Torment

Curtis

Hours had turned into days and days had turned into weeks, and it soon became apparent that the guards weren't coming to our aid. The first three days were tough, people kept themselves to themselves, nothing more than the rhythmic hum of the train and the occasional cough splitting through the solemn atmosphere. We had no food, little water and people were getting desperate.

The tail end must have been full to the brim with at least 1000 passengers, each of them needing desperate care. People soon began to queue, coming to me with questions I couldn't answer. I was only a teen, I'd been studying nursing for two years, and although I knew my facts, I'd never had the chance to put them into practice. This carriage was full of strangers, nobody knew who anybody was, a single person's name hadn't even been muttered. But yet here they were, putting their full trust into me, a young woman with a red armband.

Day four saw the hungry passengers lining up to see me, all of them knowing I could only offer the solution of conserving energy and huddling for warmth. People had begun to fight, easily agitated and ready to explode, it was just a recipe for disaster. We had nothing, so losing our body warmth and energy was the last thing we needed. It was as another fight began that I stood up and rushed towards the men. "PLEASE! STOP! Just stop!" I shouted, as my pleas quickly turned into a sob causing them to separate and look at me along with the rest of the carriage. With tear-stained cheeks, I looked around me. "I know you are hungry; I know you are scared, and I know you are angry. I know that because I am too, we all are, but fighting isn't going to help anyone." I took a shaky breath before I continued. "I am sorry I cannot give you the medical help you need but I can promise you this. You need to preserve your energy; fighting will solve nothing! We can survive three weeks without food and as long as we save our water and use it wisely, there is still hope." My words faded off into a whisper as I looked to the passengers beside me. There were several heavily pregnant women that looked as if they were about to pop at any given moment. I shook my head, gazing past bruised and dirtied faces of the young and old before I pushed through the crowd and towards the metal gate.

I couldn't take it anymore, I had to have answers. My inner need to help people was too strong, and my nursing instincts egged me on, much to the passenger's surprise. "PLEASE! PLEASE! Someone help us, they're going to die! I need to help them! YOU NEED TO HELP THEM!" I screamed rushing towards the metal gates as a toddler cried from behind me. The low light of the carriage brightened slightly as a guard appeared from the sliding doors. I stumbled backwards, tripping over my feet and onto the floor, shocked as a machine gun was pointed at my face. I flinched as the guard stood forward, but a new looming shadow caught my attention. The boy with the blue eyes was standing with his back to me, shielding me from the gun. He looked weak and starving just like the rest of us, but the determination in his eyes was still present. The boy grabbed the gun gently from underneath and lifted the guards aim away from my face. "We're just hungry, killing our nurse isn't going to make that go away." The boy breathed quietly with a daring hint in his voice. The guard grunted, snatching his gun away and retreating through the sliding doors once more.

I let out the breath I didn't know I was holding as the boy held out a hand to me, lifting my shaking self to my feet. As the fellow passengers dispersed knowing nothing more was to come from my speech, I finally had the chance to look at the young man before me. My breath hitched as I scanned his features, he was handsomely chiselled and even through the torment of the last two weeks it was clear he was turning into a well-built man. I smiled as a jumble of thank you's and sorry's left my lips. "Hey, it's okay, we're just all trying to do our bit" He smiled.

I couldn't help but smile back, this was the first human interaction I had had in days, and it was wonderful. "I'm Curtis, Curtis Everett." The boy stated with an American accent. I stood shocked as I thought of how far he must have been from his home when this all started. "Yeah, I know, I was in England for a study trip when it happened." He replied to my unspoken question. I nodded as apologetically as I could before I spoke up. "My name is Hazel Ferguson, I'm a trainee nurse," I stated with little emotion in my voice. "You're not a trainee anymore," Curtis said with a sad smile.

As day four turned into week one, Curtis and I spoke on occasion. I found out, like me, Curtis had boarded this train alone with no idea of the fate his family had faced. It was nice to have someone to speak too, someone to say your name and someone to ground you to reality, but it all changed so quickly.