Do you belive?

Night crawler

I remember it being a very typical day. So typical and dull that the details of what happened previous to the "incident" completely slip my mind.

It was at around 2:30am - 3:00am and I was walking home. The sun wasn't up yet and the stars were blocked out by the heavy grey clouds swirling above me in the sky.

I recall walking down the street, the damp asphalt beneath my feet. The air was wet, humid and had a metallic taste to it. I could smell a storm coming on. Then, sure enough it started to rain. The lampost lights were dim. I couldn't see very well in the dark so I decided I would take the subway to get home and to avoid getting completely soaked down to the bone.

As I walked that early morning I saw no one. The occasional car passed by every 5 minutes or so, but other than that it was lifeless. Who would be out in such weather at such a time anyway? No one but me, the foolish young woman that so happened to pick a night job, of course.

As I went down the stairway to the underground metro station that was the nearest, I noticed it was deserted. I felt out of place and slightly disturbed in a way.

The long white tiled hall that led to the main underground area was empty. Nothing but echoes and a certain humming to accompany my footsteps could be heard. I paid for a ticket at the booth and went through the machine to go sit on an empty bench near the tracks. I waited patiently in silence.

There were no trains there. Worst of all, there were absolutely no other people there besides myself. Never had I felt so alone in my entire life.

The neon lights on the walls flickered in the big empty space. I could see small insects flying and bumping into them multiple times ignorantly. I crossed my ankles and bit my lip staring up at the many pipes sticking out of the ceiling above. I waited for one of the trains to come by. Any of them. Any at all. But none ever did. It had been so long that I'd lost count of the minutes.

After a while, something caught my eye. A small blinking red light at the other end of the station. I got up and walked over to it narrowing my glare, attempting to find out what it indicated.

After getting a bit closer I noticed it stated that this station was closed due to repairs. I thought "Why not lock the entrances then? Would've saved me a lot of wasted time" But that's when I remembered that there were no doors to lock. The area was open to the public at all times. Also, the machines worked so it didn't seem to be closed. Anyone could've just come in and make the same mistake I'd made. But, I didn't see anyone else so I felt a bit embarrassed.

I sighed and told myself that walking in the rain would have to do, turning on my heels and heading for the exit once again.

As I was leaving, I heard a sudden booming sound before seeing nothing but darkness. The shock of the moment got to me and I jumped up a bit clutching at my chest with one hand. I was startled and confused as to what was going on. I widened my eyes and noticed the lights had been turned off.

Could there have been an automatic switch that flipped off at a certain pre-set time? In any case, this wasn't very practical. Not one bit. I took a deep breath, knowing I would have to find a way out somehow.

It's just one of those challenges life faces you with to see if you can manage. You just have to get out of it. It's like a test in a way.

I called out "Hello?" once or twice, but was left without an answer. So, I finally decided to get a move on and head out of there. But, there were tracks nearby and I didn't want to fall in by mistake wandering around blindly in the dark.

I thought about this for a little while before deciding to get on all fours and feel where I was with my hands so I wouldn't fall or bump into anything. I started crawling around the dusty ground. I searched for a wall, desperate to try and reach a light switch of some sort.