The Last Passenger So, she hopped on the train. Although, she was not the only one…

It was just about midnight when Maya walked down the stairs. There were very few people at the station, just the noise of the wind blowing the old newspapers on the floor. The train rolled in, which was the last time that night, and it was not easy to see as its lights made their way through the dark. Maya tightly hugged her coat around herself and entered the nearest carriage.

The girl knew that the train would be a bit full, but upon entering, it was discovered to be completely empty. All the seats were unoccupied, and the lights were off. The air was even moving. Maya stood still for a few seconds and then walked to the window and took her seat. The doors gave a soft whoosh as they closed after her, and the train got into motion.

At first, Maya felt relief. She had to work late and happened to miss her usual train. Now, she was the only passenger in an entire compartment. She took the book out, and she thought to herself that the silence was too loud. There was not the least whisper of people, no one walking, nor any announcement. It was only she and the hum of the train.

After a few minutes, she observed something peculiar. The train was rushing without halting at any stations. The train crossed one station, then two, without any intention to slow down. The woman got her forehead creased and looked at the window closely, but the signs were smeared and unclear. Nothing was to happen. Maybe the train changed the schedule or just decided to run express for these hours.

That being said, something appeared to be out of place.

She then made up her mind to go and find the conductor or anybody else that would listen. Maya got up and walked to the front of the carriage. The next car was just as empty. She continued on her way, going through two more cars. Still no one. No conductor, no passengers, nothing.

Maya’s heart was beating fast. Her footsteps had a loud sound. She decided to come back, but she did not stop. All of a sudden, she heard something after her.

A soft thud.

She stopped still.

“Hello, my friend? She cried with a trembling voice.

No one said anything.

She spun while gazing into the void. No one was there in the aisle. Probably, it was only the train moving. She ranted that she should not be so weird and inhaled deeply. Yet inside, something was altered. The atmosphere became colder. Tougher. She hugged tightly and walked on.

Five carriages in, she abruptly halted at the door.

There was somebody in the last seat at the end.

It was a man who was clad in black and was turned away from her. His back was very straight. He did not budge, did not swing, did not even breathe. Maya was speechless. Where did he come from? That was her very thought as she had walked from the car without encountering anyone.

She tried to open up her throat and moved forward. “Excuse me,” she spoke, her voice be little wobbly. “Could you please tell me what the next station we will pass is?”

Sorry, no response.

She took another step.

The man slightly but barely turned his head enough so that she could see that his face was pale and… wrong. His eyes didn’t blink. His expression didn’t change.

Maya inched away slowly. She then turned and ran as quickly as she could to the first carriage, her legs still in motion. There seemed to be a rush in the way she was moving. She didn’t reach a stop until the place she was in was the same she had entered from. She picked up her phone.

No signal.

She tried, once more.

Nothing.

She gazed out the window. The night looked even darker, as if the train had left the city. The fields and the trees were static and did not move; they seemed to have been painted onto the glass.

She sat down and tried to relax. Maybe the man was a traveler who had missed a previous train. Maybe he was sleeping with his eyes open. Maybe it was all only an odd dream.

The lights flickered.

At once, Maya looked up.

They were without any light in the train for a flash of a second.

The light came back, and when the man was standing just in her face, she was scared to death.

Her shouting for attention was loud; thereupon she jumped. The person stood still. Not a single muscle moved. The man’s lips parted slowly, and in tones that had a depth of the well, he said softly, "You're not welcome here."

Maya ran to the door like the wind. She released the emergency brake but in vain. The train did not stop. She was knocking at the door without any result. The man was standing still, but she felt his gaze following her.

After that, with the same suddenness, the lights did not come back on.

Maya shrank into a corner, her heart beating loud. She could not even see the dark, just darkness. and the sound of breathing—just some other person's.

Then there was silence.

The man was gone when the lights flickered on again.

The door to her side creaked and then opened. She turned. A woman in a vintage uniform was standing there in the next carriage. The woman looked puzzled.

"Miss?" the conductor asked softly. "Are you ok?"

Maya looked at her in amazement. "Where were you? I have been walking through this train—there was no one. And… there was a man…"

The conductor nodded. "You are the only passenger on this train tonight."

"No, I saw him. I also talked to him," Maya said very assuredly. "He was strictly against my presence here!"

The conductor displayed another look on his face. It did not seem quite like the fear in his expression before but rather something similar to sorrow. He nodded, but it was quite slow, as if he was cooperating and, at the same time, as if trying to be the one who was remembering something.

"That man... he used to take this train every day. It was many years ago. Unfortunately, he met his death by accident on the same line here," she said with wide open eyes, partly in tears of her voice and partly in tears of her eyes. Meanwhile, Maya began to feel cold again.

"They say...sometimes," the conductor said, "he comes back when the train is between the stations. When no one is there. To give a prescription warning to the traveler."

"Warn them of what?" Maya wanted to know in a whisper.

Eyeing the woman, the conductor said, "Sometimes, the last train doesn’t take you home."

Without any warning, the train stopped. But a moment later, the doors opened with a hiss.

When Maya looked outside, she saw that she had arrived at her station. The city lights were shining in the distance.

She quickly glanced behind her, but the conductor had disappeared.

Without hesitation, she left. Running down the train, her heart was racing, and she was afraid to look back. The doors shut as she came off, and the train went off into the dark.

While she was on the platform with her breath labored, she made a realization:

She had never felt so happy to get out of a train in her entire life.

Starting from that night, Maya always made sure to take the second-to-last train.