The Work Room

The Work Room

Written by John Littner

The station was deserted, other than a rat, which scurried back into the subway walls upon sensing my presence. A bright subway light glared down at me from its position on the ceiling. Out of the glower of the light, four feet in front of me, the subway tunnel appeared mysterious and dark, luring my eyes into it’s murky depths. Something was not right.

As if on cue, the low rumble of the subway train permeated the concrete walls, increasing in volume with every second. But the sudden breach of solitude failed to elicit any consolation. It instead seemed to herald the coming of some disquieting force that brought only uneasiness and fear.

I immediately regretted not leaving the party earlier with Jerome. He would have been able to drive me in his car almost directly to my apartment. But I had been so enraptured with Sarah that I failed to even realize he had left. Eventually, most of the people had left the party, and the only ones left were the ones spending the night – Sarah being one of them. With the movers coming to my apartment the following morning, I had resigned to head home.

I leaned over and watched with growing apprehension as the beam of light from the train grew in size; its light ricocheted off the narrow walls of the tunnel. As it came to a screeching halt right in front of me, the doors opened eerily, beckoning me into one of its three cars.

A sick feeling of apprehension grew in my stomach, as I hesitated nervously.

This is my only way home, I soon realized

After reluctantly stepping into one of the cars, I noticed that I was not alone on the train. A scruffy individual in disheveled clothes was seated in the car in front of me; he sat motionless with his back to me. Long black hair protruded past his shoulders and ended in a tangled mess. While at first I didn’t notice it, a large bump seemed to protrude from the back of his head, causing the hair to part slightly. It wasn’t terribly large, but it was large enough to be noticeable. But aside from the odd-looking bump, I felt less uneasy since he was aboard. On this lonely night, just the knowledge of some other person on the train made me feel more secure.

“Door now closing,” an automated voice said from a speaker. It was followed by a computerized dong, which made me jump with a start.

But as I took a seat in the chair, I got myself to relax. In another twenty minutes I would be off this wretched car and walking towards my house. I shook off the feeling of slumber for first time and tried to keep my mind alert by reading the advertisements on the walls of the train. But within minutes, I fell asleep.

* * * * * *

A loud screech woke me up, causing me to glance around. As I gazed through the window of the subway, my heart skipped a beat. Where the hell was I?

The subway came to a stop and the doors opened allowing me take a better look at the unfamiliar station. As I stood up, I saw large cracks in the walls that exposed metal piping. The sign hanging from the ceiling read, Ross Station.

Where was that?

I did not remember being at this part of the subway circuit, and I began wondering whether I was in some rural metro-stop outside the city. How long had I fallen asleep?

As I glanced at my watch, I realized that it had regrettably stopped working; it still read 2:10am. I looked at the map of the metro-circuit, but it was completely covered in graffiti, making it incomprehensible. The scruffy individual was still seated motionless in the car in front, unmoved from when I saw him last.

As the doors closed, I decided that I would check out the map on one of the other two cars when I had the chance

I remained standing as I gazed out the window at the tunnel walls as they whizzed by my face in a constant blur. I took another nervous glance at the man. He was still motionless and facing forward. I began to get a very peculiar feeling about him. There was definitely else wrong with him aside from the bump. He hadn’t moved a muscle for the whole ride.

And then it happened. A thing which had always been a fear of mine, but which I never dreamt would actually happen: the power went out and the whole train was plunged in darkness.

Shit.

My heart was racing as I sensed the train gradually slow down. When it finally lurched to a stop, perspiration was dripping down the side of my face. My hands, now slippery from sweat, had a hard time grasping the pole. What was I going to do?

But before any other thoughts crossed my mind, the lights turned back on. The train, however, did not move. It just sat in the middle of the tunnel with the lights on. Much like looking outside from within a well lit house at night, I was unable to fully see the outside of the train. It just seemed like a giant wall of darkness.

Out of the corner of my eye, I thought I saw a shape move outside in the tunnel close to the car. As I turned to look out the window, something else stopped me. Something I had failed to see when the lights first turned on. The lights to the car in front of mine were on, but the man was gone.

What the hell?

I took a step forward, and squinted through the glass that separated the two cars. Maybe he had fallen down somewhere?

And then the lights went out again, like some cruel joke meant to further assert that I in fact had not control over the situation.

Once again, I was alone, engulfed in total darkness. Reaching a shaky hand up to my forehead, I wiped the sweat. I waited for a few seconds, hoping for the lights to turn back
on.

They didn’t.

Not knowing what else to do, I fumbled along until I reached the door. I groped around the area of the door until I felt what I thought was the emergency door open mechanism, enclosed by a thin layer of plastic. I smashed the plastic with my fist and turned the handle clock-wise. After much exertion, the door grudgingly opened.

As I jumped out of the subway car, I landed in a small puddle splashing water onto my pants. The tunnel smelt dank and moldy. As I tried to orient myself in the darkness, I heard the sound of a door to a subway train opening. My hearted pounded in my chest managed to croak out a shaky “Who’s there?”

No reply.

A little bit louder this time, I repeated, “Who’s there?”

There was still no reply.

I stood frozen in my spot. There was dead silence for over a minute. Then, I heard footsteps approaching me – soft ones, almost inaudible. A new wave of panic swept over me.

I knew I had only one option: run.

I tore off down the tunnel mustering the power of the newly acquired adrenaline that ran through my body. As my feet carried me through the gloomy darkness, I strained my ears for the sound of a pursuit, but heard only the sounds of my own footsteps.

Then I saw something in front of me… a light. It got bigger and bigger until I recognized that it was entrenched in the wall of the tunnel, providing dim light to the surrounding area. I strained my ears again to listen for a pursuit but this time heard none.

As I got closer to the light, I began to notice something near the outermost edges of the lit area. It was a human figure.

Thank God someone else is here, I thought as I took hurried steps towards the figure.

Suddenly a feeling of uneasiness overcame my body. Something was not right. My footsteps slowed down, and eventually I stopped completely, ten feet away from the figure. Squinting in the poor light, I distinguished the figure to have long hair with a heavy jacket.

I began to take another few steps forward when the figure whipped around abruptly. I gasped in horror. Now facing me, I knew I was staring into something purely evil. The shape of the forehead suggested an angry glare, but there were no eyes in the face, just a black emptiness, boring into my soul. I could feel it, searching for something within me. For a few moments I just stared into the emptiness, frozen in time. But then I felt limp and fell to the ground, losing all consciousness.

* * * * * *

When I regained consciousness, I became aware of a prickling sensation in the side of my neck.

I tried to touch the source of irritation with my hand but I couldn’t move. My arms and legs felt rigid and numb.

I sensed that I was lying down on some kind of table, staring upwards. Complete darkness surrounded me. I heard movement to my right and then that prickling sensation in my neck again. Once again I commanded my arms to move, but they would not respond.

I began to fear for my own mortality. What was happening? Why am I here? The darkness around me seemed eternal. It was a poison, consuming my whole body. The thought of not being able to see what was around me was unfathomably terrifying. When will this end?

Again, I felt that prickling sensation in my neck.

Since my sense of sight was rendered useless, my sense of hearing was heightened. I could faintly hear a soft sound, similar to the sound of one who is whispering. But it wasn’t the type of sound a human would make. It was more of a rasping sound, unlike anything I had ever heard before. Concentrating further, I distinguished two different locations where the sound was coming from. It was as if two beings were communicating.


Again, I felt that prickling sensation in my neck. What could possibly be touching me?

And then a new darkness caused by loss of consciousness took over.

* * * * *

Cold, wet particles were landing on my face.

As I opened my eyes slowly, I felt the world around me come into focus. Snow was falling from the sky and landing on my face. I tested the movement in my arms and found that I was able to lift my arm. Slowly I began to sit up.

Where was I?

There were large building around me and I was sitting in the middle of a road. I began to realize that I was in the industrial district. But there wasn’t a subway station here for miles. How did I end up here?

Slowly I got to my feet. My whole body was tingling and my legs felt weak. I knew that I needed to find a phone somewhere, so I began to walk down the street.

An odd feeling came over me. I felt very strange walking down the street. As I walked, it felt as though something else was commanding my limbs to move. It was like I was watching my body move. I could tell my limbs to move faster or slower, but I wasn’t really there to control them. It felt as though there was something else present in me, traveling through my mind and body.

Whatever it was, it was watching me.

Examining me.

I had only been walking a few minutes when I heard the sound of a car behind me. I turned around and saw the headlights of a car. The car stopped and a man got out.

“Hey buddy!” The man said.

My head was spinning and I felt confused.

“Yah?”

“What are you doing here this late at night?” the man asked.

I was searching for words, but didn’t know what to say. What was I doing here?

I stared around blankly.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

I continued to stare around me.

“I don’t know…” I began. “Where am I?”

The man began to walk towards me

“Come on, I’ll take you home,” he said.

He put his arm around my shoulders and led me to his car. After opening the door, I sat down in the car. The man got into the front seat, and I felt the car lurch to a start. After a few minutes my mind seemed to unravel from its confusion. I realized that I was in a police car.

“I’m sorry,” I finally said, “I have no idea what happened.”

“That’s okay. I’m taking you home, it’s the end of my shift anyways. Where do you live?” he asked.

“On Chester Street and 6th Avenue.”

“Looks like you’ve got a bump on your neck. Did you fall somewhere?”
I put my hand on my neck and felt around. There was definitely a bump on my neck. I hesitated in uncertainty.

“I think so.”

“That area is dangerous at night. Not the kind of place to hang around at alone You’re lucky I saw you… there’s no subway station and the buses stopped going there several hours ago.”

I sat in silence.

A few minutes passed by, and gradually I began to recognize where we were. We were on the bridge heading back into the city.

“Do you know what time it is?” I asked.

“It’s four in the morning.” The officer said, looking back at me in the rearview mirror.

Then suddenly his faced changed.

“You know, that bump has gotten bigger,” he said with concern. “Might be some kind of severe infection or reaction to something. I’m taking you to a hospital.”

I felt it again with my fingers. It was warm to the touch.

Suddenly I was hit with a wave of dizziness. My neck began to throb with pain.

“My neck…” I groaned.

Then the pain increased tremendously. Images of the scruffy man on the train popped into my mind. He had had a bump on his neck too.

“Are you okay?” the officer was alarmed.

I hunched over in pain now feeling my eyes water as a result of the intensity.

What is happening to me?

I was now completely consumed by the pain in my neck, as its intensity spread throughout my whole body, making my feet go numb and stomach churn with nausea.

And then I felt something pop out of my neck in a torrent of blood. Squinting down at it on my lap, I noticed little feet and a tail. But before I could get a better look at the creature, it jumped off my lap and right into the neck of the officer.

I heard him scream in agony, as it burrowed into his body. I saw little feet, and a tail, and then it disappeared into him completely.

He tried to croak some words out, but was unable to do so. He just stared ahead, his face holding an expression of shock.

I followed his line of vision through the blood-drenched windshield. The car was speeding towards a cement wall.

I made a desperate attempt to reach the steering wheel.

But I was already too late.

THE END