It was dark. Very dark and bumpy. I lay awake in the middle of the night on my bed in the train. For a moment I just laid on the bed, looking at the ceiling, thinking about seeing my family for Christmas. The compartment was small and compressed. Two beds could be folded out for the night and seats and a table could be out for the day. I would have to pretty stupid to sleep on the top bed because it made me feel cramped. My parents were in the room right across the hall. Both my parents grew up riding trains and we would always travel by train. Long story short, I'm used to the bumpiness.

I was still dressed in my black clothes. I still didn't feel very comfortable changing on the trail. My parents thought it was a bit weird that I, their daughter, dressed all gloomy and dark, but I could tell they still loved me. Who wouldn't love me? I'm beautiful, nice, and strong. Well, I'll admit that would get so scared of everything. I hate being afraid of everything. There are a ton of things I don't like about myself, but my name, Tillis, I did like because it sounded exotic and sexy like a tropical beach.

I sat up, feet touching the floor. I couldn't sleep. Something was ticking away in my head. Unlocking the door and opening it, I carefully stepped into the hallway. As I shut the door, one of the attendants passed me without saying a word. On my way to the dining car, I pressed the button to open the door exit the car and another one to get to the dining car. I despise crossing from one car to another, especially when the train was turning, which it was at the time. The dining car was empty. I had expected for someone to be playing cards, even this late at night. There was always someone playing a silly card game on every single trip I'd been on. I was kind of hoping to play a game with someone, but luck was apparently asleep.

I decided to go the viewing lounge and look out at the stars. As I made to the next car, I braced myself on the tables every once in awhile. I really didn't need to since I'm used to trains, but the extra protect is always nice.

When I entered the viewing lounge, I felt lightheaded as I glanced around the car. Passengers were dead, with their bodies at odd angles and places with big slash marks all over them. Smiling faces, sad faces, and stick-figured people were painted all over the windows and walls with dripping red blood of the dead bodies.

It was most disgusting thing I had ever seen.

I know that some people say you should open your eyes and face your worse fears. However, I believe that some fears you should close your eyes and hide from. I closed my eyes for I couldn't bare the horrifying sight any longer.

I turned around with my eyes half opened, and nervously pressed the buttons to open the door, and escaped into dining car. As soon as I fully opened my eyes, I saw everyone that was dead in the viewing lounge eating dinner as if nothing had happen. Granted that they were all deathly pale, covered in blood, and had same marks as the people she saw back in the lounge car.

I ran back through the dining car, not using the tables for balance, back to my room. Once I opened the car doors, I looked back though the window and saw that no one was in the car. This was getting beyond weird for me. Fear was raking away at my heart. I wished that someone would take the fear away, but the only person capable of doing that was myself. However, I'm not strong enough. Not yet anyway.

I turned around and let out a quiet scream as I saw a train attendant right in front of me. He was a bit old and on the pale side, but didn't look dead.

"Sorry about that," the attendant apologized. "Didn't mean to scare you."

"That's okay," I said. "I'm just a little nervous. I thought I saw dead bodes, you know. I guess it's just late and I'm -"

"So the stories are true," he softly interrupted.

I was shocked. "What stories?"

"Well," he started, "they say on that the sprits that were murdered in this train come back to relive the pain."

"Murdered? How did they die?"

"Well, it was the second of December when a man named Angel Astells came and killed everyone for some sacrifice for some monster. No one was prepared for such a thing at the time. He enjoyed it, even painted things over the windows and walls with the blood.

"Then a girl, looked pretty much like you, woke up and went into the lounge. She saw the chaos that Angel had created. No one knows happened to her for she was never seen again."

"How sad," I said silently.

"Yes, it is," he said. Then his attitude changed to a much happier one. "Well, I'd better get back with everyone else. The train is about to stop."

The train attendant walked passed me and through the door to the dining car. I watched all the spirits in the car, including the train attendant, fade away as the train came to a peaceful halt.


The End
Story (C) 2001 by Dennis Spielman
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