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Engine 21 (12) : Once, Destiny City had a functioning train station. Over the years the tracks took their damage, and the cost to repair couldn’t be justified. So the city let it, and the station, fall into ruin. Of course there have been rumors that the train station was a hot spot for ghouls, stuck in perpetual transit. Lost souls with no place to go. It’s not uncommon for trespassers to come out of the station claiming they saw some frightful apparition wearing outfits right out of the mid 1900s. Sometimes, they even hear the whistle of a train, or the clattering of the track as a phantom train rolls in. Engine 21 was the last train to depart from the station, allegedly, and derailed on the way to the mountains. There were no survivors, but the legend differs in how many souls were lost. Some say, if you stand on the platform at 3:33AM you can hear their screams forever cemented in an endless loop, reliving their deaths nightly. It’s not uncommon for people to say that the railroad crossings will mysteriously light up and lower despite no oncoming trains, and some have even said they’ve seen a phantom train speeding through the night. Maybe it’s just a ghost story, but maybe you’ve seen something, too.
The students that Lucis typically had in his classes were more often than not focused on their coursework – which made sense given he mostly taught those who were majoring in kinesiology, so they were invested in the coursework, and while talking was something he often encouraged…today was a different matter.
“Guys, y’all heard about Engine 21, right?” One of the more typically reserved young ladies in the class spoke, sounding quite eager to talk. “I swear, I heard it last night while I was trying to cram for algebra!”
“Yeah, right,” scoffed a more stereotypical kinesiology student, a young man on goodness knew how many sports teams, both in school and locally. “Everyone knows that’s just a story people tell because it’s Halloween, it’s just a story.”
“No, it’s real! It’s–”
“Class, please. Sit. Is now really the time for this conversation?” Lucis tried not to let his annoyance show through, but it was hard. “Now is not the time to speak about the supernatural, whether it’s real or–”
“Professor, I couldn’t sleep because I heard that commotion,” the girl protested again. “It’s real, I swear it–”
“Now is not the time or place for that,” Lucis shook his head. “If you are truly distressed, perhaps you would be better suited taking the day and going to see the counselor or getting rest. Not trading ghost stories in the midst of class.”
The murmurs died down and class proceeded – yet the one girl remained on edge, or some sort of blend of anxious and eager. Like she needed to talk. But Lucis was almost certain that he was not the person who would be best to talk to about it, so as the class ended, he pulled her aside a moment. Once more urging her to go to the counselor…as well as asking for more details. Where she’d been, when it had happened.
That night, Kom El Shoqafa was out on patrol – much later than he usually was. 3:33 am was such a specific time, but if it was affecting one of his students, then it was best to look into it. Just in case. So he’d slept before getting up at 2:00 am, quickly showering and out the door he went looking for trouble.
At first, he thought perhaps it had truly been nothing more than an active imagination. That even those who were on the side of chaos were in their beds, sleeping peacefully. But then…he heard it.
A train. There were no tracks, at least none that were maintained. He didn’t see the tell tell lights of an engine coming, but he could hear it. And as he carefully jumped down to the ground, he could feel the vibrations of a train approaching. Everything indicating a train was present was indeed present…except the train itself.
And after a few moments more, he heard what had caused so much trouble for his student.
The screams. The screams. Screams combined with the screeching of the metallic wheels trying to stop on the tracks but clearly failing as the sounds repeated. Over and over and over.
It was unsettling enough that he knew he would not be sleeping soon, even as he ran along the old tracks, trying to find something visible, something tangible, but there was nothing.
He’d thought he’d seen it all, but clearly there were some things even the weird magics he’d encounter regularly couldn’t explain.
And that…was probably the most unsettling thing of all.
