Waiting for the Last Train

Illustration made by Will Jacques, designed for this story!  Awesome!

There was one train yet to arrive.

He knew that if she wasn't on that one, he would never see her again.

The first train arrived at nine that morning.  The only passengers to disembark were an elderly couple.  There were nobody he recognized.  They seemed confused.  Maybe they had gotten off at the wrong stop.  They finally went off with Pastor Dan.

The second train arrived at noon.  One man got out.  He looked very frightened.  He said that everyone was warned to get out.  Because they were coming.  They would be in there in less than twelve hours.  And if you had not left, you would be either be killed or become enslaved.  Despite this warning, many were still hesitant to leave.  The man said he had friends here he was hoping would be waiting for him.  But they had not shown up yet.  He tried to use a cell, but there was no reception.  He got mad and threw the phone onto the third rail.  An hour later, his lover Branders showed up and took him away.

The third train arrived at three.  A young girl of twelve got out.  She had been sent by her parents to meet her Aunt Petrice.  The girl had on a tartan skirt that came to just above her knees, a white blouse, and a blue beret.  She seemed to be a little shaken.  She said there had been some scuffling at the station.  She thought she heard shots as they were pulling away.  He tried to ask if she knew who he was waiting for, but the little girl did not recognize the name.  Her Aunt Petrice came and after some tears, she took her away.

The fourth train arrived at six that evening.  Three women got out, but none were the one he was waiting for.  The women were very frightened, and their clothing was torn.  Their faces had streaks of ash and dirt.  They looked at him as if they were not sure where they were or what was going on.  A carriage came, and a man dressed like a nineteenth century servant guided them into the carriage.

The fifth train arrived at nine that evening.  Parts of the train were on fire. He could see the burned corpses in the first car.  From the second car emerged a young boy and his father.  They said there would be only  one more train.  Everything was breaking down.  The things they feared were only a few hours away.  No one came to pick the boy and his father up.  They just left the station and wandered down the street.

She promised she would leave.  The last conversation they had before the cells stopped working assured him that she understood the urgency of escape.  But she said she had some things to finish up first.  He knew she had a lover she saw there.  He didn't care.  He just wanted her back again.

Midnight came.  It was time for the train to arrive.

Nothing.

A half hour after midnight, he heard the explosions in the distance.

There were no more trains.  The place they had come from was no longer there.

Nevertheless, he found he couldn't leave the station.  He didn't want to give up.  He didn't want to lose hope.

Two days later, Pastor Dan told him he would need to leave.  They were coming.

He didn't leave.  He stayed.  Until they came.

And then the waiting ended.