The Purgatory Express

It was already 6.55 pm. He was scurrying to the railway station with his heavy suitcase. The train was at 7 pm. He couldn’t miss it. The next train is 2 days after. He must be there before 11 pm. It was February 29, 1988. He was the photographer of a famous newspaper in London. The day was special. Because there was a comet appearing which only happens in a century. He was assigned to get the perfect pictures of that. There was only one location from where people could clearly see the comet . The forecast said it will appear between 11 pm and 12 am. The train will reach there at 9 pm. So if he could take the train on time, he can get clear pictures of the comet. He ran Inside the station. There was nobody, the station was deserted. He looked at his watch. It was 7.05. “I think I missed the train” he said to himself. Suddenly he heard an announcement. The train was an hour late. He calculated, so the train will arrive at 8 pm and reach there at 10 pm. The comet will appear only after 11 pm. So there is nothing to worry about. He sat on a stone bench there and felt relaxed. He opened his suitcase. There was his camera, some newspapers, an Apple and a bottle of water. He took the bottle and gulped the water without leaving another drop in it as he was already exhausted from running. He sat there , the gentle breeze blew through his hair and he slowly fell asleep. He jumped out of his sleep with a sudden jerk, hearing a loud whistle. The train had arrived. He looked at the time. It was 7.30. He again felt relieved because he would reach there even before he expected. He took his suitcase and entered the train. He looked at his ticket, it was B 13. He found his seat and saw a beautiful lady sitting opposite him in B 14. There was no one else nearby. He put down his suitcase and sat there. He looked at the girl. She was looking out through the window and didn’t bother to give him a glance. Her eyes were dark blue in colour and they sparkled like sapphires . He felt that he was sitting next to the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Her lips were extremely reddish. Suddenly she looked at him. When her eyes met his, he felt like he was immediately falling for her. Her eyes were intensely seductive. He looked again and tried to avoid eye contact. Still he slightly peeked at her. When he realized she saw that, he tried to begin a conversation. “ You must be going to see the comet right?” “ Yeah, I’ve been waiting for a century “ He laughed, “Good sense of humor “ But she didn’t seem to have a smiling face. So he stopped smiling and looked away. After sometime he felt a bit hungry. He opened his box, took the Apple out and began to eat. Suddenly he choked and spit out the Apple. He saw a bottle in her bag. “Can I have some water” he asked and coughed. “No” she said in a loud, harsh tone. He felt a bit strange and stood up and walked for a minute. He was angry at the girl. ‘ I just asked for some water and she shouted at me! What a girl ! ‘ he said to himself. He stood next to the door and looked outside. The stars were glowing more than normal. He realized the whole sky is getting ready to receive the comet. He walked back to his seat and saw that girl drinking water from her bottle. He stared at her. He looked desperately. When she saw him, she closed the bottle and put it back in her bag. He suddenly noticed something on her lower lips. It was some liquid red in colour. He sat there and looked at her. She wiped her lips. He looked at the bottle, in the bottle too was that red liquid. ‘So it’s not water, it might be some fruit juice, or maybe some medicine?’ Thoughts piled up in his mind even though it was nothing that actually mattered him. He continued to gaze outside the window. She stood up and went to the bathroom. He looked at her. His curiosity was at the peak, he took her bottle ,opened it and took a sip. He spit it out the next moment and threw the bottle on the floor. Yes, it was blood! A bottle of human blood!!! He slowly stood up, he felt dizzy. He thought he was going to faint. He held on to a seat and stood there. Suddenly she came and saw the floor red with blood that spilled out of her bottle which lay open on the floor . Her eyes began to glow extraordinarily. He clearly saw her eyes turning red from blue. Her canine teeth began to grow long. He nearly froze seeing that monstrous transformation. He turned back and ran to the other end of the train. On the way he realised that there was nobody else in the train other than them. He stood there and turned back. She was standing just behind him. Immediately she opened her mouth and her long canines deeply went inside his throat , he screamed with pain… He trembled as he jumped up and looked everywhere. He was still sleeping in the railway station. He was just dreaming. He felt pity for himself. That was a hard nightmare. He looked at his watch, 8.05. What! Where is the train? He looked at the track and saw the train moving. “ oh no “ he shouted and ran behind the train and jumped inside. Even a slight slip, he would have been dead. He looked around. Yeah, he is in the train. ‘ I would have missed the train by just sitting there and dreaming ‘ he said to himself and laughed. The train was filled with people. He looked for B 13 and sat there. There was an old man sitting in B 14, which made him relaxed. He sat there looking outside the window. The train reached a station. He saw the old man folding the newspaper in his hand and getting down at that station with his case. Somebody came and sat in that seat. He didn’t dare to look there because he didn’t want to. He continued looking out through the window. He felt the stars were coming nearer. Wow! He looked at the stars amused. And he turned. At that moment a chill went from his toe to his head. He felt he was unable to move. There, opposite to him in B 14, was that same girl he saw in his dream. He began to shiver. He looked at his watch. 11.20 pm!!! “Whaaaaaaatttt” he shouted “What?” The girl asked. “My station has passed, but how? It was the last station?” She stared at him. He looked around. All the people are staring at him. Suddenly the girl held his hand and scratched with her long nails. Blood appeared transcending the layers of his skin . “You are human” she said. “Of course I am” he shouted in anger. “I think you took the wrong train” a man sitting next to him said. “What? Where is this train going?” He asked in shock. “Have you heard about the comet appearing today?” “Yes” “You are inside the comet. This train is the medium that takes the souls that haven’t found peace after death. This train will apper as a flying coment to others” “What rubbish are you talking?” He shouted He looked outside. Yes the stars are coming closer. “What the hell..! Where is this train going?” He looked at his ticket. There it was written in bold letters – The Purgatory Express Destination : HELL