"...!"
Xavier’s eyes widened in shock. He couldn’t believe what he’d just heard.
’That woman was Alice!?’
"I initially wasn’t worried at all. Since I knew that due to advancent in technologies, the sensors of the train could detect life signatures on the track from as far as 700 ters, and the train stops the mont it does."
"That’s why... that’s why..." Alice stuttered her eyes filled with unshed tears.
Alice’s scarlet eyes shimred with unshed tears. "When the train didn’t stop... I was so afraid. My body wouldn’t move no matter how much I willed it to."
’Of course, anyone would be terrified in that situation.’ Xavier thought, his mind racing.
"But I wasn’t afraid of dying," Alice continued, her voice steadying. Her gaze locked onto his, as if she could read his thoughts. "I was afraid of not telling you how much I love you. How badly I want to be your wife. How desperately I want to be the mother of your children. How much I want to spend my life with you."
"..."
Xavier’s chest tightened. Love? Wife? Children? Her words were overwhelming, as if he’d just stepped into soone else’s dream. What could he even say?
"I was so afraid because of that."
"I still rember it like it was yesterday." Alice closed her eyes as she recalled the incident of that fateful day.
***
"Ouch!" An average looking middle-aged woman cried out as she fell on the tracks.
"Hey! Look! That woman fell on the tracks." A young man called out, seeing what happened.
Slowly, more people turned to look at the tracks. There they saw the woman who had fallen.
But, as expected no one ca forward to help the woman. After all, such incidents weren’t anything new. Slowly, the people went back to what they were doing. So were even silently cursing the young man for wasting their ti.
"Oh? So what?" An onlooking old man said.
"You must be new to this place, it’s not rare to see such a thing happen." Another onlooker said to the young man who called out.
"Huh? Why?" The young man asked. He was about to go and help that woman when he was stopped by this middle-aged man.
’Yup definitely a country bumpkin.’ The middle-aged man inwardly sneered in disdain but still decided to answer.
"You’re probably from the countryside so you don’t know. Look over here, due to advancent in technologies, the sensors of the train could detect life signatures on the track from as far as 700 ters, and the train stops the mont it does. Hence, there is virtually no chance for such a thing to happen."
"Even if that were to fail, there are plenty of other asures."
"Such as, an Energy Barrier will activate if the train doesn’t stop and crosses the 700 ter mark." The middle-aged man explained in great detail.
However, the young man only had a dumbfounded expression on his face.
"Huh? What’s that?" The young man asked.
’This uneducated country bumpkin!!’ The middle-aged man had veins bulging all over his forehead. It seed like he was about to have an aneurysm.
However, the man still kept his calm and answered.
"Listen here carefully brat. The mont the train passes through the Energy Barrier, it will suck out all the energy of the train and the train will stop moving then and there. Do you get it now?" The middle-aged man asked.
"Oh! I think I get it now! Thank you, mister?" The young man asked in a grateful tone.
"It’s Pat." The middle-aged man answered.
"Thank you Mr. It’s Pat! I’m Estupido!"
"AAARRGHH!!" Pat scread in frustration as he left the place. He was sure if he’d stayed any longer, he’d bury the guy then and there.
Clack Clack Clack
The young man, Estupido turned his head and saw the train approaching in an unimaginable speed.
He saw the train approaching the 700 ter mark.
’Oh well, everything’s gonna be alright if what Mr. It’s Pat said was true.’ Estupido thought to himself.
His eyes turned to the woman who had fallen on the tracks. It seed she had sprained her ankle but still managed to get up. However, even with the train approaching at a rapid pace, she didn’t seem to be worried at all.
Clank Clank CLANK
’Huh? Did the train just... cross the 700 ter mark and not only that, it sped up??’ Estupido’s eyes widened in shock. After all, according to Pat, that should be virtually impossible!
It was not only Estupido who noticed that. The others on the platform also saw that and were stunned.
"Don’t worry, the train will stop!" Estupido called out confidently, recalling Pat’s words, unaware of the growing panic around him.
Ever since the ti the train had been built, sothing like this had never happened.
The woman who fell on the tracks and had a calm expression throughout, finally flinched. However, she soon turned normal and started to walk like a limp due to the sprain when she fell.
CLANK CLANK CLANK
"H-hey! The train isn’t stopping!?"
"W-what?"
It’s not stopping!" a woman shrieked, clutching her child tightly.
"That’s impossible! These trains never fail!" a man snapped, his voice rising with hysteria.
"But that’s impossible! Sothing like that has never happened before!"
"Oh no! She might die!"
"Soone call the Railway Officials!’
The onlookers started shouting in panic. They had never seen sothing like this ever happen.
"Calm down ya fools!" Soone shouted in a hoarse voice.
Everyone turned to look at the source of the voice. It was an old man who seed quite erudite.
"You all seem to have forgotten sothing. The sensors aren’t the only asures. There is also the Energy Barrier which activates in 5 seconds. Have you all forgotten? Just because sothing like this never happened before doesn’t an it won’t ever happen. Look, that girl probably knows about, that’s why she’s so calm. Seriously kids these days getting worked up for such trivial matters. Back in my day..."
The mont the old man said that, everyone turned their heads away, not interested in hearing what he had to say. Instead, they turned to look at the tracks again and were inwardly counting.
’5... 4... 3... 2... 1’
5 seconds passed.
"Huh? It didn’t activate!" Estupido shouted.
The train tore through the invisible threshold, its deafening roar shaking the platform. Gasps rippled through the crowd as the impossible unfolded before their eyes. The fail-safe asures—the barriers, the sensors—were silent. Useless. It was as though the train was a beast unleashed, unstoppable.
Imdiately, everyone began panicking. So turned to look at the old man asking why it didn’t work.
Even the old man was stunned seeing that the Energy Barrier didn’t activate.
Everyone watched what was happening, so even taking out video recording devices to record what was about to unfold, but no one moved forward to help.
Alice who was on the track stood rooted on the spot. She didn’t bother calling out for help as she knew no one would be willing to risk their lives for a complete stranger.
The train roared closer, its tallic screech echoing in her ears. Alice’s breath hitched, her body frozen as though the weight of the entire platform pressed against her chest.
She looked at the incoming train with fear in her eyes, so much so that she fell on her butt. She tried to move but no matter how she tried her body didn’t listen to her.
"Move, Alice, move! Why can’t I move?!" she scread internally. The train barreled closer, its roar drowning out her panicked breaths.
The train was only 200 ters away.
’Get up! Alice get up! Just like in Xavier’s novel’s where Black Fla continues forward no matter how many setbacks he suffered, I also need to move!’
The train was now only 100 ters away.
’No, Mom, Dad, Brother...’
The train was now 50 ters away.
’It’s over.’ Alice closed her eyes seemingly given up.
40 ters
30 ters
’Xavier... I wish I’d had the courage to tell you how much I love you, how deeply I want to be by your side. I’ve been such a fool, denying what I’ve felt all along. I knew my heart was yours, but I was too afraid to admit it. Why did I stay silent when it mattered most?’
The train was re ters away. Alice closed her eyes, bracing for the inevitable. But then—
***
Sorry for the delay folks. However, this Chapter is extra long! 420 more words!
Reviews
All reviews (0)