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Train Ride Part 2
By Jason Bourne
1
¡°You saved my life, Nick.¡± Tricia said, looking up, her brown eyes turning liquid.
¡°No, Tricia, I didn¡¯t.¡± I said, looking down sheepishly.
¡°Yes you did. You could have gone on without me but you didn¡¯t. You saved my life.¡±
¡°I-I¡¡± I was lost for words.
I wisely decided to change the subject. ¡°Can you walk?¡±
¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± she said. ¡°You want to get to the surface?¡±
Goodness! I had forgotten about it! I looked at my watch. It was twelve thirty-five. ¡°Oh no¡¡±
¡°I-Is it too l-late?¡± Tricia asked, touching my arm.
I looked at her and smiled wanly. ¡°Yes. Yes, I¡¯m afraid so¡¡±
She looked at me. ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry. If it weren¡¯t for me you would be free¡¡±
¡°It¡¯s okay. There should be some other way out besides the entrances. Or maybe some way to get help¡ anyway, this whole thing is gonna be over in a day. After all, this is just a train crash¡¡±
Tricia frowned. ¡°You know, if this is just a train crash, why make such a big deal about it? I mean, wouldn¡¯t they just send the Police in to investigate. Why close the whole subway down?¡±
I thought, She¡¯s right. I frowned too and said, ¡°Maybe this is more than a train crash¡¡± I thought about all the dead people in the train that passed by. There was just something about it that made me think.
I looked up. ¡°Well,¡± I said ¡°We can¡¯t possibly do this ourselves. Do you think it¡¯ll be okay if I go look for supplies?¡±
Tricia stood up. ¡°I¡¯m going with you.¡± She said.
I bit my lip. I didn¡¯t want an argument. ¡°You sure?¡±
She nodded. I sighed and said, ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go.¡±
We walked to a window; all the glass in it was broken. I stepped out of the window, carefully avoiding the glass shards around the sides. Tricia did the same, except more gracefully.
¡°Where are we going?¡± Tricia asked as we walked in darkness.
¡°To the other train in front. It¡¯s too dangerous to look for stuff on our train. It¡¯s sloped up, remember?¡± I replied.
¡°Oh.¡±
When we reached the train, we were surprised to find the doors open. We stepped into the train slowly. It was pretty dark. Tricia was surprisingly brave. She didn¡¯t complain at all about the numerous corpses on the ground.
¡°Nick!¡± She called out.
¡°Yeah?¡± I called back.
¡°Catch.¡± She threw me a flashlight. I caught it. The flashlight was surprisingly heavy. It was big, about as long as a small umbrella.
¡°Thanks,¡± I said. I pressed the button and a bright beam came out of it.
We walked down the train wincing as we passed dead bodies. There was a backpack on the ground. I searched it, only to find schoolbooks and notes in it. I tossed the bag away in disgust.
We looked and looked, but there were no supplies to be found. ¡°You mind if we turn back and look around again?¡± I asked Tricia. She shook her head.
So we turned around and looked again. Suddenly, Tricia grabbed my shoulder. ¡°Did you hear that?¡±
¡°What?¡±
¡°Shhh¡¡± Tricia said.
I kept quiet and listened. There was a dull thumping noise from behind the driver¡¯s cockpit¡¯s door. The thumping became louder and louder.
I slowly shone the beam on the door, absently noticing a large open hatch on the ceiling. The door started to move.
Thump¡thump¡thumpthump¡thump.
Suddenly, the door was flung open and a crouched figure emerged from it.
Tricia and I screamed in unison.
The figure looked up slowly. He was the train diver. His whole face was covered in blood. His skin was white. He looked like a member of the undead.
He opened and closed his mouth, making choking sounds.
We stared at him, my eyes felt like the were opened wider than plates
The driver closed his bloodshot eyes, then opened them again.
¡°Get¡out...of¡here¡¡± He choked.
I saw the terror in his eyes and gripped Tricia¡¯s hand. ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here.¡± I said.
Suddenly, some thing shot down from the open hatch on the ceiling of the train. I realized that it was a tentacle. The tentacle wrapped around the driver¡¯s neck tightly. He gasped and struggled, horrifyingly reminding me of the fish my Dad and I caught just a week ago.
In several quick fluid movements, the tentacle swung the driver back and forth in the air, banging him from wall to wall with terrible ringing sounds. It was incredibly strong.
The tentacle stopped. I could see that the driver¡¯s head was bent backwards at an impossible angle. Blood was pouring out of the unseen ruin of his head, dripping on the floor.
The tentacle jerked upwards, pulling the poor driver out with it. There was a splut! sound, followed by a loud crunch.
Tricia and I were rooted by steel roots to the ground, neither one of us daring to run.
It was the final sound that did it, that made us run. Arnold Schwarzenegger himself would have run screaming away from it. It itself was a scream, one that eerily sounded like a kid screaming.
As we ran, I swear that I felt something watching us.
2
Five shadows walked down the dark tunnel. Alfred and Neil had gone to guard the entrance.
¡°Nearing the train wreck, Delta One.¡± The voice crackled from the radio.
¡°Roger, Foxtrot.¡± Gordon said. ¡°We¡¯re moving in.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t see anything yet. Hey, what the- Jesus Christ!¡±
¡°Report in Foxtrot.¡± Gordon said.
¡°Hang on.¡± There was a crackle, and then¡
The most horrible sound Gordon had ever heard in his entire life came from the radio. It was horrible, it sounded like a child screaming.
¡°Boegy at twelve o¡¯ clock! Request permission to fire.¡± The radio crackled.
¡°Affirmative, Foxtrot. You¡¯re near the target. Fire at will.¡±
¡°Roger, Delta One.¡±
The radio clicked off. Gordon put it down.
¡°Alright, team. Foxtrot has found the target. Move out.¡± Gordon said.
Delta Team walked briskly to the southwest, toward the train wreck.
************
Five minutes later, Gordon and his team reached the wreck.
Gordon switched on his radio. ¡°Foxtrot, come in.¡±
No answer.
Louder this time, Gordon said, ¡°Report in, Foxtrot.¡±
Suddenly, a loud crackle came from the radio. ¡°Mayday, mayday, this is Foxtrot One. Repeat, this is Foxtrot One. If anyone can hear me, please send backup. I am the last man standing. Please send-¡± There was another sound, like someone crumpling paper. Then, it was followed immediately by a loud hissing noise that at first sounded like static. It was a few moments before everyone realized what the sound really was.
It was a high pitched human scream.
3
¡°What do you think that thing was?¡± Tricia asked, still panting a little.
¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± I said, starting to catch my breath.
For fifteen minutes, we had been running like crazy from whatever had had killed the driver. It hadn¡¯t been chasing us, apparently. But every time we thought of its piercing, child-like scream, our terror was fuelled, and we continued to run until we reached a station.
As a safety measure, all subway stations had metal and glass doors to prevent people from falling into the tracks. I had to smash the glass with the flashlight so we could get in. It was a much better place to take refuge in than the train wreck; at least there were lights and no dead bodies. We went to the top exits but, as expected, the exits were already locked
Then, I remembered that there were Seven-Eleven stores and perhaps others in the station. It was only then did I remember how hungry and thirsty I was; vomiting out my entire lunch and then running non-stop for fifteen minutes was hard work.
¡°Are you hungry?¡± I asked Tricia.
¡°Starving,¡± Tricia said.
¡°Let¡¯s go for a bite at Seven-Eleven then.¡±
*****************
I opened the refrigerator and took out two ham and egg sandwiches. I handed one to Tricia. She thanked me, tore open the wrapper and ate hungrily. I took a bite out of it myself and thought it was the best thing I had ever eaten in my life. Normally I hated cold sandwiches, but this time I just couldn¡¯t stand to wait three minutes for the bread to toast.
I finished my sandwich and grabbed another one. Tricia came back from a corner and offered me one of the two large paper cups she was holding.
¡°Vanilla Coke?¡± She asked.
¡°My favorite.¡± I said, taking the cup and taking a big gulp out of it, then taking a bite out of the sandwich.
¡°Here¡¯s to surviving.¡± Tricia said, raising her cup.
There was a sound as our cups knocked against each other, spilling a little Coke on the floor. Neither of us cared.
¡°Cheers.¡± I said out of a mouthful of sandwich, and we both laughed.
After about fifteen minutes, I ransacked the drawers while eating a Kit-Kat.
¡°What are you doing?¡± Tricia asked, searching for more food.
¡°I¡¯m looking for keys to the front door,¡± I said. ¡°It¡¯s pretty troublesome to crawl through a broken window.¡± Tricia laughed.
There was a jangling noise as I took out a ring of keys. But I had found something else. ¡°Hello, what¡¯s this?¡±
¡°What is it?¡± Tricia asked.
¡°It¡¯s a gun.¡± I said simply. I had also found a few magazines of bullets.
¡°Let me see.¡± Tricia said, walking toward me.
I handed her the gun, which was surprisingly heavy.
Tricia inspected the gun, squinting at it. ¡°It¡¯s a HK USP Match. Let¡¯s see what it¡¯s loaded with¡¡± She caught me gaping at her. ¡°What?¡± She asked.
¡°I didn¡¯t know you knew so much about guns,¡± I said in amazement.
¡°Well, my Dad takes me out shooting sometimes. Besides, I play CS¡¡± She said. There was a click as she ejected the magazine and took a bullet out. ¡°It¡¯s a .45.¡± She said.
¡°Is that good or bad?¡± I asked.
¡°Good. I was hoping it would be a .45. These guns can be chambered for nine millimeter sometimes, which isn¡¯t really powerful. But I¡¯d be really glad to see a Desert Eagle in there.¡± She put the bullet back, pushed the clip in and then handed the gun to me. ¡°Here.¡±
I asked, ¡°Why are you giving it back? You use it.¡±
¡°Huh?¡± she was surprised.
¡°You¡¯re the one who knows so much about guns, so use it.¡±
¡°Well¡¡± She seemed reluctant. ¡°Okay¡¡± She stuffed the gun into the band of her jeans.
¡°I¡¯m really full now.¡± I said. ¡°Aren¡¯t you?¡± I asked Tricia.
¡°Yeah¡ I really could do with some shut eye.¡± Tricia said, yawning.
So we walked back to the entrance. Tricia eyed a row of chairs and lay on them. I looked at her and asked, ¡°You think it¡¯s okay if I explore the place myself?¡±
¡°Sure, Nick.¡± Tricia said, her eyes closed.
¡°Really?¡±
¡°Sure, why¡¡± Her head drooped downwards. ¡°¡nooot¡¡±
I took one last look at Tricia, who looked extremely beautiful in her sleep even with a gun stuck in her jeans. Soon, I turned around and walked down to one of two escalators. I climbed up and found a door that said ¡®AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY¡¯. I found that the key was in the lock, so I opened it, wondering what could be in there.
The room was dark. I took out the torchlight and switched it on. I shone the beam around, looking for a light switch. I found one and turned it on, but the it wasn¡¯t working. The very idea of going inside a dark room while there was a killer monster running loose gave me the creeps, so I gave it up and decided to search somewhere else.
I searched the station for a long time, but the only remotely useful things I had found were a spray can and a really nice looking marker. I took them both and went back to the entrance where Tricia was still sleeping peacefully and sprayed the words ¡°WE WERE HERE¡± on the floor, then drew a smiley face with the marker.
Frustrated, I decided to go to the dark room eventually.
I stepped into the entrance of the room and switched on the flashlight. The room was full of drawers and shelves filled with documents. I searched the drawers, but found nothing useful.
I was half lucky when I searched the fifth drawer. There were two radios in it. I said that I was half lucky because there was no reception to the surface in the subway. Just in case there was somebody else in the subway, I pressed the ¡®talk¡¯ button one of them and said, ¡°Hello, can anyone hear me? My name is Nick Harrison. If you can, please send help. I am at¡¡± I looked up and looked at a signboard nailed to the wall. It said: ¡®King Street.¡¯ I continued, ¡°King Street Station. I-we are both still alive. Please, send help. And be careful. There¡¯s some-some thing out there that killed everyone else. Please, please help us.¡±
I released the button and stuffed the radio into the band of my jeans. It might not be useful now, I thought, but it might be useful later.
I pointed the flashlight on a wall, hoping to find more drawers. Instead I found a map encased with glass nailed to the wall.
I walked toward the map to look at it. There might be another way out, I thought.
¡°Let¡¯s see, Verne Street Station, Generator Room, Crick Station, nope. Rec Room Four, Sky Train monorail to Prosperity Mall (UNDER CONSTRUCTION)¡¡±
¡°That¡¯s it!¡± I said. The monorail system was a facility built for the public. It was simply a track for an unpiloted train leading from the Underground Subway to a station outside the subway into Prosperity Mall. Since it led to the open, I could get out there and radio for help!
Finally! A WAY OUT OF THIS HELLHOLE! Excitedly, I circled the words ¡®Sky Train Monorail¡¯ with the marker.
Searching here certainly paid off. I searched more drawers, hoping to find more stuff. Eventually, I found a photocopied version of the map. I stuffed it into my pocket.
Suddenly, something darted towards me. I yelled and pointed the flashlight toward its direction.
It was only a rat. It looked straight into the light, squeaked and darted past me.
I sighed with relief. I shone the flashlight on the floor again and saw another rat. I shone it at another spot. Another rat.
I realized that there were a dozen or so rats scampering past me. I slowly shone the flashlight toward the direction they were running to., feeling nausea wash over.
There was a dead man leaning on the ground, lying on its belly. I saw that the rats were eating it. One of them crawled up the man¡¯s arm and nibbled at his thumb, revealing red flesh.
I shuddered at the sight. Then suddenly, a thought struck me. What was a dead person doing here?
As if to answer my question, the door slammed shut with a creak.
¡°Hey!¡± I said.
Suddenly, a loud snarl echoed in the room.
(ohno. Its hereitshereitshereitshere...)
The snarl came again. In the distance, I could hear footsteps, slow and deliberate. I backed slowly to the door, dropping the flashlight by accident.
More footsteps.
I looked at the flashlight. Its beam pointed towards my foot. Cold fear snaked up my spine. I didn¡¯t dare to move.
Because I could see a tentacle, illuminated by the torch, slowly snaking toward my foot.
I didn¡¯t move. Slowly, the tentacle slithered toward my foot like a long, grey worm. I watched as it touched the tip of my shoe. By then, I was shaking so hard I must¡¯ve looked like a leaf.
The tentacle stopped. It touched the shoe again. Somewhere behind it, I heard snarling.
Suddenly, the tentacle coiled around my ankle and pulled hard. I yelled as I was knocked off balance. Screamed as I was being dragged along at high speed. I could almost smell the creature¡¯s foul breath.
My hands were free. I searched frantically for something, anything. I groped around in the darkness like a blind man. Finally, my hands grabbed something. It was small, hard and cold. Something metal. When my fingers felt it, I felt the small blade and realized it was a Swiss Army knife.
Still screaming, I frantically stabbed in the dark with the knife, hearing loud ¡®clink!¡¯ sounds as the knife hit the ground. Eventually, I felt the knife stab something soft.
I felt an instant of sharp pain on my ankle and realized with horror that I had stabbed myself. I felt warm blood. But when I realized that I wasn¡¯t being dragged anymore and that the creature was squealing in pain, I realized that I had cut myself loose. The pain was only the tentacle squeezing harder.
I got up as quickly as I could, unwinding the tentacle from my ankle and throwing it away in disgust. I grabbed the flashlight, opened the door and ran out of the room.
I was about to close the door when the creature rammed into it, growling and snarling. It was immensely strong, but the adrenaline made me stronger. As four or five tentacles snaked around the door¡¯s edge, I slammed the door hard on them and they withdrew. I turned the key on the lock, locking the door. The creature slammed into it a few times in vain. It then started screaming like a child. I shuddered and ran away, turning back just in time to see a tentacle pierce through the door.
Just as I was about to reach the escalator, I saw Tricia running toward me with the gun.
¡°I heard it. Where is it?¡± She held the gun up, a grim look on her face. As if to answer her question, the lights went out.
There was a crash as the door smashed to bits. We could barely see in the darkness, but we could hear the creature¡¯s growls and snarls.
Heading toward us.
Slowly, our eyes became adjusted to the darkness and we started to run.
I dashed down the still escalator fast, with Tricia in front of me. The creature was still coming.
In the darkness, I saw Tricia leaping down three steps and then heading for the glass doors. I tried to keep up with her, but then, I felt a sudden weight hit me. It sent me sprawling.
I was there; under an unseen creature, with its sharp claws on my back, its hot breath on my neck. The world seemed to spin. Shock poured into my brain, my coherency was blurred.
Then I heard it hiss, immediately, the world seemed to come back, and I prayed that it would kill me quickly.
10/24/2005 3:35:17 AM
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