Time Trap

by David Staves

  He leaned back into the giant seat and was consumed by comfort. The door he had entered through silently closed. The scene around him began moving. He had no sense of movement. He experienced none of the inertia you would expect from sitting on a moving train. All of his senses, except for his eyes, told him he was sitting still. He leaned back, and the city became a blur. Streaks of light and shadow leapt outside the cabin. It went on for some time before the train entered a narrow tunnel.

  It was so mundane, this tunnel, like the one you might drive through in any American city. It seemed as if the train was slowing down as it went deeper into the tunnel. A faint smile crossed his face as he thought of Alice falling through the rabbit hole. Alice. He loved that story. That's why he named his project Alice.

  He watched, like a curious tourist as the train slowed and entered another grand subterranean city. It was almost identical to the one he just left. The only difference was that this one had rocks of a deep red hue. The mountain itself was made of red stone. He counted two additional cities, none the color of the red city before he drifted to sleep. He hadn't been aware of being tired. He had slept in the barracks after all, for what seemed like days.

  He awoke with a start, not realizing he had been asleep. He was surprised because he had just been sitting up. His chair had somehow flattened into a bed! He also had a soft blanket covering his torso. He realized with a jolt that he was no longer alone! The passenger cabin was full of people!

  He sat in a window seat. A man cleared his throat across the aisle from him. He could see other forms, some sat, some reclined or laid down all around him. It was night. His view of the seat next to him was blocked by the armrest which had become a divider.

  Alabaster stars sparkled down at him from the clear sky above. He smiled at the cosmos, distracted by its beauty and power. Those stars, a myriad of angels watched a lost boy in a lost land.

  He was fumbling with his blanket, trying to free himself. Despite having woken on a strange train full of strange people, he had to pee in the worst way. Finally, he broke free, slid past the two seats next to him. He thought the seats were occupied. He had a more urgent concern in the dark cabin. He felt like his bladder was going to burst, and he had no sense of where, or if, there was a bathroom. Surely this space age, ultra-modern train, had a bathroom! He was moving so quickly he bumped into a woman walking the opposite direction. She was small but substantial. If we were ghosts, would we pass right through each other? He wondered.

  "I'm sorry young sir, I did not intend to startle you. Do you need anything?" she smiled down politely.

  "Yes." he almost yelled, "Where's your bathroom!"

  She quickly moved aside and gestured toward a doorway three seats down the aisle, "Right there, to the left!"

  He rushed into the bathroom, which reminded him of an airplane bathroom. It wasn't much larger. He quickly did his business, washed his hands, and opened the door to re-enter the cabin. He was half expecting it to be empty. How could there be people here all of a sudden? I must be dreaming!

  When he opened the door, the woman was still there. He saw now she was wearing some kind of uniform. She must work here.

  Her smile quickly changed into a look of concern when she saw the boy's face. Her voice was melodic and soothing. "Do you need help of some kind?"

  "I, I…" all he could think of was his family. Inside himself, he was yelling: take me to my mom and dad! Something horrible has happened! I want to go home!

  All that would come out of his mouth were pathetic mumbles. The words "…mom and dad…." fumbled from his wet lips. The tears started to spill out of his eyes.

  "Oh!" her voice took on a matronly tone, "It will be alright. It's normal for unaccompanied minors to miss their parents. I am here to help you! How about some hot chocolate?"

  Hot chocolate? He wanted to scream. What the freak is wrong with you? Can't you see what has happened to me? All he could manage was a blubbering nod.

  "Follow me," she answered the nod with a severe look, which somehow managed to reassure him. She was taking his distress seriously. Oh, how he missed people! He missed grown-ups, people who were in control, people who had answers.

  But what answers had they really had? It seemed everything he had been told growing up was false. We are safe. We won’t let anything bad happen to you. There is no such thing as monsters.

  He followed her to a small niche which had a comfortable looking seat and a small kitchenette area. She began fixing him up a hot chocolate. As she worked, fingers nimbly moving the utensils from place to place, he began to regain his composure. "Where am I? Where is this train going? Who are you? Where did all of these people come from?"

  She patiently waited for him to finish his questions. She turned her head to look at him, arms and hands still expertly whipping up his hot chocolate as well as different beverages for other passengers.

  "You are on maglev train number 1020, just outside of Las Vegas. You are en route from Mojave Station to Pacific Station. You are ticketed for a departure from Pacific Station to Nova Station. I am Luna, your attendant. These people are fellow passengers,” she had answered all of his questions without so much as glancing at what she was doing, "Would you like to have your hot chocolate here or back at your seat?" this time she looked at his cup, dropped in a few marshmallows, and looked back at him.

  "Here, please," he answered, taking the cup and slowly sipping. It was pretty hot and very delicious.

  "Excuse me while I deliver these other orders. I will return momentarily," she smiled. When he nodded agreement, she picked up a tray with various items and headed back into the cabin.

  He was happily slurping up his marshmallows when she returned. He was exhausted. The hot chocolate filled him with a familiar warmth that comforted him and made him feel drowsy. He missed the solace of hot food and drink. It had been days since he tasted either. I shouldn’t complain, he thought. I’m just lucky to have found plenty of food…

  "Are you ready to go lay down?" she looked at him. Some of the concern in her face had gone.

  His answer was a nod. He felt safe here. The feeling of being safe was making him want to sleep.

  The attendant led him back through the darkened cabin to his seat. The seats next to him, a middle and an aisle seat were indeed occupied. It appeared to be a mother and her small child, but with the darkness of the room and the blankets that muted the sleeping outlines, he couldn't be sure.

  The attendant patted his shoulder. She pointed at a small blue button on his armrest.

  "If you need anything, just push the button. I'll be right over,” she smiled courteously and continued down the aisle until she was out of sight. He felt a tug on the hem of his jeans. To his astonishment, he saw a toddler smiling up at him with puckered pink cheeks. The little girl continued tugging on his jeans, smiling, gurgling, and pawing him with a drool-covered palm. The woman in the next seat appeared to be the girl's mother. She was asleep. All Ezra could see was a crimson mop of curly hair.

  "Momma!" the toddler cooed as she climbed the seat and with one hand on the back of the chair reached into her mother's red locks and twisted her round little hand until she had a fist full of hair.

  Luckily the mother started to wake, and as mothers often do, lithely turned her head and cuddled away any aggression shown by the potential hair-pulling-tot. Mom and baby laughed and embraced. It was at this moment that the mother noticed Ezra and smiled at him politely.

  "I'm sorry if she woke you! You were asleep when we boarded at Vegas Station,” she extended her hand, and he took it in a friendly handshake. "I'm Penelope, most people call me Penny, this is Rosey," she said.

  "I'm Ezra nice to meet you," he couldn't get over the normalcy of these interactions. This was just another part of his twisted journey. Penelope's eyes suddenly showed concern.

  "It's nice to meet you, Ezra. Is this your first trip unaccompanied?" she asked in a soothing, maternal way. He fought back the memory of his mom. If he
cried again, if he couldn't get his thoughts under control, he wouldn't be able to get information. Tears would make this convoluted situation worse. Be tough. Stay level headed.

  "Yes, Ma'am, this is my first trip alone," his answer was true. He wasn't lying. He had never been away from his family this long. He tried to smile, but it looked more like a grimace.

  The sky was open around them. The stars were beautiful!

  "Well, hang in there kiddo, it’s really no big deal. I used to take this trip all the time when I was a little girl. My parents lived apart. I wish I could tell you it gets better. It takes time to get used to it," there was an awkward pause. She was thinking about how to phrase the next question. Ezra saw his mom make the same face a million times. "Are you going to visit family?" she asked.

  "Yeah, that's what I'm doing. I'm meeting up with my family. We...uh were separated by a storm," he tried smiling again. He wasn't sure how well his story was going over. By the look on her face, he would say she didn't believe him.

  "Oh!” Penelope put her thumb on her lower lip, "You poor kid! I can't imagine! These kinds of things are rare, but they happen," she said this as though she were trying to convince herself it was a plausible story, "where are you going?"

  Ezra fumbled. He tried to remember what the attendant had told him. "Nova!" he almost shouted. "I'm going to Nova…" he blurted.

  "Oh?" she answered. Ezra could see she was trying to figure him out. He had seen adults do this before. Usually, it happened at school when a teacher was trying to solve a dispute between students.

  What was the truth?

  What was a lie?

  What was a twisted version of the truth?

  Her eyes traveled from his sock covered feet, to his jeans, then up to his t-shirt. Her eyes were also looking at the various scrapes and bumps left on his bare arms. He was starting to get used to being all banged up and had forgotten how bad it must look. The sense that she didn't believe him was increasing.

  "Well, lucky thing…” Penelope said, "Rosey and I are going through there. We'd be happy to keep you company. The attendant will help you get anything you need. Make sure to speak up,” she pulled Rosey up, who had gone back to pawing Ezra's pant leg, back into her lap with a squeeze and a giggle. It was then that Ezra noticed that Penelope was pregnant. She pulled Rosey over by the aisle as she protectively rubbed her swollen stomach. She saw Ezra looking and smiled.

  "Yes, I do have my hands full right now. My husband and I just got confirmation of homestead. We'll stay at Nova until the baby arrives, then we will embark on our adventure. We're scientists. My husband's waiting for us at Nova."

  Ezra smiled at her. He wasn't sure what to say.

  Sometimes asking a question was the best way to keep a conversation going. He desperately needed to keep the conversation going.

  "What kind of scientists are you?" he asked, awkwardly.

  "Well, it's complicated. I'm into robotics, mostly the experimental stuff. My husband is a biologist," Ezra thought robots were awesome. Dissecting worms in biology class wasn't his favorite, a smile twitched on his face. He wondered if he would ever be able to smile again without forcing it.

  He loved them somehow, this mother and daughter. He loved them.

  She reacted to his melancholy smile by deepening the lines in her forehead and biting her lower lip. "What about your family? What do your parents do? Do you have any siblings?" she asked.

  Yeah, I had a mom, dad, and a sister, he thought. HAD. He did not know their location or wellbeing. He didn't know about himself. Somehow pretending, saying the words out loud, was making him feel more confused.

  "Dad's an engineer. He used to be a truck driver, but he didn't want to be away from home so much," he couldn't even muster a fake smile. “Mom used to work on computer software in an office, but she decided to stop doing that when she had my sister and me. She is a stay at home mom now, she still does software stuff. She's taught me a bunch of stuff. Anya is my sister. She's a teenager now, so she doesn't like hanging out with me as much as when we were younger. She loves animals. She wants to be a veterinarian or sea biologist.” Ezra didn't feel like crying this time but had a heavy feeling in his chest.

  "The teenage years are tough, she'll grow out of it. You're lucky to have each other. I'm an only child. I always wanted a brother or sister,” Ezra wondered at the kindness in her smile, “what about you, Ezra? What do you like?" she gave him a wink as Rosey's eyes slowly closed. She looked like a sleeping pixy with pink cheeks and fire red hair.

  "Well, I like a lot of things. I like reading, I like video games, and I love running. I'm the fastest kid in my class. Oh yeah, I love to program too," he was talking quietly, and the words were coming out more slowly. He was tired and sad. He didn’t want to sleep. He was afraid where he would wake up. He was afraid all the people would be gone. He knew all the people would be gone, because in reality they are gone! This is a dream…

  His eyes wandered. He began to take in the landscape. The stars were sparkling through the windows overhead. The moon was big, hovering close to the horizon.

  Penelope patted his hand, "we'll be there in no time; you'll be back with your family before you know it. I can tell you are a great kid Ezra. I hope mine turn out to be as well mannered and smart as you are. Your parents are lucky."

  He didn’t even try to smile. He was keeping the tears at bay, "I'm the lucky one…"

  "Well Ezra," she said, "it's been so nice chatting. I think I better let you go back to sleep. I'm glad I got to meet you. Goodnight. Remember to call the attendant, or wake me if you need anything," she was rubbing her pregnant belly again.

  "Goodnight Penelope, uh, Penny. Goodnight Rosey," he looked at Penelope rubbing her belly and thought, goodnight little baby. A thin privacy screen descended separating them.

  Ezra experimented with the buttons. He finally discovered how to turn his seat back into a bed. He shifted his weight to get comfortable. Emotion swelled and ebbed: Have to keep the faith... The memory of his father's voice and feel of his mother's touch flooded his senses.

  He was thankful to finally be around people again, even strangers from another reality had comforted him.

  His eyelids closed, and sleep descended. It was a dreamless sleep. He lay still, breathing deeply.

  When he awoke, the sky was sickly again. The beautiful landscape outside the window was gone, replaced by its dark incarnation.

  A vast blackish-blue plane reached out into a dark mist that stretched out in all directions. The sky above was full of bruised clouds. It took Ezra a minute to realize the blackish-blue plane was the ocean. Somehow the train had left the land behind. There was no sign of it. He couldn't see what was directly ahead of the train.

  He should feel dread at the sight of the broken world again. Despite everything, he felt a thrill shake his body. This awakening, back in the broken land, was wicked confirmation of victory at the mill. Survival! He was not hallucinating. He pushed the buttons to raise his seat from a complete incline back into a seated position.

  As an afterthought, he pushed the button to call the attendant. He was hungry. He thought about how delicious the hot chocolate had been last night. He touched another button, and the privacy screen dividing his seat from those of Penelope and Rosey slowly lifted. The screen disappeared, revealing his absolute solitude. It didn't come as a surprise despite how vivid the vision had been.

  The train's emptiness gaped at him. No sign of anyone. How could this be happening again? He started to exit his row of seats when he tripped over something, it was his pack. It had been placed neatly near the foot of his seat. He picked it up and sat back down. He imagined Penelope setting his pack next to him as he slept.

  He walked back toward the lavatory, then up to the attendant's kitchen area. It was truly empty. He looked, without success, for an exit near the front and rear of the passenger cabin.

  Back at his seat, under the thin blanket, he watched the darkened seascape and waited.
>
  What was going to happen next?

  He remembered Rosey's mom, Penelope, said that Pacific Station was next, then Nova Station.

  How long had he slept?

  Ezra had never been on a train before, but he had been on a long road trip. He knew the landscape often stayed the same for miles and miles, and then suddenly changed in dramatic ways. Awareness of what he was looking at slowly dawned on him, he recognized the feeling of disorientation. At some point, the horizon, a blurry mist of dark cloud against midnight-black ocean, had disappeared. In its place was a thick fog.

  The fog began to recede. It was falling away behind him. What took its place made Ezra blink, shake his head, and rub his eyes.

  The stars were spread out in all directions but the one he came from.

  He got to his feet, trying to get a better angle at what was below. He thought maybe he was on some kind of bridge that was so high above the ocean he could no longer see the ground. He ran to the other side of the cabin. There were stars above and under the train! The train seemed to be flying!

  It took more observation, more time, to realize that the mist behind him was actually the stratosphere. The Earth was a receding sphere behind him. It was falling away. He was ascending into the stars!

  He wasn't sitting in the front cabin, didn't know if there was a 'front' part to this train. Somehow, this wasn't a train. A train had tracks, even the magnetic type. This was a spaceship! No g-forces were slamming him into his seat, there was no loss of gravity, and there was nothing extreme or uncomfortable happening to his body. His feet were held solid on the ground. Everything would seem normal if he didn't look out the window. Looking out there made him feel like he was going to fall!

  He closed his eyes for a moment.

  When he opened them, he made sure to keep them aimed on his feet.

  He made his way back to his own seat and started searching for a seatbelt. He couldn't find one.

  A bell chimed, and a woman's recorded voice spoke from somewhere overhead: