Train Conductor

Lucy blinked once, twice, three times as her mind tried to wrap her head around what she was seeing. Violently purple seats, filigree wallpaper and the lingering wisps of smoke, were all softly lit by a dying sun. She knew she was on a train, underneath her feet, she could feel the familiar rhythm of wheels moving along uneven metal tracks.

She just didn't know why she was here, or how, for that matter. She decided to exit the small compartment she was sitting in and came face to face with an unusual sight. Through the thin glass of the windows, Lucy could make out the rolling dunes of an arid desert, the sun touching the horizon on its descent. The train ploughed through the sand with little in its way. Out in the distance, Lucy could make out a pack of camels moving in the opposite direction. They disappeared as the train sped on.

At the end of the hall, a man dressed in a three-piece tuxedo appeared with a cap on that read 'conductor.'

"Tickets, have your tickets ready."

His booming voice filled the space. Lucy patted herself down and then returned to her cabin when she couldn't find her ticket. She searched the seats and then the floor and found nothing, but bubble-gum wedged in between the seat and the wall. Lucy left her cabin again and decided to move down the train, hoping to put some distance between herself and the ticket inspector. Maybe she could find a bathroom to hide in and wait for this to blow over.

She moved quickly to the next carriage and found more compartments like the others she had just left with the smell of smoke becoming stronger with every step. The train seemed to be moving faster now. The landscape of sand didn't change, and yet at the same time, it seemed to shift differently. A door slid open, and a blonde, long-legged woman walked out. She was dripping in rubies, which she had paired with a floor-length red dress. Her face was recognisable, yet every time Lucy tried to focus on her features, the image distorted, turning murky. The blonde brushed past her, and Lucy went on her way.

Once again, the conductor appeared at the end of the carriage. "Ticket, have your tickets ready." Lucy could have sworn he was taking larger steps now, reducing the space in between them. She opened a compartment door and was assaulted by smoke. Four grey-haired men were smoking old school pipes in the darkened space. They muttered over a newspaper article in a language Lucy could not understand. She coughed and slid the door closed, trying to reduce the exposure to the smoke.

By now the blonde and been caught by the ticket inspector.

"Ticket please Miss."

"I don't have one."

"Well, that won't do." The inspectors' face split in two; a mouth with rows and rows of sharp teeth grew out of the space. Lucy screamed as the blonde was swallowed whole. The mouth receded back into the hole and the man's face sealed back up. Lucy ran as fast as her legs could take her, entering the dining carriage.

She moved quickly. The train moved faster still. A wheel hit something on the track, and Lucy flew into a table, sending the soup flying. The dark brown mixture covered her shirt. She turned to apologise, but the woman she had just crashed into was none the wiser. She continued with her conversation as if a fully grown woman hadn't destroyed her dinner. Lucy straightened herself and tried to walk forward. Her feet dragged along the ground. She took three steps before she realised she was sinking. The wood panelling had given way to quicksand, and it was sucking her body in. She made it to the middle of the carriage, now waist deep in this strange substance. Her hands touched the oak sides of the carriage bar, and she used all her strength to pull herself free. She dragged herself onto the top surface of the bar before slowly standing.

"Ticket, have your tickets ready." A familiar voice said from behind her.

Spurred on by fear, Lucy jumped from the bar to a dining room table. She leapt from chair to table to chair, reaching the carriage door out of breath. Her plan to outrun the conductor was not working. She needed to get off this moving vehicle. She entered the space in between the dining carriage and the next carriage and stood waiting to jump into the sand.

The train sped up, the ground beneath the tracks becoming an orange haze. She couldn't jump; the fear of smashing into that ground terrified her. She ploughed into the next carriage. Lucy had arrived in third class. Rows of chairs were taken up by families, the elderly, and solo travellers who stared out at the blur. A hand appeared on Lucy’s shoulder. She turned.

"Ticket please."

"I don't have one." Lucy replied.

"Well, that won't do." Lucy's view was consumed by rows upon rows of sharp white teeth. The mouth snapped shut.

Lucy jolted awake, sweat soaking into her bed sheets. She propped herself on her elbows and tried to take slow, even breaths. Her TV was still on, now showing a documentary about Nile crocodiles. Her eyes swept over the fashion magazine she had been leafing through and looked at the culprit for her insane dream. The half-eaten chocolate bar sat innocently on her side table. Lucy reached for her remote and turned the TV off, reminding herself not to eat chocolate before bed.