Press. Release. Wait.

Hey...

I really wanted to do something badass.

Like spit disrespectfully onto the train.

Like a badass would do.

Like I beat it.

I was pretty thirsty though. I didn't think I'd be up for it. Instead I kind of just slumped over against the side of the train and rested for a couple seconds.

There was still a lot of dust in the air. I could see it floating in the light of my phone. It revealed the spread of the light, floating off into the murky distance.

I wanted to sleep. Just for a little while. Just for a minute or so. My eyes drooped close and immediately shot up again.

My energy was fading. That bit of acrobatics had taken more out of me than I realized.

I stared off into the dim light, just bright enough to see a few feet in front of me.

The wall of the tunnel was close to me. Just a few feet from my outstretched legs. There was a little tickle in my back. Just a slight vibration in the air. I wasn't sure what it was but it felt kind of nice. Kind of soothing. I leaned back just a little more. It was a little stronger now. Still just a slight tickle in my back.

My eyes were closed. I didn't even realize. I thought I was still staring off into the distance. The light just barely illuminating the concrete wall of the subway tunnel.

I adjust myself again. A little down. And the slight humming in my back got stronger.

Right before I felt like I was going to fall asleep I had a strange thought. It felt a little like electricity. When you get too close to a power line or cord that has electricity running through it. It felt kind of nice this time. Like I wanted to snuggle up against it.

Oh SHIT.

My eyes shot open.

Third rail.

"Jesus Christ!" I practically threw myself against the wall trying to get away. Nearly slamming my face against it in the process.

I guess it was still working.

I literally could not even take like ten seconds to just sit there before something stupid happened. Unbelievable. Unbelievable.

I grabbed my shattered phone and shone it down the length of the tunnel.

It seemed to go on forever but I couldn't really see more than a few feet.

I took a few steps into the dust, taking care not to get near the rails. If I knew where I was I should be only a few short feet away from the conductor's room.

A few cautious footsteps into darkness. To my left another pair of windows appeared before my eyes. Theye were dim and misty at first but as I approached them.

A few more and the next set of windows appeared before me, like they were floating in a void. Dust sparkled in and out of the light as it moved through the air. They looked like the same windows. Clones of the previous set.

Copies in every way. Even down to the tiny scratches that came into view if I shone my light directly at them.

I could see my reflection in the windows. A bright blue light from my phone encompassing most of it. Reflecting in patterns and circles. Bright blue light lines reflecting up and down and sideways and diagonally. Every way.

I looked tired. I looked like I was covered in dust. My eyes were bloodshot and a few streaks of liquid ran down my face.

I didn't want to look at that anymore. I stepped forward again, past the set of windows. I grew so terrified of what I would see next. So terrified that it would just be another set of windows. And then another. And another. Continuing on forever. My face reflecting infinitely into the mirror it created. I would just pass by the same empty subway car over and over and over again. Until forever. Until I fell down and never got up again.

The door came to me suddenly. A small dusty door. A small locking ball-bearing separated the two cars. I reached up to it. It came so fast I wasn't sure what to expect from it. My hand brushed the handle and I grabbed onto it.

A high-pitched squeal came from behind me. It was quiet but there was so little noise it made me jump and turn around.

"What?" I screamed into the tunnel. Like the tunnel was a friend who wouldn't stop asking me questions.

"What now?"

*Whimper*

"What do you want from me?"

*Whine*

The noise seemed to be getting almost quieter as I got louder. I followed the direction of the noise. Back where I came. I hobbled forward, kneeling down, confused.

*Pant* *Pant* *Pant*

I could hear tiny breathing as I got closer.

It got louder and louder as I approached the pile of collapsed concrete on the train.

*Pant* *Pant* *Pant*

Oh goddamnit.

I realized.

I shone my light right on the pile. Lying right beside it, in a tiny gap where only it could get, there was the dog.

I kneeled down and saw the fear in its eyes as I approached the crevice that it had been hiding in.

Its eyes shrunk back into the back, trying to back itself into an opening that didn't exist.

Its panting got faster as it stared back at me.

I shone my light right on it and it barked slightly before silencing itself.

Its fur was matted and dusty. It almost looked one with the dirt below it. I brought my head to my head and let out a deep breath.

"Hey..." I said.