On The Railway Station (Waiting For A Runaway Train)

Preamble

Although this mentions Runaway Trains it was not originally for the current Vocal Challenge, just an idea I had after a particularly unsuccessful day in so many ways, and apparently, it was all my fault. C’est La Vie. If something bad happens and I am involved then I always end up taking the blame. And that influenced this story.

On The Station

It is four in the morning and you are on the station platform, well a station platform, it’s platform thirteen. You look at your watch then up at the roman numerals on the station clock and that confirms the time is right. The digital readouts all match up.

You don’t know why you are here, was it to catch a train or to meet someone? It is unnaturally quiet.

You can see everything you need to see, you have your watch and phone and there is a bench and a drink machine, so you won’t die of thirst. The machine also has crisps and chocolate so you won't starve either.

Although it is four in the morning you don’t know how long you have been there waiting.

There is the sound of a klaxon and a minute later a train goes through slow enough for you to see it has no driver and no passengers, almost like a runaway train, but maybe it is being controlled remotely. It wasn’t stopping so it probably isn’t the one you were waiting for, that’s if you were waiting for a train.

You decide to find someone to speak to but see an information phone on the station wall so pick the phone up and ring the number (instructions say “Call 1-2-3”, it’s an old push button phone) and after five minutes you give up. The phone just rings.

You wander down the platform but when you stop you are where you started even though you have walked for ten minutes.

No more trains though, and dawn has not made the slightest appearance though the Dawn Chorus is more than insistent and noisy.

You search through your pockets and wallet, and you have no paper tickets. You check your phone, no sign of an e-ticket or you having bought a ticket in your email or on the trainline app.

It’s still grey and dark and you don’t know where the entry is or even which station you are on. You think you can see figures, shadow-formed figures almost ghost-like, on the opposite platform. Hailing them brings no answer. This is worrying.

It’s not hot or cold, and you are alright but something is wrong.

Another klaxon, another driverless, possible runaway train goes past, but wait a minute, it might have been the same train that went by earlier. Could that mean it is just going around an effectively circular track?

You decide to cross the line but you look and the track layout is crawling with snakes. You didn’t see that coming. You follow the platform around and after about an hour you are back where you started.

Time and space don’t seem right here.

Nothing seems right here.

You pull out your phone to call…

To call who?

Your phone has no numbers and you cannot remember anyone's numbers.

You are slowly coming to terms with the fact you are stuck here with no chance of escape. This is not how you imagined hell to be, but realise that it is still four in the morning and it is still grey and dark.

In The Morgue:

“Aye died of a heart attack, not a nice guy, no family and the council had been trying to evict him for the last three months. That’s saved their legal team a job, I think he probably went to hell”