'You need a doc?', asked Bob as I narrated him what had happened that morning. It had been a week since then. No nightmares or unexpected dazing since then. My mind had been spinning over the woods thing. Am I becoming the victim of whatever happened with Larry? – I used to ask myself. But then the answer would come – Maybe... Maybe not. I had been bewildered but not senseless. Something convulsive had been going on in my mind and what was needed was a bit of patience and grit to get over it... and probably somewhere within me I knew I could fight it. But yeah, I also knew it very well that complacence in such kind of matters can sometime get you by the spine.

'Hmm?', Fred asked again while I was lost in my thoughts.

'Um... I guess am still not sure about it', I said. 'This mind thing. They are nothing but nightmares, right? They are not real. I can cope with it. But speaking about dazing and fainting suddenly... I suppose I should pay a visit to some doc as soon as possible'

'I completely agree with that. By the way when are you planning to do that?'

'See, nothing such has happened for a week now. I guess I can wait. I hope I have got out of it. What do you say?'

Bob nodded and then said, 'As you like... Upto you'

'You know my car's at the garage. The dent. I had been neglecting it till now. Yesterday evening I got it to the Dickory Steph, shit the name. It's the closest one I could find. Now I have to take a taxi to office. Would you like to join?'

'Taxi? Wait... The route's closed for two days now because of work. I am afraid you have to take a longer cut up to office', Bob said.

'Gosh! Are we fucked up now?!'

'I think you can catch the train to Greywell – will get you to your location in... um... half an hour or so'

'Oh really? Wow... I hadn't ever tried it. Thanks'

'We have the same destination, right?... Am also joining'

With this we strolled up to Lane 23, Jagbaton Station, a mile away, and there we boarded the train to Greywell.

'I have been here twice or thrice maybe... A good ride it is', said Bob as we got seated on our respective adjacent seats. Beside me was an old man reading newspaper while the one sitting in front of me was a teen listening to music over the pod. There were some other people too. Among them was a kid - probably nine or ten - with his mother who had some carriages to look after. The kid was reading a book.

I shifted my glance out through the glass as the train started moving out of the subway. The sky was dark with thick cloud cover and a downpour was certainly on its way. I looked at Bob for a while. He was already immersed in his mobile phone. I looked back again outside and started having a view of the distant horizon through the plains.

After a while my eyes started flickering as I was starting to doze off. In no time my eyes closed and I peacefully slipped into a slumber.

When I opened my eyes, it was dark. The train was still moving with its usual speed. We were back in the subway and the lights of the train had been switched off.

Sick! That's sick!

But then a light passed from the subway, lighting the compartment for a while. At that moment my eyes captured all other passengers sleeping. I was astonished. I looked back at my watch. The destination must still be fifteen minutes away.

It was when the train entered a platform, but it didn't seem to stop. As the train got into the platform, the whole compartment was filled with its faint yellow light. But then - the train neither seemed to slow down nor the platform seemed to end. As the train was moving fast forward, the platform was going on extending itself. I rose up in apprehension and tried to wake up Bob by juddering him. But as I touched him, his body turned to ash and blew away. I was shocked and afraid. As I looked at the other passengers, they also turned into ash and blew away in exactly the same manner. Now it was only me and the train... and not to forget... the infinite platform.

Perplexed and stupefied, I ran to the door and tried to open it with all the force I could apply but it seemed rather impossible to even move it by some microns. Confused, I rushed at the door to the next compartment. As I got into the other compartment, I saw that it was also empty. Not a single soul.

It was when a faint giggle of some small child echoed – of some girl. I looked around the whole train-car in frenzy and started running through the compartments. Not a single person in any of them. I grabbed my head in bewilderment and got down on my knees. The giggled followed me again. I looked up in apprehension and slowly started moving back to my compartment.

I was completely stupefied and frightened. I am trapped. Yes, I am. This fucking train has trapped me in here.

I started searching for something sharp or heavy to break through the glass and make my way through. But then –

And that's gonna be an utterly unpleasant way to kill myself. The train's moving with full speed and if I jump out of it... Oh no... No no no!

I sat back on a seat and started thinking of some way to free myself of this infinite loop-like setting. Then suddenly the train started getting turbulent. It began juddering vigorously. Some clanging sound was coming over my head. As I looked up, I saw some big iron boxes over the luggage rack. They were going to fall over me. And as it was going to happen, I sprang forward and avoided the crash of those boxes over my head. They crashed upon the seat and the seat itself crumbled under it.

I gave out a sigh of relief and slowly started walking back to my seat again. Suddenly I felt someone standing just behind me – really close. I stopped and froze at my place. I could sense my hands tremble. Slowly, I started to turn around. One moment my mind would yell at me – See. Look for yourself. Whoever's there. Get him. The other moment it would say – No. Don't do that. Just don't. But as I was trying to subside the fight in the inner me, I had been turning around simultaneously. And as I turned back, there was no one there. I pulled out my phone and frantically turned on the torch. My hands were shaking till now. No one.

It was when I saw something rolling down to me. A button it was. It slowly rolled down and struck my shoe. I picked it up and looked at it carefully. Nothing special about it. Just a button.

'Wanna play with me?', a voice echoed in the compartment. It was the voice of the girl. I could sense it. I moved the torch here and there in front of me in desperation.

Then came the girl from behind a pole. A girl about four or five of age. Looked quite desolated. She was wearing an old-fashioned frock and was holding a small doll in her hand. The doll had been made by stitching old clothes and fabrics together and it had its eyes made up of buttons. But one was missing. Oh yes! It was in my hand.

'Hey girl! What are you doing here, darling?', I asked, perplexed, but trying to be comforting.

'I have been here. Your world is far from us, daddy tells me. I want you here. Tell me. You wanna play with me?', she asked innocently.

'Yeah... I mean... Why not?', I said and then chuckled nervously. Then she smiled and then disappeared behind the pole.

'Hey girl! You there?!'. A brief moment of silence and then came a woman out of nowhere – I mean from behind the pole itself I suppose – and leaped over me. She had a knife in her hand and she was quite intended to get it into me. As she sprang over me, both of us fell down with her sitting over my tummy and it was when she brought the knife down rapidly.

I got her hand with both of mine and tried to restrict the assault. The knife was still close to my chest. Now it was touching my chest – sharp enough to cause a small cut. I was groaning and trying to push her back but she was too strong. The look over her face – too fierce and aggressive. She wanted me. The horrific grin over her face – with all its rotten, bloody teeth, her open and uncombed hair – all made up for an appalling atmosphere. And the worst of all – the deep, black hole on her forehead... it was sending a chill down my spine.

Then she suddenly got up and kicked me hard on my face. And that nearly fainted me. My arms gave up. My head dropped back and blood gushed out of my nose. She had certainly knocked me down. Now there was no defense from the victim and it was when she got the opportunity to get berserk.

She came down again and shoved the knife right into the centre of my chest. The force made by sternum break. Pulling out the knife she came down again and this time it was my heart. I could feel the pain but I was immovable – knocked down by her atrocious assault. I thought I would die. Certainly, she had got my heart and all I was waiting for was my eyes to close for a final time. But it wasn't the case. Not at all.

I wasn't dying. She went on stabbing me again and again mercilessly – ripping my chest open, breaking my ribs to pieces, destroying my lungs. I could see pieces of my lungs flying around. A faint yell was coming out of my mouth. I could feel all the pain. But her face was passive and silent. Her eyes had widened and it were only her hands that were moving. No matter how many times she went on stabbing me, the light of life did not seem to flicker.

My chest was gone by now. Now she changed the angle of her grip – as if to dig into something – and now she aimed at my face. First shot. My left eye is gone. Second shot. My nose is gone. A third one. A pothole on my forehead.

Oh stop!

And then I gasped and woke up. I flung forward and crashed onto the floor over my knees and hands. As I fell down, I started running my hand over my face and chest. Everything's there. The ribs, chest, nose, eyes – all there. Right where they should be. Sweat was dripping off my nose and falling onto the floor.

I looked up. The kid was out of his book now and was staring at me with amazement. So was his mother. The teen with the pod was still engrossed in his music, having closed his eyes. All other passengers in the compartment were staring at me with stupefaction. Bob drooped down and got his arm over my shoulder. I backed away in fright and fell back on my hips.

'Hey hey! Its me. Bob. Look up! You okay?', Bob asked with concern. I couldn't reply. I was in no position to say something. It was when the doors opened. We were at Greywell now. As soon as the doors opened, I rushed outside. People were starting to gather around the doorway and I shoved my way through them. Some people shrieked, some yelled at me and I made someone fall because of the push. But none of that mattered. I was running to the washroom on the platform now making my way through the crowd – pushing, shoving and bumping people on my way. Bob started running behind me in agitation.

As I reached the porcelain wash basin, I turned on the faucet and started dousing my face vigorously with the cold water rushing out. Bob came running in.

'What the hell happened?! Huh?', he asked.

'Time to visit the doc'