Haunted by the Past (Original)

Chapter 3

As soon as I reached Penn Station, my phone starting going off with instructions one by one as I went up the escalator. The main open hall of the station was much busier than I had expected that late at night, but after seeing several Wrekt band shirts in a row, it occurred to me that the concert at Madison Square Garden had just finished. I was thankful for the unexpected, but opportune cover of loud and energetic fans flooding the station, waiting for the next Long Island Railroad services to arrive.

???: Follow my directions exactly. Do not under any circumstance deviate from what I am about to tell you.

I don't know about you, but as soon as someone tells me to stick to the plan, the first thing I want to do is deviate from the plan. Still, I swallowed my pride and committed myself to listening to Eli.

???: A train to 59th Street.

I looked around, setting my sights on the sign for A Subway line, then initiated crowd surfing protocol to head straight for it. My years of training living in the City prepared me for that exact moment, to navigate through a mass of intoxicated concert goers. Many were belting out Wrekt lyrics at the top of their lungs, or what was left of their lungs. They'd definitely be feeling it tomorrow.

And yet the eerie silence of the mostly empty platform for A line had me wishing more of the Wrekt fans were going my way. I meandered over to the subway map and studied it, keeping an eye looking over my shoulder.

59th Street was Columbus Circle. Not too hard. Relax Dani. Chill, I thought to myself over and over like a mantra, not like it did any good. My pills started burning a hole in my backpack, but it was too soon. The last thing I wanted was to overdose on the NY subway. Anyway, I needed my wits to be in high gear.

Thankfully the train rushed into the station, giving me the relief I so desperately needed. I struggled to contain my eagerness as I stepped onto the train, finding cover in the corner by the door. As I leant against the plexiglass, I looked around before letting out a sigh. No one on the train seemed to be the slightest bit interested in me. Also, I didn't recognize any faces, which was even more comforting than usual.

My heart rate though was still racing and my chest was getting tighter. Breathe in... breathe out. Breathe in... breathe out.

Columbus Circle arrived in no time and just as the train came to a stop, I received a notification of another incoming message. As I stepped off, I pulled out my phone again.

???: D train to 34th Street.

I read and re-read the message, stopping in my tracks in the middle of the platform, which earned me a shove and some unsavory words from the person who had been following me. After giving a death glare, I returned my attention to my phone to read the message again.

What!?

34th was Herald Square, back in the opposite direction. I could have freaking walked from Penn Station to 34th and it would've been much, much faster. And cheaper. With a groan, I navigated to the platform for the D line, getting to it just in time to board the train before it closed its doors. The train started moving a jerk, causing me to almost lose my balance, but I managed to catch hold of a handrail quickly.

While the train squeaked and hissed heading down the tracks, I tried so desperately to not lose faith in Eli's plan. He must've had a reason to send me back. He wouldn't have asked me to head in the opposite direction lightly. Surely if anyone had been following me, they'd be confused out of their mind as to what I was doing. It then occurred to me to check the faces of the people around me. Again, I didn't recognize any of them, but I also didn't see anyone who had been on the A train either. Of course, Eli was making sure I wasn't being followed by having me loop back. I started to relax a little in the comfort of knowing I wasn't being stalked, at least not in the same car.

When we arrived at Herald Square, I made a point of getting off just as the doors were about to close. If someone had been watching me from an adjacent car, they would've had to disembark awkwardly to get off in time, which would be noticeable. I checked either side as I stepped onto the platform. No awkward disembarks that I could see. Then my phone beeped again.

???: Q train south.

The train was only just arriving at the station, so I had to run to make it. I only managed to board the Q train before the doors closed. Gripping the handrail I gasped for breath, silently cursing how out of shape I was, definitely in no condition to be outrunning serial killers. There were only a handful of people on that train, but they were all staring at me like I was crazy. At least I didn't recognize any of their faces either. Gathering myself, I leant against the handrail, quickly losing the interest of the other passengers.

I took out my phone to re-read the last message and check what station Eli said to get off at. I was so focused on changing lines earlier, it didn't even occur to me that he left the station off the instruction. Of course, being underground and on the move, my reception was horrible, which was not good. So I was on a train in the middle of New York City late on a Friday night with no clue where I was going. Great. The last thing I wanted strangers to smell was my ignorance, so I tried to pull my best 'I know absolutely where I am going' face while absolutely not having any clue as to where I was going. As soon as the train rolled into the next station, I checked my phone again to see if I had reception again.

Dani: To where!?

???: Please wait a little longer.

I wanted to shout his name at the top of my lungs for leaving me hanging, but that would completely ruin my poker face. Instead I bit my lip while I worded my response.

Dani: Please tell me now! The reception down here is terrible! I could miss it!

???: Don't worry about the reception.

I could feel my poker face slipping as I stared at my phone in confusion. What the hell did he mean 'Don't worry about the reception'? I glanced up and noticed my phone was connected to a Wi-Fi network I didn't recognize, which made no sense because I knew how dangerous public Wi-Fi networks were. There was no way I would've connected to anything in the MTA network.

Dani: Um, I didn't connect to this network.

Dani: Was that you?

???: Yes.

Dani: Can you warn me next time?

???: That would've been a waste of time.

Dani: All you needed to say was "Hey, I've connected your phone to my secure network. Please don't panic."

???: Get off now.

Now!? I looked up from my phone and saw the train's doors already open for the Union Square subway station.

<<Stand clear of the closing doors please.>>

Now!?