Press. Release. Wait.

The Fifteen Minute Journey

The sounds stopped. At least, it sounded like they did on Adam's end. We sat in silence for a long time. I listened to the muffled thuds coming from the other side. They sounded a lot like what I had heard before.

Maybe they were digging us out. Maybe they were coming to find us. I thought of everything it could be. That really seemed they most plausible. Though I still didn't even want to think of what the separation between Adam and I meant.

"Cheyenne?" I heard Adam call from the phone, long after the sounds had stopped. "I have an idea."

I waited. I didn't answer. I just waited for him to elaborate.

"Cheyenne?"

"Yeah?"

"Did you hear what I said?"

"Yeah."

"Well..." He continued, "should we try just walking out?"

I had thought of that. One side of the tunnel was blocked but the other side seemed perfectly passable. I couldn't stop thinking about that tunnel though. The deep, neverending dark it seeemed to encompass. The thought of my phone running out of batteries halfway through. And how far was it?

"Yeah," I said.

"Do you think we could do it?"

"Probably."

"Cheyenne..."

"What?"

"You're not contributing."

"Sorry."

We paused.

"Cheyenne," he finally said. "What are you thinking?"

I sighed.

"I'm thinking I'm scared. I don't want to do that."

I heard Adam adjust his seating position. There was a crumble of rocks as he approached the speaker a little bit closer.

"I am too."

"Do you think that's the smartest thing to do?" I asked.

"I don't know. I don't know what to think anymore."

"Okay," I finally declared, "we should think about this logically. I think we need to ignore the... unexplained factors. Let's just say for simplicity that we are separated. We're on opposite sides of the earth. Same crash. Same circumstances. What do we do?"

Adam thought for a few moments.

"They say if you're lost you stay where you are."

"I mean... there's only one direction we can go. There should be a platform no more than a few miles away."

"I don't think I'm in any condition to be walking for miles."

Oh yeah. The arm. I... completely forgot about that.

"Good point." I said. "Actually, how is your arm?"

There was silence from the other side.

"How... how is it?"

"It's not great."

"Do we need to do something about it now?"

Adam hesitated. I could tell he was not being honest.

"No. No. I can manage." He lied.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course I am. I wouldn't lie to you."

I grimaced. I didn't know how bad it truly was. He seemed fairly level-headed and calm but I knew I was in no position to be objective.

"What if... Just putting it out there... if I went out to see. I walked just a bit. Just to see if there's a station close."

"Do you have any idea how far the stations are?" he asked.

"No."

"I don't either."

It could be more than five miles. We were out of the center now, going out to where the buildings were further apart. Where less and less people went.

"I walk for five minutes. five minutes there. five minutes back." I offered.

I could tell Adam was thinking about it.

"Five minutes?" he asked.

"I'll be back in fifteen mintues. Max."

"Fifteen minutes..."

"Adam," I called out to him, "I think we need to do this. I think we need to figure this out. I've been wondering for a while why no one has come. How far is it? Wouldn't there be someone coming to see? Even if they don't know its crashed. How long has it been?

"It's been..." His words trailed off. Neither of us had any idea how long we had been sitting here within the rubble.

"It doesn't matter. What matters is for us to figure out what the hell the deal is."

"Okay."

"Okay?" I called out to him.

"Yeah... Okay... Fine." He went through a few more different versions of the same answers.

"I'm going to pack for it."

"What is there to pack?" he called.

"I don't know. Water. Ummm..." I looked at the dog. "Probably not the dog."

"You don't need to bring the dog, Cheyenne. You should just go. Do it quickly and get right back.

"Fine," I said.

"Fifteen minutes."

"Fifteen minutes. Don't come look for me if I'm late. Stay on the phone."

I didn't hang up the phone. I think he would've preferred at least hearing me get ready. I looked out to the dark wall to my side. I had to go. I had to go now so he wouldn't worry when I was late. I took a deep breath and opened the door.

It was somewhat calming trudging through the dirt. I needed to make sure I didn't get anywhere near the rail. But first I needed to get more water. I walked only a few hundred feet before coming across the conductor room of the next car. I stepped inside.

It seemed to be the same. Except the small numeral below the brake said 005. Well.. at least I knew I wasn't far from the end. Though I dreaded seeing that dark expanse, seemingly stretched into eternity.

I looked inside the first aid kit. Another small water bottle. Just like before. I thanked whoever had decided to put water in the first aid kits. Because I probably wouldn't have bothered. I guess I wasn't exactly a doctor.

I stepped out again and looked back towards the cave-in.

There was a shape moving in the car.

I didn't know whether to be relieved or terrified. Terrified it became because I began to run until I realized what it was.

It was the dog.

I brought my head into my hands and took some deep breaths.

Calm down.

I looked back again. The dog was moving still, probably worried because I had left.

It's okay bud. I'm coming back. I promise. I'll come back soon.

I turned again, trying to get the shape out of my mind. Trying to get my brain to stop seeing shapes in the darkness. I knew there was no movement in the dark recesses around me. Nothing. There was no one here. I stepped between the windows. They were dark. There was nothing inside of them.

I shuffled my feet forward, taking deep breaths as my light shone just a few feet in front of me. That was car 3 I had just passed. I was still very close to where I had been.

Car 2.

I continued. Not looking into the windows anymore. I didn't want to even try to trick myself.

Car 1.

I could see the train end abruptly in front of me. Ahead was nothing. Nothing.

Just like I had imagined.

I stepped forward.

Into nothingness.