Big Hearts Big Moments

Submitted into Contest #27 in response to: Write a short story that takes place on a train.... view prompt

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Of course a plane ride home to Edinburgh would be faster. That's of course if you have the ability to blend in a crowd.  If this were any other day Dave would gladly take a flight home. Heck, he would pay the extra 200 Pounds to travel first class. But today was not one of those days. Just yesterday his face was plastered all over London, on every news channel imaginable  and every Facebook page. He is a Cardiac surgeon at one of the best hospitals in the city.

  Everything about his life was normal, if not spectacular until the police came to the hospital and  tried to arrest him. This morning, before Dave went on his rounds to see his patients he noticed the flashing red and blue lights in front of the hospital. He looked out the window of the cardiology wing and noticed all of the squad cars and paddy wagons. The staff and patients were all equally confused on why so many police officers were swarming the main lobby . Dave knew that there were that many officers because they are  here for one thing. 

   They  must have found evidence that he is running one of the largest medical schemes in England.  Dave knew that his expense taste and greed would bite him in the ass one of these days. He does make good money by being a surgeon but even with that salary he could never afford the life he really wanted. He found out that some  of the other doctors in the hospital wanted more as well. It was very hard not to be envious of the rich patients that he treated on a daily basis. He colluded with many of these doctors to give prescriptions to patients who did not need them but became addicted to them. He was able to work with his buddy Eddie in the hospital pharmacy to join in and convince patients to go this pharmacy over the others.  The pharmacist would sell these prescription drugs at a premium and split the profit between themselves and the doctors. This racket makes a serious profit and is able to keep Dave living the high life.  

Luckily for Dave he was able to  get out before the police could catch him. He couldn't go to his flat  because that would be the first place the police would look for him. After thinking about what he could do, he remembers that his family has a summer house in Edinburgh. No one would be there as it is winter.  Dave made his way across the city to Paddington train station. He was able to get a cheap economy seat on the national rail train up north. The journey would take place in the English and Scottish countryside so there would not be any reliable phone service. No one on the train could look at the news and see who he was.  Once he got on the train he found his seat, pulled up his hood and went to sleep.

Dave was able to get a solid two hours of sleep after the train departed the station. He was still groggy from all the events that happened in the past twenty four hours.  He needed to think about what he was going to do now. He felt happy that there was no one sitting next to him. He thought to himself that he has some sense of space. 

The news mostly hit Scotland by now and even when Dave got to the city he would still need to keep his head down until he got to his family home.  He wasn't sure what happened to Eddy, his business partner . Eddy was a smart bloke but Dave had no idea if he was able to get out in time. Dave did not have the luxury to think about that now. He had to make sure that nobody on the train recognized him.  There are not that many people on the train but still anything can happen.

 As Dave looked around the train carriage he saw a group of young people clustered together.  He thought they might be university students. A young family behind him, an older woman with a young child and some businessmen typing away on their laptops.  Nobody seemed to be paying attention to him and that was for the best. 

Dave curled up in his chair so that he could sleep for the rest of the trip. All of a sudden there is a huge bang in the train carriage. He turned over and saw a young woman down on the floor. Her breathing is very shallow and she is gripping her chest. Her face is turning red and she is barely moving. Her friends circle around her and they are calling her name. One of the friends tries to press the emergency button but they are not sure where it is.  The other passengers turn around and look at the commotion. 

Dave thought to himself “DAMN”. He was trying to have a quiet trip up north but this had to happen. But the doctor incense in him made him jump into action. As the young woman’s friends are asking around if there is a doctor or nurse onboard,  Dave got up and said yes he is a doctor. He grabbed his bag and went over to the woman’s side. He took off her coat, made her lie down and chew on a baby aspirin. He managed to calm her down and keep her heart stable. One of the other people on the train managed to find the emergency button for help. As Dave stayed with the young woman, he was able to keep her and everyone else calm. 

They pulled into the closest station so that emergency services were able to get her off and into an ambulance.  After waiting for about an hour for the train to pull out of the station, Dave returned to his seat . Unbeknownst to Dave he felt someone staring at him. He turned over and saw the young students from earlier crowding around him. They started thanking him and asking his name . If they could buy him a drink later . They tried introducing themselves to him and asking where he worked. The people on the train wanted selfies and to take pictures. Normally the egotistic Dave would be super excited about the attention but today he just wanted to be alone.

After having some small talk and telling everyone that he did not like having his picture taken, Dave was able to drive the people to go back to their seats. Fortunately for him, this allowed the time to pass quickly and the train was pulling into Waverley station in Edinburgh. 

Dave pulled his hood back on and took a quick look around for cops. All he saw were mostly passengers walking around in their own worlds. He needs to get off the train and away from these people or anyone who might recognize him. As he was preparing to get off the train, He knew that he was not off the hook and that he needed to get to safety before he could make any other move. Before the sliding entrance door opened the young university student came up to him again and tried to persuade him on getting a celebratory drink as he helped their friend. Dave insisted that he really can not as he needed to go to the hospital. The minute the door opened he busted out and drove deep into the crowd of voyagers. This moment would make his a mark on his life because for the foreseeable future as he would be a fugitive for who knows how long. 



February 08, 2020 03:27

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2 comments

Suzanne Kiraly
10:49 Feb 13, 2020

A good premise for your story, Manon and quite believable in terms of the corrupt world we live in, driven by greed. Also, the notion that this man would have to be a fugitive for the rest of his life is a satisfying ending in terms of karma! But may I make a couple of suggestions for the writing? Firstly, the need for consistency in the tenses you use. You tend to change tenses a few times which interferes with clarity. Secondly, I think that the character of your protagonist could come through more by showing, rather than telling. We know ...

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Manon Jean
12:17 Feb 14, 2020

Hello Suzanne, Thank you for your comments. I really appreciate it. I want to get better with my writing so I am happy for honest feedback.

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