Ratri Express

A loud announcement on a platform jolted me out of my sleep, I look around having no recollection of my previous thoughts and realize that I don't remember getting on a train. The sudden realization scares me. I try to get out of the seat I am in, only to feel no strength in my legs.

As the train starts moving, the fear starts growing in my stomach, I look around to get a better look at all the other passengers and do not seem to recognize anyone. The fear starts travelling from my stomach to the rest of my body and all the negative thoughts I could think at that moment start entering my mind. Have I been kidnapped? Why am I on a train? Am I travelling alone? When did I board this train? Why can't I seem the remember anything? Am I going to die here?

While I am still trying too process everything a train conductor walks up to the cabin I am seated at and asks everyone for their tickets. When it is my turn to present my ticket, I check everywhere and do not find one. I say to the conductor,"Excuse me sir, I do not have ticket on me at the moment and I believe I am lost. I do not have any recollection of ever getting on this train. Can you help me?". He stares at me for a few seconds and then asks for the ticket again, confused I try asking him the same question again but he walks upto the the other passengers asking the same question.

Only one passenger has a ticket from all four of us, as the conductor saw his ticket he says to the passenger,"Follow me to the door, your ride here has ended." As soon as they step out of the cabin I start following them and as they get close to the door I notice a few other conductors already there with some other passengers. Finding it all a bit odd I start focusing at a woman standing next to the open door looking at the passengers and their respective conductors as they all start getting in a queue.

Soon the lady orders the first person standing in the queue to walk towards her and motions at them to jump out of the moving train. Understandably the person is hesitant and tries backing away from her and the door, but he is stuck. He is not able move at all, seeing him struggle I start walking towards them with the intention of helping him, when the lady sternly looks at me and says,"It is not your time yet. It will be better if you return to your cabin." I looked at the man and ask her,"What do you mean by that and why are you asking these people to jump out of a moving train? " Before I can say anything else I start loosing consciousness and when I get a hold of bearings I am back in the same cabin that I had woken up in before.

Rubbing my eyes, I look at the seat of the man that had just left and see an unconscious woman sitting in his place. I look at the passenger next to her who seems to be talking to himself in low murmers and when I look at the passenger at my side I see a man looking outside the window into the black starless night. I try to get his attention by asking him if he knows when and how I got here to which he replies,"I do not have an answer to your questions. I don't even remember my own name. All I know is that this train never stops, so you or anyone else getting on board is beyond my understanding."

I try saying something back to him but his words do not make a sense to me, I just keep staring at him like he has grown two heads. I try forming a coherent sentence but all that comes out is, "Whaaa? Noooo? It doesnn..? Are you ? I mean its just...... why doesn't anything make sense." I try remembering my name but nothing, literally nothing before this train comes to my mind.

The man who was mumbling to himself a few seconds ago, starts looking at the both of us exclaims to himself, "It is okay. This is just a bad dream. Soon you will wake up. Soon you will be back to where ever you are supposed to be." I look at the man sitting next to me as if asking if it is a common occurance to which he shrugged and added,"I have not seen the Sun in ages, it is as if the time outside is standing still. No stars, no clouds just the black sky. It feels like this train is stuck in a Limbo, a journey without an end." I look outside the window and say to him, "I remember hearing an announcement when I woke up, we were stopped at a platform. How do I have that memory? I am not saying that what ever you just said to me is not true, but it just does not make any sense."

He is still looking at the night sky when he said," We all have the same memory about the announcement, you will notice that when our new friend wakes up." Just on that cue the girl starts gaining consciousness,and looks frantically at her surroundings. When she finally looks out the window, she screams,"NOOOOOO!!!!!!!" She starts shouting at the top of her lungs, "I can't be back here again. I don't want to be back here again. No no no no."

I try calming her down to which she quietly says to herself, "I died again. I am forever going to be stuck in this void"

The man sitting next to me smiles creepily at his own refection in the window and says,"Well thats a first."