Wishing for Adventure

The One Who Remembers

Winter, 2023.
It's February, which means I have to go to work. Let's rephrase that actually, "I get to go to work." I like my job, because I'm an archaeologist. I get to analyse and discover ancient things. It's just sometimes, it can get a bit...boring. With the whole world having been discovered, I am left to uncover the lost things which may take years to find. Luckily, there are a lot of lost things in need of analysing. There are a lot of things we don't know about. It is my job to figure them out. Which is why I'm here, walking to work. I live in one of the quieter parts of Manchester, close to a big museum. The museum is where I work. Most people think that museums are just for display but there are quite a few research rooms there too. And just as I'm stepping inside, a bright light envelopes me. Suddenly, I'm in a train. An old fashioned train. In modern clothes. For a second I am worried, but no one seems to notice me. I am standing at the far end of a carriage with my back to a door, which I assume connects this carriage to the next. There are numerous people dressed up in 1930s typical fancy dress, sitting in the chairs. This must be a party of some sort. The distinct smell of smoke reaches my nostrils, but to my surprise, not all that much. It is then that I spot the sign for the smoking carriage, which I assume has a whole lot of open windows. Speaking of the windows, at this present moment, the ones in this carriage are all covered by blinds. I am brought back to reality by a young women tapping me on the shoulder.
"Excuse me, but I couldn't help but notice that you look lost. Is this your first time? Do you need help finding your carriage?" Her honey eyes look at me with concern.
She has dead straight, shoulder length, vibrant brown hair and is wearing a variation of a flapper dress. She's around my height and build, with skin a few shades darker than mine.
"Oh, um-" I start.
She then notices my clothes.
"Whatever are you wearing? No matter, you can wear some of my clothes! I always pack more than I need. Follow me."
She gently moves me aside and walks down the corridor. After a short amount of time we reach a door which she opens to reveal a small room. It has a simple bed bolted to the floor, along with a mirror and wardrobe to the wall. She opens one of the doors and holds up a floor length black dress with gloves.
"Here, put these on." She says, handing me the dress and going to shut the door.
Soon I am wearing the dress, and the gloves that go to my elbows. They're silky and nice to the touch. Since my hair was already in a ballerina bun, it's being left that way. My earrings, conveniently, match the dress. I am also wearing a pair of black flats that don't quite match the dress but it won't matter since the dress is so long. I look in the mirror. My orange hair is a big contrast to the dress, but I like it. I turn to the kind woman.
"Thank you very much, miss..."
"LeFay, Elena LeFay."
"Nice to meet you. Since we didn't get a proper introduction, my name is Doctor Brooklyn Turner."
We shake hands. Then...
DING! An announcement rings through the train. "Lunch is now being served in the dining area. Make your way there to enjoy a nice, full meal."
She smiles. "Well, there's no use just standing here. You can join me at my table."
As we are making our way to the area, I stop dead in my tracks. The windows...they're open, and outside is...
"We're in space." I say, astounded.
Elena stares at me, confused. "Are you alright Brooklyn? We've been in space this whole time, and I struggle to think how you could miss that, seeing as you would have had to board the train at some point."
"But..." I trail off.
"Look, we're holding everyone up. We're going to have to keep going."
And so I begrudgingly make my way towards the dining area. Lunch was great. Afterwards, we hung out in the normal compartment, and at night retreated to the sleeping quarters. I had been escorted to a spare room, and was wearing a nightgown that was (for some reason) provided for me. My normal clothes and the ones Elena gave me hung in the wardrobe. I went to bed that night thinking of how I managed to get here. To space.
The next day...
It is breakfast. We are enjoying our food, surrounded by a bunch of happy people.
As it's still early, we can only hear the quiet chatter of the other passengers, and the sounds of clunking cutlery. The blinds have once again been pulled up to reveal the mass of stars and planets swimming in the endless black of space. It was peaceful. Until...
"AHHHHHHHH!!!" An old man screams.
All our heads turn to him. He is sitting at the other end of the carriage, on the right. He seems to be transfixed upon something that's back our way.
"Harold, what's the matter?! Are you okay? Are you having a heart attack?!" The old women who spoke is sitting across from him.
I can see a faint shinning on her finger, which I assume to be a wedding ring. I then conclude that she's his wife and that she probably knows of any health problems that burden him. I take note to ask her later.
"Lillian! There's a mummy making it's way towards us! Can't you see it?!" The man exclaims, fearfully.
Although we all know there's no such thing, we look anyway. Of course, there is nothing. Lillian turns back to her husband.
"Harold, there's nothing there." She replies softly.
"You're seeing things."
"I am not! There is a mummy, wrappings and all, slowly walking this way!" He says.
An officer walks over to the pair.
"Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to quiet down. You're disturbing the passengers."
"Officer! I will not back down until someone gets rid of that mummy!" The man exclaims.
"I'm sorry Officer, he's an old man. He's nearing the end of his life, and he isn't the healthiest of old men. He sees things sometimes."  Lillian explains.
The old man backs away in his seat.
"Oh god, he's right here! He's so close to me that I can smell his skin! It's disgusting! He's going to..."
He goes limp and closes his eyes.