The Man on the Train

A man's trip on the London underground turns into something he didn't expect.

The sinister-looking man boarded the train at Holborn station. His long black coat flowed behind him like a cape as he glided to his seat.

He smiled at me and tipped his top hat. I returned the smile. His finger rapped rhythmically on the shiny black box on his lap. However, as I focused on it I realised something. It was moving! Not the box, I mean, but inside the box. Thousands of tiny legs scurried around inside the box. Then it hit me. I knew what was inside the box. Spiders!

The doors shut before I had a chance to escape.

I slammed back into the chair. My hands clung to the armrest. The hairs stood up on the back of my neck. I thought about leaving the car, but my body wouldn’t move. I was stuck to the seat. I closed by eyes and went through the breathing exercises my therapist showed me. I took a long deep breath and let it out.

I opened my eyes. The spiders were still there. Even worse, they were crawling about the box now. I looked at the sinister-looking man. He nodded. Did he not see what was happening? Did he not care?

They were crawling over his hands, legs and feet. Yet, he just sat there like nothing was happing. They crawled round his feet in big and small circles. They started making a queue. Towards me!

The queue stretched out like a swaying rope towards my feet. Thousands of tiny feet raced along the winding rope. They crawled up my feet and ran up my legs under my trousers. I shut my eyes and tried taking deep breathes.

Their tiny legs pinched my skin like a thousand tiny needles. They were everywhere. They ran over my legs and arms, and even my face. They crawled in and out of my nose, in my ears and some of them even rest on my mouth. My pulse throbbed in my palm like a beating heart. The screech of the train forced my eyes open. The sinister-looking man still sat there. Smiling.

A spider sat in front of my wedding ring. It had two arms on it and was pulling with all its might. My eyes said no, but the spider didn’t listen. It continued wrenching the ring from my finger until it fell to the ground with ping sound. My heart leaped into my throat.

The train stopped at Covent Garden station. The sinister-looking man stood up and waited at the door. The spiders scurried down the seat. They picked up my ring and ran to the sinister-looking man as he got off.

My chest tightened as the sinister-looking man walked away. I jumped from my seat and chased after the sinister-looking man. I caught up to him.

“Excuses me!”

He turned. A grin as long as the Nile stretch across his lips from under his top hat. “Evening squire,” he said. “What can I do for ya?”

My heart pounded in my chest, “y-your spiders,” I said pointing at his box. “They took my ring.”

He stepped closer to me. He seemed to grow in height. His top hat nearly touched the ceiling.

“What you talking about, squire?” he tilted his head back, his dark eyes glared at me from under his hat. “I ain’t got no spiders, and I definitely don’t ave your ring.”

“B-but I saw them. They were in your box.”

He tilted the box over to me and opened it. My heart sank. The box was empty.

“B-but I saw-”

“Saw what exactly squire?” The turned the box over, shook it then turned in back and closed it. “There ain’t nothing in ere lad. You dropped your ring when you were squirming in ye seat back there. I tried to tell ya, but you had your eyes close.”

My eyes flew open

“I-I terribly sorry,” I said.

I spun round and headed for the car. The doors closed as I tried to entre. The train’s engines came to life. My ring sat there, sparkling on the floor. I banged on the door as the train moved towards the tunnel. I ran after it but it was too late. The train had gone.

My heartbeat raced.

“Not again,” I said. “My wife’s gonna bloody kill me!”

 

THE END