Underground Horror

• Sophie Palmer, Grade 6
• Short Story
• 2018

My feet step onto the escalator leading to the third underground storey. The sound of the trains speeding by echoes through my earphones. I look next to the left where the escalator going up is only carrying one person. Someone with a red nose and crazy coloured hair. I turn back to the platform in front of me, I'm almost at the bottom.

'8:05 train to London boarding now! All aboard!' The conductor of the London Express shouts. I run towards the platform, not wanting to miss my train.

I show the conductor my ticket, he examines it and nods to show I can pass. I step onto the train and a cold breeze coming from the fan inside the train sweeps off my blue leather hat onto the train tracks.
'Damn' I say under my breath.

I try to catch it as it falls but the doors of the train close in front of me, leaving a gust of wind to push me to the floor.
The floor underneath me starts moving. The journey has begun. I pull myself off the floor and find a seat at the other end of the carriage.

We pass many towns and stations but then something weird happened. The clown from the train station was at the other end.

A shiver goes down my spine and I start quietly panting. The train speeds into a dark tunnel for a few seconds, it's pitch black and I can't see anything.

No light is coming through. We should be out of the tunnel now. I hear a screech of train tracks and we begin to slow down. I hear footsteps, itching closer to my body. I feel the presence of someone else their breath blowing onto my back.

A rigid pain stabs through me and my lungs ache for air. I try to scream but nothing forms on my lips. The wound is unbearable and my head feels dizzy. My eyesight goes blurry and soon I feel myself drop to the floor.