train!

You wake up to the unending scratching of metal, wind flowing besides it.
It’s a bright room, brighter than you’re used to.

You look around, paying no mind to the decor.
It’s a long room, bunk beds lining up the length, windows sitting besides them.

You squint at the windows, there’s nothing visible, it’s all white.
It’s a cold room, steel lining up everything.

You continue, examining the roof and walls, shivering from the cold.
It’s a barricaded room, makeshift defenses put up on a door.

You stop staring at the lifeless wood and steel and focus on what’s moving.
There’s a person, they’re caring for an opened box, paying you no mind.

Shouldn’t move, they might get startled… since when are you the tactical kind?
They’re covered in thick, black clothing.

You can only see the band of an eyepiece on the back of their head.

Do you regret your clothing choices yet?

You stop staring at them and instead think about the intricacies of the lighting.
The lights are shining awfully bright with no flicker, there must-

Now’s not the time for that.

The person notices you.

You haven’t moved your body since you woke up, only peering at your surroundings.

They stand up, shaking off some sawdust.

You imagine what they were working on, nailing together a makeshift box in a-

They turn towards you.

Not gonna budge an inch, will you?

You notice they’re wearing ski goggles, thick ripped clothing covering their lower face, imitating a scarf.

They outdid you, already.

They start moving towards you.

You try to move. You only get sharp pain as a response.
They stop besides the bed you’re sitting on.

You’re getting picked up. No words are shared.
You both end up at the unbarricaded door.

They kick the door. They cough. They kick harder.

The door opens from the other side.
There’s nobody in the room. A wave of warm air hits you.

You start examining the new traincar.

This one seems nicer, walls are padded with wood and carpet to hide the dead metal. Windows are large, being able to slide. Not that you would open them.

On the left, there seems to be an elevator. You can’t mistake the two solid pieces. Following it, the wall expands, covered in doors.

You assume this is a premium ride.

You’re taken to the last door. It opens. On both sides of the door lies curtains. You have no idea what they’re for.

On the far end, there’s a table surrounded by sofas. Another curtain sits besides it. Expensive tapestry covers the walls and cushions, the lights are also weaker, with a nice orange color.

You’re no longer cold.

They lay you on the sofa. They don’t even look at your face, then leave.

You open the curtains next to the table. A large window sits, this time visible.

Nothing but snow and snow covered trees are visible. The line must run in a forest.

You get comfortable on the sofa, barely enough room for your feet to not hit the table.

You close your eyes, your mind drifts away.

You wake up to sudden banging in the hallway.
Something is getting dragged on the wood padded metal floor.

You pay it no mind, instead opting to examine the landscape outside.
The line is running on the side of a mountain.
Everything, as far as you can see, is blinding white.

After a bit of staring, a huge wall comes into view.
You can’t tell what it’s built around, but the edges are incomplete.

The scale of it is huge, it runs hundreds of meters into the sky.
It has huge ventilations ducts running across it. Was it supposed to be a bunker?

Before you can ponder over its nature, a tunnel comes up.
You stop examining nature’s beauty, or mankind’s mistakes.

The door to the room opens. The same person from yesterday sits in the doorway.

They’re about the same height as you.
They look beat, but don’t have any weapons.

They throw their makeshift scarf and goggles onto hangers hidden behind the curtains.
They look at you, speak no words, and go across into the other set of curtains.

They come back with less harsh clothing.
They look at you, again, this time sitting across from you.

They look at you, for a good while, before getting up.
They leave the room, returning with two cups.

Both cups are hot, you can tell from the steam.
One is brown, with a white cover. The other is clear, with a slight green tint.

You pay no mind to the cups themselves, you can’t even tell what culture they’re imitating.

Both cups are placed on the table, in the center, so you can’t tell which is yours. They look at you, waiting for a response.

You don’t speak. Can you speak? Can they speak?

They’re not gonna stop staring, so you pick the dark drink. You assume it’s coffee.

You don’t even like caffeine, why did you pick it?

That doesn’t matter, you’re enjoying the drink, not sharing any words.
After a while, they reach to close the curtains and lock the door.

But nothing happens, they sit back down and keep sipping their drink.

You can’t even stare back. How can you not?