Shortcut
Kli-clank!
The drink can rickets off the chain-link fence and rolls back towards my feet. I chuckle. Kenichi puts his hand on my shoulder and makes some comment I don’t quite catch. So much for the theory my Japanese is better when I’m drunk.
I grab the can and stumble towards a street light. I liked this flavour, whatever it was. I turn the can in my hand and stare at the design. I can’t read any of it, but there’s a peach on it, artistically photographed, and the lettering is blue. I’ll try to find this one again, I think, as I set the can on the ground, then stomp the hell out of it. Both Daisuke and Kenichi are laughing now. I glance back to try to see where the girls have gone. Be a shame if they went home already. Rika’s got a cute ass.
‘Very quiet and, eh, fast!’ Daisuke’s English is the best of the group, which means I almost never know what the fuck he’s trying to say. At least his over dramatic pantomimes usually clue me in. But I don’t need to wait for the gestures this time. It’s clear the plan is to cut across the back of the station, through the train yard.
Kenichi climbs over the fence first, and lands lightly on the other side. Daisuke’s not as coordinated, or maybe he’s just more drunk. His decent from the fence lands him straight on his butt, followed by a volley of giggles from the girls who have reappeared at my side.
Kenichi chastises them all, and the girls try to stifle their laughter, leading Tomoko to snort and Rika to laugh even harder.
I lace my fingers together and offer the girls a boost up over the fence. Tomoko goes first, and it’s clear she’s done this before. Rika struggles a bit, but eventually makes it to the top. Daisuke helps her down the other side.
‘Okay, no problem.’ He motions me to join them.
The hill leading down into the yard is a lot steeper than I realised back up on the road. Loose gravel gives out from our feet as we edge our way down. In the distance, across the yard, the musical chime of the station’s announcement system sounds softly.
Further in, there are no lights in the yard and the long shadows from the train cars are a mix of midnight on black. We cut around an engine sitting by itself, and I’m careful not to trip on the rails.
Standing next to them, I’m shocked at how big the cars are. I guess being up on platforms just makes them seem shorter I assess, staring up at the door of a passenger train parked on the track to my left. I sway gently with the breeze.
Turning back towards the group, my heart sinks.
Oh shit. I can feel the panic rise in my chest as I walk quickly in the direction they last were. Nothing. Nothing but train cars. I glance back behind me, looking for the hill, but I’m totally boxed in by the trains.
‘Kenichi! Daisuke!’ My voice is the loudest whisper I have ever heard. My ears are actually pulling away from my skull trying to hear them, hear their feet on the gravel of the yard, anything. Shit shit shit shit the vocabulary of my inner monologue has been reduced to curse words and the phrase ‘you idiot’.
My happy buzz is gone. Sweat begins to bead on my forehead. Somewhere to the left I can hear the mumble of the station’s PA. They must have cut through and headed that way I conclude, and speed walk up the train, looking for a way across.
How the hell do I get over there!? It takes me a full five car lengths to realise I’m still next to the passenger train, and there are no gaps between the cars. In desperation, I duck down and crawl beneath the carriages.
I shimmy my way out from under the car and stare around me. Unsurprisingly, I’m still in the middle of a train yard, boxed in, with no idea where to go next. A whistle sounds from somewhere, making me jump. Oh fuck me.
The acute knowledge of how dumb a decision this was washes over me. The threat of being run over if I keep heading towards the station pales to my conviction that I’m moments from getting caught, a blonde moron well out of place.
I start walking back along the length of the passenger train I crawled under, totally dejected, trailing my hand along the cars. All the bravado I’d felt earlier in the evening is gone. I’m lost. I’m alone. I’m a dumbfuck. I’m sure to be found by a station guard soon, and then I’ll be kicked out of the country. Do you still have to pay for the plane ticket if they deport you? I wonder, well lost in my worst-case scenario misery.
Crunch
The sound knocks the breath entirely out of me. That was footsteps, that had to be footsteps. My eyes dart around, looking for somewhere to hide. My heart is pounding in my ears, making it impossible to listen. I can feel the tears beginning to well up and my throat getting tight. No no no! I only just got here! I don’t want to get have to go!
Crunch
Crunch
‘Jordan-san?’
I blink. That’s Kenichi’s voice. On the other side of the carriage.
I crawl back under the train, and re-join the group. Tomoko asks something but I don’t understand. Daisuke translates with a grandiose mock demonstration of taking a piss, nearly tripping as he does so. Rika bursts out giggling again and Tomoko quickly hushes her, then says something to Kenichi. He gestures for everyone to follow.
Daisuke grins at me, clearly still drunk.
‘Secret fast-way out!’
I stare back dumbly and nod.
Contest details:
Contest: NYC Midnight Flash Fiction 2014, Round 1, Challenge 1
Genre: Action/Adventure
Location: A trainyard
Object: A peach
Score: 1 point