As the train came to a halt, I hesitated when leaving the safety of the platform into the wilderness of the cabin. My first step was greeted by a sign on the right reading: ‘This cabin is out of order’. My head turned to the opposite cabin where a large, sweaty, properly dressed man sat. Nearly three meters next to him, two young males, wearing identical dark track suit pants with matching gray ‘hoodies’. Their tilted heads did not reveal much, however, their bald heads and white skin were obvious. Between these two boys, a woman sat, approximately thirty or so. She was wearing a light purple dress that seemed to be pulled backwards towards her seat, revealing the curves of her body. Her head was facing dead straight and her unblinking eyes seemed empty. After my crucial examination of the plain cabin, I sat on the opposite row to the others. This decision came without question.
I sat alone, my chin face down and my body muscles clenched, tight as a drum. My thoughts was shaken, images of the late mouse loomed in my mind. However, as reluctant to look up as I was, I could not help but notice on the opposite row, the large, over- perspiring man, staring at me. I looked back at him with a confused expression upon my face, he did not even blinked, his eyes were fixed upon me and my every movement. My heart dug through my body and slammed onto the floor. Again, all sounds around me went faint, and time moved slowly, my anxieties were building up once more. I was confused, my mind was pounded my questions, Why was he staring at me? Who was he? And, is he trying to tell me something? I refused to talk; instead I tiled my head further downwards, and kept solemnly still, silent, and suspicious.
Now, I had been on the train for 20 minutes, my journey was half over, my fear had caused me to perspire heavily, just like the man, who was persistent in his staring. I dared to look up. The girl between the quiet men was also starring in front of her, however, not at me. She had a faint look upon her face, a certain expression that could not be explained, I had never seen it before. I understood it was not my business, but I could not resist from questioning myself as to why she was sitting between these two young, mysterious looking men. Being conservative in my actions, I decided to leave all curiosity behind and focus on myself. As i retreated from all thought and began to turn my head to the ground, a fly appeared. The absolute silence within the carriage meant that the fly was audibly clear and could easily follow its movement. My eyes followed it as it navigated the air, until it fell on the girls’ cheek. At first I thought she couldn’t feel the fly, considering the cold weather would have numbed her face. Yet, as the fly moved closer and closer to her mouth, I began to feel suspicious towards her un-reactive behaviour. As the fly entered her mouth, I felt the need to protest, if just to tell her that the fly was on her. As the words were climbing, slowly from my throat, the sweaty man coughed. The sound grabbed my attention before I could speak, and when I turned back to the seemingly lifeless girl, the fly had already left.
Finally, as I saw familiar scenes of my approaching stop, I felt safe again, a warm feeling relaxed my muscles and I eased the tension in my hands. The train came firmly to a halt; it seems the icy wind had cooled the breaks, to their faulty performance. As the cabin recoiled due to the impact, the two men lost their grip on their seats. They hesitated slightly, and in that instant, the head of the girl shook uncontrollably. I was now frightened more than confused. Before I could say or do anything the large man grabbed my arm and dragged me through the opening doors. The platform was also empty as he dragged me further and further into the dark. His hand covered my mouth and muffled my desperate, agonising screams. My greatest fears with the ‘AM’ train were playing their part, and I was the puppet, being tortured at its hands. My fierce fighting helped in slowing his pace, but soon enough, his firm grip held me against the wall until the train was clearly out of sight. The panic- driven adrenalin had blinded my eyes. Disbelief as to what was happening was frequently crossing my mind, until I heard his voice. “I saved your life... twice. Those men murdered that women, suspending her from her dress, they hoped you wouldn’t notice. If you had even spoken to them, they would have killed you, and after you, me.”
