Hell train, p.7
Hell Train, page 7
Two shall live. All will die.
Help me, Clip-Clip.
Xavi’s eyes went wide, and his mouth opened like he was repeating something he was hearing.
“You hear something, too, don’t you?” Clip asked him. “Do you hear my brother?”
“What? No… It’s my dad.”
“Your dad? What’s he saying?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s too quiet to make out.”
Clip turned to Paul. “Do you hear anything?”
“Nope. Nothing. You sure it’s not the power of suggestion because the boy mentioned it?”
“I don’t hear anything,” said Gina, although she seemed unsettled.
“I hear my mum,” said Harley. “She’s shouting at me. She’s saying bad things.”
Clip put a hand to her forehead. We’re all hearing members of our family. Me, my brother; Harley, his mum; Xavi, his dad. What does it mean? My brother is alive. So is Xavi’s dad and Harley’s mum.
Help me, Clip-Clip.
No. Get lost, Richard.
She looked up at the ceiling, wondering if the voices were coming from the intercom speakers. But the more she thought about it, the more she thought the voice was coming from inside her own head. “I keep hearing my brother. It started earlier, when the lights first went out.”
“What do the voices mean?” asked Harley. “Why can we hear them?”
“I don’t know, kid, but you stick close to Gina while we get some answers, okay? Oh, and don’t forget this.” She reached down and picked up his Rubik’s Cube from the seat.
Gina gave Clip a smile and took the boy off into the front carriage. It made things worse, seeing Harley’s worried face. A kid shouldn’t have to be afraid.
Clip’s handbag caught her attention, abandoned on the floor where she and Xavi had been sitting. It reminded her of how quickly her day had turned to utter shit. It prompted her to pull out her mobile phone and check it for a signal. She wasn’t shocked to find that it had none, but was surprised to see another text from her mum. It must have been received just before the train had entered the tunnel.
Have a good day, Clip xxx
“You okay?” Xavi asked her.
She slid her phone back into her pocket. “Yeah, just wondering what any of us did to deserve this.”
“Nothing. We didn’t do anything.”
She nodded and got moving again, marching down the aisle and heading straight through the exit door at the back of the carriage.
The rear cabin was empty. Not a single soul inside.
CHAPTER 6
“Guess it’s just us then,” said Clip, strolling past the toilet and into the aisle. The windows on either side of the carriage showed nothing but a featureless void. One window was cracked open, but no breeze came from it. The more time that passed, the more Clip feared she was dead and in some kind of purgatory, and that perhaps she was the one haunting Richard. Her mind was stepping further and further away from rationality.
“We should go back to the front carriage,” said Xavi, scanning from side to side. His left eye socket had turned dark and puffy from the punch Mudz had given him. For once, he wasn’t flawlessly handsome. “There’s no one here.”
Clip nodded, but she wanted to explore every inch of the train before she left. She wanted to make sure nothing was going to leap out at her – like a horde of ravenous demons, come to pick the flesh from her bones.
If I’m dead, shouldn’t I be in Heaven?
No. You don’t deserve Heaven, and you know it.
Not after what you did.
Xavi moved close, his arm looping around Clip’s waist. He wanted to protect her, which she couldn’t deny felt good, but at the same time she wanted to push him out of her space and take care of herself. Like she always did.
The rear of the carriage felt lonely. Perhaps because there was nothing beyond its rear door except darkness, or perhaps because it was as far away as Clip could be from the others in the front carriage. Safety in numbers was a real thing, emotionally and practically.
“There’s nothing here,” said Xavi. “We should go back.”
“Hold on,” she said. “Let’s just double check.” Clip moved down the aisle and hit the open button for the connecting door, but nothing happened, which made sense, seeing as there was no carriage attached to the other side. She didn’t even know what compelled her to try.
Xavi knelt on the seat cushions and shuffled over to the window. “There’s really nothing out there, is there? Ay! It’s like staring into a pool of ink.”
“No,” said Paul. He was standing a few feet behind them in the aisle, his desert boots set wide apart. “Ink catches the light. It shimmers, moves, flows. Whatever’s outside these windows is something else – like a complete absence of… anything.”
Clip hugged herself to keep from shaking as a wave of panic rose from the pit of her stomach. She couldn’t take much more of this. If things didn’t start making sense soon… “Okay,” she said, trying to focus her mind on action instead of fear. “Let’s get back to the others and put our heads together again. There are clearly no answers here.” She turned and offered a hand to Xavi, to help him out from between the seats, but she recoiled when he raised his hand towards hers.
“What?” he asked, frowning. “What’s wrong?”
“Your hand. It’s covered in blood.”
Xavi lifted his left hand in front of his face and gasped. His palm was red, and so were two of his fingers. “What the…?”
“Did you cut yourself?” asked Paul.
“No. No, I don’t think this is my blood.”
Clip frowned and moved to examine the seats. The headrest of one appeared wet, and when she touched it, her fingers came back bloody. “Jesus!”
“The seat’s covered in blood,” said Xavi, disgust on his face.
“Yeah,” said Clip, wiping her fingers off on a dry patch of cushion. She then stooped to look behind the headrest. What she found was unexpected, to say the least.
Although, should anything surprise me right now?
A strange symbol adorned the back of the seat, drawn crudely in blood. A circle with a triangle in the centre, with odd shapes marking each of its three points. It instantly made her think of witchcraft and the occult. “There’s something weird here, guys,” she told the others, and then waited while both men examined the strange symbol.
“We might have our explanation,” said Paul after a moment. “Someone has put a curse on the train.”
“Do you really think that?” asked Clip. She felt like she should laugh, but she didn’t. Couldn’t.
He shrugged. “I don’t know anything for sure, but I hope it’s true.”
Xavi baulked. “How can someone putting a curse on the train be a good thing?”
“Because alien abduction, alternate Hell-like dimensions, purgatory… any of that would mean we’re done for, but curses? Curses can be broken, right? Curses are put in place by people, and people I can handle.”
“Hold on,” said Xavi. “You’re saying all this with a straight face. Do you truly believe this train is cursed?”
“I’ve seen a lot of things in my life, kid – the worst of them occurring in Afghanistan. It’s taught me that evil almost always comes down to simple people with complex agendas.”
Clip nodded. “So you believe in witchcraft?”
He shrugged again. “Not especially, but who knows? Everything I’ve seen in the last hour tells me we’re flies in a web. Eventually, a spider is going to show up and try to eat us. When that happens, we’ll have our chance to stomp on it. We need to be ready.”
Clip closed her eyes and took a couple of deep, slow breaths. “How many flies do you know that have ever killed a spider?”
Paul smirked. “I was a member of 3 Para. I’m the fly that purposefully lands on the web in order to catch the spider by fucking surprise. We’ll get out of this, kids. You have my word.”
“I wish I had your confidence,” said Xavi, “because I’m scared shitless.”
Paul patted him on the arm. He was a tough man, but clearly compassionate. “Fear is fine. It makes you light on your feet and ready to act – but it has no use beyond that, okay? Don’t let it override your thoughts and force you to make poor decisions. Fear should be something you control, not the other way around. It’s a biological response, nothing more.”
“Simple as that, huh?”
“Simple at that.”
“Come on,” said Clip. “Let’s go tell the others what we found.”
“Yeah,” said Paul. “I’d also like to see if anyone is bleeding.”
Xavi frowned. “Wasn’t there too much blood on the seat for it to have come from a minor wound?”
“Blood can be deceiving. A little can go a long way. I lost a tooth once… the amount of blood made it seem like someone had been butchered.”
Xavi nodded. “I’ll take your word for it.”
Paul patted him on the back. “Come on. Let’s stay active.”
The three of them headed back down the aisle. As they walked, Clip heard the whispering voices again. Not just Richard, but someone else as well. A woman.
Two shall live. All will die.
They passed by the toilet, but Xavi stopped. “Hey,” he said, “will you two stay here while I take a leak? I’m worried I might get eaten if I go off alone.”
Clip chuckled. “Sure thing.”
“Not like we’re going anywhere,” said Paul. “Enjoy yourself.”
“Gracias.” Xavi prodded the ‘door open’ button.
But nothing happened.
“It’s engaged,” said Paul, scratching at his short brown hair.
“Does that mean someone’s inside?” asked Clip.
Xavi banged on the door. “Hey, open up.”
“Go away.”
Xavi, Paul, and Clip glanced at each other, then Xavi turned back to the door. “Hey, who’s in there?”
“Go away, please.”
Paul banged on the door with his fist. “You need to come out of there and identify yourself. Pronto.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake.” The stranger sounded worried. “Shit, shit, shit.”
“We’ve caught you,” said Xavi. “Are you the one behind all this?”
There was a brief silence and then: “Behind all what?”
“Behind what’s happening?”
“Um, what’s happening?”
Paul banged on the door again. “Get out of there before I kick the door in.”
“All right, all right. Calm your pancakes, darling.” There was a metallic click and the door slid open. Standing there in the gloom was an oddly familiar face. A man in his forties, who had obviously had work done if the taut skin around his eyes and the slight bulge to his lips were anything to go by. His muddy brown hair was slicked back on top, but shaved at the sides. His demeanour was perturbed, as if they had interrupted him in the middle of something.
“Who are you?” Paul demanded, fists clenched at his sides.
The stranger offered a limp hand, almost like he expected Paul to kiss one of his several gaudy rings. “Grant Toledo. Your pleasure.”
“Wait,” said Xavi. “Are you the guy…” He shook his head, unable to make the connection.
But it came to Clip, and she pointed excitedly. “You’re that dancer from Love in a Hut.”
The man raised a plucked eyebrow. Both his pupils were the size of dinner plates. “I am the professional dancer who once worked with Britney Spears and featured in a national advertising campaign for Primark. Love in a Hut is something we don’t talk about, darling.”
Clip chuckled. Love in a Hut was the only reason she recognised him at all. The show had paired him up inside a small hut with a man named Mark for a week, but Mark had walked out after only three days, unable to deal with Grant’s drama. Most people wondered what had happened to Mark, not to Grant.
Turns out that Grant ended up on a cursed train to Birmingham. That’s showbiz.
“What are you doing back here by yourself?” Paul demanded.
Grant shrugged. “Having a little me time, darling. The lights going on and off was giving me a headache, so I came in here to take the edge off. You’re not going to narc on me, are you?” He eyed Paul. “You smell very much like a policeman.”
“Well, I’m not. Do you have any idea what’s going on? How long have you been in the shitter?”
He shrugged. “Five minutes. Longer maybe. Time flies when you’re having fun.”
“You’re the only one here,” said Clip. “Why did you need to come inside the toilet for privacy?” She pointed to his lip. “You, um, have a little… powder.”
“Oh, thank you, darling.” He wiped his lip and licked the residue off his hand with a long pink tongue. “I came in the toilet to avoid the eye in the sky.” He nodded up at the corner of the carriage. There, Clip saw a small black dome that was surely a CCTV camera.
“Understood,” she said. “Well, while you’ve been hiding, you missed all the fun. There’s a lot that’s been going on.”
Clip, Xavi, and Paul explained the events of the last half hour to Grant, who laughed and tittered the whole time. It was hard to know if he was high or simply irritating.
Once they finished bringing the man up to date, Clip posed a question. “Do you know anything about a strange symbol on the back of one of the seats? It was drawn in blood.”
Grant pretended to retch. “Oh, how ghastly. You wouldn’t catch me playing around with blood, darling. Who knows what one might catch?”
Paul took a step forward so that he was almost nose to nose with the man. “If you’re lying…”
“If you want a kiss, darling, just ask. I’m very open-minded.”
Paul stepped back, and he actually appeared rattled for the first time since Clip had met him.
Clip looked Grant in the eye, looking for tells that he might be lying. “You really know nothing about what’s been going on?”
“Other than the lights flickering, no. You all sound quite ridiculous, to be honest, but I’m in a good mood, so I’ll play along. It’s a little like improv, isn’t it? Got to keep being agreeable, no matter how unbelievable things get.”
Paul shook his head and sighed. “Let’s get back to the others.”
“I still need the toilet,” said Xavi. Grant was still standing inside the cubicle, so Xavi cleared his throat and nodded to him. “Um, do you mind?”
“Not at all, darling. Not at all.”
Grant stepped out of the way, and everyone waited while Xavi relieved himself. Once he came out of the cubicle, Paul grunted at him. “Ready?”
“Si.”
Paul opened the door and let everyone through. Before Clip exited, she glanced back into the carriage one last time. The hairs on the back of her neck were standing up, and she had a strange feeling, like she was being watched. The carriage was still empty, though.
It’s just my mind playing tricks. Fuck you, brain.
All is well. All is calm.
“You okay?” Xavi asked her.
She nodded and moved past him. No point voicing a nebulous feeling that was probably just her imagination.
They reached the front carriage thirty seconds later, and Clip was pleased to see everyone together. No one was fighting or freaking out. They were all just sitting or standing patiently.
Dan gave Paul a nod. “Find anything?”
“You could say that.” He side-eyed Grant, who was offering his hand out to Jay and pouting seductively.
“We found a symbol on a seat in the rear carriage,” said Clip. “It was drawn in blood.”
Gina covered Harley’s ears. “Oh dear.”
Dan frowned. “Blood?”
“Yeah, blood. Paul has a theory someone put a curse on the train.”
“Allow it,” said Mudz. Beside him, Kyle was shaking his head and staring at the back of the seat in front of him, clearly disturbed. “Bare bullshit.”
Jay stood up and stepped into the aisle, possibly to move away from Grant and the man’s obvious overtures. “What are you talking about? Some kind of juju?”
Clip frowned at him. “Juju? Do you mean witchcraft?”
“More or less. My family is from Nigeria. My bibi talks about that stuff sometimes. She said that even now people in the smaller villages still believe in all kinds of strange things. There are even laws against it.”
“So you believe in witchcraft, then?”
“Hell no. I believe in credit card debt and ransomware. Those are my boogeymen.”
Xavi chuckled. “Yeah, I don’t buy it either.”
“Then what do you buy?” asked Clip, a little frustrated. “What’s happening is weird, right? So if you have an explanation, I’m all ears.”
“I don’t have an explanation, baby. I only know this isn’t much fun.”
“That’s an understatement. Anyway, witchcraft is our best answer until something better comes along.”
“Okay, so how does that help us?”
“I haven’t decided yet.”
Mudz stood up and slid into the aisle. His nose had stopped bleeding, but dried blood covered his chin. Both eyes were puffy. “All right, all right,” he said. “Man is actually thinking you pussy holes might be on the level, but witchcraft is some proper bullshit.”
“Real talk,” said Kyle, but he sounded uncertain.
Jay walked over to Mudz and leant against the seat. They exchanged a few words and then chuckled, which annoyed Clip. “What are you standing with him for?” she demanded. “He’s a thug.”
Jay looked over at her and rolled his eyes. “Is he?”
“Yes!”
“Way I see it, only one person on this train has a broken nose, and it’s the black kid. You lot rallied against him real fast, and nobody has the slightest problem with Action Man over there breaking his face.”
“He pulled a knife,” said Clip incredulously.
Jay shrugged. “Fine, he shouldn’t have done that, but you people made him the way he is. You think people choose violence and drugs and crime because they want to? The world loves to make black people scapegoats, while doing everything it can to judge us and keep us down. Mudz pulls a knife and you all go wild. Paul breaks his nose and you all smile and nod. Now I’m not even supposed to speak to him because some little white chick says so?”
