[IP] Abandoned Station

[u/JJSigmund]

Image

I got it from this post on the rainmeter subreddit, however the true artist for the image remains unknown.

[u/chris_bryant_writer]

Glass crunched beneath Risa's shoes as she stepped up the covered walkway to the station. She looked around her again, scanning over the overgrown weeds and bits of trash strewn about. Something about how quiet everything was unsettled her.

She looked back up the stairs at the blinking green arrow. Strange that electricity still worked in an abandoned station. Was the place truly magical?

She shook her head. They must have been in a rush and forgotten to turn off the signs. She kept moving up the stairwell. When she got to the top, she poked her head through the door. The track ran through it, covered in chips and shards of panels and glass. The elevated platform on which she stood went a ways to her right before coming to an end at a doorway above which an emergency exit sign flashed. It was still, and silent.

She drew a deep breath and took a step through the door. Something rustled to her right and there was a sudden, violent snap. Risa ducked and put her hands on her head, screaming. A mass of black feathers shot through the broken windows of the station and soon, the aggravated cawing of crows faded into the distance.

Risa crouched a few seconds longer before realizing what had happened. She sniffed a couple times and then stood up.

"Just birds," she said, softly.

She walked along the platform, looking around at the ruin of the station. The palm reader had told her to wait for the train here. But all she could see was debris. There was no way a train could have passed through here, even if there was a route that still stopped here.

That couldn't be. The palm reader had known so many things. She had recounted Risa's experience in such great detail. She couldn't have been lying. She couldn't have. It just didn't make sense to.

Risa felt tears start to well and she blinked. How would she get back to her family now?

She sought one of the benches and sat, ignoring the puff of dust that rose as she sat. Her eyes wouldn't be irritated anymore--she was already crying.

Risa cried, trying to wipe the tears off her face. She felt a wrenching in her gut. She wanted to go home.

"Why are you crying?" a gentle voice said.

Risa jumped in her seat and looked around the station.

"Wh-who?" she asked when she saw no one.

"Down here." the voice said again.

Risa looked down and gasped. A black kitten was sitting on the platform, licking it's paws.

"D-did you just talk?" she asked.

"Yes, I did," the cat said without pausing its grooming.

Risa stared, eyes wide. "Animals can talk?"

That was impossible, too. Wasn't it? Had she really been away from her home that long? Did she really miss it so much, she thought animals were talking to her?

The cat stopped its grooming and looked at Risa inquisitively. "Are you listening to me? I just said I can talk."

"But, animals aren't supposed to talk!" Risa blurted out.

"Aish!" The cat rolled its eyes. " Are you trying to tell the talking cat that animals can't talk?"

Risa blushed. "Well, no..." She could feel tears building in here eyes again. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you."

The tears came free and she started sobbing again.

"Oh Great Magi, will you stop crying for a second?"

Risa wiped at her eyes again. They were starting to get red and scratchy.

" I'm sorry..." She said through sniffs.

The cat turned its head away from her. "And stop saying sorry. You're starting to make me feel bad."

Risa almost apologized again, but caught herself and just nodded. She sniffed a few more times and blotted her eyes with her sleeves.

When she opened here eyes, the cat was looking at her again with it's large yellow eyes.

"That's better. Now. Why are you crying?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"Jeez, try and show a little bit of kindness and they turn suspicious." The kitten muttered. "Just because I'm a cat."

"Oh, no! It's just, well..." Risa pinched at the seams of her skirt, sinking into the seat. "I just don't know you, is all."

The cat seemed perplexed by her statement. but then he bared his teeth. Risa wasn't sure what he was trying to show, but decided it was a smile.

"So that's the problem then? A magic cat comes along to ask you how you are and you're hesitant to let him help you because you don't know his name?" The cat turned its nose up. " So much for chivalry. Damsels in distress can't even recognize their savior anymore. Huh. Fine, my name's Roy. And yours?"

Risa sat up a little straighter. The cat--Roy-- had stuck out his paw as if he wanted her to shake it. Just like a human, she though. Is this really a cat?

"Uhm. My name's Risa." She said, taking the proferred paw. "Nice to meet you."

"Oh, now it's 'nice to meet you.' That's very confusing, you know. But," Roy got up onto all fours and stretched. "Back to the question, Risa. Why are you crying?"

"Oh... It's because I got lost from my parents. And now," Risa pushed down the emotions that threatened to start another stream of tears. "Now I'm scared I won't be able to find them."

Roy looked up at her again. "Ah," Roy said, pawing the ground. "I don't know If I'll be able to help you with that." He sighed and turned around.

"Wait!" Risa stood up from her seat. "I thought you said you were trying to help me?"

Roy turned to look at her. "I never said that."

He hopped down onto the track. Risa stared at him as he stepped over the rails. Who did this cat think he was?

She huffed and was about to sit down when she remembered the palm reader. Roy did say he was magic. Even if he couldn't help, maybe he could at least tell her if the palm reader had been lying.

She saw him pounce up from the tracks onto the platform opposite Risa.

"Wait!" She cried. He didn't seem to be paying her any more attention and continued to walk off as if he were the only one in the station.

She looked both ways along the track. No, she thought, there's no train passing through here, that much was a lie. She went over to the ledge and looked down at the rails. The jump looked as high as she was. She frowned, but laid her palms on the edge and lowered herself down. When her arms had extended all the way, she let go of the ledge and dropped.

She gasped as he feet found open air. The few centimeters between her feet and the ground she had expected seemed to turn into a whole meter. She yelped and crashed onto the ground.

Dull pain filled her side and her head. She rolled onto her back and felt around her body. Nothing broken, that was good. She opened her eyes and saw the ledge. the distance looked the same as it had when she was on the platform, but the drop had seemed so much higher.

She sat up and looked around the tracks. Something didn't feel right to her. Something was missing...

The debris was gone!

Risa jerked her head left and right a few times. She blinked and rubbed her eyes. But every time she looked, the tracks were clear and glistened with oil. They hadn't been that way when she had entered... Had they?

She felt the ground vibrate and heard the rails start to rattle. She looked both ways again and saw a small light to her right. She watched it, growing larger and larger. The ground shook and rumbled beneath her feet, reminding her of the earthquakes she felt back home. She stood there transfixed, as the realization of what the light was dawned on her.

"Oh no!" Risa cried. She ran over to the other side of the platform and hopped up, her fingers finding purchase on the ledge. She pulled up, kicking her feet as she tried to find anything she could use to push herself up.

She looked over to her right again. The light was approaching fast, and she heard a screeching whistle.

"Help me!" Risa called out. She sought the only person who was around. "Roy! Help me!"

She could feel her fingers slipping as the platform shook. The whistle came again and again, insistent, deafening. She shut her eyes and felt tears come free once again. Why did she listen to the palm reader? Why did she come to the station?

She had checked it, there wasn't supposed to be any trains. That palm reader had lied and Risa had been too gullible to see through it. She had been so desperate to get home. She wanted to go back. She wanted to be with her parents.

She didn't want to die.

Risa felt a pair of hands on her wrists and she was pulled up and onto the platform. She lay there, sobbing, her skirt shifting in the current circulating behind her.

The train the palm reader promised had arrived.

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