The train stopped at the station which was not showing in the map. The people on the driver’s seat were a little confused over the matter. They called for the headquarters at Nogala, only to get a signal for movement – “You are on track 13F, maybe. Good for you, 14C’s under repair”.
Lekai wiped the window. The sudden temperature drop had made it fogged. Mr. Techi was searching for his sweater from his big suitcase. It was dark outside. Lekai could only see a dot of twinkling light. The whole station otherwise had no light.
“Lekai hold this once”, Mr. Techi threw a coat towards him, shifting his eyes from the window to Techi’s coat. Mr. Techi then took out another coat from his suitcase. Then exchanging the coats quickly, he wore it.
The train was lighted with lanterns at almost every corner and that gave Lekai a sense of comfort thinking of the dark outside. His eyes were again fixed on the twinkling light. “What could it be?” Lekai thought “A lantern?”
Suddenly it disappeared. Lekai quickly refocused his vision, and within a few seconds it was there again. After that he heard a footstep on the corridor.
“Uncle... Someone’s outside”
“Passenger Lekai” reading his book Techi said.
Then the room’s door opened. Lekai’s eyes fixed. A lean, short heighted person entered. Lekai’s eyes fell on his wrinkled, bearded face. He was old, much older than his uncle.
“Seat number 4, sir, may I?” a light voice moved Lekai’s senses.
“Yes... Yes... Of course” Lekai moved his small bag from the seat. He closed his eyes then thinking of his destination.
In the engine of the train, the drivers received a clear signal from the station, making a move. Lekai on the other hand, was sad of leaving his mother alone at Nogala, and never wanted to move. His uncle was still busy reading. And the new passenger, he was behaving quite strangely. His mouth had dried up, eyes fixed on the window and his face was turning pale.
“Why is the train moving this way?” he all of a sudden, shouted.
Techi chose not to pay attention to the old man, and kept his eyes fixed on his book. But, Lekai was a bit confused and wanted to answer.
“We are going to Gati, so... it is moving towards Gati, I guess”
“No no no no... it can’t reach Gati like this”
“What is your problem, Sir?” Finding hard to keep reading, Techi interrupted.
“You don’t understand! It’s not Gati we will reach, but hell! Stop this train right now!” Then briskly walking toward the room door he said “Open it I want to go!”
“Old man, are you mad? You will get yourself killed!” Techi said.
“Yes...Killed...It has killed us for 3 years! Do you even know how it feels to lose your loved ones?!”
Outside, the train had entered a forest. It was quite a deep one, with very little space for the train to move.
“What do you mean?” Lekai anxiously said.
The old man moved toward the window again and in a hopeless manner murmured “We are going... to die”
“Lekai get him out!” Techi shouted.
“We are going to die!!!”
“What is going on?” Lekai cried.
In the engine, the drivers had to reduce the train’s speed. It was getting to much dark. They couldn't even see the tracks. Both the drivers were not sure where the way was leading them to. They were moving through a dark abyss.
“Joda, increase the searchlight a bit, I can’t see” said one of the driver. The other took the command and increased the light. The light grew, and the drivers could see a part of the track. It lighted not only the track but something else too. There was something on the track. Before both the driver could think what it was, the train smashed it.
“Shit!” Joda whispered.
“It was 1942 when it came. It came in a star, which fell like a curse from the sky. 3 years and it is killing us all... it lives here... in this forest.” The old man said.
Joda eyes were fixed on the train’s windshield, on which was hanging the creature they knew the train had smashed.
“The 1942, fake alien sighting case is it?” Techi asked.
Lekai looked at the window. “What is it? Is it out there?” He could only think.
Joda shifted towards the right side window and the creature disappeared leaving its hold. Both of them were breathing heavily. It was not a usual animal.
“What the hell was it?” Joda asked the other driver who, eyes wide, was staring at the right window.
“Joda... move... “
Lekai was trying hard looking at the forest, to figure out the truth when suddenly a stream of some liquid on the window glass blocked his view. Then he heard a shout –
“JODA!!!”
“It’s here...” The old man’s voice pushed the stagnant heavy cold air. And its echo’s filled Lekai’s mind. It was there, he was going to die, and all that was only the beginning, thoughts made him scared.
Techi quickly moved out of the room. He found out he was not alone, hearing the scream all the passengers had came out to the corridor. They all knew something was wrong.
“What is going on?” One young man asked Techi. Another cried “It’s coming from the engine!”
Calm down was what Techi was about to say when suddenly he heard another shout. A scream it was, as if, coming from hell. Techi looked at Lekai who had already taken out his bag and was ready on the move.
“Stay here” Techi said. Then looking at the old man he nervously said “Please stay with him”. He quickly ran toward the end of the compartment. On the way two young men agreed to help him get to the engine. Then they moved, from compartments to compartments. Everyone was outside, worried over the screams. Techi soon found himself running just to find one compartment where people were all inside their room, but strangely the scream was strong enough to force everyone to move out.
And ultimately reaching the final compartment they got stuck. There was no way to reach the engine from that compartment. And that led Techi to dive into thoughts. “There was the train, and then there were screams, most probably from the engine. What if it’s not from the engine?” Techi’s mind quarreled. There was just one way to find it and that was to reach the engine.
Techi moved towards the door of the compartment and leaning against the door he tried to look at the condition of the engine when he suddenly saw blood on the floor near the engine entry. “Oh” Techi murmured and slowly drifted his body to the walls of the door with one hand holding the door’s metal grip and one leg on the base of the door. With every move he remembered his long old compulsory military training at school. Even when his mind had forgotten the techniques, his instinct kept it alive. He searched for a grip and pushing himself a bit his hand fell on the metal rod attached with the engine wall. Then somehow holding to it he used all his strength to drag his body to the base of the gate of the engine.
“Are you alright sir?” A shout came from the compartment. Techi cried “Yeah fine.” Then he entered the engine.
As soon as he stepped in, a suddenly fear gripped him tightly. He was looking at the worn out body parts lying all over the engine floor. The furnace was filled with coal and was burn. Its heat made Techi realize the temperature that was constantly falling. Then again were there blood, were there organs of humans, and were there a heavy rotten smell. Smell of many things mixed: blood, bodies, and a strange odor never smelled before by Techi. And then came a wave of shouts and screams which brought Techi out from his inner thoughts to reality. Something happened at the compartments. Maybe the old man was true. Maybe... they were going to die. Techi could hardly move with the vision of the creature in his mind. He was trembling with fear, afraid even to move out of the engine.
The screams now were slowly coming to pause. Techi was determined not to move out but then imaginations of Lekai’s torn body disturbed his inner peace. He had to do something and fast.
He spent 15 minutes deciding whether to go or stay. There was his mind telling him to stick to the safe engine, and then there was his heart longing to see Lekai’s face. By the 15 minutes the screams had almost faded into silence. The rhythmic sound of the engine was the only thing that kept him aware at that moment. Techi thus decided to get on the move. Shifting himself slowly towards the door he moved himself out. Holding the rod to the door, he entered the compartment.
The compartment was dark. The lanterns lay on the floor broken. But it was not the only thing on the floor. On the floor were bodies, were blood, were luggage, and were all scattered. Torn apart were the bodies and that gave Techi the scariest feeling of his life – to see Lekai like that. He moved through them. The corridor had become a graveyard of dead. Techi tried his best not to step on a body or a part. The room doors were all broken. Bodies were inside too. “Maybe they tried to hide” thought Techi. It was dark and hardly could he see things properly. He was very slow with his movement trying to make the minimum sound possible, constantly ordering his mind to stay calm.
For the first time Techi had to think what kind of a creature it was. He was just three compartments ahead from Lekai. Moments strange as they are, that time made a headstrong, pray. In that darkness Techi fumbled, fell and again pulling his body up, walked through the corridor. It was dark, although it didn't blind him for the moment as there was a light coming from a far ahead compartment. Techi was sure it was his destination. He was going to increasing his pace when suddenly he stopped. He stopped and watched.
The light was not the only thing that was coming to him. With it came a shadow. Even while standing at a far distance Techi was stunned to see the strange structure of the shadow. It was falling on the wall opposite to a room. “Whoever or whatever it is, it is there inside the room”, Techi thought. The light was frail and he could not trust it. But what if it was just a survivor? Techi was confused.
He was moving with each step measured. Just one compartment gap, it was. He moved his head, searching just to see a glimpse of Lekai. Then with a sudden fear he turned his gaze to the nearby bodies lying on the corridor of the partially lighted compartment ahead. Lekai wasn't one. He felt much relieved. His mind which was repeating prayers after prayers and his gratefulness to God, was scared to the limits. That was the last point of that compartment. Till that point Techi had somehow dragged his body. But being reached the point of clarity, he body stopped the movement rebelling against his mind. The shadow was not of a human. It couldn't have been of any living creature Techi had ever seen. It was huge and rigid.
Suddenly the shadow moved. Such was the agility of the movement that for the first few second Techi couldn't actually make-out the change in the position until the beast, blocking the light, stood in front of Techi. And with that Techi understood, the grave mistake he did by coming to the point in the compartment. It was now absolute darkness. And Techi was scared as by the time his eyes would have adjusted to the light he would have died.
Whatever it was, it surely had a dark rough tight skin for Techi could not see even a bit of the light reflecting away from his skin. He was standing with the alien at a difference of a few feet. He couldn't run. He couldn't hide. He laid bare to death. He tried to move his hands, when to his shock he found his body paralyzed. That was fear he knew, but not for death, it was for that demon. And as his eyes went on adjusting, so went the rise of fear. He could then identify that the semi solid mass hanging from its face should be its tongue. It had no chin, or maybe it was torn apart, as for Techi could only see his tongue hanging from its mouth. Then he understood that the tongue was not one but as if it had many long snakes in its mouth. He knew then that Lekai couldn't have possibly survived it. And the same was going to happen to him.
But thinking of his body torn down and lying on the corridor made him shiver. “Will I die like a dog now?” Techi’s mind burned with fear. He was now fixing his eyes on the beast’s body. He could see how strong its structure was more or less round but rigid. It was taller, much taller than Techi. And Techi was thus in no mood to run. Let it end quickly if it has to.
The body moved close after standing and staring at Techi for a period of eternity. Techi was still. Not an inch of a movement was there in him, not even a drop of an eye. The beast had fang’s larger than its body which then were around Techi by then and were scratching the floor. Techi’s had already died inside looking at the beast, so there was not a single reaction from his side. It moved its face closer to Techi trying to absorb everything around him. What Techi saw after that was rather something more disturbing. The beast lacked eyes and in their place were three straight long cuts in the skin, each below the other. He could smell the same odor he found in the engine, from the beast.
“What a devil are you!?” Techi shouted in his mind. But just when it would have all ended something happened.
Thak... thak... thak... “Over here! Come over here”
“What was that?” Techi thought. Someone was there! Someone alive! Immediately the monster turned and ran toward the exit door of the other side. And before Techi could understand anything, it grabbed a dead body nearby and started tearing more and more and more. It wasn't afraid to kill. Unlike other earthly creatures, it was killing for its own pleasure. Sweat ran down Techi’s forehead, making him realize how low the temperature had become. It was almost below freezing point.
Techi moved a leg back, when suddenly the beast came running towards him. Techi stopped immediately and closed his eyes. Within the next three seconds Techi could feel the presence of the monster near him even with his eyes closed.
“Don’t move! It can’t see, but can sense your motion!” shouted someone.
Hearing this the beast started screaming. It then moved towards the exit doors again trying to find the person behind the voice. A little hope then gathered in Techi’s heart. He could survive. He just needs to find that voice and save that person. But then in seconds he realized that moving was not possible.
“How will I save him?” Techi thought.
There was one alive, Techi knew that then, and loosing that one hope was not an option. Thus breaking out of his fear Techi finally moved his leg front. The monster which by then was scribbling a body, stopped. Then turning towards Techi screamed, showing that it wanted Techi to stay still till it has done its job. Techi moved the other leg too. Sensing a second movement made the alien to become furious. Fixing his blow it moved its large fangs cutting through the room walls towards Techi. But before it could hit Techi, something knocked its back. The man behind the voice had thrown something at the beast. Techi understood this once the alien turned towards the exit door. The man was standing there near the door. Techi’s at first couldn't realize who it was but soon figured it out as the man spoke, “Lekai is alright... It has killed us for 3 years! But... I won't let it kill any outsider!” Saying this he jumped out of the train. The beast which was already furious over Techi’s movement, lost control of its anger as it ran screaming and smashing the corridor wall towards the door and finally jumping out. Techi quickly looked over the window just to find the train on a bridge over a river. The ripples on the water surface signifying the monster’s smashing, gave chills to Techi. He closed his eyes and prayed for that old man who saved his life, who saved Lekai’s life.
“Lekai!” Techi suddenly remembered. He jumped from his state of rest and moved towards their room. Lekai’s was there lying motionless and helpless on the floor. He had gone into a state of trance by watching the number of shocking deaths around him. Techi sat on the floor and held Lekai tightly to his chest for that moment then.
“Lekai are you...” Techi stopped. Something puzzled him again. He thought, “If the alien had entered the train once how long will it take for it to enter again?” Chills ran down his spine. He had to do something, something very fast.
“Lekai... Stay still... if something happens, just... just... just don’t move!” tears trickled down Techi’s cheeks. He didn't want to leave Lekai there again. He was finally alone, and it wasn't just the love for Lekai that made him cry but the fear that they both were going to die.
He stood up still trying to concentrate on his next job. The temperature was all too cold, and Techi found his body rebelling. He wanted to do the job quickly but then it felt like his fate was playing with his death. He still walked somehow, moving and then running.
He was moving towards the engine again. Stumbling, falling and then again running, he reached the last compartment and then moved from the door, drifting in the most agile manner towards the engine entry. Those same bodies laid there torn down on the floor. That same furnace burned, which was the only source of light. But Techi didn't have time to think over the incident again, he didn't want to become weak at that moment. Crying every now and then, he started pouring the coal inside the furnace. Then moving towards the front, he increased the train’s speed. As the train gained momentum, there came a loud scream. Techi started howling in fear and helplessness that the beast might had entered the train again. Then he closed his eyes and sat down.
“Sorry Lekai...” he sobbed “I am so... sorry...”
He didn't move after that, but prayed with his eyed closed, prayed for Lekai, for him. The train moved cutting through the old tracks of the forest just like a bullet cuts air. By the next day morning the train had came out of the forest. Techi, by that time was eaten up by his guilt. “It must have killed Lekai and now I am taking it to Gati” Techi cried to himself. He was sweating heavily as the temperature suddenly had changed to normal 20 degree Celsius.
He stopped the train a few kilometers away from the Gati station and came down from the engine. He was confused as to what he needed to do. Would he check the compartment for Lekai or would he go to the station and gather people for help? And then there was the confusion that whether the beast was inside the train or not. But he decided not to take risk and ask for help. So moving to Gati station he called the station police.
The train was checked. There was nothing to call ‘alien’ over there. Techi quickly moved to Lekai’s room. He was lying on the floor with his eyes fixed on the ceiling. Techi checked his pulse but could find it.
“Is he dead?” Techi asked the station doctor in fear and extreme nervousness.
But checking the pulse the doctor assured “No, but unconscious”.
Investigation was done later over the Vello forest. One whole year passed but nothing could be found, no sign of any alien. The case was thus turned down saying that the train was in rather slow motion so some animal may have entered killing everyone and there was no alien. Even after the locals confirmed alien sightings the case was closed.
No train went through Vello after that. This was the story of Vello’s last train.