Vengeance

Chapter 2- The Train Ride

It was dark outside in the hallway, no sign of existence was there to be seen or heard. I turned around and locked the door before heading down the narrow hallway. I jogged down the hallway until I found some stairs which looked like they went on forever. Taking a deep breath I pranced down the stairs but not too fast as I was aware of the fact that my hood could fall back any minute revealing my doomed face.

It was a long walk down several sets of stairs until finally I could hear the footsteps of people hammering against the solid laminate flooring on the ground floor. I clutched my bag and walked out of the building not daring to take a second glance, scared that if I did all of a sudden the whole building would turn on me and lock me up in that room again.

Outside, the weather was pleasant compared to how I last remembered it to be. There was no more heavy wind, instead there was a gentle breeze even the sky was a nice shade of blue scattered with hundreds of clouds. I breathed in sharply as I felt someone's arm slightly nudge mine probably to get past seen as I did seem to be blocking the pathway by standing in the middle of nowhere. I looked down at the ground I was standing on, it had an animated drawing of a sun painted on the rough concrete with a blue sky and sea painted on and had the words : Welcome to the Holiday Inn Battle Creek painted on in white paint.

Wait did this mean I was in Battle Creek? I knew this place, actually to be honest I knew most of Michigan inside out due to the family trips I went on with my parents and one of their friends. How could I not have known or recognised this place? Battle Creek could be recognised quite easily due to its interest in nature and wildlife. I took out the cell phone to look at the time; it was 1.25 p.m. I had to catch the train to New York at 1.45 p.m or else I would have to wait for another 20 mins to catch the next one if I missed this one.

I put the cell phone back in my hoodie pocket and made it out of the entrance and through the car park. I sighed with relief; finally I was out of this place. The train station was a ten minute walk from here. I had the directions to the train station embedded in my head, with all the bends and the turns memorised off by heart.

I tried to hold myself in as all the memories rushed back to me of going on long walks with my parents through the streets of Michigan and of the one time when we arrived at Battle Creek and mom had set up a barbecue and my dad was telling stories and playing tricks with our old dog, Boris. Boris got sold off to someone in this place because we couldn't take him back for some reason, I still didn't know what it was. I tried to distract myself by examining the nature around me because every time I thought back to my parents small flashbacks of that day came back in to my head and my mind was constantly being haunted by those last few words that had woken me up.

Finally, I had reached the train station. I walked inside and sat down on the nearest bench exhausted. Usually I don't get this tired when going on walks but when carrying a load on my back what do you expect? I took out the cell phone from my pocket to check the time. There were still ten minutes left.

I removed the bag from my back and placed it on the floor next to me. The bench creaked startling me, I lifted my hood a little to see a man with a tattooed arm sitting next to me, he looked down at me then grunted focusing his attention back on the return and departure board. I pulled a few strands of my hair over my face so that it was well covered and then pulled my hood a little back so it only covered my eyes. I sat in my spot with my hands closed between my thighs so it wasn't too obviously visible that they were shaking.

Why was I even listening to this man and going to New York City? What if it was a trap? A trap to hand me over to the people who killed my parents so he could get paid and go run away with the money. And who was this person who was going to pick me up from the train station and take me to Chicago? I hadn't even seen him so how was I meant to spot him in the crowd? I didn't even know New York properly not like I knew Michigan, never. But then another side of me wanted to trust this man. I mean why else did he save me? You could think that he never it could've been someone else but that didn't feel right, he even knew my name. And even if I did get killed, what did remain of me now? What had I got left to lose? I had no life anyway so I might as well get killed by the murderers of my parents or get to know at least something about what's going on.

"May I have your attention please. Passengers taking the train to New York City may now proceed on to their train. All luggage should be taken away with the passenger or should not be left unattended at the station. Unattended luggage may be removed or destroyed by the security services." The woman announced through the speaker.

I got up and threw my bag on to my shoulder. Other passengers were mounting on to the train, rushing in trying to get the best seats. I let the old lady walking in front of me step on to the train before climbing on myself.

I sat on the seat nearest to the door of the train and put my bag on the seat next to me. Thank God no-one was sitting next to me or opposite me. The train doors closed and a health and safety announcement was made to all passengers. A woman stopped with a trolley of food, "Want anything to eat?" She asked.

I pulled out the dollars I had found behind the T.V screen and gave them to her picking out an egg mayo sandwich and a bottle of water. Then she carried on making her way down the corridor offering the other passengers refreshments too.

I opened up my egg mayo sandwich and took a bite through it, gulping hard so it would travel down my throat. After eating one piece I lost my appetite. I put the sandwich on the side for later if I felt like eating it again or if not then for trashing it. I unscrewed the lid from the water bottle and took a long gulp, the water didn't seem to taste so nice either.

I sighed leaning against the seat and looking at my hair which was in my face. I blew at it seeing how high I could get it to float up in the air, a game I played when I was really bored.

"Hey, is anyone sitting here?" A male voice asked from above me.

I turned in his direction, he was pointing towards the two seats opposite me. I shook my head, "no" I said and carried on looking out of the window at the trees going by. I'd given up on my hair now because I can't do things like that in public even if the people don't know me.

"So where you going?" He asked trying to make conversation. He sounded like he was round about my age, he had an average voice which didn't sound too deep or manly like a lot of teenage boys sounded when they hit puberty.

"New York," I replied casually. I guess there's no harm in making conversation with someone when everything else is so dull right?

"Where about?"

Shit, did he have to ask that question? I'm so bad at Geography when it comes to New York, it's not even my kind of state! I felt like mentally banging my head against the window of the train.

"I don't know," I replied, the words coming out all of a sudden. Shit, what the hell was I playing at? Couldn't I just talk normally? Like a normal person? He'd probably be thinking I'm running off somewhere or that I'm just some loony trying to act all cool wearing a hood and going to New York City not knowing where exactly I'm going though. Or maybe even a prostitute going to find a new job, that explains the reason I've got a huge hand luggage bag I'm carrying around with me. I could feel him frowning at me.

"I mean.. um.. I'm going to.." think of a place, I told myself, quick. "I'm going to the WashingtonCounty." I replied back quickly. That's about the only place I knew in New York, I had read about it once in a book I was skimming through to research about the fauna and flora of AmericanStates and the geographical history behind it.

"Cool." He replied.

Then we fell into silence again.

The train came to a stop outside the railway system of New York. I could almost feel the crowd gnawing at my ears. I got up off my seat and walked near the door and jumped out mixing in with the rest of the crowd. I took out the cell waiting for a phone call from someone or even a message to tell me where I should stand or who to look for, but nothing. I looked around watching out for someone not sure whether I was meant to be expecting someone with a gun or someone dressed all in black from head to toe.

Suddenly I felt a hand grip me by around my wrist.

"Kayla?" It sounded like the same masculine voice I had heard from back on the train. He spun me around making me crash into his chest, hard. I got a whiff of his aftershave. Versace Eros. No way, it couldn't be, there was only one person I knew who could wear something like that on a normal day. Damon.

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