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Midnight Train To…

Mysteryville

By Sidney SmithPublished 2 years ago Updated 2 years ago 8 min read
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Midnight Train To…
Photo by Guilherme Stecanella on Unsplash

RUMBLE. JOLT. SMACK. “Ahrg!” I woke up with my face smacking on a seat in front of me. I opened my eyes but everything was blurry. I applied pressure from my hand, and looked down to see that it was covered in blood. “Shit!” I muttered. I looked around and saw that I was on a train. I don’t even know how I got on here…. Another odd occurrence was that there was no one else on this car. The train was going a phenomenal speed. I could feel the shaking. It was hard to move.

I had my bag with me at least but when I looked inside of it, it was empty. I had to hold my nose as I looked around on the floor for some kind of napkin, and my wallet. I couldn’t find it. I stood up and grabbed the pole next to my seat. It felt ice cold. I stumbled, trying to keep my balance. I was wearing mostly black. Black skirt, black trench coat, black tights, black heels, and a white shirt. I don’t remember putting this outfit on. The blood was dripping on my shirt as my heart was crippling from anxiety. Am I drunk? Did someone drug me?

The train jolted forward again. I held on to the pole and it swung me back into my seat. I needed to think of something… Find the bathroom? Yes the bathroom. I took off my heels and held on to the seats, walking slowly towards the door as the train sped on. I opened the door to the next train car and it was completely dark except for the foggy light that was coming through the window. It was empty yet it felt like eyes were watching me in every corner.

The bathroom was at the end of this car. I felt scared to walk, but I kept going. I made it there and slid open the door to the best of my ability. The light was flickering. I was looking at myself in the mirror. My hair was black, and a mess. My eyes had dark circles and seemed sunken in, my skin was pale and clammy. I felt like I was looking at a ghost, disgust filled my heart. I stumbled on to the toilet and began to cry. I took some toilet paper and wiped my nose that was still slightly bloody. It also felt bruised. I sat there until I noticed the blood stopped flowing.

I got up, making sure I didn’t look at myself in the mirror, and slid open the door. As I looked out towards the seats fear struck me as I saw someone sitting in the middle seat looking out towards me. He had an ominous glow, and leathery looking skin, wearing a top hat, suit, and circular glasses. I fell back into the bathroom panting in fear. I sat there for a moment wondering if it was just my imagination.

I calmed down and got up to slide open the door. He was now standing right in front of me. I screamed, and he came forward grabbing me by the throat. His hands were freezing cold. His eyes looked like flames of a fiery death piercing my inner most being. He screamed and his mouth opened wide like a dark bottomless pit. “GET OFF OF ME!” I screamed. He released his grip and then disappeared.

I got up immediately and looked outside again. He was no where to be found. The train was still speeding, I felt as if I was moving into some kind of vortex. The dizziness made me fall to the floor and puke, all went black.

RUMBLE. JOLT. SMACK. “Ahrg!” I woke up with my face smacking against the seat in front of me. I could see blood coming out on my hands. I couldn’t understand where I was or how I got here. All I knew is that I needed a bathroom. The train was moving so fast. And then the memory started to flood back into my mind.…This all happened before. The conductor… I need to see the conductor.

I got up and started heading towards the door, holding on to what I could. I walked through and entered into an exquisite train car with chandeliers and posh looking folk enjoying fine dining and wine. As I walked in the energy of the room died down as they all looked at me in disgust. Then they carried on their conversation. I then saw a familiar looking family in the corner. They were a handsome couple with a beautiful little girl. I walked over to them. The faces of the crowd looked disgruntled as they tried to move their chairs in so that I would not touch them in the slightest.

As I got closer to them, my heart sank deeply into my chest. “Mom? Dad?” They looked up at me. They were so young and healthy. “Can I help you?” My father said. He looked very concerned but also annoyed. My mother was giving side ways glances to him with a worried expression.

“You don’t recognize me? I’m your daughter.” They both looked angry.

“Look now! This isn’t funny!” He said. He threw down his napkin and stood up looking like he wanted to strangle me.

“Is everything okay daddy?” The little girl said. She wore a little white dress and had long dark hair. She stood next to him and tugged on his pants leg. I felt like I remembered this moment. Seeing a strange woman talking to my father on the train. It was all so long ago.

“No. No. No. No. This can’t be happening.” I started to cry again unable to control myself.

“Does there seem to be a problem here?” I heard a voice say behind me. I turned around and the mysterious man that I had seen before grabbed me by the throat again. The once nice dining setting turned back into the dark room, the foggy misty light coming from the window. He slammed me back against it. I felt my head crack. All went black again.

RUMBLE. JOLT. SMACK. “Ahrg!” I woke up with my face smacked against the seat in front of me. This time I was remembering what happened before I woke up in this moment. I feared to get up again and step through that door. I decided to go behind me and check it instead. But when I opened it it was a solid wall. The conductor… The conductor… I had to see the conductor.

As I made it through the door again, I felt shock enter my body. The two previous selves lay dead on the floor with puddles of blood around them. The word “distraction” came into my mind. “The conductor, I need to see the conductor!” I yelled in grief. I mustered the strength to run and step over my dead body near the bathroom and into the next car.

The man in the top hat stood near the conductor’s door. He turned around to face me. “LEAVE ME ALONE!” I screamed. His face twisted into an evil smirk. He ran towards me at lightning speed. I ducked out of the way and ran towards the door. He pulled me by my hair and dragged me back towards the other car. Memories of my parents were flashing before my eyes. The way they loved me as a small child, and that moment when I remembered seeing a woman who looked just like me being assisted back to her spot in the other train car. The man who escorted her wore a nice suit, a top hat, and circled glasses…. He was the conductor…. “AHHHH!” I yelled and pulled myself away from him with godly strength. His scream sounded like the scream of a monster damned in the darkest place of evil.

I opened the door and saw no one in charge of the train but that it was headed on the wrong track about to hit another train that was coming. I knew nothing of trains, but I pulled the lever the other way to get the train out of the way. It was tougher than I thought. He came back in again and tried to pull me away. We began to fight. I grabbed a hatchet that was sitting on the dash, and wacked his head with it. No blood came out. He simply fell over and I saw there was no life at all left in his eyes. The other train was about to collide with us in seconds. I gathered all my strength yet again and pulled the lever. It switched over just in time. I had finally made it.

I sat in the chair leaning over. Feeling relief, confusion, and pain. We were about to reach a stop in the distance. I could make out figures standing there. As I got closer I could make out that it was a man and a woman. I found something that looked like it would stop the train. I was right again, and the train came to a skidded halt. I opened the doors to the train and left the conductors room. I stood at the opened doors looking out into the misty fog at the man and woman. I recognized their faces. My mother and my father. They looked young like they did before.

“Mom? Dad?” I asked. They nodded as I moved down the steps. As I saw them, I remembered everything.…

Twenty years ago my parents and I went on a train. We never went on a fancy train ride before. It was going to be a fun family experience. We were going to go to Pennsylvania, explore the town, and stay the night. I was five years old, and excited. I remembered seeing a woman who looked homeless and weary. She cried and told us that we were all about to die. The lady was escorted away by a strange looking man in a top hat, that my parents were muttering “could be the conductor.” Twenty minutes later, the train collided with another train. Most people didn’t survive. The fatality count included my parents.

I went from orphanage to orphanage, and never got to my “forever home.” I became a woman who lived for night clubs and drinking, endless partners until I drank the wrong drink and slept with the wrong man. He drugged me, and killed me. He put my body in a bag and left it on a train car. My parents stood before me, welcoming me with their gracious love. I had not felt such love ever in my life. I was finally home. I made it on the midnight train to Mysteryville.

supernatural
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About the Creator

Sidney Smith

A picture tells a thousand words, and a thousand words can paint a beautiful picture.

I have been a writer all of my life. It has been like an anchor for me to release emotions, process ideas, and escape into a world of fantasy.

Reader insights

Nice work

Very well written. Keep up the good work!

Top insights

  1. Compelling and original writing

    Creative use of language & vocab

  2. Easy to read and follow

    Well-structured & engaging content

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