The Station

I like to describe us as avid urban explorers, the thrill of finding a place that hasn’t been disturbed can be exhilarating. It’s like uncovering a hidden treasure that very few have seen, a sense of wonder in seeing a place frozen in time, with objects and structures left exactly as they were and it can feel like stepping into a time capsule.

Each room and item tells a story that sparks curiosity about the lives of those who once occupied the space, a journey of piecing together the past. Untouched buildings often have a serene, almost sacred atmosphere. The quiet and bustling stillness can be a stark contrast to the bustling world outside.

So when we found the abandoned train station hidden from prying eyes we felt a mix of awe, excitement and nostalgia, it’s hard to explain feelings when you first see an untouched structure taken over by mother nature herself.

Every detail tells a story of a bygone era. We felt a rush of adrenaline as we uncovered hidden treasures, like old tickets, vintage signs, or forgotten luggage, each item sparking curiosity about the lives of those who once passed through.

This was built to survive and to stand the test of time, as we moved further in there was two sets of tracks through the middle of the station and stairs that led even further up on either side, we presumed this was another street level or it maybe led towards a bridge but we had entered on street level so this piqued our curiosity even more, the place was completely abandoned and alone and had been built in the middle of nowhere, so our excitement when we found it was indescribable.

The station incorporated the stairs and pathways right into the natural curves of the building itself. They almost look naturally occurring were it not for the unnatural twists in the pathway leading to the beyond, Jasper was ahead of me, eager to be the first to see what were to be discovered up there, but he decided he was going to slow and took two steps at a time.

“Jasper” I shouted after him, of course he ignored me, “Jasper, wait up” as I got closer though I could hear .. something, so I stopped for a moment to listen, it almost .. sounded like muffled voices but not just one, lots of them, like when you walk into a busy place and everyone is talking at the same time, it got louder as I got closer. “Jasper, can you hear that?” I called after him but there was no response.

By the time I reached the last step it was loud, not enough to cover my ears loud but loud enough I was in the same room as all those people talking at once, but when I hit the last step, I froze.

Jasper had vanished and the place was bustling, there were people everywhere, it was chaotic, they were pushing and shoving their way through and the station was alive with the sounds of rushing to catch their train, full of energetic noise and activity, there was a blur of people and trains everywhere in every direction, the noise of screeching trains, the blaring of horns and the general bustling of the crowds.

I cannot describe what I was feeling in that moment, my eyes wide and mouth open, I felt like I was struggling to breath, what I was seeing before me was unreal, I took a slow step forward liked I stepped into a different reality and time seemed to slow dramatically, each second felt like an eternity.

“Jasper” I shouted nervously, as I walked very slowly forwards I felt a chill in the air, “I don’t .. understand, what is happening?” I asked myself, “Jasper” I shouted louder this time, he was nowhere to be found.

As I continued slowly looking at everything around me, I noticed a woman stood still, staring directly at me with a blank and somber look on her face, I turned slightly to face her and tilted my head, I felt like she was watching me, like she somehow knew I was out of place. Every other person was just going on about their business, but this woman was just stood staring at me, I felt like I was on the outside looking in and wherever I was, I didn’t belong and I didn’t fit in.

The woman turned fully to me and beckoned me over with her hand, she now had a comforting smile on her face, it made me feel like I could trust her for some reason, she seemed of average height, her long brown hair falling down her back, her face was a perfect oval shape and a little flush with color, she was of a medium build and she wore a red button up coat, as I approached her I thought I saw Jasper so I called out to him and went to grab his arm, but when he turned I was confused, it was him but something felt off.

“Why didn’t you answer when I called and how and why did you change your clothes?” Jasper looked at me in confusion.

“I’m sorry” he said, “Who are you?”

I frowned, “This isn’t funny Jas, where the hell are we?” I could see in my peripheral vision the woman in the red coat move towards us.

“Hey honey, I thought I lost you, who’s this?” another woman walked up to Jasper and took his arm, I looked at her arm then at him totally confused.

“I don’t know honey, I think she thinks I’m someone else” he turned to me, “Are you ok miss, do you need some help?”

The woman in the red coat put her hand softly on my arm and as I looked at her she gave a slight shake of her head and then looked towards the the other Jasper.

“Uh .. no, sorry, my mistake” I watched him and the other woman walk away.

I turned to the woman with a deep frown on my face.

“You’ve just arrived haven’t you?” she asked me quietly.

I opened my mouth and closed it again and looked around, I turned back to face her, “What do you mean arrived, what is this place, where the hell am I and who are you, I need to find Jasper” I said all at once.

She smiled at me and had a look like she understood my confusion, “Shall we go and sit and get out of the way of people?” she asked but didn’t wait for an answer, I just followed her while still looking around.

As we sat she began to speak a little more loudly, “You came up the stairs through the abandoned station didn’t you?” she said as she looked at me.

“The stairs .. I .. we were looking around and found the stairs and came up to this, I’m sorry but what the hell is going on here, am I dreaming, I mean .. like did I fall or something, I don’t understand” I started to panic and I think she could tell in my voice.

“I’m not entirely sure to be honest how long it’s been, I was out walking, I like to visit places and read books about their history and so forth and I try to keep out in the fresh air and I love to walk, so I was looking for a house I’d heard about, when I come across this abandoned train station” she looked to see if I was listening and I was, very intently actually, to keep me from going insane.

“The same one as down there?” I pointed and she nodded.

“Yes, I think so, the same thing happened to me, I was fascinated by it, I looked all over and finally came up the stairs, I could see daylight but I had just come from street level so I was curious as to where it led, I could hear voices and followed it and like you, I arrived at this” she spread her arms out as if to show me what she was talking about.

“But what is this place?” I asked her.

“Honestly, I have no Idea how to explain it, time travel, a portal, a different dimension, hell, maybe even purgatory at this point, I really can’t answer that question, all I know is, I’ve been trying to find a way back and never have” she sighed heavily. “I eventually gave up and accepted my fate, I met someone .. and this will sound even stranger but he too arrived this way, we tried to find a way out together, he had been here even longer than me and he was giving out hope until I arrived and we tried for so many years together to get home, but we were never able too so we kind of just settled here”

She looked at me with sorrow and concern, I looked at her and she gave me a soft smile, “I am truly sorry”

“But .. we need to get back, we can’t stay here, not forever” I stood, “I need to find Jasper, I need to find him”

“That man you saw, he isn’t who you think it is, he may look like him, but whoever you came here with, that wasn’t him, otherwise he’d have known who you were, for a while I saw people I knew, friends, family, people I worked with but they were all different, they didn’t know me, like it’s them but not them, I’d be careful who you talk too, it may not be the person you are looking for, there are slight differences about them, their clothes or their hair color, but I truly hope you find ....”

“Maggie” I heard my name being shouted so I stood, “Maggie, Over here”

“Jasper” I shouted, the lady in the red coat stood as well, she had a sadness to her and I saw what I thought was a moment of recognition.

Jasper spotted me and came running over, “Is that really you Mags, I swear I’ve seen two of you already, at least you’re wearing the same clothes, what the hell, where the fuck are we?” he stopped and then briefly looked at the lady in the red coat.

“Jasper thank god, it is you” I hugged him so tight, I was so relieved we found each other.

“Who are you?” Jasper asked the lady suspiciously.

She smiled, “I never told you my name did I?” she looked at me smiling, “My name is Jenn Lawson, it’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”

I explained to him what happened with the other Jasper and how I met Jenn, what she told me about her story and how we need to find a way back but if we were to believe Jenn, there wasn’t one.

“There must be, we got here through the station down there, we can just go back the way we came, can’t we?” he wasn’t really asking anyone in particular.

Jenn smiled but it was a sad smile, she knew there was no way back, but being she was once in our position, she let us hope for a little. “If you need a place to stay while you look you can come stay with me, I kind of feel responsible for you.”

“How can you be so damn calm about this” Jasper held a lot of emotion in his voice, he wanted to freak out, but I was doing that plenty for both of us.

“Because I have been here, in your position and I looked and looked, for years and never gave up, but, there comes a time when sometimes you just have to accept your fate and enjoy what life you have left, there isn’t anything I can tell you that you want to hear, so if you need to go, then go, but you won’t find a way home.” she smiled and put her hand on Jasper’s arm reassuringly, “Take care until I see you again” with that, she walked off.

“What the fuck Maggie” he ran his hand through his hair and put his hands on his hips, “Maybe she missed something, we need to go back downstairs, come on”

“What if she didn’t, what if we are stuck here just like her, she’s probably been here for years Jasper, what if we can’t find a way back”

Jasper put his hands of each side of Maggie’s face.

“We will try and find a way home, I promise, just because she got stuck here doesn’t mean we are going to, don’t let go of my hand, ever, got it?”

Maggie nodded and took hold of Jaspers hand and followed him.

They reached the top of the stairs, looking down there was total darkness, they couldn’t see past step five and they stopped to contemplate if they should go or not. Jasper looked at Maggie, “You ok?”

Maggie looked back at him and nodded, she felt like she was being watched, she turned her head and saw the woman in the red coat watching her again, she smiled at them before disappearing in the crowd, Maggie looked at Jasper and nodded again.

They counted the stairs as they descended into the blackness. Maggie had a fearful apprehension, she felt something bad was going to happen, she gripped Jasper’s hand tighter and felt him squeeze back, they hit the bottom and felt the stone cold floor but it was still dark.

“It was daylight when we came through right, I don’t think we’ve been gone that long have we?” Jasper stated matter of fact.

“Maybe it’s just night time” she shrugged but knew Jasper couldn’t see, “Should we keep going, do you have a flashlight Jas?” Maggie asked suddenly feeling nervous.

“Wait .. I see a light, I think” Jasper said, he started walking forwards again pulling Maggie behind him.

They walked for what felt like hours but was probably only a few minutes, Jaspers foot hit something and he stopped, still holding Maggie's hand he bent to pick up what he kicked, it felt like a newspaper, he thought about throwing it back but decided to keep it, maybe it could tell them where they were.

They walked a little more and found a doorway, “There’s a door here Maggie, hold onto my jacket” Maggie did as he said and held on with a death grip while he tried to pry the door open, eventually it creaked open but there was more darkness, only this time, it was the kind of darkness like night, your eyes would adjust to it and you could somewhat see and make out features.

“Is it the abandoned place, did we find it?” Maggie asked hopeful.

“I’m not sure but it’s lighter, looks like it might be night time” Jasper grabbed Maggie's hand again and moved on.

“What’s that noise Jas, can you hear it?” They both stopped and listened. It sounded like a low rumble, maybe thunder he thought. “What is that?” Maggie asked again.

“I don’t know, but it doesn’t sound like voices, maybe we just got lucky” he carried on walking. “Look, there's light Mags” Jasper picked up his pace, they hurried but only found more stairs where the light was coming from, but there were no voices, only silence, they turned and looked at each other.

Maggie smiled at Jasper and felt a little relieved after finally escaping the frantic atmosphere of the train station, Jasper smiled back.

“See, I told you I would get you home didn’t I” he squeezed her hand, he began climbing the stairs and the relief became more apparent, they arrived at the abandoned train station, right back where they started, they stood and looked around and while Jasper was looking for the exit Maggie remained standing at the stairs and frowned, she looked around but didn’t see anyone, the place was abandoned but something was off.

She looked at the newspaper she was holding, it was dated from 20 years ago, Jasper wanted to keep it as a souvenir and wanted to see if there was anything about where they had been or what this place was used for, Maggie's face dropped, her eyes wide and her mouth open as she read the story that had caught her eye.

She thought she heard Jasper calling her name but she had an overwhelming urge to look up, so she did, she was bordering on insanity at what she was now looking at.

The lady in the red coat was waiting for her, standing across the platform staring at her with a sad smile on her face, waiting, she tilted her head and looked at Maggie with such sad eyes.

Jasper ran up to Maggie and Maggie didn’t even look at him, just handed him the paper and said “Look” Jasper read the headline and began reading ...

“A man and woman were struck and killed by a train Monday morning after both being pushed onto the tracks by an emotionally disturbed individual in an unprovoked attack, according to police and various sources.

The victims, 22 year old Maggie Stuart and 23 year old Jasper Garret were pushed onto the tracks as a northbound train was entering the station on the eastern side of the tracks a little after 7am our sources stated.

The train was unable to stop in time and fatally struck the young couple, people were seen running out of the station at the time of the incident and the individual that was responsible was arrested and taken to the nearest jail, however, the individual was later found to be deceased in the cell awaiting further questioning.

Police and sources would not confirm the identity of the person responsible, only that they were wearing a red button up coat, the Investigation is currently on-going”