Contest

So I do not have Vocal+ yet but wanted to add my own story for the writing prompt.

The prompt was about someone waking up on a train, no ticket, no memory of how they got there and the train is not slowing down. Needs to be between 600 to 5,000 words. Enjoy!

Ringing. All I could hear was ringing in my ears. I could feel my stiff body starting to move just enough to notice I was sitting on something hard but sitting up right. As the ringing slowly faded, I was able to open my eyes. Fuzzy. Blinking a few times, I could start to here a soft humming sound. Like wind moving through a tunnel.

As my vision started to clear, I could make out one person sitting across from me and next to me. Blinking a few more times I could see clearly. I was on a train. Looking out the windows almost made me sick but it quickly went away. I could tell we were moving very fast but so fast the colors of the surrounding were blending together. I could make out a tree here and there. Greens and blues. Like the ground and the sky were mixing together.

All of a sudden the person next to me, an elderly man, started to move around as well. I, myself, couldn't remember how old i was but that I am a woman. Quickly I asked him if he was okay. He looked around as I did and nodded at me but asked me where we were.

"Unfortunately, I have no idea. I just woke up as well. Have you ever seen a train move this fast before?" I asked as we both looked out the window.

"No ma'am, I have never been on a train before but I am darn sure they don't go this fast." The old man looked dazed.

We both heard the young woman sitting across from me move around. She couldn't have been much older then 20 years old. She looked at both of us and then out the window. She, too, felt sick but only for a moment then was fine.

"Where are we?" she looked to us for an answer. "Why is this train moving so fast?"

I looked at her, turning my body to face her fully. "We were wondering that ourselves. We woke just a few minutes ago."

Taking a look around, I noticed something odd about the cabin we were in. It was not the normal length of a train car/cabin. It was too short, just the bench the gentleman and I were on and then the bench the young lady was on. Walking from one end to the other might have been only 12 feet long. Strange. How did I know this anyways?

"Do either of you remember anything?" I asked looking from the young lady to the gentleman.

They both sat quiet for a moment, deep in thought. "My name is Roger Wilson. I am 79 years old. If my memory serves me well, I am pretty sure I was about to have a birthday. My wife, Oh! My wife was planning a party with our children and grandchildren!" Roger was getting excited about his memory coming back. Then he looked sad and confused, "but I can't remember getting on a train." Roger lowered his head and went silent.

"My name is Anna." I looked over at her as she started to remember as well. "I just turned 19 a few weeks ago. My boyfriend and I were planning a trip to Germany with my parents for their anniversary, but then everything goes blank. I don't remember if we went or anything." Anna stopped and looked at me in confusion as well. "What about you?" she asked me.

"My name is Aurora Evans. I am 57 years old. My husband is a retired Marine and we live in Arkansas. We had plans for a trip to go see our new grand baby in a few days. He was getting the RV set up and ready to go, then nothing. I don't remember anything else." I felt empty not knowing.

All of a sudden the door opened and a man wearing a uniform and name tag that said "Believer" on it. He looked, well, all ages. Looking at him it was like he changed ages right in front of my eyes. One moment he was young enough to be Anna's age and the next my age then Roger's age. I stared way to long and shook my head because I felt like I was being rude.

"How are you folks feeling? Can I get you anything to make your trip a little easier?" He looked between all of us like we knew what was going on. Then he had that 'ah ha' look. "I will answer your questions, the ones I can answer anyways, as soon as I get everyone awake and fed. No one likes to ride on a train on an empty stomach." He smiled and put his hands together in front of him.

As if on Que, all of our stomachs rumbled as one sound. As shocked as we were, we all laughed at the sound and all of a sudden felt at ease. Like there was nothing to worry about.

"May I have a cheeseburger, fires and a chocolate shake?" Anna quickly asked with excitement.

"May I have meatloaf, mash potatoes, green beans and sweet ice tea?" Roger looked so happy it was shocking!

The guy looked at me, "and for you ma'am, what can I get you?"

"May I have 5 cheese ravioli, a side salad and a water with lemon?" I asked feeling like it was too much but i really wanted it for some reason.

"Absolutely! I will be back shortly with everything and we will talk."

When the guy left, the atmosphere changed. The weight we had felt before is now back and heavier! We all looked at each other confused about what just happened. I think we all thought the same thing, that he will answer our questions when he gets back, so we sat in silence looking out the windows.

We sat looking out the window for what felt like hours. Deep in thought. Suddenly, everything went pitch black! I panicked and called for both Roger and Anna to see if they were still there.

"I'm here," one said quickly followed by the other, "what's going on?" and then it was light again.

"A tunnel," I said with realization of what happened. We all sighed with relief. I looked out the window again and noticed something odd.

All the colors changed from blues and greens to browns and reds with purple. Like suddenly we were in a desert at dusk. Then the sounds of horses and carriages rang through the cabin like it was coming from a speaker.

I was busy watching out the window when I saw something out of the corner of my eye. It was Roger. He looked like he was turning in to mist, disappearing from reality. He looked at both of us and smiled. So many emotions went through my mind and body. What was happening! As he was about to be completely mist, the guy in the uniform showed up. He smiled at Roger, nodded his head and waved. Roger nodded and then blew away like fog in wind. Anna and I sat there not saying anything. The guy in the uniform sat down, magically our food appeared on trays in front of us.

"I think it is time to talk," he looked at both of us as we started eating. All I could think to myself was why am I eating at a time like this! But, never the less, I ate my food as this guy talked.

"I know my name tag says believer, but my name is Anubis. Well, that is what everyone calls me anyways. I am here to help you either find your peace or to find your regret that will damn you. Yes, this is a train for lost souls to find their way. Roger found peace just now. His family is at peace as well. Unfortunately, I can not tell you or show you which you will find but I can ease your emotions to think clearly about it. BUT I want you to keep in mind that these 2 paths are not the only ones. You may not find either peace nor regret and that means your life purpose was not filled so you will be reborn to fulfill that purpose. Do you both understand?" He looked at us as he sat waiting for us to talk.

By this time, we both had finished our food and the trays had disappeared. I looked at Anna. I couldn't figure out her emotions. Her face looked mad, sad, confused but unfortunately, regretful. She teared up but no tears fell. She slowly looked at 'Anubis' and then it happened. She started to turn red. It started at her feet and moved up. Anna did not scream or shout out in pain, she just sat there looking at me.

"I may be only 19, but I did horrible things to people. My boyfriend was very abusive and I ended up being the exact same way. Him and I have been together since I was 14, he was 21, he picked me because my family never showed up for anything. I was always alone except my one best friend. Because of him, I hurt her so much, said awful things, stole money and slept with her boyfriend because mine told me to, she was so depressed that she killed herself. Left a note saying she loved me, that was it. But by that point I was being drugged and beat up so much, I didn't feel anything anymore. Soon after she killed herself, I went crazy and started doing really bad things. I was jumping old ladies for their money or prescriptions. I even beat my little brother up!" Now the tears were flowing heavy down her face. "He didn't do anything wrong at all, I just wanted to hit something. I hurt him so badly he ended up in the hospital, oh lord, I can't believe I did that!" Anna was crying so much her shirt was soaking and she was starting to hyperventilate. Suddenly the redness stopped moving up her body. It was almost to her hips.

"What feels more stronger, the regret or the peace of being able to come out and say everything? Do you think that if you were given a second chance that you would do it differently?" 'Anubis' had moved to sit next to her with his hand on hers which rested on her knee.

Anna calmed down a bit and thought about it. Tears streaked her cheeks from where they had flooded down, her eyes were red and she was breathing heavy but some what normal. Then she exhaled a relaxed breath.

"The pain I caused because of another person can not be undone. The life that was taken not by my hand but by my actions, cannot be given back. My family will mourn in the way they can. I don't think a second chance will make anything different. I failed with the one I was given and in a short period of time. I wouldn't be able to face my family after all I had done nor do I want to ever do it again. I want to stay away from Greg, my boyfriend but he would find me again and again. I can never forgive myself for what I have done so no peace was found today. My regret consumes me as I sit here seeing everything replay in my head." Anna turned to 'Anubis', "I do not want a second chance, I cannot make peace with what I have done. My road is regret."

The way she said this was so peaceful it baffled me. But she knew exactly how she felt and what she had done. I watched as they nodded at each other and 'Anubis' stood Anna up. They walked to the door. "I will be right back," he said as he opened the door and she stepped out. It was all black beyond the door then suddenly there were flames. It was so hot I could feel it on my face. Anna willing walked into the flames and 'Anubis' shut the door. Just then 'Anubis' disappeared and I was left alone.

I felt nothing. I was going through my memories and realized that I had lived a good life but not one I planned for. Of course, nothing goes according to plan and I was okay with that. I had one child who just had my first grand baby, I was married to an amazing man and I worked a good job but not my dream job by any means. So as I sat there thinking, I didn't feel peace nor regret. I felt unfulfilled. Just then 'Anubis' appeared next to the door.

"I am sorry I had to leave you alone, I hate doing that but I had to make sure Anna made it safely to her new home." 'Anubis sat next to me with a puzzled look on his face. "I'm going to let you in on a little secret, something I have never told anyone that has ever been on this train. I can hear every single person's thoughts. That is how I know what path they will go down and that is why you feel at ease with me around, I am holding some of the burdens that weigh you down. But you, I am not holding anything and your thoughts are very clear. This only happens once very 1,000 years or so. There are so many that are on this train because they just need a little weight taken off to see clearly which path they will choose. Most find peace. That is a fact. Some, like Anna, find that life is not worth living to fix their mistakes because they see themselves as failures. Then there are souls like yours. You put your life on hold to have a family, nothing wrong with that, so many do, but you also did so much more. Your thoughts right now are clear as day to me about your path. You are strong in your resolve and have more life to live. So with your second chance, live it to the fullest. Go see that new grand baby and do so many things with that child. Your time to go back and change anything is over, think into the future and allow yourself to show that baby what potential he or she has. Go now and fulfill your life," 'Anubis placed a hand on my shoulder and then it was dark.

I could hear a continuous beeping sound. The air was cool around my face. There were voices near by I could recognize and my eyes started to open. My husband and son stood at either side of the bed talking to each other in a whisper. When I smiled at the thought of my resolve, my son saw me looking at them.

"Mom! Are you okay? How do you feel? Are you in pain? Want me to get the nurse?" He started talking a mile a minute and I started to cry. Then my husband started yelling for the nurse shouting that i was crying so I must be in pain.

Just as my memories of the train started to fade, I spoke one word, "purpose," then the memories were completely gone. My son and husband just stood there confused. Tears well in his eyes and he grabs my hand. "Welcome home."

Moral of the train. We all need to have that place to sit and think about what we have done, what we are doing and what we will do to fulfill our lives. We need to reflect, decide and resolve what we do with our lives from the time we can to the time we can't. RG