Month: October 2023

Part Three

Standing in the doorway, Clive took a deep breath. As he turned his back to step down beside the track, he felt his legs trembling. His shoes crunched on the shale surface. He was hardly moving, but the noise sounded deafening to him. They must have heard the train stop, he thought. He had no doubt they’d be here soon. He felt he should leave the side of the carriage and search for Geoff. They were running out of time. Clive found his legs unresponsive. He was pegged to the spot. He tried to call for Geoff. A pathetic screeching sound was all that emerged from his throat. His instinct was to keep his profile as low as possible. He dropped to his knees. He forced himself to swallow, trying to summon moisture in his mouth to wet his lips. ‘Geoff. Geoff. Where are you?’

He could see nothing beyond the light cast from the train windows. The silhouette of scrub and heath quickly fell away.

Then, a sound. There was movement in the darkness. Clive stood up. He reached for the train. The sound got louder. Something was coming towards him. Clive jumped into the carriage doorway. He landed awkwardly on his stomach, his belt digging uncomfortably in his belly as he writhed around desperately trying to get back inside. The train engine roared as the driver got them moving again. Clive rolled onto his back and sat himself up. He could see someone running alongside the train, emerging into the light

Geoff was shouting. ‘No! Stop! Wait! Wait!’

Clive knelt in the doorway. ‘Come on,’ he beckoned, ‘hurry up!’ He could see that Geoff was not alone. They were chasing him and gaining ground. ‘Come on. Give me your hand!’

Geoff panted and gasped as he reached out towards Clive.

‘Come on,’ repeated Clive. ‘Don’t give up!’

The train pulsed slowly around a crescent of track, the driver watching from his cab as the two men struggled to connect. Clive saw Geoff grit his teeth in determination and put in a final burst of effort. Clive reached out as far as he could and managed to grab hold of Geoff’s wrist. He hauled him up towards the door and Geoff grasped at whatever he could, flailing alongside the carriage. He climbed up over Clive, the conductor’s body and clothes clawed and pulled as Geoff re-entered the train. Clive worried he was about to be pushed out of the door by Geoff and the sudden acceleration of the train. He felt his grip weakening on the handrail, the pain rising in the muscles and joints of his arm. He believed he might unfurl any moment, flapping like a beaten sail in a storm.

He watched them approach, their horses thundering along, wildly enthusiastic. The blanched, translucence of the horsemen’s form made them fearsome to look at. Their mouths were open, emitting threats and screams of hatred.

As the leader closed in, Clive saw him glaring back at him, his eyes opaque and dull. It was all Clive could do to hold on and stop himself being jettisoned into the darkness. He closed his eyes and waited. He felt a hand on his arm. He heard the throbbing of the train’s engine, the smell of diesel and grease. His body tingled. He felt cold. He heard someone calling him.

He reluctantly opened his eyes. He saw Geoff, his face a mixture of fear and dogged determination. He was pulling at Clive with both hands, his shoulder against the inside of the carriage as he attempted to haul him inside.

‘Get in!’ shouted Geoff as Clive landed on the carriage floor. He lay there, winded, and heard the train door slam shut, the heavy clunk of the door locking. Then a loud bang. The glass from the train door shattered and showered Clive as he cowered on the floor. A horseman’s arm appeared through the window frame, thrashing around, searching for someone to grab. Geoff attempted to move away from its reach but couldn’t react quickly enough. Its bony hand latched onto his jacket, pulling him back towards the exit. Geoff reached around and tried to free himself, struggling with the hand holding him. Despite its emaciated look, the limb managed to drag Geoff with ease. He crashed against the carriage door. Stunned, he watched long, dirty fingernails tear his jacket as they gathered material in their hand. There was the sound of laughter. Geoff saw a head appear through the door. Although colourless and washed white with age, Geoff had no doubt that the horseman’s eyes were focused on him. It leered, grinning with thin lips around stained teeth. Geoff felt his body being lifted slowly towards the waiting ghoul. The laughter continued as he was hoisted level with the horseman’s face. Geoff looked away, feeling like trapped prey, resigned to the pot. He heard sniffing, sensing the horseman’s nose moving up his neck, across his cheek. Unable to resist the temptation, like a child peeping above the bedclothes at imagined shapes in the shadows of their room, Geoff slowly turned his head back towards the horseman. It was grinning. The lack of flesh on the skull made its teeth appear oversized. Geoff stared at them. The horseman stopped smiling, as if he realised Geoff was considering his appearance. Geoff smiled back in hope of a truce. The horseman opened his mouth wide and screamed. His black tongue rattled like the tail of a serpent.

Geoff flinched as a suitcase flashed passed his head. Clive drove the luggage into the horseman’s face another time, its screams drowned by the draught of the train as it fell back through the window and away into the darkness. Clive held out a hand and helped Geoff up to his feet. ‘Are you ok?’ he asked.

‘Never been better,’ replied Geoff. ‘And you?’

‘Oh, I’ll be a bit sore in the morning. I need to check the rest of the train is secure.’

Geoff watched Clive start to hobble down the aisle, astonished by the man’s indifference. Clive had almost reached the end of the carriage when Geoff erupted in anger. ‘What the hell? Just what the hell is going on here? You’re not going to give me an explanation? You just walk away like nothing has happened?’

Clive turned around. He paused, looked pensive, as if he was a police officer about to give an unsuspecting family member some grave news. ‘I’m sorry,’ he said. ‘Can we sit down?’

Geoff started down the aisle. ‘No, I’m fine standing up,’ he replied. ‘Just start by telling me just what the fuck that thing was!’

‘I’m sorry,’ repeated Clive. ‘I’m sorry, but I really need to sit down.’ He lowered himself carefully behind a table seat, his face contorted with pain.

Geoff landed on the chair opposite. He continued to interrogate Clive. ‘Well, what the hell was that thing?’

Clive had slid across the seats and was resting awkwardly in a corner between seat and window. He spoke amid back spasms and associated grunts. ‘They’re the reivers. Border men, who never quite welcomed the arrival of the train running through their lands.’

Geoff sat quietly for a moment, trying to process what he’d just heard. ‘You’re telling me that these, what did you call them?’

‘Reivers.’

‘These, reivers are basically NIMBYs?’

‘They’re what?’ asked Clive.

‘Like NIMBYs,’ repeated Geoff. ‘You know; not in my back yarders.’

Clive began to laugh until his back hurt more from the movement. ‘That’s a good one, Geoff. I’ll have to remember that for next time.’

‘And what’s with the Stiggy Pops look?’

‘Sorry Geoff, I have no idea who or what Stiggy Pops is. I’ve been working the late train for a long time. I don’t get the chance to get out much.’ Clive smiled but could see that Geoff was looking concerned again. He shuffled in his seat, trying to rest his head on the backrest. ‘It’s what happens when you try to live outside, in the borders, in the darkness. It never gets light out there. Sun never rises. Try and live outside and you’ll end up like them. Just like them. No, you’ve got to wait it out, until it’s time.’

‘Time for what?’

‘The time to make your connection.’

Geoff turned his head to look at the window. All he could see was his reflection, sitting despondently at the table. ‘Well, if I was hoping for an explanation, all you’ve given me is nonsense and riddles,’ complained Geoff.

‘I’m afraid it’ll have to do for now,’ Clive replied, easing himself across and back to his feet. ‘I really need to check that we haven’t picked up any more passengers. Although we would probably know it by now. Try and get some rest. We’ll be there in a couple of hours.’

‘And where exactly is there?’ asked Geoff.

© 2023