The train to hell

Jack was gently cradled by a consistent rocking back and forth motion and the sound of intermittent tracks beneath him. His eyes felt heavy and were difficult to open. When he drew his hands to his face, he realized his hands were bound together and his eyes were covered in tape. Slowly peeling back the tape from his eyes, he could feel the hair from his brow and lashes pull from the skin. Squinting his eyes from the light within the cabin, he quickly began blinking to clear his vision.

Feeling nauseous, Jack leaned over to release his anxiety. The pounding grew heavier as he lifted his head. He sat back for a minute, then looked around. He realized that he was alone on the train. Jack moved to the window seat to look out, but he didn’t recognize the reflection staring back at him. "What the?" "Is that what I look like?" Startled, he placed his hands on the glass and his face in his hands to look out. It was pitch black out; no lights of any kind could be seen. He pulled back from the window and found a sharp edge on the seat in front of him and cut through the tape to release the binding around his hands.

The train was moving swiftly, and Jack couldn’t recall if it had stopped at all, or where it was headed. Looking down, he intently starred at his hands, not recognizing himself. An infinity tattoo sat boldly on his right-hand thumb. No jewelry or other markings were found, nor did they bring back any memories. He was wearing a pair of 501 Levi’s, white vans, and a black t-shirt with the words "You got this" written in white. Jack was unsure of how he got onto the train, or what happened prior to his waking, or why his eyes and hands were taped. He reached into his pockets looking for a wallet or a ticket that would tell him who he was or where he was going. With no luck, he shifted his body quickly, only to bring on a bout of vertigo. He felt his head throbbing and moved his hand over his right eye, exploring a huge knot on his forehead. "What the hell happened?" he asked himself. "And why am I on this train?"

Jack decided to investigate the train, and moved towards the car door. He pulled and pushed, but the door wouldn’t open. Banging on the window, he gave out a loud "HELLO, anybody there?" When no one answered, he moved to the other door directly across from it, vigorously shaking the handle. This door did not open either. Now panicked, he raced towards the windows, pulling up at each one. These didn’t open either. He found the exit doors locked as well. He sat down, closing his eyes tightly and holding his head in his hands. He started to breathe in and out slowly to ease his panic. 

Thinking about what to do next, Jack looked for something to break a window when he noticed a locked vent on the roof of the car. Not big enough to get through, but maybe he could see out of it. He jumped up to reach for the ladder next to the vent. Grabbing hold of it, he pulled it down towards him.

He climbed to the top, unlatched the vent, and pushed it open. Jack poked his head out and was overcome by the stench of death. He pinched his nose and tried to look out, but saw only darkness. There were no lights, moonlight, or stars. How could that be? This frightened Jack, and he forced himself back into the cabin, closing the vent behind him. With no view, no phone, no watch, or no way out. Jack sat quietly, wondering what to do next. He tried the windows again, but had no luck. He strained to pull the ladder off the roof so that he could use it to forcibly break a window. This was an arduous task that left him exhausted, but he managed to remove it. Thirsty, he tried to form saliva in his mouth to swallow it. The ladder broke into pieces on the first attempt at smashing the window. Throwing down the broken fragments and feeling defeated, he sat back down in one of the seats and decided to wait until the next stop to get off. Hours had gone by. Jack, now tired, hungry, and thirsty, screamed out "HELP" repeatedly at the top of his lungs. Out of frustration, tears welled up in his eyes and anger rushed through his body.

Suddenly, the train began to slow down, and the doors opened on both sides of the car. Jack rushed to the door and stepped off the train. It was eerily quiet, dark, no light, no moonlight. As a matter of fact, there was no platform, or train station. He looked down only to see more darkness. The train whistle blew, and a deep, creepy voice was heard saying "ALL ABOARD," when the whistle blew again. Jack looked around and wondered if he should get back on or stay put and search for his surroundings. He figured, if the train stopped here, maybe it would make another stop during the daytime and proceeded to get back onto the train.

The doors quickly closed behind him and he was off once again. Jack found a seat and closed his eyes, waiting for the next stop. He fell into a deep sleep, only to wake up with his eyes taped shut and his hands bound together. Jack found himself reliving the same event over and over again, caught in a loop on the way to Hell.