The Waterloo Eight

The Waterloo Eight

Prologue

A five coach train departed from Waterloo station at 12:48 with 8 passengers on board, two of which were children and one a pregnant woman. It was an overground driverless train, there were no TFL staff on board. The train was scheduled to arrive at vauxhall at 12:52- it never did. It has been 3 weeks since the incident and experts are still not sure what happened. No parts of the train have been found and the police are presuming them dead. The passengers were:

Rose Dedris

Cori Adams

Liam Brown

Karver Agrinya

Sutton Leroux

Lola Keita

James Keita

And Sebastian Garcia

Rest in peace The Waterloo Eight. We hope to find you soon.

Sutton

"Can you just shut the fuck up for a second!" 

She shouts down the phone while tapping her oyster card on the reader, the voice on the phone replies but she doesn't listen. 

"And now you're gonna make me miss my train- I hope you're fucking happy," she continues as she barges past people, running for the train. She makes it with a second to spare and the doors nearly trap her bag- a mini chanel one which can't fit more than a phone, if that. The air on the train was different to the station, it felt lighter, almost sterile as if she was walking into a hospital. 

"Are you even listening to what I'm saying? Jesus Christ you are impossible!" The man on the phone must have been talking.

She pauses, the air clinging to her tongue. "Who?" 

"What?" The man on the other end asks, anger seething through his voice. The phone says his name is Tom. 

"Jesus- I don't remember that name," She says blankly.

The man, or Tom, chuckles dryly, "We're done," 

The line disconnects and the phone locks, immediately demanding a password which momentarily leaves her mind- whatever, it will come back to her. 

Aspen

A boy sits in the middle of coach 2, quiet, observant, his mind blank at what he can only assume to be the worst possible time. A black hoodie is draped over his skinny torso, making him seem bigger than he is and the ends of baggy acid-washed jeans pool on the dirty train floor. His leg bounces up and down. Probably a thing I do when I'm nervous he thinks or when I've just lost my memory. Among nervous and confused, the boy is logical- no one loses their memory just by getting on a train right? After careful consideration he comes to the conclusion that he's just a hypochondriac and that everything will come back to him in a bit- no need to panic. Although that is kind of hard when harsh, explicit music roars into your ears. He reaches to take off the headphones but decides against it- after all it could be an insight to his identity or jog his memory.

With each song the boy grows more concerned, each one describes a tragic circumstance, often featuring abuse and a lack of self preservation. His hand clutches his wrist and he starts drawing little circles with his fingers- probably another nervous habit.

He receives a text: “Hey Aspen! What time are you arriving?”

So my name is Aspen. ok . 

He watches a couple come on the train, at the station they had been flirting and making out. The two boys couldn't have been more than 20- only a couple years older than me, he thought, although it was quickly followed by, I can't even remember my name let alone my age. He watches them enter the train doors holding hands,

"Oh I'm sorry," the taller one says, swiftly recoiling his hand.

"Oh my gosh I thought you were my..." The other rambles, his skin goes pink as he awkwardly puts his hand in his pocket and searches the platform for his other half.

Their faces are mirrored reflections of confusion and longing before walking off in opposite directions. The taller one moves down towards coaches 3 and 4, the blonde one assesses the carriages before moving on.

Unable to describe what he just witnessed, Aspen takes a deep breath and the harshness of it makes him cough. Something isn't right.

Cori

Adrenaline carries her to the station, it taps her card on the reader, it also makes sure it's the right card, the one he doesn't know about, adrenaline also gets her on the train and immediately to a bathroom in coach 1, it locks the door. She's safe. 

She crashes, reducing to a huddled, crying mess on the floor with an overwhelming sense of relief washing over her. Still shaking, she attempts to slow her breathing and takes note of the chemical air. Once calm, she looks in the mirror. A teary eyed, malnourished woman, with a mess of bleach blonde hair looks back at her. She stops- as does her heart. Are you not supposed to recognise yourself? Is this what happens when you run away from...

From...

How could she not remember? Her heart had been pounding so hard on her rib cage it could have snapped- you don't just forget what causes that. Do you? Maybe a PTSD thing. She tells herself although she has forgotten what even that means, it's ok that's got to be it. Either way she's not going out of the bathroom looking like this. She fixes herself up, almost stoically and decides that it doesn't matter what she was running from. This is the start of her new life.

Sebastian 

A kid lays on the chairs of coach 5, his small body and all his belongings are sprawled out across four of them. He had fallen asleep almost immediately as he sat down and is now snoring loudly. His dark curly hair covers the majority of his face but it's obvious that no one on the carriage is his family. His olive skin contrasts to the tanned complexion of the people on the next table who stare awkwardly at each other and the boy. Painfully aware of the chemicals in the air.

Lola/ James

She had been laughing when she had walked in and is now sitting at a table in coach 5, across from a guy who had also been chuckling. His smile falters as he momentarily takes in the air but keeps up the act hoping that the woman will say something. She doesn't but she retraces her steps in her mind, discovering that she cannot remember anything beyond the train doors. 

"What stop are we getting off at again?" She asks the man cheerfully, assuming that they knew each other.

He looks at the map and then to the girl. A red bow contains her afro and a 'baby on board' badge is pinned onto her white jumper. She can't be less than around 30 weeks, fuck, he thinks, what if we were on our way to the hospital? In an attempt to buy himself time, he tells her to get some rest and that he'll wake her up at their stop. She obliges, eager to relax for a bit. 

Sutton 

She had sat down at a table seat on coach 5 which is empty aside from her, but she can see a man approaching. He has braids tied into knots which complement his strong facial structure and many black earrings that almost blend into his skin tone. Despite being tall and broad he has himself closed off, with an uncertain and slightly fearful expression plastered on his face. Normally Sutton would ignore him, minding her own business but she has forgotten her phone password and is bored out of her mind. 

“Are you ok?” She gestures for him to sit in front of her.

He does, instantly switching to a relaxed smile, “Yes! I’m..” 

He trails off and scans the coach for a word. Unable to do so, he chuckles awkwardly. “Sorry- I’m not good with names, even my own!”

Sutton uses this as an opportunity, as she doesn't remember hers either, “I suppose there would be no point in telling you mine then- how has your day been?”

“Good! I'm excited about making this trip, I just want to relax, you know?”

“I feel you,” Sutton sighs, “things have been so stressful lately”

“Tell me about it,” He leans back and sighs, he has a slight accent but Sutton can't quite put her finger on it.

Cori 

Her luggage is safely tucked away on the rack above, just in her periphery.  Something tells her she should have them closer but her carriage is almost empty. She observes a man walking over, young, blonde and with a smile that makes her heart falter. He glances at a piece of paper and puts it back in his pocket. His grey eyes lock onto hers as he approaches.

“Hi, I’m Liam,” He states naturally as he sits on the seat across from her.

“Cori,” She remembers from her ticket.

Small talk is hard with amnesia but the two of them lie through their teeth, casually and effectively. Neither one expects a thing. 

Midway through the conversation Liam places his hand on Cori’s leg, originally laughing at a joke however he hasn't taken it off. She continues talking, her mind assuming that it's normal. But her body flicks between familiarity and fear, tensing up. She can't figure out what is causing this reaction.

Sebastian 

Suddenly, the child woke up, quite comically uprooting all of his belongings. Flailing limbs and a piercing scream fill the actinic air, alerting the whole train. Lola and James are by his side in an instant, attempting to comfort him. He stops screaming when his voice gives out but still refuses to let anyone near; unsure of who to trust when waking up on a random train with no memory. 

Eventually he calms down after Lola shows him some breathing exercises. He attempts to communicate but isn't speaking a language the others can understand. 

Karver

The blonde woman he was with leaps up at the cries and instantly darts down the train, Karver follows. She begins to look for something in her blazer pockets but mutters ‘oh forget it,’. They make it to the source of the noise and apparently the whole train had the same idea because everyone is now in coach 5. Karver counts the people: the girl he was with, the blonde guy from earlier, the crying kid, a skinny looking girl, a man in glasses, wearing a turtleneck and a woman who looks exactly the same, adorning a ‘baby on board’ badge. That makes seven including himself but Karver had seen another kid earlier. With massive headphones over his fluffy black hair. 

Once everything is settled they all sit down, the difference being that everyone is together. Despite none of them saying a word, the air holds a sense of secrecy and tension.  

Aspen

Aspen takes his bag and hides out in the nearest bathroom, the adults are trying to console the kid but he doesn't care for it. There are too many people out there anyway. He sits on the floor, leaning on the wall adjacent to the sink, hyper aware of the filth he's just sat on. He looks through his bag in which lie tons of school books, each one depicted with the name 'Rose Dedris' and a school subject underneath. He clutches the books confused, is my name not Aspen? Was the text meant for someone else? Well that's what he'd been calling himself for the past 20 mins so there's no going back now. Hidden by the plethora of exercise books, a small black notebook makes its way into Aspen's gloved hands. It's thick and totalled, unable to be closed fully with the art bursting out of it. His hands trace the rim and a wave of familiarity washes over him. The first page is simple; a page divided into 5 equal rows of pink, blue, white and then blue and pink again with the name Aspen written in the middle. Other pages included drawings and almost incomprehensible, scribbled notes. One notably clear one was ‘TAKE YOUR MEDS’ but Aspen shrugged it off, unsure of the meaning.

James

Silence floods the carriage as they wait for the next stop. James notes the unusual speed at which the train is heading but doesn't dare disturb the quiet- especially since he has no idea what an acceptable speed for a train is. It does seem to be going too fast though. The plain grassy scenery goes by extremely quickly but the lack of civilization is apparent. They really are in the middle of nowhere. It's unsettling- and James is not the only one to notice it. 

An hour goes by, it feels like minutes. We should have stopped by now, or seen something at least.

James nudges his sister (he had checked their tickets and found out their names). 

“Lola,” He whispers, “Can I talk to you?”

“Of course, what's up?” She replies and they leave to find another coach.

“Something isn't right here, I can't remember anything at all,”

Lola replies with a look of relief mixed with dismay, the two emotions being perfectly portrayed in a single glance.

 “I don't remember anything either,”

Sutton 

A wave of anxiety washes over her. Something about everyone being together seems unnerving, she's starting to notice little things about the people and even the train itself. Things that make her stomach drop- after all that's the only feeling you can rely on if your memories fail.

Glasses and red ribbon lady leave, they come back suspicious and unsettled.

The blonde guy is analysing everybody, so is the thin, pale woman.

Headphone boy has his knees to his chest and the little kid is on the verge of tears. Again. 

Sitting in those chairs makes her nauseous so she walks up the carriages in an attempt to get some fresh air; she is met with a chemical taste. Eventually she makes it to the last carriage. The sign on the final door says ‘driver area- authorised personnel only’.

It doesn't take her long to get in. 

The moment her foot entered the room, Sutton was met with the overwhelming compulsion to leave. She could feel something crawling up her spine and her vision slowly decreasing. She knows that she needs to get out before she loses consciousness- losing consciousness? What does that even mean? She doesn't know but she trusts her intuition. She attempts to take a step back but something won’t let her; the view is too interesting. A train travelling at 300 mph by itself on an endless track is not something you see every day, Sutton doesn't know too much but this she can guarantee.

The grassland grows darker and darker until it fades to black.

Aspen

I want to get off I want to get off I-

The blonde guy interrupts his thoughts by sitting next to him. Close. Too close. Aspen immediately moves to sit across from him, already done with the situation. 

“What do you want?” He darts, taking off his headphones.

“Woah,” Liam puts his hands up in mock surrender, “I just want to talk- and I doubt we’re anywhere near our next stop,” he gestures to the window which depicts an endless field of grass. 

Aspen is too tired for this, he had used up his social battery talking to Cori and, as ruthless as it sounds, couldn't care less about this Liam guy.

But he keeps talking. Aspen isn't  listening too closely but what he can hear is disconcerting. 

“If I didn't know any better, I’d think you were trying to pin me against Cori,” Aspen speaks calmly trying to jerk a reaction, “and the others for that matter,” He is unsure if this is real or a product of his overstimulated mind.

“I’m just saying watch out- they all seem to be hiding something,” Liam has a smirk that lights a flame in Aspen's stomach, a horrible mix of manipulative and nonchalant.

“Why don't you tell all this to your boyfriend?” He quips, it’s a low blow and something he wasn't even going to mention but Liam scares him.

He chuckles dryly, running a hand through his hair, “So you saw that,”

“Saw how you instantly forgot who your boyfriend was? Yeah- I saw that,”

Liam sighs and rolls his eyes, it feels ingenuine, he is hiding something.

“So I guess you know then,” He smirks, leaning back and folding his arms.

“I guess I do,”