The Shard of the Sword

“Who is this man?”

There were loud noises of people moving around him, but for once he couldn’t find the energy to make out any of them.

He could only feel himself sinking further into his bed as if that would somehow help him wake up more.

He had been woken up by a woman’s voice, but her words weren’t registering with him at all.

“Look how he is sleeping”

His head rested on one of the windows near the entrance of the compartment.

The wind was too cold, and so the air felt heavy on him, but he didn’t bother to move an inch from where he lay.

The sound of the train wheels and his breathing was enough to drive sleep away from him, although it wasn’t doing much good now, either.

After what seemed like hours, the voice came again.

“Hey, man wake up”

A woman pushed his head away from her, making him groan and open his eyes. His vision was blurry at first, then he focused, and realized it was not just a woman, but two others.

One of which looked like someone who was probably older than he was. She had dark, curly hair and deep blue eyes that held worry in them.

“Where am I?”, Chase Morrison asked while his gaze shifted to the people who were standing holding bars.

“The train”

He screamed at top of his lungs, causing a loud sound and drawing several strange looks, and when nobody answered him, his screams turned into faint expressions.

“Oh my goodness”

Chase Morrison cupped his face with confusion written all over his features.

Why was he here? How did he get here? Where was here?

“Calm down, we’re here”.

The voice of the woman spoke again, and finally, she started to make sense. It was a train station… But why did it seem like the world was spinning?

The train speeded up, almost pushing both people inside the train before Chase managed to grab something on the way past their seats to stop himself from falling out the door.

They must have thought he was insane because they kept talking to him without stopping.

“This isn’t real, okay? You are dreaming or something, so please stop screaming”, he slapped himself.

The speed was insane and he tried to stand up and walk towards the exit, trying to make out which station is he now.

He stopped abruptly and stared at another person standing behind the other woman. This couldn’t be happening!

The man was also staring at Chase.

“It’s real”

He looked at himself, he was wearing a white shirt covered with blood and his jeans ripped at the knees, as well as a jacket that hung off his shoulder and fell to the floor, revealing the red stain that soaked through his shirt. His right hand was bandaged with a white cloth wrapped around it, and the fingers that were sticking out were shaking violently.

“Huh. I can’t remember what happened to me”

Chase screamed and the people’s eyes widened when the man took out a pistol from his jacket pocket and pointed at them, his free arm reaching behind himself in surrender.

One of them pulled his gun out of its holster but his movements were clumsy, not like his usual ones.

Chase tried to calm down.

Meanwhile, the ticket collector’s voice was heard, and the train went faster.

The last thing he saw before everything blurred was the terrified faces of the strangers, who were now showing their tickets.

There were screams everywhere, and Chase had no idea how long they’d been stuck there. The noise of the train made him want to cover his ears, but he knew he wouldn’t do anything. There’s nothing he could do to save himself, but maybe…

“Hey mister, show your ticket”

Chase moved his head up, and the sight made his breath hitch.

Standing there, in front of the ticket collector, was tall and muscular, a big scar running through his eyebrow.

A cigarette hung loosely between the corner of his mouth and it looked as if he hadn’t had his fill of nicotine yet.

He wore black pants with the belt tightened around his waist, and a black leather jacket thrown on top of his suit.

The stranger held out his hand for him.

“I don’t have tickets”, Chase checked his pockets, but he didn’t see any tickets whatsoever.

The stranger raised an eyebrow and glanced back at him before turning towards the ticket collector.

“He doesn’t have any tickets, either” That made his eyes widen and anger rushed through his body. If he wanted to go home so bad why didn’t he say so already?

He grabbed Chase‘s collar and dragged him close, almost choking him with his strength.

“Didn’t you hear me, kid? Show your ticket before I kill ya. What do you think happens if I’m hungry?”.

Chase glared at him, trying to break free from his grip but it was no use.

“Do you know who I am?”

Chase’s mouth opened wide, unable to form words.

What had happened?

Why was he here?

“Are you mute, or is it some weird kind of paralysis?”

The ticket collector interrupted before Chase could answer the stranger.

“I am….”