Based off of this prompt from Lindner:
A small beetle was slowly making its way over the top of my sneakers. I stared down, impassively, watching its attempts to maneuver between my off-white shoelaces. The faint rumble of the train approaching from the distance, I forced myself out of my reverie, kicking the bug off my foot and hefting up my duffel bag.
The train screeched into the station, kicking up wind that sent discarded newspapers and gum wrappers flying everywhere, little trash tornadoes behind trashcans and recycling bins. I stood up, feeling the satisfying crunch of the beetle underneath my feet, and walked through the train doors into the last car. Of course, I realized just as the doors shut that I had gotten on one train too early.
Avoiding a questionable stain as I sat down, I glanced at the only other two people in the entire car. An old woman with a towering black hat that I could have only described as a witch's hat was hunched over a map as big as her. Standing on the other side, a much younger man stood, shivering in the cold and clutching a huge briefcase with a padlock to his chest. I looked up him and down. He couldn't have been more than 17 years old, and despite his shaking, his face was bright red and sweat dribbled from underneath his beanie. Weird.
The old woman kept on flipping the map around, and the loud crinkling of the paper was the only sound in the room. "Where in the world is the entrance?" she said, suddenly.
The boy almost dropped the briefcase, and after the woman shot him a piercing glare, he spoke up. "I think you're holding it upside down, ma'am."
"Excuse you, but I have spent 50 more years on this Earth, so I think I know how to hold a..." She spun it around and let out a quiet gasp. "Oh, I must have been holding it upside down!"
The boy rolled his eyes and then noticed me staring at him. "What are you looking at?" he growled, losing his nervous and timid demeanor.
I held my hands up in protest. "Hey, sorry man." I turned back around and looked around the rest of the car, still seeing nothing but the dirty walls and greasy floor. Behind me, I could still hear the woman folding and unfolding her map.
A loud bang startled me, and I couldn't help but whip around. The boy was now struggling to hold onto the briefcase, which was moving around spastically in his arms. Something inside there was trying to escape. I stared as the briefcase smacked the boy in the face.
"Hey, um, do you need some help?" I called cautiously.
The woman was screaming at the boy now. "Hold the damn box still, will you?" She threw her discarded map onto the floor and was now trying to grab onto the flailing box as well. Her thin arms fluttered about like nervous birds as she attempted to help.
"I'm trying to!" the boy yelled back.
"Um, hello? You need help or...?" I stood up, stepping towards them.
"Stay back!" The woman spun around on her heels, and I suddenly found myself staring at a much-too-large gun in her skinny white hands. Even as her arms wavered like flags in the wind, her steely gaze meant business.
"O-ok!" I backed up, my hands held up. "Calm down. I'm just trying to help!"
"Charlotte! Forget him! He's about to escape." The boy's voice seemed to pull the woman away for a second, and she glanced at him for a second. I took that as an opportunity and dodged to the side, simultaneously knocking the gun out of the woman's hand. Her grip was much weaker than I expected, and the large weapon tumbled to the floor, but not before her finger managed to pull the trigger.
I cringed and fell to the floor, expecting the sharp pain of a bullet or, worse, blackness, but instead felt... nothing? Opening my eyes, I looked around. The woman and boy were still standing there, silently awestruck. But the briefcase, though, had lost its padlock. Somehow, the bullet must have ricocheted off the walls and just managed to hit the lock. I let out a shaky sigh and felt all my tense muscles relax.
"What... what have you done?" The old woman looked at me in horror, her two pale eyes boring accusingly into my own.
"What the hell are you talking about?" I spat out, hoarsely. "You were the one waving the gun at me; what did you expect me to do?"
"No..." The boy let the briefcase drop to the ground with a clatter. "You've released him." Somehow, the way he said that word sent shivers down my arms. "It's too late now."
"R-released who?" I asked.
The briefcase creaked open a crack, and all three of us stopped talking to stare at it. Then, a single cockroach crawled out, its tiny antennae waving harmlessly in the air. And then, another one and another one followed behind it.
The woman turned around, a look of grudging defeat on her face. "We can still save you. Get out of the city while you can. Don't look back." She took a few steps before me and knelt down in front of me, placing her hand on my forehead. Her wrinkled forehead softened for a moment, and she gave me a small, sorrowful smile. The last thing I saw were her blue eyes piercing into mine.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I was jolted awake by the loud honk of the train entering the station. Yawning, I stretched and rubbed my eyes. What a weird dream. The wind sent my curly hair flying, so I tucked it behind my ears and stood up. "Oh look, nice timing. My train's here." I grinned.
As I took a step forward, I felt something squish beneath my feet, and I lifted my sneaker up gingerly to look. A dead beetle was on the ground, one lone antenna still pointing at me like an accusing finger. "Ugh, gross." I muttered. Out of the corner of my eye, I thought I saw more shiny black eyes and twitching antennae in the darkness.
Behind me, I heard the scurrying of many tiny feet.
A small beetle was slowly making its way over the top of my sneakers. I stared down, impassively, watching its attempts to maneuver between my off-white shoelaces. The faint rumble of the train approaching from the distance, I forced myself out of my reverie, kicking the bug off my foot and hefting up my duffel bag.
The train screeched into the station, kicking up wind that sent discarded newspapers and gum wrappers flying everywhere, little trash tornadoes behind trashcans and recycling bins. I stood up, feeling the satisfying crunch of the beetle underneath my feet, and walked through the train doors into the last car. Of course, I realized just as the doors shut that I had gotten on one train too early.
Avoiding a questionable stain as I sat down, I glanced at the only other two people in the entire car. An old woman with a towering black hat that I could have only described as a witch's hat was hunched over a map as big as her. Standing on the other side, a much younger man stood, shivering in the cold and clutching a huge briefcase with a padlock to his chest. I looked up him and down. He couldn't have been more than 17 years old, and despite his shaking, his face was bright red and sweat dribbled from underneath his beanie. Weird.
The old woman kept on flipping the map around, and the loud crinkling of the paper was the only sound in the room. "Where in the world is the entrance?" she said, suddenly.
The boy almost dropped the briefcase, and after the woman shot him a piercing glare, he spoke up. "I think you're holding it upside down, ma'am."
"Excuse you, but I have spent 50 more years on this Earth, so I think I know how to hold a..." She spun it around and let out a quiet gasp. "Oh, I must have been holding it upside down!"
The boy rolled his eyes and then noticed me staring at him. "What are you looking at?" he growled, losing his nervous and timid demeanor.
I held my hands up in protest. "Hey, sorry man." I turned back around and looked around the rest of the car, still seeing nothing but the dirty walls and greasy floor. Behind me, I could still hear the woman folding and unfolding her map.
A loud bang startled me, and I couldn't help but whip around. The boy was now struggling to hold onto the briefcase, which was moving around spastically in his arms. Something inside there was trying to escape. I stared as the briefcase smacked the boy in the face.
"Hey, um, do you need some help?" I called cautiously.
The woman was screaming at the boy now. "Hold the damn box still, will you?" She threw her discarded map onto the floor and was now trying to grab onto the flailing box as well. Her thin arms fluttered about like nervous birds as she attempted to help.
"I'm trying to!" the boy yelled back.
"Um, hello? You need help or...?" I stood up, stepping towards them.
"Stay back!" The woman spun around on her heels, and I suddenly found myself staring at a much-too-large gun in her skinny white hands. Even as her arms wavered like flags in the wind, her steely gaze meant business.
"O-ok!" I backed up, my hands held up. "Calm down. I'm just trying to help!"
"Charlotte! Forget him! He's about to escape." The boy's voice seemed to pull the woman away for a second, and she glanced at him for a second. I took that as an opportunity and dodged to the side, simultaneously knocking the gun out of the woman's hand. Her grip was much weaker than I expected, and the large weapon tumbled to the floor, but not before her finger managed to pull the trigger.
I cringed and fell to the floor, expecting the sharp pain of a bullet or, worse, blackness, but instead felt... nothing? Opening my eyes, I looked around. The woman and boy were still standing there, silently awestruck. But the briefcase, though, had lost its padlock. Somehow, the bullet must have ricocheted off the walls and just managed to hit the lock. I let out a shaky sigh and felt all my tense muscles relax.
"What... what have you done?" The old woman looked at me in horror, her two pale eyes boring accusingly into my own.
"What the hell are you talking about?" I spat out, hoarsely. "You were the one waving the gun at me; what did you expect me to do?"
"No..." The boy let the briefcase drop to the ground with a clatter. "You've released him." Somehow, the way he said that word sent shivers down my arms. "It's too late now."
"R-released who?" I asked.
The briefcase creaked open a crack, and all three of us stopped talking to stare at it. Then, a single cockroach crawled out, its tiny antennae waving harmlessly in the air. And then, another one and another one followed behind it.
The woman turned around, a look of grudging defeat on her face. "We can still save you. Get out of the city while you can. Don't look back." She took a few steps before me and knelt down in front of me, placing her hand on my forehead. Her wrinkled forehead softened for a moment, and she gave me a small, sorrowful smile. The last thing I saw were her blue eyes piercing into mine.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I was jolted awake by the loud honk of the train entering the station. Yawning, I stretched and rubbed my eyes. What a weird dream. The wind sent my curly hair flying, so I tucked it behind my ears and stood up. "Oh look, nice timing. My train's here." I grinned.
As I took a step forward, I felt something squish beneath my feet, and I lifted my sneaker up gingerly to look. A dead beetle was on the ground, one lone antenna still pointing at me like an accusing finger. "Ugh, gross." I muttered. Out of the corner of my eye, I thought I saw more shiny black eyes and twitching antennae in the darkness.
Behind me, I heard the scurrying of many tiny feet.