Death Stories with Zoe

A Dramatic Drowning

** Trigger warning: If you have a fear of drowning or if any of your loved ones have died in this manner, you should skip this story! **

It was a gloomy fall Saturday morning when Darius boarded a Manhattan-bound A-train at Broadway Junction. He was on his way to participate as a mentor in a theater workshop in Soho for high school students, and he was excited. Although he was one of the most sought-after actors and theater directors in New York, he'd been looking forward to this volunteering opportunity for weeks.

Little did Darius know that his passion for the performing arts would result in his watery death.

The train rattled along the familiar route that Darius took to work on weekday mornings: Franklin Avenue, Hoyt-Schermerhorn, Jay Street MetroTech. Darius was pleased that the train wasn't as crowded as it usually was since it was early on a weekend and lots of city dwellers were sleeping in because of the threat of inclement weather.

What Darius didn't know as the train made its way toward the East River that a fast-moving tropical storm had reached New York. Rain pelted down upon the rooftops and streets of Brooklyn and Manhattan, flooding sewers and the basements of buildings. The river rose and the staircases leading down from the street entrances to the subway tunnels swallowed gallons of rain, flooding the platforms and within minutes, the tunnels as well.

Of course, Darius was unaware of the chaos occurring above ground. His train rolled to a stop and he cussed under his breath, annoyed that he might be late because of train delays. When the train did not begin moving again after a few minutes and the other riders on the train began to look distressed, he removed his earbuds to listen to the conductor's message. Darius was expecting to hear the usual garbage about train traffic ahead, but he panicked when he heard the conductor explain that the train was behind held because of flash flooding throughout the train system.

Darius took a seat and tried to remain calm, but some of the other passengers began banging on the doors—as if there were anywhere to go. They were far beneath the East River, and the only way out was to walk the length of the tunnel to the nearest station on either side, either back in Brooklyn or ahead in Manhattan.

It was only when the train had been held underground for almost twenty minutes and water began to seep in through the closed subway doors that Darius began to freak out. The subway conductor made another announcement, this time urging passengers to pray for their lives. But Darius didn't want to pray—he didn't want to die! He remained convinced that help would arrive in time to save his life, even as his lungs filled with water that was filthy with the grime of the subway tunnels. Blood vessels burst in his face as every cell in his body screamed out for oxygen!

A week later, after the city undertook the morbid task of recovering bodies from all of the subway cars that had been beneath the river when the flooding occurred, Darius' body was placed on a table at the city morgue... light as a feather, stiff as a board. 

Light as a feather, stiff as board.

Comment below if you'd like for me to write a death story for you, and I'll select several (un)lucky readers throughout the month of October! Check out my book, Light as a Feather, available from Simon Pulse on October 9, 2018, and watch the Hulu original series inspired by the book on October 12!