The Girl and The Train

The train’s horn chimes in a double beat as a deep cloud of smoke disperses from the train’s chimney stack as it glides across the train’s tracks. The locomotive is a dark black matte, with a wooden cargo ensuite. The train’s vibrations from the tracks are loud and quick. With the movement intensifying it jolts my body from a deep sleep. My eyes begin to flutter and my head slowly circles as I try to orient where I am. I try to move my body but I realize that my hands are tied behind my back and my legs are bound with rope. My mouth is taped shut with duct tape. I look around and I slowly realize that I’m on a train.

“Where am I,” I murmured to myself and continued to look around. It hurts to move my mouth so I stop speaking.

The cargo is dark yet moist, but I can see shadows of other people tied like me with the light from the tiny cracks in the wood. I’m scared but I don’t react. I don’t know where I am or how I got here.

Ok, say to myself, let’s play a game of who, where, why, and how. I know that I’m on a train and there are others who are tied up. I have no memory of how I got here or why I’m here. I think to myself, you cannot react. You don’t know who is here and why you're tied up. I continue to take stock of my surroundings so I can try to piece together how I got here. Being calm and collected is my only chance of survival.

I begin to inch my body closer to the back wall of the cargo train. This wall has tiny cracks of light, and the beams can help me figure out more details. Once I reach the back, I hear voices. They are coming from the cargo behind me. It’s muffled but it sounds like two males are having a conversation. I want to know more, so I place my ear as close to the wall as I can.

It’s muffled and it’s hard to hear with the train moving. I can hear tidbits of a broken conversation.

I make out the words: poison, raped her, sell her body for parts. It’s so hard to hear the full conversation, but I start to imagine what they did to me before putting me on this train.

I sat there, stunned and disgusted. I feel violated but I know it’s not time to cry. I have to stay strong, if I want to get off this train. With the tiny beams of light, I see others but they look dead on this train. There's no movement in their eyes and their skin looks bruised. The reality that I may die sets in, but I cannot let it stop me. I have to get out of this train. I have to get out. I have never been religious but I start to pray.

Please god, please help me get out. I promise I will go to church, I will give back to my community, I’ll do anything to get out of this train. But I’ve got to stay calm and I remind myself that I’ve got to stick to the facts. I need to untie my hands. How will I untie my hands? I need to find something to loosen the ropes. I take assessment of the dark cargo, there has to be a door, which means there must be a hook or knob. I continue to scoot slowly in case my captures decide to check this cargo.

It seems like an eternity, but I found the door. My legs are tied, but I can still kneel and raise myself slightly. I can feel the knob against my back and I shimmy my arms and hands around it. Slowly the rope begins to loosen. It’s a miracle but my hands are free. I want to cry but I know I can’t. I have to stay strong, if I want to survive. With my hands free, I can untie my legs.

I have to be careful, I don’t know if they will check this cargo or if the train will stop. I keep the rope near in case I need to pretend I’m tied up. I begin to pray again.Thank you God, for allowing me to find the knob and being able to untie myself. Please allow me to escape this cargo without my abductors finding me.

With my body free, I make my way back to the crack in the wood. I take one final look and ask myself the following question, what type of cargo am I? Are my abductors in the same cargo? Does their cargo have windows? If I make a jump for it, will they see me?

The crack is so small, it’s hard to see the details of the other cargo. I start to get anxious, my stomach begins to cramp and my palms start to sweat. I reason with myself to try and calm myself down. I take a deep breath, if I jump from a moving train, they won’t be able to find me because the train will be moving. By the time it takes them to jump off the train, there will be enough distance between us. I have to get off this train. If I want to live, I need to make my way back to the door. I need to open it and get on the ledge between the cargos. Once I’m in that tiny space between the cargos, I can jump to the tracks.

But once I jump, what do I do after? I have no identification card and the only thing I can remember is being on this train. I suppose I’m getting a fresh start, but is this the beginning I want? To be a girl who escaped death after being tied up on a train. I don’t know anything about myself. I want to cry but it’s not time for emotions. I’ve got to get off this train.

As I make my way to the door, I tell myself it’s now or never. I grab the handle and pry it loose. I can see the space in between the next cargo. The train is moving fast, I can feel the wind blow against my body. My hair is sticking straight up, as I fight to stand against the powerful gusts of wind. I grab the hand rail and step out on the black stairway.

I take a deep breath, “One, two, three” I say quietly as I jump off the black stairway. Once I’m in the air,I take a deep breath and right as I’m about to land, the train whistles right as my alarm begins to go off. I woke up suddenly and in shock. Where am I? I think to myself, I touch my face and my body. I Look around slowly and I realize that in my bed. I’m in the same apartment I’ve had for years. I shiver and tell myself. It wasn’t real, it was just a dream.