The Railway

• Therese Pham, Grade 10
• Short Story
• 2022

A street light flickers unevenly, a loud noise is heard from the entrance of the abandoned lot. A girl appears, fixing up her hair as the gate behind creaks on one hinge. The girl’s here again.
As I attempted to push the gate back to its place, I wondered if I should leave the gate as is, it wasn’t as if anyone would come by anytime sooner. The biting breeze imbued the derelict buildings with fragmented glass. Travelling down the dilapidated pathway, I noted the bike engraving on the cracked road; the mark made by my bike courtesy of an intense race with the nearby gang. After my mother's meddling, the gang was gone, but their marks still remained; their artworks scattered across the building and the portrait image of us.
My bag had my necessities and with everything I needed, there was no reason to go home. Leaving my bike next to the fence, I started the speaker and began to climb through the gap.
The girl “Anna” I nicknamed her, is a regular sight here. All my buddies watched her and her friends play but recently, we haven't seen them around. We like to play a game to see if any of these humans notice us playing with their stuff but “Anna” is the best at it, she reacts so well. Maybe today, she’ll give me a better response.
After crawling through the gap, I stood up, wiping the dirt off my clothes. The view before me greets me warmly, like a spellbinding, familial painting. There laid an old battered railroad and carriage surrounded by a grove of trees. After scrutinising the trees, I recognised them as Moss White, a tree that was not actually white. The carriage had one door wedged open, the windows forced open. I left my bag there and started the hike towards the hill with the best vantage view.
I slapped her shoulder.
Shivers traversed my spine. A tinge of force permeated my shoulder. Spinning behind, there was nothing but the rushing trees and the glow of rusted metal reflecting the waning moon. A figment of my imagination.
Interesting. I smirked. I placed my arm around her waist.
The hill in sight, the man-made structures upon the hill create a mirage of a decaying society.
While setting up the camera, I felt this sensation. A sensation much akin to an unsavoury embrace. Shuddering, I shook off the feeling. Looking around, I saw nothing out of the ordinary. What was there then? I focused back on the camera and ‘Click!’
I watched Anna and her flashing box.
Click! A canopy of trees opened up to expose the glistening sky.
Click! The rusted railway shimmered like a treasure chest.
Click! A blobby, opaque texture?
I checked and saw no filters added to the image. So how…
I picked Anna up. She screams in horror and wriggles around. Heavy. THUD! Her head hits the ground; motionless. I dragged her to the entrance and leave her. It wasn’t intentional.