Runaway Reality

A screeching loud whistle jolted Anna awake. Taking a second to adjust to her surroundings she realized she had awoken in a very different location than she remembered herself being only a second ago. Anna gripped the velvety covered seat she was on, as the ground lurched forward suddenly. Everything was moving. Looking over to the left, Anna saw the hills and farms rushing past in the window. It was a train for sure. But how? Anna strained her brain trying to remember what came before. It came up with nothing, except a headache. Her hands reached up to her head as she confirmed she was real. This prompted another surprise as she looked down at her clothing. From head to toe, she was dressed with a decorative hat, fine leather gloves, and a tightly fitted Victorian gown. The restriction and tightness of her clothes became more confined and her breathing hastened. “What the heck?” No one else was in the small compartment of the train to hear her confusion. She stood clumsily and reached to open the sliding compartment door. Peeking her head down the narrow aisle she saw an attendant dressed formally in his black uniform and hat at the end of the hall speaking to another man dressed more casually but still in Victorian fashion. Anna withdrew into the compartment, closing the door gently. She surveyed the room and landed on a small carpet bag on the seat. Opening the bag fervently she looked for clues to determine what was going on. Only half convinced this was reality. The pain in her head told her it was real. Nonetheless, Anna was curious and pulled out a journal, a small green book, a coin purse, wax paper wrapped sandwich, a pocket mirror, eye glasses, and some papers. The journal was the first item to be investigated. Realizing the writing was blurred, she tried placing the eye glasses on and the writing instantly appeared clear. “I’m not far sighted,” she thought. This was getting more bizarre. She found a train ticket that identified the year as 1890 and she was on a train towards Denver.

Anna looked up as she heard screaming and yelling. The train started to squeal as the brakes were briefly applied but it quickly lurched forward again. Out the window, Anna could see a few horse riders alongside the tracks. A commotion began in the hallway and a man in uniform rushed into the compartment, seemingly out of breath. “I’m sorry to startle you miss but our train is currently being robbed. Come with me and we will get you to a secure train car.”

With nothing to lose and still feeling more curious about this whole situation, Anna followed the man into the narrow aisle of the train. The compartments of the train car were disheveled with bags and items loosely strewn everywhere. The landscape kept whizzing by the window as they made their way through the train car. “Why haven’t we stopped?” Anna asked the man that was leading her into the next train car. He turned towards her, “I’m told they’ve damaged the brakes, we are trying to work out how to slow the train enough that we can get all passengers off the train.”

“You mean jump off the train?” He nodded with a grim look. Anna shook her head, knowing this was going to go badly no matter what. Either I die in this dream because the train crashes or I die jumping off the damn thing, she thought to herself. Not particularly interested in either option, Anna was about to inquire further when they entered the next car that had two rows of seating that was filled with anxious people huddling together.

“Sit somewhere where you can find room and try to stay calm,” the uniformed man directed and scurried off through the crowd. The car was eerily quiet, only hushed voices carried over the sound of the clunking train. The nervous energy was in everyone's small movements and quiet breathing. Anna wasn’t interested in sitting quietly and worked her way to the front of the train car, in the same path as the uniformed man carved out. A woman stood up and asked Anna, “Hey, do you know what’s going on? We were robbed back there in the cars and then we were all rushed to this car after the vagrants left with our money.” The woman was dressed in similar fashion to Anna but was more rough around the edges.

“I don’t know,” said Anna. “Apparently the train’s brakes have been damaged and we are likely going to have to jump.” The man guarding the door noticed the stir in the crowd as they heard Anna’s explanation.

“I’m not jumping off this thing!” shouted a man close to Anna. “That’s a sure way to die.”

“Well,” said Anna, “if they can’t get this train to stop it’s likely to derail when we come to some sharp corner or station.” At that moment the uniformed man burst through the car door, inches away from Anna. He boomed, “Everyone pay attention. The robbers have left the train. They have left the brakes in shambles. We are slowing the train by cooling the engine but this train is heading for a steep and dangerous bridge that we can’t slow down enough to get across safely. We will have to make the effort to get every passenger off the train before then. We are entering some grassy fields for a few miles and will be slow enough that there will be minimal harm to everyone. Please wrap any children up in blankets and do your best to jump last. Please file in a line here.” People began to protest immediately. Anna didn’t like the idea of jumping from a moving train and assessed the speed quickly by looking out the window. Might end up with a few broken bones but likely with enough courage would be able to do this. She began to help those around her with blankets that a uniformed man had procured. The door to the car opened and we could feel the rush of warm air accompanied with much louder clunking sounds. Anna and the other woman were first to step out onto the outside railing. There was one more car between them and the engine. Anna briefly wondered who all was in the next car? This thought passed quickly as she stepped fully outside. There was a man who stood at the edge. Grabbing the metal railing Anna watched the grass move past in a blur. She looked up at the man and he nodded. “Just try to roll into the ditch. Remain along the tracks and we have radio’d help to come pick everyone up along the train line,” he explained.

Anna took one deep breath, looked back at her followers. She wanted to be strong and thought to herself, is this real? The cold metal railing under her hand and tight corset restricting her breathing made this feel very real. Her head still ached and she mustered the courage to leap from the train. The ground hit her hard and she naturally collapsed into a roll. The corset previously restricting her, actually added protection from any rocks that might have broken a rib. The hat she had forgotten she had on was no longer there and was lost to the grass. She came to an abrupt halt and saw the remainder of the train go past with a thundering force. Sitting up she took stock of any pain sensations in her body. Nothing was too sharp or intense, other than the obvious bruises that would eventually follow later. Orienting herself again to what was up and down, she looked on and could see figures in the distance also moving slowly up out of the grass. The other passengers had apparently followed.

Anna flopped back down in the grass and closed her eyes. Focusing on the silence and stillness in the grass. No longer in motion and a gentle rustling of the long grass was still and quiet in comparison. She took another deep breath and wondered if she could leave this reality and return. But return to where? It was still hazy and difficult to remember exactly who she was and what actually happened right before she woke in the train car. This has to be a dream, she thought again. How do I wake myself? This question lingered as she listened to the distant voices and watched the clouds move across the sky.