. As the nurse was walking out of the room, she said, "Yes, I think it was Emma."