Story of John Rhodes—Original Urban Legend

Original Urban Legend by me, Steven Cash

            For those who do not know, in Chicago there are trains just like every other cities. But what’s different in Chicago is that the trains run on elevated tracks. That’s why they are called the “L Trains”. Yep, trains ride about 20-30 feet off the ground, and it makes for wonderful commutes cause you have all the trains overhead and not crossing the street.

            Wonderful thing for everyone. All except for John Rhodes.

            Rhodes was a poor black man who worked as a train repairman. It was a normal day in July 1964 and he got a call that a stretch of track on North State Street downtown was broken and needed repair.

            He drove down in his beaten down pickup and parked near the ladder. He climbed quickly, and got to the top and he began to look for the break in the line. He pulled out his toys and were ready to begin fixing, when he heard a sound in the distance.

            It was a train coming. A train he was assured wouldn’t come.But even worse than that, someone else was coming up the ladder behind him.

            “What are you doin up here, boy?” a man asked as he came up. A man who had a gun. “What are they doin letting a coon like you work up here?”

            Rhodes backed up as far as he dared onto the tracks. There was only a 2 foot wide side rail on the side of the tracks, where repairman was to stand, but the man with the gun kept making Rhodes back up. Soon Rhodes was square in the middle of the tracks, with the man still holding the gun.

            “What do you want from me?”

            The man raised the gun. “I don’t want a coon like you stealing a job that belongs to me. So either you quit, or you die.”

            “But I can’t quit! My family needs the money�"“

            Before he finished, he was shot thrice and left to be run over by the train. Upon further investigation, the gunman was a disgruntled former employee. He made the call himself, luring Rhodes there so he could kill him.

            On any night under on North State Street, under the L Train elevated tracks you may spot the ghost of John Rhodes. He usually poses as a homeless man wearing a long black coat, no matter the weather. You can know for sure if it’s the vengeful ghost of Rhodes, because he will ask you for change. But he will have no cup to hold the change in.

            The only way to escape with your life is to reply with, “I have no coins, but that officer back there does.”

            This will give you just enough time to get away. For you see, there was no officer on the street the day Rhodes was killed. So if you mention an officer, the vengeful spirit of Rhodes will go looking for said man. But you must have left within 10 seconds, or he will realize you have tricked him and kill you.

             

Reviews

[No More Angels]

owo that was very good! it creeped me out at the end though!

[Steven Cash]

lol glad it did, thakns

[That_Girl]

Really nice... dark and creepy. It sounds like something from an old movie I watched once... like it could have been added in. Loved it!

[Steven Cash]

Yep yep, lol, thanks!

[∠( ᐛ 」..]

Really dark, yet it is good.
100/100

[Steven Cash]

Thank you!

[JGIII]

Good compelling read. Minor subject verb agreement issues occasionally but not enough to distract. I assume that this is part of a larger work where one character is telling another stories. If so it works very well.

[Steven Cash]

This is just a collection of stories. Some are my own (Rhodes, Terror of SOHO, Man in the House) and others are just common Urban Legends. But yes, I clearly label what is my own

[JGIII]

I meant that the voice you tell the story in makes it sound like one character in the story, walks into a bar say a la Mckiernan's "Tales From The One Eyed Crow" and the characters in the bar all begin swapping stories. I say that because you don't use third person perspective. It works that way so it's just an observation. Keep up the good writing.

[Steven Cash]

thanks so much

[Soul Fire]

Very good! very interesting!

[Steven Cash]

Thank you !

[Soul Fire]

You're welcome

[Geraldine]

oh, what a clever, clever piece of write. haha I love this! :D What a sad story for John Rhodes. :D You should keep it up writing some more of this, haha 'cause you're really good at writing them. ^^ I enjoy reading this.

[Steven Cash]

Thank you Geraldine

[The Refined Poet]

another good take on Urban Legends, we need to get your stories on film like "Creepshow" or "Tales from the Crypt"

[Steven Cash]

lol, thanks, I guess. Never seen those shows.

My show is 60s Twilight Zone

[The Refined Poet]

that show was good too... Your stories put me in the mind of R.L. Stine's "Goosebumps" series that was on t.v. I think in the 90's as well.

[Steven Cash]

Goosebumps, I know that. I was to young to watch it, but I remember the name

[The Refined Poet]

yeah, it was too creepy for kids I thought, but it was made for that demographic. Anyway man, you have some skills that could take you far.

[Steven Cash]

thank you much

[Brielle Cartny]

So sad! I love stories like this. So much hate people have though.

[Steven Cash]

Thanks, Brielle!

[Violet Dreams...]

Urban legends! Poor John. Good Job

[Steven Cash]

Thank you much