Prompt: Write about a Sideways Glance
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She sat on the subway train, engrossed in her novel. The heroine was kidnapped, and the hero didn't know she was gone yet. Oh, how will they be reunited? Stations came and went, and here she sat.
A young man got on at the Greenbank Station. His day had been long, and he was overwhelmed with life. Being fired wasn't what he wished for to happen in his day, but he knew there would be a blessing in it, at some point. He hated his job, but this forced him to step away from it. He sat on an empty bench and slouched over. Thoughts of frustration and 'what now?' raced through his mind.
As he sat there, contemplating his next move, the train started to make a squealing sound. A harsh vibration shuddered through the car and he looked outside to see if he could see anything. Sparks were flying along the wall of the tunnel they were in; something had surely got dragged under the car! Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed an older woman, completely captivated by her novel. She didn't even look up at the spine-tingling sound.
Looking up, he saw a conductor of some sort coming down the aisle.
"I'm sorry to interrupt you; we are going to have to stop for a while. Something has gotten lodged under the train and we will need to find a way to remove it," he said.
Muttering and indistinguishable words began a soft hum around him. He wondered what this was about. "Is there anything I can do to help?" he asked the conductor.
"Not at this time, sir. Please just stay in your seat. I'm sure we'll have this resolved in a minute or two and we'll be on our way again. If we need you, someone will get .... "
His words were broken off with an explosion.
The car flew backward, and the space was filled with screaming and grinding of steel being pushed to its breaking point. The young man was launched across the aisle into the mother and child that were sitting there. He tried to break his fall and save the child from his full impact, but he lost his balance and the full brunt of his size fell on the mother and child. The child let out a blood-curdling howl which was drowned out by the mother's scream. A piercing shot of pain went through his arm.
He lay there for a bit. Trying to gather his bearings. Throughout the car, there were moans and weeping. And silence.
"Help me," a whispered voice came from in front of him. "Can anyone help me?"
Silence.
Even the young boy and woman he fell into were silent. The man was afraid of what that meant. He tried to move his toes from where his feet were twisted at an odd angle. He could feel them and they didn't hurt. He tried to move his lower body a bit. So far, so good. It was went he went to move the body that was on top of him that he felt the sharp pain pierce through his arm again.
"Lady, if you can wait a bit, I'll see if I can help you. I'm stuck under something, or maybe someone, and if I can get free, I'll do what I can to help," he responded in a weak voice himself.
"Ok," she responded. "I can't feel my legs. I can't feel anything."
He maneuvered himself around and with his other arm, he was able to slowly push the person aside. It was obvious that the person was no longer alive - there was a huge gash on the side of his head and an empty look in the unseeing eyes. There was no movement coming from him.
Once the young man had extricated himself from the bodies, he could see what surrounded him. Complete chaos. Blood everywhere. Body pieces. It's a wonder that he was alive!
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