Fading Echoes of Love

Chapter 7 - Dreams and Reality: A Thin Line Between Life and Death

As the Metro-North Railroad train came to a halt at a small suburban station, a passenger disembarked to smoke. Cheyenne extended a helping hand to Sierra as she stepped off the train. Sierra was puzzled by Cheyenne’s gesture and asked for an explanation. Cheyenne replied cryptically, “Come with me,” and pulled on Sierra’s suitcase, leading her out of the carriage.

The platform was empty and chilly, with a faint light offering a small sanctuary in the surrounding darkness. The words “plug mouth” hung in the air, while the railway tracks disappeared into the cold, unseen night. The platform attendant blew their whistle, indicating that the train was about to depart. The passengers put out their cigarettes and boarded the train.

When Cheyenne sensed something suspicious about the area, Sierra reminded her that it was time to get back on the train. However, Cheyenne grabbed her arm and gave her a serious look, asking, “Are you really going to get on this train? I have a bad feeling about this Metro-North Railroad.”

“Why?” Sierra asked.

Cheyenne nodded in agreement, staring ahead of the train car. The platform attendant urged them, “Hurry up! Get on the train!”

As the train doors began to close, Sierra grew increasingly anxious and pressed Cheyenne, “What are you trying to tell me?”

Cheyenne seemed agitated and took a deep breath while placing her palm against her chest. Sierra noticed that her friend was visibly tense, her fingers gripping the suitcase handle tightly and turning white.

“Do you remember when we were on our way here and I asked you about your hobbies?” Cheyenne spoke urgently. “You mentioned basketball, but then you asked me the same question. Do you recall my answer?”

Sierra looked suspicious and remained silent.

“You said you don’t like outdoor sports!” Cheyenne almost shouted.

Sierra’s brow furrowed, and she shook her head in confusion. “I don’t understand.”

Cheyenne continued, “I never told you about my passion for outdoor sports, and yet, somehow, you knew that I was planning to invite you to join me for a game next weekend. How is that possible?” She nodded, her eyes fixed on Sierra. “The thought of inviting you was still fresh in my mind, and yet you had already declined. Why? Because everything that is happening now had already happened in my dream last night.”

Sierra struggled to believe what she was hearing. “This is unbelievable.”

Cheyenne spoke softly, “I’m not sure, but I don’t think we should go ahead with our plan to board this train.” Sierra began to ponder her friend’s words, and a look of incredulity mixed with recognition crossed her face. “I had a horrible dream last night,” Cheyenne admitted.

Cheyenne’s eyes widened as she locked gazes with Sierra, intensifying Sierra’s inexplicable panic. “Dreams?” she inquired.

Cheyenne quivered slightly but maintained her composure as she began to speak, “I dreamt that you and I, along with the other passengers on the high-speed train, perished. You might dismiss it as just a dream and not take it seriously, but every person in my dream, including the man with the suitcase, the college student playing cards behind us, and the pregnant woman diagonally across from you, all appeared in it.”

Rather than assuming the suitcase would hit her, Cheyenne visualized it striking Sierra. She continued, “When I saw the man enter, he didn’t do anything, but I was already upset, and then… I didn’t know them, but I dreamt about them, even the seats were the same. They’re all dead, and the whole train carriage is filled with blood.”

Cheyenne stepped forward, released the pull rod, and hugged Sierra tightly. Her eyes gleamed with a chilling intensity as she held onto Sierra. “Let me tell you something, don’t be scared,” Cheyenne said. “But be cautious. The dream may be a warning.”

Sierra was seized with a potent, frigid terror, paralyzing her like an unyielding iron shackle. Cheyenne’s countenance became strange, and an immense sense of dread loomed over Sierra as they faced each other in the cold wind.

“Pardon me, ladies!” The staff’s stern voice startled Sierra. “Are you getting on or off the train? It’s about to depart!”

Sierra hastily grabbed her suitcase and moved towards the door. Sensing Cheyenne’s reluctance to leave, she implored her to join her in the carriage. “Cheyenne, please hurry and come on board. You need to calm down,” Sierra said in a reassuring tone.

Cheyenne appeared hesitant, like a deflated balloon. She stood helplessly in place, unsure of what to do. Sierra attempted to persuade her, “This is the last Metro-North Railroad train to New York City today. Are you sure you want to stay just because of a dream?”

Cheyenne remained silent, avoiding Sierra’s gaze, signifying her decision not to board the train. The staff approached and asked Cheyenne if she was getting on the train, to which Cheyenne replied firmly, “No.”

As the train prepared to leave, the staff directed Cheyenne to step back. Feeling uneasy, Sierra boarded the train. She looked outside and saw Cheyenne standing alone as the doors closed. Sierra’s heart raced with uncertainty, wondering if Cheyenne’s premonition was correct.

Just as the train was about to depart, Cheyenne cried out, “Wait!”

Sierra’s mind cleared as Cheyenne’s yell jolted her. Overcome with fear, Sierra abandoned her suitcase and sprinted towards Cheyenne. With only seconds to spare, Sierra managed to jump out of the train and into Cheyenne’s arms. The two of them almost tumbled to the ground as the train left.

The door behind them slammed shut, and the staff looked stunned like flies caught in a spider’s web. Cheyenne held Sierra protectively in his arms, shielding her like a precious infant, as the high-speed train slowly glided away from the platform and disappeared into the night.

As they stepped away from the platform, the tension between them dissipated. Sierra playfully pushed Cheyenne, trying to lighten the mood. “Cheyenne, I left all my luggage in the car. Can you help me retrieve it? We can’t go back to New York City tonight. How are we going to find a place to stay in this remote wilderness? And if you find a hotel, I’ll need to be reimbursed for the business trip.”

Cheyenne laughed heartily, her grin stretching from ear to ear. “No problem at all! Even though this area is isolated, there’s still a station, and we can find a taxi when we step outside.”

“I’ll have to request time off,” Sierra added. “I’m too rattled to focus and need to slow down for a couple of days.”

Cheyenne nodded in agreement, still chuckling. Sierra knew it wasn’t wise to act impulsively with Cheyenne, especially with work waiting for her the next day. After the cabinet patrol, there was still a mountain of work to tackle. It would be wise to leave Cheyenne, who had suddenly become erratic, and return to the safety of her own home.

She refused to acknowledge that her fear of being transported to eternal damnation by the Metro-North Railroad was a result of Cheyenne’s unwavering conviction. Two people and a suitcase were being pulled towards the platform exit. The high-hanging blue sign indicated the exit, and the platform remained silent and uninhabited.

“How strange,” Cheyenne looked around. “Why are we the only two here?”

Sierra followed Cheyenne’s gaze and looked around. “Maybe everyone has already left the station.”

“Please stop,” Sierra said, rubbing her arms to alleviate the goosebumps caused by the cold and fear. “The atmosphere is already terrible, and you’re only making it worse, Cheyenne.”

Cheyenne’s attempt to lighten the mood brings a smile to Sierra’s face. “You know, if anything moves, I will scream, and Sierra will kick off her heels and run. No hesitation,” he jokes, pretending to be her bodyguard.

Sierra laughs along and responds, “I don’t think anything can scare me as much as your voice does.”

As they approach the exit, they glance towards the underground passage, and their bodies freeze. The passage is pitch-black, except for a dim green light emanating from the “emergency exit” sign in the corner. The platform’s lights only illuminate the nearest few steps, leaving the rest of the passage swallowed up in darkness.

Sierra and Cheyenne exchange a worried glance, feeling the chill of the unknown behind them. They hesitate to venture down the passage.

“What’s going on?” Sierra positions herself on the far left of the steps, hoping to obtain a better view. However, she fails to spot the Metro-North Railroad stop sign in the distance.

“Perhaps the lights are out? This seems to be the only way out of the station,” Sierra suggests, puzzled.

Cheyenne surprises Sierra by laying the suitcase flat on the ground and pulling out a toolbox. She retrieves a mini flashlight from it and announces, “I’ll go down and have a look first. You wait for me here.”

Sierra grabs Cheyenne and protests, “You want to go down by yourself? Aren’t you afraid of the dark? What if there’s danger? I’ll accompany you.”

“I’ll go alone,” Cheyenne insists, stopping Sierra. “If there’s any trouble, I’ll shout, and you can run immediately.”

Sierra is tired of being treated like a helpless object all the time. She takes charge and declares, “Stop it. If something happens, I can’t escape alone. Where can I go at night? Let’s go down and have a look. We shouldn’t scare ourselves. Maybe the light is just broken.”

Sierra steps down the passage with Cheyenne following closely behind, illuminating the way with her high-performance flashlight. Cheyenne had a hunch to pack her toolbox, and it turned out to be a smart decision.

As they walked through the passage, the beam of their flashlight provided them with some comfort. Sierra and Cheyenne held hands, trying to encourage each other. They finally reached the end of the passage, but as Cheyenne shone her flashlight deeper into the tunnel, their grip tightened, and their faces turned pale.

The passage stretched out before them, dark and motionless, creating an eerie void. While the passage should have led to the arrival hall, the lack of visible light made it impossible to tell how long it was. Cheyenne’s flashlight barely penetrated the darkness, making the situation even more perplexing.

Sierra asked, “Should we continue?” Cheyenne realized that the passage might be longer than they had anticipated.

Cheyenne suggested, “If we don’t make it out, should we spend the night on this platform? Maybe there is a turn ahead of us.” She looked around with her flashlight, but even the nearest walls and floors remained unlit.

Despite feeling uneasy from a bad dream, Cheyenne’s experience traveling alone made her bolder than most city dwellers. She didn’t believe in ghosts and relied on traditional materialist theory as the basis for embarking on journeys alone, often crossing mountains and graveyards alone in the middle of the night.

Sierra followed Cheyenne into the darkness, calling out, “Wait a minute!” Her voice echoed loudly in the empty tunnel, causing her to panic. She asked Cheyenne if she was afraid of encountering something strange inside.

Cheyenne reassured her, “If there is something, we can hear it moving. Have you heard anything? It’s quiet inside. I feel fine. Otherwise, you can wait for me here, and I’ll come back when I explore the road. Walking out of the passage should lead us to the staff on duty.”

Cheyenne checked her luminous watch and saw that it was only ten minutes past ten in the evening, not midnight. Although she did not know what awaited them in the lobby, she knew that if something happened, the open platform was the most unsafe place. Sierra asked Cheyenne again if she was sure she wanted to cross the passage, and Cheyenne replied calmly, “Well, there may be something wrong with the power system. Remember that time we were on the high-speed rail, and the lights were flashing? That may indicate a power system failure for the entire line of Connecticut and New York City.”

Sierra repeated, “The entire line…” but continued to follow Cheyenne. Cheyenne gave Sierra’s hand a reassuring squeeze, and the two cautiously made their way through the dark passage side by side.