I carry a tablet instead of a laptop. The buses and trains all have WiFi so I could carry something small and do anything from watch movies to write papers. The term paper for my Spanish Lit class was written almost exclusively on the bus to and from my apartment. My class load is a lot lighter now that I am in my final year. I am dong an internship downtown at a technology startup and I spend a lot of my transport time looking at news. The guys I work with are current events junkies, and if you don't know what's going on in the world you can kiss your participation in office conversation goodbye.
I've gotten in the habit of reading the news on google and I'm starting to see an interesting trend. It's almost like people are going crazy in the same ways, all over the world. There was one guy back east who attacked his neighbor in broad daylight. The news story stated that he had just caught his wife cheating on him but there was an amateur video on YouTube that showed him attacking his neighbor like he was some rabid dog. You can't find the video now, its been removed, so it was probably a hoax.
Another guy was one of those shut-in fat guys, you know the type that can't leave the house. We used to sing "Fatty Fatty two by four, can't fit through the kitchen door" to kids on the playground, but this guy was really that big. Anyway the official reports say rats ate him alive, but others say the teeth marks were a lot bigger, like a human sized mouth.
There was also that lady who was attacked and killed by her boyfriend. They found what was left of her in the kitchen, bleeding all over a tray of fresh rolls. The guy was gone, I guess he didnt like bread. Then there was that guy who disappeared completely after some board meeting. Left his phone and laptop and everything, was just gone. They found a lot of blood at the scene, but no body. One woman thought she saw him talking to a homeless guy in the parking lot but they haven't found that guy either. You don't think much of stories like these as you hear them individually, typically just dismissing them as random acts of human desperation, but as they happen more frequently I begin to wonder.
The train is stuffy today. There's a guy standing in front of me with his back turned, holding a briefcase. Who even carries those anymore? Just hipsters who are trying to be unique but failing. Anyway this guy's body is putting off a tremendous amount of heat and its driving me crazy. The lady next to me smells like onions and the kid on my other side is slobbering away on a lollipop as though its his last meal.
The train pulls to a stop, making all of us lean into each other for a brief moment. All of us except the dude in front of me. He grips that rail above us like a vice and you can see he's the only one who doesn't move as we get from stop to stop. The old lady has been replaced by some punk teenager with a nose ring and the kid on my other side has finished his candy and is now touching everything with his sticky hands. His mom looks positively frazzled and is wearing a maid outfit under her jacket. No doubt she's had a hard life. Wonder why she brought a kid into the world if she can't even take care of herself.
As we get to the end of the line the train begins to empty. The kid and his mom a finally gone and the punk tennager is standing next to the door waiting to get off at the next stop. The seats around me are mostly vacant, but still the dude stands in front of me, back turned. "You can sit down if you want" I say out loud. He doesn't even respond, but stands like a statue as the train comes to a halt. I have two more stops and then I'm off, and I am not spending them jammed behind this dude's rear. The doors open and everyone gets off except me and the guy. Every seat is available, yet still he's there in front of me, uncomfortably close.
I open my tablet and select "Twitter." I type in a quick message of frustration "stuck on the train with a loser who would rather snuggle me than sit down" and press "Send." The characteristic whistle sounds and I see his head move slightly in reaction, the first sign of movement I've seen since he got on almost an hour ago. Why is he still in front of me? I scoot down a few seats and feel the tension in my neck relax. Being that close to another person in this space is tolerable if there's no other options, but when its just the two of you in an entire train car... I look down the row through the window at the back. The other car is empty except for an old lady with a load of groceries. She sits quietly looking at the floor. I steal a glance at the man standing a few feet away. He's still staring out the window, seemingly oblivious to anything else going on. There's something "off" about him. Only one more station and I'm out of here. I tap my screen and pull up a game to pass the last 2 minutes.
As my game loads itsaccompanied by some annoying sound effects that spur my creepy collegue into action. He twist and turns, like a giant waking up after a long nap. His movements are slow, sluggish, and the way he looks around reminds me of a blind person, as though he's depending primarily on his hearing to find his way. His face turns my direction and I see his eyes, bright yellow and crusty at the edges. It immediately reminds me of my baby sister when she had conjunctivitis. I instinctively sat back in my chair, startled at his appearance. I scramble to put my tablet into my bag and stumble to my feet, moving toward the door. He hunches low, swaying left and right like an animal. As quiet as I've been he seems to know I'm here somewhere, and moves in my direction. I feel the train begin to slow as we approach the final station. The robotic recording echoes through the empty cabin and he jumps as though it surprised him. Immediately he lunges toward the speaker, smashing it with a fist. His hand is now covered in thick blood pouring from lacerations in his knuckles, but he doesn't seem to care. I dare not make a sound, standing like a statue and holding my breath to stay silent. The train slows to a stop and the door opens. I burst out into the empty station. Running as fast as I can I make my way to the escalator, pushing past the old woman with the grocery bags. As my leg hits one of her plastic shopping bags it bursts and canned food spills across the marble floor, rolling in all directions. I turn and look apologetically and see the lumbering dark form advancing quickly. "Look out!" I call out to the woman, pointing behind her. She turns just in time to see the man envelop her in his arms, surrounding her in his coat. A sickening crack echoes in the hall as they hit the floor. She screams and I feel a wave of terror mixed with indecision. Do I run for help, or try to pull him off? He's easily twice my size and clearly has no concern about getting caught. He's knawing at her face and using his powerful arms to scratch her. I turn and run before he does the same to me.
As I move up the escalator I pull out my phone, dialing the familiar 3 digits and waiting for the line to connect. As the operator picks up I describe the attack as calmly as I can muster. As I describe his eyes the line goes dead and I hear a man's voice. He's asking me to confirm the location. I repeat the station name and he clears his throat, as though he's growing impatient with me. "No, I mean, where exactly is the man now?" I turn and look down the escalator. They are gone, replaced by a red stain and drag marks into the opposite side of the room. "Gone!" I say, a mixture of confusion and fear. "I can't see either of them anymore" I said. They were at the bottom... I guess they could still be there..." I trail off. "Are you okay?" He asks "Were you bitten or scratched?" I look down at my arms as though I'm checking for wounds, but I know he never touched me. "No, I'm okay." I say, trying to calm my racing pulse. "Find a place to hide." He says calmly. I look around and see a maintained door. As I head toward it I realize I am alone in the station. "Where is everyone?" I ask, starting to feel the oddity of my circumstances. "Where are the workers?" The ticket booth is empty, and the security guard typically posted at the stairs is gone too. "Are you safe yet?" The voice asks. And I glance toward the escalator. A dark shape is approaching me. "He's here!" I call out in panic. "He's found me!" The line goes dead and I feel my panic heighten.
I turn and run toward the exit, leaping over the turnstile. As I slide across the tile stairs I glance behind me. He moves slowly, and I have a commanding lead. I race up the stairs ahead of me only to find my pathway blocked. A thick sheet of plastic has filled the entire opening. I push on it and find it oddly elastic, but am unable to move or permeate it. Bright yellow figures walk back and forth on the opposite side, and I scream out to them. "Help! Help!" My panicked voice does not even get a reaction. I reach in my bag and pull out a pocketknife I was given when I was 12. Opening it carefully I lunge the sharp point into the plastic, cutting a hole in the soft membrane. I pull downward and create a slit large enough for the top of my body and begin to push myself through. "Hey!" I call out as I get my head through the opening. I am greeted by faces in HazMat suits.
Three men grab me and pull me through the opening. One slips a bag over my head and the last thing I see is someone pulling a large string of duct tape to cover the hole behind me. I struggle and feel my arms pulled roughly behind me. Something sharp is wrapped around my wrists and my hands lose circulation. "Help! Help!" I cry out in desperation. I smell something odd, like flowers mixed with bubble gum, and my head begins to spin. The voices of the men around me are muffled but as I lose consiousness I can hear their words. "There he is!" "Get the collar on him" "Be careful, don't let him touch you!" I hear the sounds of a struggle as my mind spins endlessly out of control...
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