train songs [05]

[tictoctictoc]

At length, the stairwell Addy, Brandon, and Russel are on bottoms out onto a dimly lit hall, more of a landing than a room, full of refuse and dust. There is a man there, sleeping, dressed in several layers of clothing and dirty through and through. A battered radio sits next to his feet. Brandon is forcibly reminded of the homeless man they

Comments

[call_me_rat]

The song doesn't strike any chord, but Russel stands watching the homeless man. It's better to sleep in a well-lit place like this because nobody will mess with you except the cops, but then that also means sooner or later you get woken up by being prodded by a nightstick and some annoyed voice telling you to move along. And in winter, when the layers aren't enough, newspaper makes a good insulation...

He shakes his head. How does he know all this? Why does it feel like firsthand experience? He and Brandon have been through some pretty tight times, but never like that. It takes an effort to pull out of his thoughts and look to his brother. "Yeah... yeah, it might be good to get above ground again, see what the damage is."

[victormakesart]

"Yeah. Ah.` Above ground, or... I'm not claustrophobic, but this doesn't sit right with me." She's listing the things that could go wrong in an enclosed space like this. Her list starts with Asphyxiation by Carbon Monoxide and ends with Zapped by Tracks. There's a Cave In near the front of her list. She covers her mouth, coughs, squinting against the less-than-properly-bright light.

[tictoctictoc]

"It looks like a place They'd be, doesn't it?" Brandon agrees softly, moving out onto the platform. He looks around, then pauses in dismay. "There aren't any steps to the outside. We're going to have to take a train. Or walk in the tunnels."

He doesn't fancy the idea of walking along the tracks. Zapped by Tracks is a prevalent worry in his mind, too.

[call_me_rat]

"Just... take it and see where it goes?" They don't have tokens or anything, but since they're already inside the station and on the platform that shouldn't matter. Russel shrugs and nods, but he has to force himself to turn away from the homeless man. He's tempted to tuck some money into his coat or something, and it's not fear of reprisal from Brandon that stops him. He's not sure he trusts anything or anyone but them right now, and he half expects the homeless man to stand up and attack them with a syringe or something. He follows Brandon and Addy, and waits watching the dark tunnel for the next train.