Old Number 139

The first thing I felt was steady vibrations. Soon after, I felt heavy hands grabbing my shoulders and shaking me forcibly, and I wrenched my tired eyes open, one millimeter at a time. The darkness parted, revealing the kindly, though worried face, of an elderly gentleman. His firm grip relaxed as he realized I was coming around and helped me lean against the nearest wall.

“Where am I?” I asked as I rubbed my tired eyes and bruised temples, allowing the world to end its spinning. Before the elderly man could answer, I realized I had forgotten something quite important, “Where am I? Who… am I?”

A sad smile was the only answer the man could give me, though he was clearly familiar with whatever happened to me. “Don’t worry, sir, vertigo is normal with all new passengers on old number one-three-nine. You’ll get used to it, eventually.”

“What does that mean?” I asked as I pulled myself up, the intense rush of blood and exasperation seeming to tighten its vice-like grip on my temples. Before the man could answer, I glanced behind me to the shifting scenery. A stone valley lay far below us, surrounded on either side by snow-peaked mountains. I pressed my nose against the window, then my entire cheek as the cool mountain air felt refreshing on my parched skin. I could just barely make out the outline of bridges and tracks ahead and behind us. The fog was thick, but the room was clearly shaking in a rhythmic fashion. “Are we on a train?”

“We are,” he answered simply. “Come, it’s time to meet the others.”

Questions raced through my mind. My feet compelled me to move forward, and where they went, I followed.

I exited what I now knew to be the sleeping car, following the man to a passenger car where half a dozen oddly-dressed people were seated.

“Attention please!” proclaimed the man, “We have a new passenger joining us!”

The announcement barely caught the attention of most, and a few passengers gave me little more attention than a quick, evaluating glance. The passenger who looked at me the longest was a young man with spiky hair, rolling his eyes before looking out the window again.

Unphased by the lack of interest, the man continued speaking, “Allow me to make introductions first: I am Conductor, the young lady with the headband here is Flapper, the gentleman next to her is Suit, the colorful woman over here is Peace. To your right, the man with the trench coat is Detective, this strange looking fellow is Riot, and the man at the back with the hat, is Rancher.”

After these lacklustre and almost robotic introductions, Conductor paused for a moment and turned to me, “What do you choose as your name?”

The question baffled me, as I wanted to scream my name at them. And yet, as I tried to pronounce it, it simply faded away from my mind, like an old memory. Who – am – I? I looked around confusedly and caught my reflection in a window. I tried to remember my past, but instead of seeing clear images, I only managed to summon faceless shadows, and the vague remembrances of the places I’d once been. The feelings linked to these shadows were the only clear things I could recall. I wore a white shirt and tie, my hair was neatly combed, and I realized I had been carrying a suitcase in my hand since I woke up. “Call me… Office,” I finally answered, feeling more satisfied with the answer than I had imagined.

Conductor’s moustache turned into a friendly, though sad smile. “Welcome aboard, Office. I’m sure you’ll fit right in.”

“Thanks,” I answered hesitantly, “Where are we headed?”

“That depends on you,” explained Conductor. “If you’re lucky, you might find a station to get off at. Otherwise… well, you’ll see soon enough,” he pulled out his pocket watch, nodded and repeated, “Yes, soon enough,” before walking off to tend to his other duties.

Conductor’s explanations only added to the confusion piling on my mind. I decided to approach the people nearest me, Flapper and Suit, in the hopes they could make more sense than the aging Conductor.

“Hello I’m… Office. Where are you two headed? Did you come from a costume party of some sort?” I asked, managing to wrest the two’s attention away from their window.

“Newcomers are such a bore,” answered Flapper as she gave me an evaluating look. “I’m heading to find excitement, though it’s been scarce lately,” she didn’t wait to hear my next question and turned her head back to the window.

Suit decided to help fill in the blank left in my expression, “Look, nobody here knows more than you do, pal. As far as any of us can tell, the only place we’re all headed is – ” He was cut off by Detective, as he wordlessly placed his hand in his shoulder. “Right, no point in talking about it. My destination’s opportunity. Do what you want with that,” he shrugged as he turned his eyes away from me, as Detective retracted his hand and returned to his seat.

I wasn’t going to get answers from these costumed people, so I decided to head up the train and try to get answers there.

I passed through one empty car after the next, seeing absolutely no signs of anyone else, save for Conductor. At last, I came in front of the engineer’s door. Perhaps they would be able to tell me something about my situation.

I knocked on the door. No answer.

I knocked again. Still no answer.

I pressed my ear against the door and realized the metal was surprisingly warm. I could hear movements on the other side; levers being moved, knobs turning, the squealing of mechanisms needing oil, and a sound I could only describe as chattering that I wouldn’t have expected to hear from a locomotive.

The engineer clearly had no desire to be bothered, so I decided to try to pursue another route for answers. I headed back down the train where I had just come from, when I felt a bump in the until now steady vibrations of the train.

I stopped where I stood, realizing the train was picking up speed, maybe it had been all along. I looked outside the window and saw trees and boulders passing by faster than before and still accelerating.

I panicked.

I ran to the other passengers as I now feared the train was going far too fast for the track it was on and we would derail. I burst into the occupied car and screamed my concerns aloud. My panicked yells gained their attention, but they all either gave me a sad smile or a slight mocking one.

I couldn’t understand their apathy, and I had no time to, as a moment later a stronger bump passed through the train, feeling as though I was flying. No, falling. I was falling, and I could see the other passengers being lifted out of their seats, though they seemed bored, as if watching a movie they saw a hundred times before.

I felt my body collide with the train’s walls, felt it crash through a window, and felt it being crushed by an immense weight.

I was dying.

The gruesome realization ran through my mind for a second, then I was staring at a cabin’s ceiling, with calm, steady vibrations under me. I starred for a long time, thinking “this was how one expires,” but my end didn’t come. I lifted my head and saw I was intact and laying down in the sleeping car.

I sat up, confused more than before, when I heard the door slide open.

“First time’s the hardest,” said Conductor sympathetically.

“What do you mean?” I answered. “I must have been having a dream.”

“A waking nightmare, I think, but that’s for you to decide,” replied Conductor as he turned around to leave me alone in my confusion.

I came out of my room and chased after him. I grabbed him by the shoulders and spun him around, letting go of my briefcase for the first time I could remember.

“What’s happening? The train just crashed and I woke up in here!” I shook him as if it would make answers come out.

Conductor smiled sadly as I took my frustrations out on him, my exasperation mingled with a mix of desperation. He gently placed his hand over mine, “I understand. I was just like you when I got here. We all were. But sooner or later we all become silent observers to our own fates.”

My hands stopped moving and my grip relaxed. I let go of the old Conductor and ran into the next train car, where the other passengers were taking their seats, the same seats I had seen them in just moments before. This time though, they all looked at me as I entered. Even Riot looked at me with some sympathy before turning back to the window.

I ran by all of them and made my way to the back of the train. If the front held no answers, then maybe the back would.

I crossed into the next empty passenger car and wasted no time to pass into the next one, also empty. Five cars later and I had yet to meet anyone else or find the end of this train. I looked through the window and could see the caboose, so I continued making my way to it as it was about ten cars away. I rushed and crossed the distance separating me from my objective, but on the tenth passenger car, I looked out the window again and saw the final car, still at the same place as before.

I was defeated, exhausted, and angry… and in the moment between breaths, the train came to a violent demise once again. I flew through the air, smashing against the empty seats, and then, I was on my back in my sleeping car, staring at the same ceiling just like before.

Whatever was happening, I had no desire to let it get the best of me. I picked up my briefcase, made my way to the other passengers, who had yet to take a seat. They didn’t watch me as I made my way past them once more and towards the back.

This time, I wanted to climb up on the roof and hopefully make some progress that way. I found a ladder between the cars and climbed up, realizing very quickly that movies made the task seem far easier than it truly was. I clung to the metal roof like a spider and crawled towards the caboose. This seemed to be working, though not elegantly at all, and I could see the distance shrinking, one small pull at a time.

Suddenly though, I heard the flap of leathery wings behind me, then felt great clawed hands grab me with immense power and lift me in the air. I tried to look up, but before I could see anything, I was falling off the side of the mountain. I only caught a brief glimpse of what had launched me through the air, it seemed like an enormous bat with pupilless yellow eyes. A moment later, I felt the impact of the stone against me, then I woke up in my sleeping car, yet again, my briefcase next to me, unscathed.

The look on my face as I rejoined the passengers must have told the story better than words could. Riot looked at me for the first time with pure sympathy in his eyes.

“The guardian got you? Nasty thing. Just nasty,” he said, shaking his head. “I gave up after I ran into it. This is a better, far less pain this way,” he explained as he pointed to the seats before his attention returned to his window.

Time and again I tried. I tried jumping off, waiting, asking for clues, climbing through the windows, jumping off as the train fell off the mountain, yet every time, I either died or was carried off by a mysterious creature, only to wake up in the sleeping car once again, my briefcase along my side.

After the… I lost count at this point, but at the start of one cycle, I decided to ask my fellow passengers to come with me on top of the train so we could try to escape and fight off the creature.

“Aren’t you tired of sitting by and allowing yourselves to die over and over again?” I asked the group. “Together, we might be able to make it past the guardian and escape this place.”

Suit was the first to get up and rally to me. He turned to Flapper, “Come on sweetheart, I’m getting bored sitting around here anyways.”

Flapper considered Suit’s proposal and shrugged before getting up. “The top of the train could be more entertaining than this…”

Detective was next to join. “You’ll need a man of the law to protect you if this is going to work.”

“If that square’s going, I’ll be going too,” joined in Riot. “I ain’t staying behind and missing a chance to get back at the guardian.”

All the passengers but Peace and Rancher decided to join in. Peace seemed to be content with her fate for some reason, and Rancher had a knowing smile only barely visible under his moustache and hat.

My group climbed on top of the train and we immediately ran towards the very back of the train. In less than a minute, the familiar beating of wings was heard, and a shadow passed over the group.

“Get close together and at each other’s back!” commanded Detective.

We did as he ordered just as a talon narrowly missed Riot, who let out a yelp from the surprise. A few seconds later, the guardian swept down gain and caught Suit by the arm and tried to carry him off. Flapper latched on to Suit’s legs before he was carried off, then Detective and I grabbed onto her. Our combined weight was enough to slow down the guardian and pull it down, and Riot ran up to it and punched its face as quickly as he could.

The guardian released its grip on Suit’s bloodied arm and tried to fly away, but Riot grabbed on to its neck and continued hitting it. The two fell down and out of view as Riot’s screams were silenced.

We picked ourselves up without another word and ran towards the back of the train, when we were stopped by the flapping of wing. These didn’t come from behind us though, they were directly above us, and there was more than a single pair.

In an instant, we were all picked off by several creatures, some with skin like grey stone, others with scales, and they tore into us in the air. Their sharp talons held us firmly while their crocodile-like teeth ripped into us.

Everything faded to black, and I woke up breathing rapidly back into my sleeping car. I instinctively inspected my torso and limbs to see what damage was done, but I was as intact as I had ever been.

I returned to the other passengers as they were sitting down. Their expressions were different, some horrified, others almost ecstatic.

“Wasn’t that exciting, dear?” Asked Flapper to Suit as the two returned their gazes to the valley below.

Riot and detective were clearly still shaken up and avoided eye contact with me.

I refused to let this place get the better of me, and I made my way towards the back of the train once again. Even without their help, I would find a way off this train. I was about to pass Rancher when he caught my arm.

“Hold on, partner. I’ve been watching you for a while now, and I’d like to share some insights,” he said as I held his steely gaze eagerly. “There were a few more of us before. They managed to find a way off this train, though how, I couldn’t say. All I know is that they were as stubborn as you, and now they’re gone.”

“Do you know how we got here?” I asked in the hopes of finding some answer.

“I don’t rightly know. I’ve tried to figure out where ‘here’ is more times than I care to think about, but the only guess I have is we’re in some type of Hell,” answered Rancher as he let go of my arm to return to his usual crossed arms position.

I didn’t make any attempts at escape this time. I just sat down and pondered everything I knew, what little there seemed to be. The only place I hadn’t been yet was the engineer’s cabin, at very front of the train, and the only place Conductor stopped me from getting into.

The train gradually sped up again. My first instincts were tingling again: the answers to this nightmarish afterlife must be in the engine room. Yes, whatever I need to see or know must be just beyond that door, and I will find it. Those were my last thoughts for this cycle, as the train flew off and crashed, in the same place it always had.

I wasted no time. As soon as my eyes were open, I burst into action, grabbed my briefcase, and ran to the front of the train. I tried the handle, but it was locked. I banged against the door and tried to pull it, force it open, but it held firm against my struggles.

“What are you doing, Office?” Asked Conductor as he appeared behind me.

“What does it look like? I’m trying to get into the engineer’s station to get to the bottom of this!” I turned around to look at him, and my eyes were drawn to the ring of shiny golden keys hanging from his belt. “Give me those,” I commanded, as I reached forward to take them.

“I can’t give you those, Office. It’s my job to keep the keys to this train,” said Conductor as he backed away. “Even if you take them from me, you won’t like the answers you find through that door.”

Answers. He said there were answers through this door. Without thinking, I lunged at Conductor and swung my briefcase at his head. Papers flew out as the briefcase opened. “Shouldn’t they have information on them?” I thought to myself as I watched the blank papers gracefully fall while I took the keys off Conductor’s belt.

Blank slates, just like me. Just like the rest of the people trapped here. How fitting, I mused as I tried different keys until I found the one that unlocked the engineer’s door.

I pulled it open and heard a weak “Nooo.” On the floor behind me and the sound of shuffling.

I paid it no mind, Conductor was just trying to stop me from leaving this nightmare. I stepped into the dark room and thought it strange that no light was to be seen anywhere. Shouldn’t the engineer’s cabin be well-lit? No matter, he was right in front of me now, and he would tell me what I came to find out!

“Engineer! Get me off this train!” I commanded, as the hair on the back of my neck stood up straight. Something wasn’t right, or rather even less right than the rest of this train.

The darkened figure standing opposite me jerked at attention. It moved awkwardly, then I started realizing why – it had multiple spindly arms and bird-like legs. It turned valves and pulled levers all while it turned towards me, ever so slowly.

I easily could have turned around and outrun this creature, but my body was frozen in place.

Finally, it was facing me. Facing is a strange term for this experience, as the creature had no face, only a swirling void. A void that called to me. I stepped closer, against my will, one heavy step after the next, until I was looking right into the abyss of the faceless-Engineer.

I realized then how the passengers who left succeeded in escaping: they must have, like me, faced the Engineer. As my mind grew blanker and emptier, the creature absorbed what was once my mind, my soul, taking the very breath from my lungs as the creature breathed the life right out of my chest. I realized in abject horror that Conductor had known this awful fate all along, and had been trying to spare me from it however he could.

With what remained of my waning strength, I managed to emit but a whisper that escaped the closing door behind me as Conductor forced it shut. “I’m sorry,” I managed to say weakly to the old man with what remained of me, just as a bright light filled the cabin.

Conductor leaned against the heavy door and panted, blood dripping from his injured forehead. “Another one lost,” he muttered, as the train gained speed once more, heading to the next cycle.