Training Day

Just the Ticket

Maddie slumped against the wall of the waiting room. Her eyes burned and she wasn’t sure if this was from lack of sleep or the thin layer of grime that coated every surface of the room.

The station hadn’t looked quite so abandoned in the dark, but now the sun was glimmering through the splintered windowpanes, it illuminated the chipped paintwork and the tatty posters peeling off the walls. Maddie flinched as her finger touched a piece of old chewing gum stuck to the underside of the bench… at least, she hoped it was chewing gum.

No wonder the lady in the ticket office had asked her twice if she was “absolutely certain” that she wanted to catch the connecting train from East Sands station.

“Make sure you’re on time for your journey home as there are only two trains a week: one in and one out. Miss it and you’ll be sat there until next Wednesday,” she laughed.

Pulling the crumpled letter out of her handbag, Maddie re-read the travel instructions for the millionth time just in case the words had suddenly changed on the page. Nope she was right. The 06.38 train from East Sands station would get her into Derby at 08.43.

Maddie shivered and tugged her jacket a little tighter around her. She’d have killed for a cup of coffee, but she’d already been thwarted by the vending machine on the platform. It had happily swallowed the last of her coins, before making ominous hissing and whirring sounds and fizzling out altogether.

Suddenly the waiting room door was thrown open with such force that it cracked against the wall, sending shards of plaster skittering to the floor.

“Ha! I don’t know my own strength. What a complete dump,” said the girl. “I take it you’re headed to the interview too?”

Maddie stared as the mass of dark curly hair took the seat next to her on the bench.

“I’m Bethan. Ooof! What kind of totally antisocial time is this to get up and travel? I’m not sure I want any job that forces me out of my bed in the early hours of the morning.”

Jumping up, she prowled around the room, pulling at bits of flaking paint and reading the words on the posters out loud.

“And why’s there no café to get a drink or something to eat? What kind of torture is this?”

Slamming back down on the bench, Bethan started rummaging through her bag before triumphantly pulling out a flask and pouring out two cups of dark black liquid – the tantalizing aroma of coffee filled the waiting room.

“Cheers! Here’s to surviving this awful station and then we’ll just have the job interview to worry about!” she said, handing Maddie a plastic mug.

Maddie took a sip of her drink and glanced sideways at her companion. So, this was one of the people she would be competing with for the job. What chance did she stand against someone so bubbly and confident? Maybe it would be better if she just went home now rather than waiting for the inevitable rejection letter.

And did she even want this job? She really wasn’t sure. No one had been more surprised than Maddie when she’d been invited for a second interview. She’d scanned the letter fully expecting it to say: “We have decided not to progress further with your application”. Instead, she’d been invited for a second interview at the firm’s training headquarters in Derby.

The letter had been signed by Sarah McFarlane who said she was looking forward to seeing Maddie again. Maddie doubted that very much. Sarah McFarlane had been chilly bordering on ice cold during their first meeting. Her mouth was curled into a permanent smirk and her left eyebrow was arched so high that it had almost disappeared entirely under her heavy brown fringe. Towards the end, she’d just looked plain bored, dismissing Maddie as if she was the tea girl.

No, she wasn’t in any great hurry to see Sarah McFarlane again.

Bethan didn’t seem to notice Maddie’s silence and chattered away about her pathological hatred of team building exercises and how she hoped none of them involved running, certainly not when she was wearing such high heels anyway.

Maddie really tried to listen to what she was saying, but she suddenly felt so overwhelmingly tired. She caught odd words, but Bethan’s voice seemed to be drifting further and further away. She could see her lips moving but couldn’t make out what she was saying. Maddie’s eyes were so very, very heavy and her head kept falling forwards as she struggled to stay awake.

All Aboard

Maddie’s eyes were still firmly closed, but she felt like she was moving. The constant rolling motion was making her feel a little sick. She lurched violently to the left, her body slamming against something hard. Gingerly, she opened her eyes. It seemed to take a great deal of effort as if her eyelids were weighted down.

She felt sluggish and it took her a moment to realize that she was sitting in a train carriage pressed up against the window. Maddie frowned. Why was she on a train? … Wasn’t she going to an interview? …. She knew she’d been at East Sands station ready to catch a train, but she didn’t remember boarding…. She didn’t remember anything after that girl arrived. What was her name? Bethan. That’s it…. Then they’d shared a cup of tepid coffee and then after that? Nothing. Maddie felt so confused.

Looking round, she couldn’t see her handbag. It was missing. Scrabbling in her coat, she couldn’t find her ticket either. Or her phone. Frantically, she searched her trouser pockets. Nothing. She didn’t have anything with her at all.

Maddie tried to quell the rising sense of panic. There had to be a logical reason to explain why she was on the train without her bag or her ticket. Twisting round in her seat, Maddie looked back along the carriage.

“Oh, you’re finally awake! You’ve been out this entire time although I’m not sure how the hell you’ve managed to sleep at all considering…”

The voice came from the far end of the train. Pushing herself up, the woman walked slowly along the carriage, holding on to each seat for support until she reached Maddie.

“You’ve been asleep for at least an hour,” she said accusingly as she lowered herself into the space opposite.

The woman was very pale, and her blonde hair was pulled back in a tight ponytail making her face seem even thinner. She was probably only a few years younger than herself, guessed Maddie.

“Is this the train to Derby? I seem to have lost my bag and my ticket,” said Maddie indicating the empty area around her.

The woman rolled her eyes, staring incredulously and said: “Have you been drinking? This is the 0730 Manchester Express. We should’ve been at Oxford Road 20 minutes ago, but they don’t seem able to stop the train….”

The woman’s voice broke at the end into what could have been a sob or a laugh, but as she looked up, Maddie realized that the woman was crying.

Maddie watched as the woman fumbled for a tissue and felt strangely detached. It was as if she’d woken up in the middle of a dream. Nothing made any sense. And why was she on a train to Manchester when she’d been headed to Derby?

Before she could even think what to say, there was a crackling noise overhead and a voice came over the speaker system.

“Ladies and gentlemen. This is your driver again. Thank you for your patience. As I explained earlier, we have a team of engineers on the way to try and override computer system and stop the train.

“We don’t know why the train won’t stop or slow down, but I just need everyone to remain calm and in their seats.”

There was a slight pause as if he was going to say something else, but then the speaker clicked and fell silent.

Maddie thought she’d detected a faint Welsh lilt to his voice, and she was briefly transported back to happy family holidays in St David’s exploring the rugged Welsh coastline and running in and out of the waves as they crashed on the sandy shoreline.

“WHAT DOES HE MEAN REMAIN CALM?! HOW CAN WE POSSIBLY REMAIN CALM?”

The woman’s shout cut into her daydream, the golden beaches of South Wales quickly receding.

Maddie turned to stare out of the window and watched unseeingly as the wintry English countryside rushed by outside the train. Farm buildings. Muddy fields. Cows. Railway crossings. They all blurred together, but she didn’t seem to notice any of them.

Leaning back in her seat, she looked at the woman and said: “Why don’t we start at the beginning? And maybe you can tell me exactly what I missed whilst I was asleep?”

Stand Clear of the Tracks

“I’m Maddie by the way,” she said with a crooked smile as she offered out her hand.

“Chloe. Chloe Matthews. And I wish I’d never got on this train. I didn’t want to go to Manchester in the first place,” she said, the words rushing out.

“My husband insisted though. He said it would do me good to have some fun. Go shopping. Treat myself. Said I needed to have a break from Jacob. That’s my baby. But now I’m stuck on a train that I can’t get off and I’ll probably never… never….”

Maddie let Chloe cry, huge sobs that made her entire body shake. Gradually her crying subsided and she dabbed at her red and swollen eyes with a soggy tissue.

Taking several deep breaths, she said: “I’m sorry. It’s just that it’s the first time I’ve been away from Jacob, and I miss him so much. Do you want to see a picture of him?”

Without waiting for a response, Chloe turned her phone round and flicked through photos of a chubby little boy with a shock of white, blond hair, huge dimples, and an ability to spread mess far and wide. He’d looked especially pleased in one picture with a cereal bowl on his head, the milk and frosted flakes dripping down his face.

“Have you got any kids? Are you married? With someone?” asked Chloe.

Maddie wasn’t sure where to start. Her and Jack had been together for so long that she wasn’t used to saying that she was on her own. She certainly hadn’t got used to the silence in the house. Had the water pipes always made that gurgling sound so late at night? And did the clock always tick that loudly?

Looking down at her hands, Maddie opened her mouth to try and explain, but she was interrupted by a crackling noise from the overhead speaker system.

“… It’s…It’s your driver again. Unfortunately, the engineers haven’t been able to board the train. We’ve been told not to worry though. They’re going to try and take control of the computer system remotely. We just need to stay as calm as we can and I’m sure we’ll be off this train before we know it.”

He hadn’t sounded quite as confident as the last time thought Maddie. She’d been so woolly and confused when she first woke up that she hadn’t really thought about the train not actually being able to stop.

As if mocking her, the train shuddered sending the carriage veering sharply to the left before righting itself. Maddie could feel the screeching sound of metal on metal in her teeth, making her wince.

“That’s why they locked all the carriages so people couldn’t move about the train,” said Chloe. “The driver explained that as the train got faster, it would get more unstable on the corners. I was so scared here on my own when you wouldn’t wake up.”

Maddie took her glasses off and rubbed her face. She didn’t think she’d ever felt more exhausted in her life. Not even when Jack…. No. She didn’t want to think about that either.

What had made her think that it was a good idea to look for a new job? If she hadn’t been going to the interview, she wouldn’t have been anywhere near a railway station let alone stuck on a runaway train.

There was a hissing sound. Static. And then the speaker system kicked on.

“It’s Rhys. Your driver.” His Welsh accent sounded more pronounced this time thought Maddie.

“The engineers can’t stop the train. Nobody can...” The pause seemed to go on forever before Rhys continued.

“Unfortunately, there’s maintenance on the tracks about 10 miles ahead and the tunnel is blocked. We’re going to have to prepare to crash…” he said, his voice wavering.

Chloe curled up in her seat, covering her ears with her hands and started to rock.

Pulling Chloe’s arms away so she could hear, Maddie said: “Right. Let’s get ourselves sorted. We have 10 miles left to do whatever we can.”

Tunnel Vision

“You can’t do that! You can’t damage the train!” said Chloe looking shocked as Maddie ripped the noticeboards down.

“Chloe this train is going to crash. I don’t think anyone’s going to care if I’ve pulled a few noticeboards off the wall. Anyway, give me a hand…” Maddie was balanced precariously on the table trying to push the noticeboard up against the window.

“Hopefully that’ll stop us getting showered in broken glass,” said Maddie, standing back and surveying her handiwork.

She turned round to find Chloe slumped in a seat, her head resting on the table, lethargically swiping through pictures on her phone. Maddie felt a flash of irritation that Chloe seemed to have given up so quickly. But then she mentally chided herself – Chloe had so much more to lose than her. Nobody would notice, let alone care, if Maddie didn’t make it home.

“Come on Chloe,” she said gently. “Let’s go and sit at the back of the train. Hopefully we’ll be a little more protected back there.”

As they stood up to move, the train swayed uncontrollably from side to side almost making them lose their balance. Just as they tucked themselves into the far corner behind the luggage rack, the lights flickered on and off before plunging them into semi darkness. Maddie looked at the luminous hands on her watch and wondered how much longer they had until the train reached the tunnel. It felt like they were travelling very fast.

The speaker clicked on, and Rhys’ voice filled the carriage: “The tunnel is up ahead, I can see it! Everyone needs to get ready for impact. WE’RE GOING TO HIT IT AT FULL SPEED…”

“What can you possibly find even faintly amusing right now?” said Chloe who seemed to have turned even paler.

“Well, I was thinking, this would be a really good example of remaining calm in a stressful situation,” said Maddie, laughing. “In my last interview my mind went blank, and I couldn’t think of a single thing. Funnily enough, I was on my way to a second interview today.”

Chloe looked at her as if she was completely unhinged and turned away, pulling her knees up to her chest and hiding her face beneath her arms.

And it was true. Maddie felt strangely calm. For someone who got stressed about literally everything from parallel parking her car, to deciding what main course to eat in restaurants, she felt oddly at peace. There was literally nothing else she could do. So much for trying to get her life back on track she thought wryly.

The train pitched wildly from side to side as if it was possessed. As it battled to stay upright on the tracks, the noise was deafening. Screeching. Hissing. Splintering…. Maddie grabbed hold of Chloe’s hand, closed her eyes, and waited for the moment of impact.

But then, quite suddenly the train stopped moving. The lights came on. And the English countryside outside the carriage windows was replaced by a warehouse filled with people gathered round large television monitors.

A different voice came over the speaker system. And it didn’t belong to Rhys the driver.

Backtrack

It was Sarah MacFarlane. Maddie would recognize those icy, clipped tones anywhere.

“Madeline. If you’d like to join us outside, I have some good news!” she said.

Maddie felt just as confused as when she’d first woken up on the train. As she emerged from their refuge in the corner, she felt dizzy, and her body ached like she’d been running hard. It felt like weeks since she’d closed the front door of her Victorian terrace and headed to the station.

She watched as Chloe skipped along the carriage and lightly jumped down the steps. Maddie followed gingerly behind, gripping the handrail tightly as she climbed down into the building. Sarah McFarlane stood at the center of the room, looking immaculate in a navy-blue trouser suit and perfectly coiffured hair. She raised her hand in greeting and beckoned Maddie over towards her.

As Maddie haltingly moved across the warehouse floor, she thought she caught a glimpse of Bethan, but the girl turned away so quickly that all she could see was a mass of curly hair bending over a computer terminal. The warehouse was vast thought Maddie. It would have to be, as there was an entire train carriage in the middle of the room mounted on a complicated looking system of hydraulics. So, was that how they made the train move thought Maddie? How was it even possible?

But then something caught her eye. The pictures on the bank of monitors. She was looking at herself. Snapshots taken at various points throughout her day. Mesmerized, Maddie couldn’t stop staring as she saw herself sitting uncomfortably at East Sands station, nervously fiddling with her phone. And then laughing and drinking coffee with Bethan. And then her sleeping form being carried out of the waiting room by two men…

Before Maddie had chance to look at anything else, Sarah took her by the elbow and guided her towards a desk at the far end of the warehouse.

“Yes, congratulations are in order Madeline. You’ve successfully completed the second part of the interview. The job is yours! We thought a runaway train was an ideal scenario for testing whether people can remain calm under pressure. And remain calm you did! You performed magnificently,” she said.

Maddie could hardly get the words out: “This… This was all a test?”

Sarah chuckled. “Why yes! All those psychometric and skill specific assessments are utterly useless, so we devised our own unique way of checking how people perform under pressure. It really is rather ingenious.”

Maddie only half listened as Sarah explained how Bethan had slipped a ‘little something’ into her coffee before driving her to the warehouse and leaving her to gradually wake up in the train simulator.

Sarah mistook Maddie’s disbelieving silence for approval. “And we won’t even charge you for damaging the noticeboards on the train,” she said with a tinkling laugh.

Maddie stared down at her shoes which were both scuffed and attempted to smooth down her crumpled jacket. She could feel a white-hot anger building up inside her chest.

“But this is for a job as a recruitment consultant not a government spy! What makes you think that any of this is ok?” exploded Maddie.

Sarah’s smile wavered slightly, and she spoke slowly as if to a child: “Madeline, Madeline. Calm down. The world of recruitment is particularly cut-throat these days. It’s essential that we have the right people in place.”

“The right people?” said Maddie, turning and scanning the room. Bethan glanced up from her computer and smiled sheepishly before looking down again. Maddie’s eyes fell on Chloe who was leaning up against the wall with a slight smirk playing on her lips. “And I suppose all those tears about your little boy were made up too?”

Chloe scowled and folded her arms defensively across her chest and said: “It’s my first week back at work after maternity leave and for your information it’s actually been incredibly hard not being with Jacob.” Pushing herself off the wall, Chloe stalked out of the warehouse, letting the door slam shut behind her.

The tiredness seemed to be catching up with Maddie. “I think I’d like to go home now,” she said. “And I want my things back.”

Bethan couldn’t quite meet her eyes when she handed Maddie her bag and belongings. “Your ticket to get you home is in there too,” she said, before mouthing “sorry about everything” and turning away.

“Madeline, I’ve put all the details about the job offer in your bag,” said Sarah. “Think about it. I really believe you’d fit in perfectly here.”

Maddie didn’t say a word but checked that her phone and house keys were still safely tucked away in her bag.

“Rhys will give you a lift to the station, after all, he’s already been your driver today,” said Sarah, her laugh tailing off awkwardly.

Maddie turned and looked Sarah directly in the eyes and said: “Thanks. But I think I’ll make my own way there. I think it’ll be safer that way.”