THE MIDNIGHT TRAIN TO HARDWICK
The sun had set on Hardwick, Arizona. Douglas Carter sat on a bench for two at the Hardwick train station. He was cold and numb, staring into space. On the bench next to him was a leather travel bag. Inside the bag, tucked away under a couple pairs of jeans, t_shirts, socks and underwear, was a blood stained hunting knife.
The crowd at the station had been gradually dying off, and was now down to just a few people scattered around. Douglas checked his train ticket. He was scheduled for the 10:05 train. It would take him to Phoenix where part two of his plan would be put into motion. Douglas adjusted his glasses, which were starting to slide down the bridge of his nose on small beads of sweat. He looked down at his bag and unzipped a side pocket. From it, he pulled out a small edition of The Bible. It had been burned on all corners.
Douglas opened The Bible and skimmed through the many pages. When he reached the back, there were two pages with no typed words - only hand written words. Douglas pulled a pen from his jacket pocket and placed the tip of it on one of the pages, just below a paragraph he had written earlier. He began to write another entry:
I sit here now, waiting for my 10:05 train to Phoenix. The Stallman's have no idea what is on it's way to their precious city. There are two more to take from this world during this night, and when the sun rises tomorrow morning in Phoenix, there will be none. Who ever are fortunate enough to find this information in the ass end of this beloved Bible, don't even try to understand me. You don't know me. No one does. - D.C.
Douglas Carter closed the book after thinking about what he had wrote for a while. He then opened it back up, and read the entry above it one more time. It was his favorite part:
I did it, but I can't remember it for Christ's sake. I want to remember so badly but it all went black afterwards. I remember grabbing the knife and holding it very tight. My gorgeous Lilly Stallman - the queen of the God damn world - didn't see it coming. It was quick - too quick. I should make it last longer next time. I will make it last longer next time. The parents of this whore will know how it should have felt. Lilly put up a fight - I didn't expect that. After she was carved, she was able to get one last hit in that made me fall back and hit my head - that's when it all went black. I can't remember details. -D.C.
Douglas slammed the book shut again and stuck it back into the side pocket of his travel bag. He looked up. No one was around. The train station looked empty. Douglas jumped up, grabbed his back and rushed over to the ticket office. He looked at his watch on the way: 11:47pm.
He came to a quick stop at the office and banged on the glass window. Moments later, the teller arrived. She slid the window open. "Can I help you, sir?"
"I missed my train. Is there another one leaving for Phoenix tonight?" Douglas asked, catching his breath.
The woman checked the schedule. "Yes. There is another one leaving in less than 15 minutes."
"Is it possible to trade in my ticket for that one?"
The woman hesitated, and finally smiled. She spoke in a friendly manner. "Well, you seem like one of the good ones. There aren't many of those left now days. Let me see what I can do for you. Can I have your ticket and ID please?"
Douglas cooperated with the woman and supplied her with all she needed. After a few moments on the computer, a new ticket printed out and she glance it over more than once. She then looked at Douglas and handed him the ticket and his ID. Her smile was gone.
"Here's your ticket. You are on the 12:00am train. It's on the other side of my office. Have a safe trip, sir."
Douglas was relieved. "Thank you so much ma'am. I really appreciate it."
He turned the corner of the office and saw the train sitting on the tracks, engine running. A man in a dark blue uniform stood by the train door. Douglas approached him and handed him the ticket. The man looked at the paper and allowed Douglas in.
The train was nice. It was clean and smelled like pine. The floors had blue velvet carpet, as well as every single seat. There was only one other man in the car with Douglas. He was a large, bald, black man. He sat near the front of the car and watched Douglas very carefully as he made his way to the back end.
Douglas sat down, and placed his travel bag on the seat next to him.
The black man looked back at Douglas, then faced forward again. He better mind his own damn business, Douglas thought.
The trains' engines kicked into full gear right on time, and the door to the car was shut. It was midnight, and the train's whistle sounded like a foghorn blasting through the station. The train began to move, and in no time, went shooting like a bullet into a darkened tunnel.
Douglas pulled out his Bible and read his entries over and over. The door at the front of the car opened, and Douglas panicked. He closed the book and stuffed it back into the bag. He looked ahead to see one of the train attendants standing in the front. He was a tall man with a clean_shaven face. His eyebrows here thick and dark, and his face was very boney - almost sickly looking this man was. He too wore a dark blue uniform.
"Good evening - or morning depending upon how you look at it." The man spoke with a very nasally voice. "Looks like the midnight train has an extremely light load tonight. You are the only two riding on the entire, 14_car train. I am Norris. If you need anything - anything at all - let me know. And hopefully if there are not any problems that arise, we will have you at your destination within an hour."
Norris looked down to his right at the black man. "What's your name, sir?"
The man took offense and looked up at him. "What does my name matter to you?" He asked in a deep, threatening tone.
Norris laughed. "I was just curious. It's only going to be the three of us here for an hour or so. I figure, why not be on a first name basis?"
"You are not my friend. You don't need to know my name." The man turned around and looked angrily at Douglas. "You're not my friend either, you hear that?"
Douglas nodded. Norris then looked up at him. "Can I know your name, sir?"
"Douglas." He had no reason to hide his name - only what he'd done, and will do.
"Well, Douglas, if you need anything, just press the button on the back of the seat in front of you, and I will be at your call."
Norris left the car the way he came and shut the door.
For what seemed like a half an hour, Douglas stared out the window. All he could see what black, but he could still tell they were moving incredibly fast. Every so often, he got the feeling that the man in the front of the car was looking at him, but only for moments. Almost like he was on guard the whole time. But Douglas refused to look up at him to make sure. He didn't want to start any kind of confrontation. That was the last thing he needed.
A few minutes later, Norris came back into the cart. But this time he was with another man. This man was dressed in a black suit. They both stood at the front of the car, side by side. The man in black was looking at Douglas, and Norris whispered something into his ear. Whatever was whispered then focused their attention on the black man. The man in the black suit cleared his throat, and spoke.
"Sid Willis?" He said. The black man responded by standing up in yet another threatening manner.
"How do you know my name? I never told you." Sid - his name was - pointed directly at Norris.
"Sid, do you remember the store you were at today?" The black suited man asked. Confused, Sid nodded. The man continued. "Do you remember the gun shots?" Side nodded again, staying quiet. He seemed to be in a calm and relaxed manner now - a complete turn around from moments earlier. Douglas watched the situation from the back. His eyes widened. Shit. It's the police, Douglas thought. Or maybe the FBI?
The man in the black suit continued:
"Then you are aware of what happened. Do you have any questions regarding what happens now?"
Sid remained calm and quiet, and nodded one final time.
"The come with me." The man in the suit guided Sid out of the car, and through the door
Norris looked back at Douglas. "Mr. Douglas Carter, right?"
He said.
"Uh, yeah." Douglas said, unsure of the situation. Norris smiled. "You're next."
With that, Norris left and shut the door. Douglas was alone in the car. He looked out the window, and it seemed to have gotten darker in the tunnel. Why are we still even in this tunnel? Douglas thought. They know. They know everything. It was a set up.
"I have to get out of here," Douglas said quietly to himself. He picked up his travel bag and dashed to the back door of the car. He pushed and pulled on the door handle repeatedly, but it wouldn't budge. He turned around, not sure what to do. He dropped his bag, and kneeled down next to it. He unzipped it and began to shuffle through his clothes. I need to get rid of the knife. I'll throw it out the window.
Douglas was pulling clothes out left and right, and finally reached the bottom of the bag. The knife was gone. Douglas' could feel pain in the pit of his stomach. His eyes widened, and he stared. He couldn't believe the knife was gone. He must have put it in the bag, the must have. Where else could it have gone? If the knife were anywhere else, there would be evidence pointing him. This couldn't be happening.
There was a heavy jolt of the train, and it began to slowly come to a stop. Nervous and afraid, Douglas stood up in the center isle of the train. He stood there and waited. The train finally came to a stop. The PA system within the car began to crackle, and a man's voice came over it. "Last stop. Last stop. Everyone must vacate the train. Thank you."
The PA system shut off, and the car door opened. Norris came in and stood by the door. "Last stop, Douglas. You ready to get off?" Norris didn't seem to pay any attention, or even care that Douglas was standing over his bag, with clothes strung everywhere. Douglas didn't answer. The man in the black suit then seemed to materialize from the other car, and into this one. He walked to the back and stood in front of Douglas.
"Mr. Douglas Carter?" He said.
"Yeah…"
"Do you remember the house you were in earlier tonight?" "Yeah."
"Do you remember your wife, Lilly Stallman?"
The fear and care of the situation then left Douglas' body. He calmed down, and felt extremely relaxed. "Yes." "Is this your knife?"
Douglas looked at the black suited man's left hand. In it, he gripped the bloody hunting knife used to kill his wife. "Yes, it's mine."
"There was a slight struggle when you attacked and killed Lilly Stallman," the man said. "Do you remember falling back and hitting your head?"
"Yes. Everything went black." Douglas said.
The man nodded, and then escorted Douglas out of the car using the side door, and into another deserted train station. It looked like the one in Hardwick, but this one was run down. The ticket office was boarded up, and there were burn marks all over the place. It reeked of rotting animal carcasses.
Douglas looked into the station and saw Sid walking aimlessly to a dark corner of the room, where he then vanished into the shadows.
The man in the black suit asked one more question. "Do you have any questions as to why you're here?"
Douglas turned around and stared at the man with an emotionless face. "No. I understand."
The man in the suit, satisfied with Douglas' answer, climbed back into the train. Norris appeared at the doorway, and looked down at Douglas. Then the woman from the ticket office in Hardwick appeared over his shoulder. She shook her head, disappointed, and looked from Douglas to Norris. "I thought he was one of the good ones."
"It's hard to tell anymore." Norris said, as he pulled the train door shut. The engine started again, and the foghorn whistle sounded. The train started moving, and within seconds, was gone.