Nowhere to go

Dink. Dink. Dink.

The sound of a flickering light bulb is enough to wake me . It sounds like the lamp that sits on my bedside table. I sit there hoping to fall back asleep until I hear a shrill scream. My eyes dart open. Looking around the room I realize its not my bedroom but what looks like the dining room or a train.

The room is full of tables covered in crisp white table cloths and there is fine china sitting at every seat. The walls are wooden with a dark finish and the floor is a dark red carpet. Even though there are windows everything outside is pitch black. All I see when I look out is my reflection and nothing more.

I hear another shrill scream as I stand up and I realize now that it is just the sound of the train letting off steam.

I take another look around the room as I get up and notice there are two doors at the front and back of the car and only one clock on the wall for decoration. The time says 2:47 and I assume its morning due to the lack of light outside. Everything is so quiet around me. The clock doesn’t make a sound as it keeps time nor does the train make a sound other then the scream it lets off every so often. The lack of a low rumble is disturbing as I realize I am alone.

I start to wonder what’s going on and where everyone could be. How could a train car be is empty? They would never run a train with so few passengers. I try the handle of the door at the front but its locked and doesn’t open. I start to walk towards the back when I notice the clock. It now says it’s 2:46. I tap the glass but nothing happens, it continues to tick away silently as I stare and eventually turns 2:45.

“It’s ok” I think to myself, “I’ll just find a worker and find out what’s going on. Don’t panic yet.”

I try the second door and opens. Looking out I see a man in black uniform with yellow trim guarding the entrance to the next car. He doesn’t look at me and he doesn’t say anything. “Excuse me, can you tell me what I’m doing here?”

The man stays silent and continues looking forward.

“Hello?” I say as I wave my hand in front of his face but nothing changes.

What is going on? I’m on the worlds quietest train, I have no idea how I got here, where I’m going and the one person I found is either mute or is auditioning to work for the queens guard.

As I turn around to leave and try the other door again he speaks.

“Ticket please.”

I spin around “Ticket” I think. I feel around my body and my pockets

“I don’t have a ticket!” I cry.

His expression doesn’t change as he tells me “if you don’t have a ticket you can’t go on”

“Go on? Go on where? Where are we even going I don’t remember even boarding a train!”

Im practically yelling at him in his face but he doesn’t move, he only continues to stare right past me as if I don’t exist.

“Excuse me?! Did you hear me? Why am I here?”

Nothing.

“Sir can you help me please?” I beg shaking his shoulders.

“Ticket please.”

What? He couldn’t have forgotten already. I just told him.

“But I already told you-“ he cuts me off “If you don’t have a ticket you can’t go on”.

I turn back around giving up and even more confused. Going back to my seat I notice there are now two biscuits and a cup of tea, I look around and see that the car is still empty but the first door I tried is now unlocked and slightly open. Maybe there is someone in there that can explain what’s going on. I peak though the door to find its the kitchen. Every surface is cleaned off and has a shiny chrome finish. Sadly even this car is empty. I search around in the cabinets for clues but find nothing, everything is empty even the fridge.

I continue through the kitchen until I reach another door that is thankfully unlocked

Through the door I see another car that looks exactly like mine but has a woman sitting at a table by herself.

“Oh thank God” I say as I approach her. Sitting down across from her I see she’s staring down at her empty plate.

“Hello?”

She continues to stare at the empty plate.

“Hello can you hear me?”

The woman stats silent until I reach across the table and touch her hand.

“Ma’am are you ok?”

She suddenly starts searching frantically around the table muttering “where is it? Where is my ticket? I know it’s here somewhere!”

She lunges across the table and grabs me by the shoulders “where did you put it?! Where is my ticket? I know you stole it where did it go?! Thief! Thief!”

Running away as quickly as I can I make it to the door I came in through but is now locked.

What? No! It was just open a minute ago! I yank on the handle but it doesn’t budge.

I look back to see the woman on her hands and knees sobbing for her lost ticket. I’m terrified of what might happen to me if I stay on this train for too long. I don’t want to turn into that lady crying over a ticket to a train I never boarded.

I try the door again but its still not opening. What do I do? How do I get out of here? I look around for another exit and see the clock on the wall. It says 7:26. There’s no way I’ve been in here for almost five hours. My mind is racing trying to understand what’s going on but it can’t and the room is starting to spin. I lunge for a window and pull it open, pushing my head through the opening into the fresh air. It feels good until I notice there is nothing. It’s all dark, there is no light from a moon or any stars. The sky is pitch black and the light from the train doesn’t shine outside at all. I pull my head back in and see that the lady is back in here seat staring blankly at her plate that now has two biscuits with a cup of tea beside it. I didn’t hear anybody come in. Looking at the doors I notice one has been left open again.

Moving towards it I hesitate, unsure of what I will find on the other side.

When I cross the threshold I see dozens of men in women in elegant evening wear dancing. It’s a slow dance and is beautiful. They move silently, all with expressionless faces and it appears as if they don’t notice me. Then I realize there isn’t any music, this car is as silent as the rest of them. I decide to creep past them in hopes I avoid a situation like in the last car. I have almost made it to the back door when one of the men stops and stares directly into my eyes. I freeze hoping he will continue his dance but he doesn’t. He continues to stare and says nothing.

“Can you hear me” I ask hoping someone will finally speak to me.

His mouth starts to move but there is no sound.

“I can’t hear you.” His mouth continues to move silently as I try to tell him that there is nothing and I can understand him. This doesn’t stop him and I drop to the ground felling helpless and trapped. I look back on what has happened on this train and start to cry angry tears. Why is this happening to me? What did I do? Why am I here? And as I think this I begin to sob uncontrollably.

“I want to leave! I want out of here! I don’t care where we’re at I just want to get off this train and never come back!!” I scream to anyone who might be listening.

The man suddenly reaches down and touches my shoulder and as I look up at him I can hear everything. The solemn music that everyone is dancing to and what the man has been trying to tell me.

“Dead. We’re all dead. All of us dead. Dead. We’re all dead. All of us dead. Dead. We’re all dead. All of us dead.” Over and over he repeats this until I can’t take it anymore and shove him away. I start banging on the door hoping there is someone out there who can hear me and will come to save me. I’m screaming as loud as I can when the music stops. I turn around to see all of the dancers are closing in on me and I drop to the ground covering my ears and screaming.

“This is all a dream” I tell myself, “wake up! Wake up! It’ll all go away just wake up!”

And just like that my whole body is wide awake, my heart is pounding so hard and fast it feels as though it’ll explode if it keeps going. I reach over for the lamp and switch in on only to see the dancing man in the corner chanting the same phrase “Dead. We’re all dead. All of us dead. Dead. We’re all dead. All of us dead. Dead. We’re all dead. All of us dead.”

Then he looks me dead in the eye and says “We’re all dead you, me and everyone on this train. There is no getting off.”

Thats when the light goes off and all I hear is the sound of my own voice screaming. A scream that will never stop.

The End