-
rating: +1
Credits
Next Station
Author: MScarlet MScarlet . See here for other works by me.
Phase 1 entry of the Hidden Tale Contest. The core image is "Commute".Content Warning: Depictions of gore and suicide.
Please stand back from the train doors…
Amidst the monotonous trilingual broadcast, I quickly found a seat on the bench to avoid the pain of standing for the next half hour. I boarded the train at Kowloon Tong and travelled to the terminus at Tiu Keng Leng. The short half-hour metro ride was also my daily commute to work.
Sitting or standing, it was undoubtedly the most liberating time of my day.
Letting out a yawn, I realised that I seemed to have forgotten to brush my teeth today; my breath was a bit nasty.
Next station: Lok FuJoy and Wealth…
I took out my phone and started browsing the forum. The Daily Life section was uneventful, the Romance section was contentious and the Gaming section was heated. Loyalties to different virtual communities led to intense debates and clashes. Drops of liquid seemed to be leaking from the phone case and dripping onto the floor.
I casually grabbed a handkerchief to wipe it up. The faint smell of blood made me smile and filled my heart with joy and wealth.
Next station: Wong Tai SinWeasel…
Suddenly, a sharp, mocking laugh interrupted my thoughts. I turned my head to see a mousy-eyed man holding his mobile phone and laughing hysterically. He was a comical contrast to his neatly pressed suit.
"Hey mate, what's making you laugh so much?" I asked curiously. The video playing on his phone showed a crowded scene, everyone holding incense and candles, swaying as they walked slowly towards a distant temple.
"You rude little thing, call me Weasel!" He sneered at me, speaking in a high voice.
"I laugh at them for going to worship this useless thing. Nothing will change, and they have wasted their money. Isn't that funny?"
"Seeking peace of mind is fine, but if everything stays the same, then peace of mind is useless, right?" I laughed. That's why I stopped asking for divine intervention a long time ago.
This guy seemed to be getting off at this station. We didn't chat long before he got up and left. As he got up, I took another look at him. Isn't he just a big yellow-skinned rat pretending to be intimidating? Who is he trying to scare or fool with that act?
Next station: Diamond Hill…
Diamond Hill is a big station, so I quickly squeezed onto the bench to avoid the crowds. I opened a game app on my phone, ready to complete my daily tasks.
It's a game about synthesis, in which you collect items and combine them to create higher level items. Coincidentally, there was an event in the game where players had to keep tapping on veins to collect ores and eventually synthesise them into large gems for rewards.
So I started tapping on the mines in the game, filling the screen with ores, and then swiping to combine them into high level stones. It seemed endless.
Speaking of Diamond Hill, it really lived up to its name as a major station. A large number of passengers squeezed into the carriage. Within moments the carriage was packed like a tin of sardines. Despite my best efforts to shrink to the side, I still felt like I was being crushed under a thousand pounds of pressure. To make matters worse, the new passengers boarding the train were all loud talkers, making a racket and adding to the heat. Occasionally I caught glimpses of rags and skinnies passing in front of me. The only thing I could do was hold on to my mobile phone while vigorously tapping on the screen.
Next station: Choi HungRainbow…
Fortunately, when the train reached the next station, a large group of passengers got off. The carriage began to quiet down, and the game on my phone displayed a message saying that my energy had been depleted. It kindly provided a whole list of methods to restore energy, but of course they were all paid options.
I looked down at the screen, my fingers tired from tapping. I still had a long way to go before I could synthesise the highest level Rainbow Diamond. Without buying energy or packages, it was impossible to catch up and complete the synthesis. I rolled my eyes in frustration. Isn't it always like this?
I put the phone down and turned slightly to look out the window behind me. The windows on this line were not just for decoration. Bright light shone into my eyes from outside the carriage as the train emerged from a tunnel. And what appeared before my eyes was…
Next station: Kowloon BayNine-Dragon Bay…
…A hellish scene.
Nine elongated creatures, so long that their ends could not be seen, surrounded a completely naked and plain giant in the dim but blinding sunlight. I saw it grab one of the creatures and casually throw it aside, causing an entire building to collapse. Then, with another swing, it turned an entire street into a smear of tomato sauce on a thin crust pizza.
The remaining seven unknown entities tied the giant into a tight knot, and as the giant rolled towards the slowing train, panic spread amongst the passengers. They rushed to the front carriages. I, too, panicked and cursed as I ran forward. If they fought and damaged the train, I would be late for work today!
At that moment, the giant tore off another of the creatures and, with a casual toss, sent a super-long, pitch-black cylinder crashing horizontally onto the elevated platform. Part of it landed on the last carriage with a loud bang, then rolled towards the front of the train, leaving shards of metal and flesh in its wake.
I squeezed into the front carriage with the remaining passengers, my heart pounding. Why didn't the bloody train move?
The elongated creatures rolled over with overwhelming force, filling the view with darkness and a tremendous roar. Then, with a single announcement, all was quiet again.
Next station: Ngau Tau KokOx Horn…
When I opened my eyes, I was still sitting on the long bench at the back of the train. Outside the window, the sky was a deep blue and the streets and buildings were intact. The train slowed as it entered the next station, and the passengers around me were the same ones I had seen on it earlier. The nine elongated creatures and the giant who had originally been a few streets away were nowhere to be seen.
"What? It was all a dream?" I pulled out a red-stained handkerchief and lightly wiped the cold sweat from my forehead.
"Brother, you look really pale. Should I call a doctor?" A deep voice reached my ear at that moment. I turned my head to see a man sitting next to me, and I could sense his concern from his big ox head.
Next station: Kwun TongOfficial Pond…
"No, it's nothing. Just lack of sleep. I've been working eight to ten for the last few days and haven't had a good night's sleep." I waved my hand to thank him for his concern.
"Ah, lack of sleep is a great enemy. You should rest more - or maybe you don't need to rest at all? Haha." The ox-headed man chuckled and asked, "By the way, are you getting off at Tiu Keng Leng?"
"Although I have to change trains later, getting off at the terminus will take me to Tiu Keng Leng. How did you know that?"
"I guessed. By the way, I'm getting off at the next station," the ox-headed man laughed again.
"You're only going one stop?"
"I'm a civil servant, don't worry."
As the train approached the station, the ox-headed man stood up and said to me, "Once we enter the tunnel, there's no turning back. If you want to get off, do it now."
"Thanks, but I'm in a hurry to get to work."
"Is that so? Well, I'll be off then. The path ahead is a bit steep, so hold on to the handrail and don't fall."
"Okay, okay, bye."
I waved him goodbye and watched him disappear into the crowd of people getting on and off the train.
Next station: Lam TinBlue Field…
From the next station, the rest of the journey was spent in a tunnel. As the outside scenery quickly disappeared into darkness, the brightly decorated interior of the carriage faded to reveal the rusty and dilapidated appearance beneath. The floor creaked underfoot, and with every step you could almost feel a piece of viscous flesh being torn out.
The train tilted downwards as it headed for the underground station. In the distance I saw a passenger accidentally fall to the floor and melt silently into the fleshy ground. Instinctively, I grabbed the handrail next to the long seat - what the ox-headed man had said seemed reliable.
When the train stopped at the station, the water rushed through the doors and into the carriage. The waist-high water washed the floor clean, but it also brought in a group of obese passengers. They were swollen like balloons and emitted a pungent odour that made me dizzy and nauseous. I thought that the scene of these "balloons" bursting must be too grotesque to look at.
I desperately wanted to get off the train, but there was nowhere to go - the outside was a marshland with no solid ground. The ox-headed man was indeed reliable; there was no turning back now.
Next station: Yau TongOil Pond…
The train continued to descend and the temperature inside the carriage gradually became scorching. The stench emanating from the newly arrived passengers was intensified by the high temperature. Coupled with the sweltering heat, my dazed mind could hardly think.
This time it was burning human figures entering through the open doors - it would be more accurate to say they were crawling rather than walking. Not only were they burning their own flesh, but they were covered in hot oil.
As a result, the passengers from the previous station began to boil one by one, followed by explosions. Suddenly, foul water and shredded flesh flew everywhere, splashing on the burning figures and causing even bigger explosions. Flames erupted all over the carriage and there was nowhere to hide.
Next station: Tiu Keng LengHanging Ridge…
The train has reached the end. Please exit from the train…
Then I woke up with a start. The train had already pulled into the terminus and the passengers around me were getting off one by one. I too was slowly waking up from this strange nightmare.
There was never enough time in the day to sleep, and even the little sleep I got on the tube was precious. How could it be the most liberating time of the day? It simply didn't exist.
I yawned and recognised a familiar smell in my mouth. It was the smell of those balloon-like figures in my dream. As I stood up and walked out of the carriage, the scene that greeted my eyes froze me in place.
It wasn't a platform, but a hill of steps. Dark clouds filled the sky and ropes hung from the top, forming knots. The passengers who had disembarked earlier stood in front of various knots and placed them around their necks. The ropes tightened, pulling the people upwards. Their bodies shook violently under the ropes and eventually came to rest, turning into chunks of flesh oozing with a pale yellow substance.
The chunks of flesh hanging from the ropes formed a forest of ropes that made up the stairs of the hill.
Carefully avoiding the dirt on the ground and the 'trees', I stepped up to the top of the hill and looked down at the endless forest of ropes.
There was a knot right in front of me, at just the right height.
Well, there was no turning back. Better than going to work, wasn't it?
So I tied the knot around my neck and flied to the end of my journey.