Subway 15

Maria had gotten abroad on her first subway train. It might seem ordinary to everyone but not to Maria. This subway train wasn’t just a subway train and it wasn’t ordinary. 

10 years ago on this very date, 10 December 1997, this train ran for the last time. It was being decommissioned and not because it was old and was being replaced by a newer model but because over its course it had seen many unexpected deaths. And on this date, on its last run every passenger that was on board had unexpectedly disappeared, never to be seen again. No one knew where all 500 passengers went, even after countless searches there were no clues that could possibly explain this. Since then the government closed the route, closed the train and blocked any and every entrance to the tunnel. 

That is until 10 years later, today on 10 December 2007, it was being reopened. The new government did not see any danger and any mention of supernatural occurrences was shut down before it became an issue. The train was replaced by a newer model and it was advertised to call explorers to ride the train and witness the wonders that had been hidden for a decade. While many fanatics, ghostbusters and theorists bought tickets others were selected for the event. Maria being one of the latter. 

As soon as Maria got on the train she noticed how clean it was, the walls as white as a new sheet of paper and the floors so shiny she could see her reflection. The chairs were comfy and the entire train spacious. But something at the back of her mind still nagged her, she felt as if she needed to get off but she could turn around, she was pushed forward by more passengers getting in. 

“Excuse me!” someone pushed past her making her lose her balance for a second. 

This feeling that nagged at her pushed her to get off and as soon as Maria was able to push past the incoming crowd and get to the gate it closed.

“Everyone please take your seats, we are about to leave” a voice came on the loudspeaker. 

People dispersed and Maria had no choice but to find her seat. She walked past all sorts of individuals; couples, teenagers who were just there for the thrills, men in boring suits, a few in overalls, some wearing high tech headgear and then there was her, a med university student who was forced by her friends to come here. 

She took her seat at the back of the train, she sat next to this individual who was fully hooded and stared at the ground. The train began to move, slowly at first and gradually picked up speed. Maria sat looking out the window in front of her, it was pitch black outside.

“So, it's your first time on subway 15,” the hooded figure asked without looking at Maria.

“Are you asking me?” Maria looked around before she spoke, making sure this individual was talking to her.

“Yes, I’m asking you, your first time?”  his voice low as it was, clearly belonged to a man in his late 30s.

“Yes, I got my ticket in the mail. You?” She tried to keep their conversation light but tried to steer clear of the theories.

“I bought it, lost someone special here once. Came to get closer…” his tone mocking and insulting as he continued “As if something like that really exists.”

They sat in silence after that and Maria tried to focus on something else. This man next to her seemed in pain but also very unwilling to let that pain go. Maria could relate, while she never lost anyone to this train her mother had recently passed away and at home it was as quiet as a cemetery. Her father rarely spoke anymore and her older brother seems to be home less and less everyday. Maria felt alone, university was no better, her friends pitted her. She knew they meant well but they tiptoed around her which was worse.

“Want to know something?” the man spoke again.

“No,” her voice weak, as thinking of her mother made her want to disappear, “I’m good.”

With a heavy sigh he turned to look at her. Maria looked his way, her eyes landing on his very light gray eyes, a scar under his right eye caught her attention and she kept staring.

“I’ll tell you either way, ‘It's not the train you should fear, it’s the destination’ do with this knowledge what you must,” with that he turned away, leaving Maria puzzled. 

He didn’t look her way any more nor did he speak another word. The silence that was once her solace was now being invaded by that one sentence. While she looked calm and collected on the outside, on the inside her mind was running, searching for every possible meaning. 

Did he mean the last stop of this train was something she needed to fear? Was there something in the tunnel?She thought to herself. By this point she had been on the train for more than an hour. The entire ride was supposed to take no longer than two and a half hours. Nothing exceptional had happened and everything seemed to be the same.

“Why did you say that to me?” without realizing what she was doing she questioned the man.

“Everyone came for a reason, you not so much. You might be able to see what they can’t” he pointed towards the other passengers. 

“I don’t understand” Maria looked more puzzled than before.

“Walk around and look at each one of them. You will understand” he pushed her to do as he suggested and Maria got up from her seat. 

The train was too long for her to see in the limited time she had. She stuck to the first two train cars. She went to the very start of the seats, looking both ways and she watched each passenger more closely. The first two seats on the right were taken by a couple who looked like they were in their early 20s. They seemed happy and in love, the girl had her head on the guy's shoulder. On the left a similar couple but this time they had a little baby in their arms. They looked tired but still happy. The next few seats on the right were of a group of school girls, they were talking, probably gossiping, giggling as if the rest of the world didn’t matter. Next to them were a group of older men in overalls and with phones that seemed ancient. They talked away, they were more serious and their voices were no more than whispers.

The right side seemed to be taken up by families, one couple looked off into the distance, they were in black mourning clothes, and the woman held a small urn in her hands. Next to them sat a boy barely 4 years old. He seemed happy and yet small in his formal suit. He looked and smiled at Maria and she smiled back. Next to the boy sat a girl a bit older, clutching her barbie doll she pulled her mother’s sleeve to get her attention.

This went on for the entirety of the two cars, couple and children on one side and groups, friends, theorists on the other. Once she reached the end she noticed the train cars she couldn’t access, which were once bright like her car were not dimly lit. She could barely make out the people there but had this feeling something was off.

“What did you understand?” the man’s voice brought her attention back to her seat.

“Nothing, people as they normally are,” Maria spoke as she took her seat.

“How does a med student not know what looking closely really means,” he chuckled ever so slightly at his own words.

“How…how did you know that I” she began, her heart sank as she came to realize her life could be in danger. This man who she never met knew something about her that she didn’t tell him. Her mind raced back to the people she just saw. She saw them but she couldn’t remember their faces. Except for the boy. She remembers the boy and then looks over to the man. Somehow that innocent smile had turned just as sinister as the man’s words.. 

“That, you are a med student?” his voice low but his tone sinister at the same time, “it's a small world Maria and I do apologize that I kept this from you. But it’s time,” he reached out to take her hand but she moved away. 

“What is happening?” panic fully setting in for Maria.

“You escaped 10 years ago, we are here to take you. You belong with us,” his eyes widened in delight. 

He got up, stood in the middle of the aisle and took off his hood. No one seemed to notice at first as he did this. Come to think of it no one noticed Maria as she walked the two cars except for that one boy. She looked over at the others, their moments similar to before as if they were in a continuous loop. The other cars, now completely dark.

He stared down at her, “It's time Maria,” he explained. At this every other passenger turned to face her, their faces blank as they got up from their seats.

“It’s time…It’s time…It’s time…” everyone chanted. All held the same wide eyed delighted expression as the man.

“It’s time you come home, it's time you join us” the man spoke over the chanting and the people slowly approached Maria’s seat. She remained frozen, unable to move.

Maria wanted to scream, to let the panic explode but no voice came out. The lights dimmed, a hundred hands reached out to her and the last thing she remembered as her world went dark were those light gray eyes, the scar under his right eye and his sadistic grin. And then she screamed.

  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

10 years ago an 8 year old Maria stepped onto subway 15 alone. She sits next to a hooded man who stares at the floor. Maria waits for the train door to close but before they can Maria feels a sudden panic and is unable to breath. A woman notices this and helps her off the train before the doors close. The woman runs back to her own kids. Maria watches as the door closes. The hooded man stares back at her with a smirk.

                                 *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

The floor disappeared from under her feet and Maria toppled over. She landed on her back. Her heart raced, sweat forming droplets on her forehead. Some bystanders rushed towards her and tried to help. Slowly her eyes focused and the bright LEDs that hung a few feet above her came into view. She took someone's hand and got to her feet.

“Subway 15 will leave soon, everyone with a ticket please head towards the gate. Stay behind the yellow line until the doors open. Once inside please find your assigned seats. Thank you for joining us. Have a safe ride,” a very bubbly voice came over the speaker, it was different from before.

‘From before’, Maria thought, she looked around frantically. She walked to the back of the crowd creating as much distance from the train as possible.as she walked backwards someone bumped into her “Excuse me” he murmured and walked towards the crowd.

Maria watched as everyone got onto ‘Subway 15’ she gripped her ticket and remained firmly where she was. As the door closed she saw the hooded man look straight at her and with wide eyes full of delight and mouths “YOU BELONG WITH US  MARIA”

The doors closed and the train once again departed this time without Maria.

                                                           **THE END**