The Ghost Train

The cat danced down the sidewalk, singing a happy song as he followed the biking mouse. The sun shone brightly as he passed a game of golf played by flamingos and rabbits, still singing along to a tune in his head. The biking mouse screamed in fright, tripping over a caterpillar and ending his tea party. The cat stopped, did a pirouette, and pounced on the mouse. He lifted him high over his open mouth and-

Kathryn woke up screaming. She sat there, panting and catching her breath as she clutched the arm of her seat tightly. Calmly, she took in her surroundings, glancing around the cabin of the train…wait, a train? She was on a train? She quickly patted herself down, searching every pocket she had for a ticket, or a wallet, or her phone, but she found nothing. Nothing at all. What happened? How did she get on this train?

Kathryn rushed to the window, staring out the window. The city seemed to be a blur or lights, streamlined and blended together. She could make out no discernable shapes or words to get a sense as to where she was or what the buildings were, and fear grew inside of her. The only thing she could see was the direction the train was going. Standing up, she decided to find the front of the train, and hopefully find someone to help her with her burning questions. She wasn’t going to find any answers staring out the window.

Kathryn walked up to the door to the cabin and opened it, sliding it to the left. It was emerald green, but it shone pale and cold in the dim light, and the pattern was diamonds, reminding Kathryn of scales. The door hissed as it opened, and the window opened, showing one big yellow eye, with a thin and hostile iris. Kathryn screamed and slammed the door shut, moving into the next cabin. She quickly backed away from the door she closed, and moved closer to the other side of the car. Backing up, she felt a breeze on her neck. She turned slowly, shaking in fear.

What she saw was tall, wearing a top hat and a monocle sitting perfectly in his empty right eye socket. The left eye looked at her, dead and pale as his wispy white hair hung down in front of face, blowing in the non existent wind. His jaw hung low, dislocated from his skull, and his hands and feet dragged against the floor when he moved. He slowly floated towards her, an eerie green light emitting from him. This she saw clearly in the darkness of the cabin train. Kathryn, terrified, backed away towards the snake door, shrinking in fright as the figure moved slowly closer and closer. She collapsed to the floor, leaning against the snake door, which hissed at her. She closed her eyes and screamed as the arms lifted up and started to wrap around…

Kathryn curled up into a ball, waiting for death to save her from her terror. She sat, shaking and shivering, screaming as loud as she could. She kept screaming, until she opened her eyes and did not see the ghastly figure. He had vanished. She stood up again, inching closer to the engine, hoping to find the conductor or driver of the train. As she drew nearer to the door on the far side of the cabin, she glanced quickly outside. The lights were still streamlined and fast, and she grew dizzy, thinking about how the train would never stop until it ran out of tracks and by then it would be too late. She opened the door, which opened with a groan and a hiss, and as she saw the horrible yellow eye again, she thought about her death and how little she lived her life. She thought about how she rejected her father’s support when she was a teenager, how she refused to communicate with her brothers after the cancer took hold of her mother, how she never sought out a relationship that lasted more than one night, and how she was stuck at that run down coffee shop. She was wasting her life and she needed to do better, for her mother’s sake.

As the snake door shut behind her, Kathryn found the front of the train. Her head was spinning like crazy from fright and she tripped over a chair. She heard a voice, but it was far away and hard to hear, but she saw a figure in a new blurry haze. She feared it was the same top hatted figure from the previous car, so she anxiously collapsed on the floor again, and screamed in blood-curdling terror. The light faded again and she closed her eyes.

This is the end, she thought as she lost consciousness.

A jolt of the train shook her awake. Kathryn jumped up in fear, ready and prepared to strike the top hat figure. She looked around, panicking but slowly began to calm down as she observed the bright cabin. She found she was not alone, for every other seat in the ten row car was filled with passengers, all staring at her with confusion and amazement. She slowly returned to her seat, and examined the outside behind the window pane. Instead of streamlined lights, she saw the lights clearly, seeing every detail and recognizing each unique colour. She sighed with relief, leaning her head back against the chair head.

An incomprehensible announcement came through the overhead, but Kathryn knew that the conductor was saying that the train had reached the end of the line. She reached beneath her seat and grabbed her purse, but caught a glimpse of something slipping out of her purse. She reached down and picked up the strange object.

Well, she thought to herself. I don’t think I will ever try that again. She stood up, following the lead of the other passengers and slipped the joint into the garbage can on her way out.