Time: 12:55 am
Date: 10/08/2021
I have just finished my evening shift at Capitol Grand and am heading home. After clocking off at my workplace, my quick sprint to the South Yarra station barely enables me to catch the 11:05 pm towards Flinders.
Along the way, as I dash through the gates, I choose not to swipe my myki. Just that small action saves me around 10 dollars a day, which adding to missing the myki-reader 4 times a week, is a considerable addition to my weekly shopping budget. These days, it being the lockdown and night curfews, there some police manning the stations but rarely bother me. Also, since I am dressed in black workpants with a dusty dark jacket and a tired expression, I barely raise their eyebrows. For them. I am just another bloody tired immigrant worker going home.
Platform 3 is empty. The are barely any commuters in the midnight express.
Just as I haste down the ramp, the Frankston train rumbles into the station, creaking to a stop. I step inside the train.
As the door groans shut, I see that I have the entire compartment to myself. There is no one else. The train rattles onwards towards Richmond, picking up speed.
I plug in my earpods. Over the sound of the music, I can hear the announcement as the driver takes us via the city loop. I can the familiar darkness closing around me, as we enter the tunnel.
My eyes slowly droop sleepily, as fatigue overpowers me. The familiar monotony of the train lulls me to a drowsy sleep.
Suddenly, I feel my body being thrown in an unfamiliar trajectory. My feet go to a defensive mode and pushes against the opposite seat. I feel the train slowing rapidly, my body pushed out of my seat.
Have we reached Parliament station already? But I can’t see the bright lights of the station, but the train certainly seems to be slowing down.
I check my phone; the signals seem to be missing. Zero bars. Dart this Boost network. The trains crawls to a stop while the lights go off. The train is completely dark, and silent. Once again, I realize I am alone in this compartment.
With a flicker, amber lights come on and illume the compartment in a somber backdrop. I pull off my earpods. I can feel goosebumps. My sleep has disappeared instantaneously and my eyes are craning in the darkness.
“Attention” the wall-mounted speakers come to life, amidst some crackling static.
“There seems to be a foreign object on the tracks, so there will be a slight delay as we wait for the maintenance to check it out. Meanwhile please be patient. We will be enroute as soon as possible”
But I am not paying attention. My eyes are fixated to the door on the far side of the compartment.
I see a faint silhouette through the frosted glass of the compartment door. My heart quickens its pace. Is it a fellow passenger seeking refuge from the dark? Or is it something else entirely? My mind races, conjuring thoughts of all the eerie tales I have heard growing up.
Summoning courage, I cautiously approach the door, my footsteps barely audible against the soft hum of the train's engines. As I near, the silhouette grows clearer, revealing the outline of a person. Relief washes over me until I realize something is off. The figure appears to be facing away from me, unmoving, as though frozen in time.
A sudden jolt of fear grips me. I hesitate, my hand inches away from the door handle. The train is eerily silent, the only sound the distant, echoing drip of water somewhere in the darkness. Gathering my resolve, I muster a trembling voice, "Hello? Are you alright, mate?"
No response. The figure remains motionless, shrouded in an unsettling stillness. With trembling hands, I push the compartment door open. A gust of icy wind sweeps in, causing the amber lights to flicker ominously.
I step into the narrow corridor, my eyes adjusting to the dimness. The figure is now fully visible, a silhouette of a person with disheveled hair and tattered clothes. It is as if they have emerged from a different era, their presence haunting and out of place.
"Who are you?" I manage to utter, my voice barely audible above the train's creaks and groans. The figure slowly turns around, revealing a face obscured by shadows. In the dim light, I catch a glimpse of hollow eyes, devoid of life, staring into the abyss.
Suddenly, the intercom crackles to life again, the voice distorted and ghastly, "You shouldn't be here." I spin around to see the source, but there is no one in sight. The voice echoes, sending chills down my spine.
A sense of impending doom washes over me. I stumble back into the compartment, my mind racing for an escape. The train remains motionless, trapped in the darkness of the tunnel. Panic sets in as I realize I am not alone; something sinister lurks in the shadows, something that defies explanation.
Desperation takes hold, and I frantically search for a way out. With trembling hands, I reach for the emergency alarm, hoping for rescue. But as I press the button, the train's eerie silence is shattered by a blood-curdling scream that seems to come from all directions.
The compartment lights flicker, revealing glimpses of grotesque figures in the windows, distorted and nightmarish. I clamp my hands over my ears, trying to block out the horrifying sounds that fill the air. The train seems to come alive with malevolent energy, pulsating with a dark force beyond comprehension.
In a moment of sheer terror, I make a dash for the emergency exit. With a burst of adrenaline, I wrench the door open and tumble out onto the tracks. The cold, damp ground greets me as I scramble away from the train, my breaths coming in ragged gasps.
As I look back, the train's lights flicker one last time before plunging into total darkness. The unearthly scream echoes through the tunnel, and then, an eerie silence settles, broken only by the distant drip of water.
I run, my legs carrying me away from that nightmare.
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| Photo courtesy of Metrotrains.com.au |
[Writer's Note: This is my trial at a horror genre.]
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