Mystery
The Empty Train Ride
A sudden jolt awoke a sleeping man. He looked around and saw he was on a train, which seemed strange to him as he could not remember boarding a train. He looked out the window and saw vast open prairies that looked undeveloped. He looked around on the train and noticed it looked old, like pictures he had seen in the old west. The train seemed to be going very fast, especially for a train from the old west. He estimated the train must have been going over 100 miles an hour, judging by how quickly the landscape passed by the window. The man then realized he did not remember his name or where he was from, but he thought he was from the twenty-first century and not living in the old west. He looked out the window and saw his reflection. The face he saw looked like a man in his forties, clean-shaven with blondish hair. He did not recognize the face that was staring back at him. He checked his pockets but could not find a wallet, keys, or money. He didn't even have a train ticket.
By Roy Tsukishima3 years ago in Fiction
Mare Imbrium Express
I start my day surrounded by dead bodies. The corpses form an untidy pile beside me in the small utility closet. I want to arrange them neatly in a row on the floor, shortest to tallest, but unfortunately I lack the space. Blood forms a dark red pool on the floor. Such a mess.
By Robin Andrew Blair3 years ago in Fiction
Can't Run Forever
A long piercing whistle startled me awake. I forced my eyes open as I struggled to sit up. My head was throbbing. “Okay, I’m in my car and it's not moving; that’s good. It's so dark; the power in my building must have gone out. I can’t believe I was so tired I fell asleep in the back seat of my car in my condo’s underground parking! What's that low rumbling and the constant swaying feeling? Okay, crazy girl, stop talking to yourself and let’s get to your apartment.”
By Mary Haynes3 years ago in Fiction
Tunnel Vision
The sudden swerve of motion jostled her from a deep sleep. Darkness. She was moving. Her head felt as if it were entombed in a mass of cotton wool. She felt sick. She opened her eyes, but her vision only provided a blur of watery haze. She closed her eyes tightly and shook her head in an attempt to remove the grogginess that seemed to have overtaken her. She opened her eyes again. A sudden intensity of brightness filled her dilated pupils and shot a surge of adrenaline through her body. She turned her gaze to the right. Tiny pictures flashed by; much like an old film reel projecting images on a screen. Frame...by frame...by frame. She was on a train! A fast moving train! What in the world was she doing on a train? More importantly, HOW did she come to be on this train and WHY?
By Sharon Vaughn3 years ago in Fiction
Special Train 17
I swayed from one side to the next. Waves lapped on a white beach. Saltgrass whipped in the wind. Feet dipped into salty waters of the South Bay, where Atlantic currents carried cold waters north. Mom with her bunion and dad with his claw nails walking between me. No forgetting those. That black steam locomotive at the bay house, chugging along. Forever, going round and round, without stopping.
By Mehdi Botteman3 years ago in Fiction
The Competition
The Competition 1. Wake up Ralph struggles to open his eyes, lifting his head is a weight. The muffled voices around him start to become clearer, and so does his vision. He looks around the empty table for 4 that he’s seated in; and examines the train carriage from his seat. The carriage is old fashioned, with soft worn material seats; elegant white antimacassars contrasted against its deep burgundy. He turns and stares at the scenes from the window. The train racing adjacent a deep blue river that trails across the bottom of a mountainous backdrop. The shadows of the peaks dance in the reflections of the water. Ralph mouths, “Where the fuck am I?”.
By Rahul Batra3 years ago in Fiction
