The Hell Train

“WHERE’S MY BABY?!”

The train roared over Nala’s scream. Metal banged against metal. The engine’s smoke buried the train in a black coffin. The cars twisted and jerked crazily. Windows framed an ashen sky.

A young woman trembled on the floor. Her dark hair, a noose around her neck. Her azure eyes flitted from side to side. She clenched her fists and squeezed her eyes shut.

“WHERE IS SHE?!”

Nala crawled in between the broken, wooden seats. Brown shards pierced her fingers. Blood trickled down her arm like the serpent of temptation. As Nala scrambled on the old carpet, a dark mist flooded the train. Nala fell back. The substance warped around her in an odd coldness. A cavernous voice emerged from the ocean of darkness.

“You have sinned Nala.”

Nala shook her head. Her small frame shuddered.

“You have sinned,” it repeated.

Chains shot up from the ground and cuffed Nala down. All her appendages were restrained. She wriggled and squirmed. The shadow congregated above her face. Nala choked on the coldness.

“Remember Nala.”

Shattered images flickered in Nala’s irises, featuring a film of tragedy.

A night at the mercy of silenced moonlight. A cabinet gorged with toxins. A hand cupped with drugs. An empty bottle. Cries of a baby. Red. Blue. Cold.

Nala gasped. Tears welled up in Nala’s eyes. She was no more. She was gone. And her baby no longer had a mother.

The train continued to rattle. The chains melted away. Nala lied there.

“Where am I going?” she whispered.

“Hell.”

Nala slowly sat up. She stared at the lines on her hands. Which etching had detailed this end? Which line collided so horribly? When she looked up, she screamed.

Cocooned corpses hung from the train’s ceiling. Their necks divulged bone with rotten flesh. Tears erupted from eyes. What was this nightmare?

The dark figure materialized before her once more.

“Hell is your destination.”

Nala shook her head.

“No. No. No!”

The figure remained before her.

“You know what you’ve done.”

Nala tried to avert her eyes from the mass of black and the suspended graveyard. But it was all around her. She could not even escape her own stench of death.

Nala looked out the window. They were not grounded. The train was traveling on crooked tracks above the clouds. She truly was not a part of the mortal world.

She sighed heavily. All she could do was pray her daughter somehow led a happy and fruitful life. Her husband was a loving man. Surely, he was a great father to their daughter. Surely, he was.

When Nala turned back, the dark figure was still before her.

“I understand,” Nala stated. “I know where I am going.”

The figure loomed.

Nala angled her head to discern its features somehow.

“But is my family alright?”

“Nala,” the figure boomed, “your sins do NOT end with you.”

A horrific sensation crept up Nala’s throat. It wrapped itself around her neck.

“What do you mean?” she choked.

The figure began to sweep away.

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN?!”

The figure paused. It seemed to glance Nala’s way.

“Your daughter’s time has come.”

Another reel of images flashed across Nala’s eyes. A beautiful young girl excelled her way through life. She was elected in many leadership roles. She donned several graduation robes. A young man surprised the girl with a diamond ring. She smiled brightly, but there seemed to be a sadness in her eyes. The man inquired what was wrong. She cried. She said her mother was not there to see her get married.

Nala bawled. What was she thinking that night?! Was it worth it? What was even the reason? She had left the most important person, Kereta Api, in the world alone. How could she even call herself a mother?

“Wait,” Nala muttered to the shadow. It emerged.

“May I see her wedding?” A silence ensued.

“Please?”

The shadow crept close towards Nala. “You will see her end.”

Was this the punishment?

“NO!” Nala shrieked. “She didn’t do anything!” Nala strived to bargain. “Ok. Ok. I don’t have to see her wedding. But please. Please. Don’t punish her for what I did.”

The figure remained unfazed. “You will see.” With that it disappeared.

Nala could not feel her legs. Every part of her body was numb. She punched her thighs. She had to get up. She had to.

Nala dug her fingers into a seat nearby.

With all her strength, she lifted herself to her full height. She withdrew a deep breath. She took a step. A whine slipped from her lips. It was as if she was dragging the train with her stride. She took another step. Her fingers were bleeding threads of blue and red as she supported herself on the seat frames.

Walking, another reel stopped her in her tracks. In the vignette of her vision, she saw a mortal train track. A small red car was parked right on the tracks. Somehow, it was familiar. Nala looked closer. A young girl was bawling in the driver’s seat. It was her daughter.

“NOOOO!”

Nala didn’t know how, but her transportation was going to bulldoze into her flesh and blood. A sudden cloud appeared near Nala’s ears.

“There’s nothing you can do.”

Nala shook her head vigorously. “I won’t let her meet my end!”

With some unknown strength, Nala’s steps became faster. Screams continuously erupted from her throat. She was going to stop this.

Suddenly, the train jerked. It descended like a madman on a skyscraper. The world flipped on Nala. She tumbled violently towards the head of the snake. The scenery outside warped from the dismal backdrop to shining daylight. Nala gaped. They were almost to the living world. There wasn’t time to waste.

In her ears, Nala could hear the girl crying. She was banging her fists into the steering wheel. Nala bit her lip. She had destroyed her daughter’s happiness.

Nala got up once more and propelled herself forward. As the train spiraled downwards, it ignited. Sickening azure and crimson flames engulfed Nala. It began to melt her flesh, welding it into the train. She let go of the seats and ran. The train landed on the mortal tracks. Gravel and debris shot about the vehicle. Nala was knocked onto her back. She shrieked. Her jaw fell away from her skull. The flames would not let her go.

Burning, Nala stood. She glanced at a broken window. It beckoned her. She leapt out and held onto the exterior of the train. The red car was in sight. Nala let go of the train. The wind drove her forward. She grasped ahold of the snake’s head. She was now a skeleton on fire.

Nala dug her enamel ankles into the tracks. Her body was cracking deliberately. The train showed no sign of stopping. With some miracle, her throat thundered a final cry.

“KERETA API!”

Black clouds. Tracks in the sky. Nooses in cars. The Hell Train crazily swiveled. A pile of ash began to sprinkle away. A dark figure hovered above the pile. Ash to bone. Bone to muscle. Muscle to flesh. Nala lay on the floor.

She jerked away.

“WHERE IS MY BABY?!”

A deep chuckle echoed in the train.

“A Wedding.”