Broken Tracks

chug. chug. chug.

He slowly peeled his eyes open to deja vu. It had been a familiar scene, one he had seen almost every day of his life. Rusted doors creaked and shook to his left, and the hand straps slowly swayed with each flash of a light beyond the windows. the black seats, slightly torn from their use, were all empty in the cabin but his. How had he ended up here? he couldn’t recall. As if hit by a ton of bricks, he grasped his head as it ached with pain. A sharp, shrill noise rung through his ears, and then to the intercoms.

“welcome, 1078. We are pleased to have you part of our new program. To new travelers, symptoms may occur. Some participants may feel headaches, nausea, stomach pain, and / or physical pain. loud noise such as tinnitus is also common in 3/10 participants. Now commencing trial #33975… “

His eyes flashed pitch black, but opened to the same scene before him. There had only been one difference. The train now sped along at an alarmingly fast rate. The green trees he saw previously out the window now shown a brilliant yellow. How had that been possible? The last he had remembered was July 5th, 2091. It was a cloudy day, but he was positive it had still been summertime. How had these trees wilted so fast?

The intercom flashed red, then black, then red again. A message blared through-

“Escape. Escape. The train is at dangerous speeds, and the brake pedals no longer work. Find a way out. Escape. Escape. Es-“

Bzzzz- clack.

The intercom abruptly stopped. Knowing he had been trapped on a train, speeding to presumed death, his adrenaline rose and his pupils dilated. think, think, think. He told himself. It had been the only comfort he felt on this empty train. he boosted up from his seat, and began to search each cabin. He slid the rusty doors from their rotted frames. the farther back he got in the train, the more… odd things became. The faint sound of voices rang in the back of his mind, or maybe it had been in the back of the train. he couldn’t make out what they were saying, but it appeared to be a very distressed and sad woman. The train flashed like static on an old tv. Before he knew it, he opened his eyes to another scene. It had been the same cabin he started in, he was sure of it, but it had now been covered in grass and flowers. “Come here!” A faint voice called. He turned to see a young woman, frail, but gorgeous like an evening sunset. She rested lightly upon a giant oak tree. Her brunette hair glistened gold in the rays of sun hitting the windows. He couldn’t make out all of her face, but his heart glimpsed a memory with an aching pain. who was she, and why did he miss her so? His feet trudged to the woman in the distance, his mind blank from the memory.

Flash-

The world yet again changed, to him sitting in his empty cabin. A little tear fell upon his cheek. Why had he returned? How could he escape from this dream? He buried his face in his hands, the reality of this world tearing him alive.

“It’s okay. I’ll wait for you.”

His eyes grew big. It was the woman’s voice again. She had been his escape. He briskly stood, wiping the tears from his eyes, as he ran to the end of the train where he had first heard her. He whipped his head around, looking for any clue. The rusted seats, the broken doors, the swaying handles. Had there been a second hint in his previous experience? The trees whipping past the window, the woman beckoning him to the field, the flowers in his previous cabin…

The tree. the trees stood out most out of all his memories. He viewed each window, looking for even the quickest glance of an oak tree. 1 window, 2, 3 windows, now 4… as he approached the last window, he found a still image, with no glass between him or the field at all. There stood the oak, not disappearing with the speed of the train. Frantically, he crawled out from the empty frame. Running as fast as he could, his palm finally reached the trunk of the oak. It glowed a golden mist, and then, turned black.

“Heup!” He desperately gasped for air. His fists tightened against the woven cotton sheet. his view had now changed. Neon white square lights shone about his head, and machines beeped all throughout the room. panicked faces and alarmed voices filled his head with a blur. Men and women with pale gowns rushed in and out. He lifted his arms to gaze at his haunting blue skin. sleeves of a thin cotton gown read, “h&h healthcare and happiness.”

His heart bursted with a familiar twang, as a woman golden brunette hair rushed into the room. He had remembered. She had been his only support and family in his world, his first love.

“You’re awake! Oh, you’re finally awake..!”

she leaned in and hugged him deeply. “Do you know how long I’ve waited? Where have you been off to…” her voice trailed off softly with a quiver, and he felt a cold tear drop onto his wrist.

“Look at me.” He pleaded, but the words would not leave his mouth. His only solution was to quickly grasp a hold of her as tight as he could, to return the hug. gulping past the tears, he finally found the right words and timing to speak. “What happened? Where did I go?” Her head lifted up, and her glistening eyes gazed intently into his soul. “Well, you had been gone a long time. 2 years. It had been an accident on the train. You were heading back to work since you left your keys. tragically, the train lost control and had slammed into the next stationed train. Very few survived, but now, you’re one of them.”