Mystery

Enigma Express
Pain is the first thing I feel. It lances through my head and down my arms, through my chest all the way to my legs. My eyes feel as though they’re being held shut. Something is rocking under me and I’m unsteady. I stretch out my fingers and wiggle my toes in my shoes in an attempt to wake up further. I force my eyes open and look up at a red velvet ceiling. My vision is fuzzy and I squint in an effort to see more clearly. Whatever I’m lying on is surprisingly comfortable and I brace the palms of my hands on the cushioned fabric and push myself into a sitting position. My vision goes black and my head pounds. It only lasts for a few seconds before I regain my bearings. I’m moving I realize with a start. My vision is still slightly distorted and my body throbs, my head being the worst. I rub my eyes in an attempt to clear my vision, but that only makes it worse. I look around and realize I’m in a train compartment, which explains to the moving sensation. It’s nice and looks as though it’s straight out of the early 1900s. There are two benches facing each other that are covered in a plush red fabric that matches the walls. The whole compartment is red I realize in surprise, down to the shelves above the seats meant to store luggage, even the door and support beams. I try to remember how I got here. It’s blank. I try to remember my name and it comes to the front of my brain, Aiko Hayashi. I try to think of my parents, nothing. I try to remember if I have friends and what my job is but it feels as though I’m grasping for air, as I recall nothing. My heart starts to bear faster. Panic floods through me and I stand up, my vision goes dark and my elbow slams against wall and bounces off. Pain shoots through my arm and I reach out blindly and grab onto the shelf meant for luggage so as not to fall down. It fades after a minutes, but I still feel weak and dizzy. I look for a window, but there isn’t one. I realize the easiest way to find out would be to ask a worker or another passenger. I feel myself start to calm. I probably just fell asleep and hit my head, I’m just disoriented and everything will come back to me in a couple minutes. It’s probably just a concussion or something.
By Anna Griesser3 years ago in Fiction
Runaway Train
The train car is filled with passengers sitting across from each other in cozy booths. Christmas lights are strewn across the ceiling and around the windows. There's a small tree in the back corner covered in tinsel with several wrapped packages beneath. Some passengers are smiling and pointing while others are looking out the windows. Some are sleeping. Bing Crosby Christmas carols blast over the intercom.
By Jo Mcvay3 years ago in Fiction
Triple T Railroad
The unclear and indiscernible mumbling of words above her and the sound coming from under her "da-shsshsop, da-shsshsop, da-shsshsop, da-shsshsop," as the train moved down the tracks. Her body tried to get up and she yelled inside herself but there was no movement, and no audible voice escaped her mouth. Eyes shut while only her mouth opened and snapped closed with the bumps of the train. she was locked inside herself and in-between deep sleep and sub-consciousness. It was only a brief moment of energy, and she was back into a deep sleep. A man with a long coat grabbed the doorknob to exit the roomette, as he opened the door another person brought in a man's unconscious body and laid him on the bench across from the woman. "Everything is fine. It's going to work out well." The two men spoke as they left the train car. Da-shsshop,da-shsshsop.
By J.R.Thweatt3 years ago in Fiction
Training a Pack
Tara lay in her bed and let the sounds of nature outside of her window lull her to sleep. Her family home in the woods may seem scary at night to some but she found it peaceful. Other foster kids often came and went. Many of them were from the city and didn't like to hear bears foraging for food, squirrels and racoons fighting over the bird feeders, and wolves howling as they patrolled their territory. Foster kids would be dropped off and then beg their worker to take them somewhere else after several nights of insomnia brought on by what they described as creepy animals in the woods.
By KLMillward3 years ago in Fiction
The Yellow Curtain
"You can't possibly have solved the case already," Jere my White said in utter disbelief. "We just got here!" "It's obvious," Isaac Black replied, in that nonchalant manner that drove Jeremy crazy.
By Rich Hosek3 years ago in Fiction
No Ticket To Ride
7:58am The locomotive blur raced on seemingly unaware of its own brakes or its need for a driver. This metal death trap’s mere appearance was almost as mysterious as its name, Adel Matthew Crusader; a mature name for a train. It was presumably named after its owner or maybe his wife or daughter, none of whom any onboard had ever met. The wealthy residents inside were confined to their individual compartments, not a single one daring to venture out to the mess hall or common car. The train’s narrow halls produced an eerie silence throughout the train halls that was only interrupted by the clack, clack, clacking of the tracks underneath. Although, if one listened ever so closely, it was said, that on this day, they could hear the sounds of Duke Ellington wafting through the halls. Though maybe, that was just the Vernazzian natives all at once, in perfect harmony, inquiring about the mysterious Adel Matthew Crusader, who’s owners no one knew and who’s wheels turned at an uncountable speed towards a destination it was not soon approaching.
By NatahYah3 years ago in Fiction
Heels on a Train
Consciousness came slowly. The first thing she was aware of was a cold draft on her feet. She wiggled her toes and realized they were still encased in the Salvatore Ferragamo sandals she had worn to the club…when? Could it have been last night? She concentrated hard and brought up a clear memory of an Uber ride with Claire and Allison and their arrival at the Boho Beach Club, a trio of ridiculously rich girls out for a night on the town. She conjured a sketchy image of the three of them dancing, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t remember leaving the club, couldn’t recall anything after the dancing.
By Karen Kamenetsky3 years ago in Fiction
Percy's Plight
When I woke, I was groggy and hadn't a clue where I was. My eyes fluttered open. A heavy woolen overcoat covered my body, but I could see through where a fold of the cloth had fallen away. The sun was coming in from a window. I could make out two figures sitting opposite me. The man I didn't recognize, but the woman was familiar. They were deep in conversation and were not looking my way.
By Rulam Day3 years ago in Fiction
The Outside Within
No one can hear a scream in the vacuum of space, or so they say, but Miriam Bennett wasn't so sure. She could hear it. The first time she had heard it was three weeks ago. Her sleep cycle had finished, the lights of her personal area had flashed on, and she had rolled off her mat to get dressed and go to work, repeating a series of events that never seemed to change. Only this time it did change. This time, as she looked bleary-eyed into the deep black void beyond the window of the waste cubicle, her ears tuned out the whirring of the toothbrush sweeping her gums and detected something else, something previously unknown and altogether different.
By Paul Wilson3 years ago in Fiction
The Ride
“Umm, excuse me? Sir? Where is this train going?”, I said with a shaky voice. The man just smirked at me and turned away. “What a weirdo”, I thought to myself. I really thought he looked familiar. Most people on this train do, actually, yet I have no idea where we are headed. Nobody seems to care to speak to me either. Not a single person has bothered to answer any of my questions. Now, I’m starting to wonder if I am even visible to these other passengers. Am I even alive?
By Sharon Smith3 years ago in Fiction
Through the Absolute
Shadows bathed Joel as he slept on the faded red leather. Two seats made a perfect bed for one such as him. Joel blinked a few times, trying to adjust his eyes to the darkness; with the curtains drawn, there wasn’t a stitch of light within the train’s cabin. There was scarcely a vibration that made it past the soundproofing, but the constant feel of motion continued. In the room, separated from all else, Joel was in a world of his own, his dreams reminding him of times long lost.
By Christopher Luchies3 years ago in Fiction
IN THE SERVITUDE OF FREEDOM
BY THE RIGHT OF AN EARLIER CREATION Mortie scratched the side of his head and groaned, trying to remember what happened, but more than that, where he was. He felt strangely nauseous. His tongue was rough, tasted thick and fuzzy; the last thing he remembered was the drink she’d brought him. That had to have been when they were in the restaurant. But where was he now? He thought he could sense the steady rocking motion of a train, hear the piercing whine of the steel wheels on the tracks—he could even feel the cracks where one length of track met the other—Click-clack, Click-clack—like the stuttering limp of some Ancient Mariner.
By ben woestenburg3 years ago in Fiction