“Haaa.” A sigh escaped Kevin's lips as he gazed outside the glazed train windows. As he gripped the arm-hold, he reminisced on the interview he just failed. "That was the 10th one this month. How am I going to pay my bills? Arghh, the interviewer's face pissed me off." Kevin was depressed.
As a youth, his dream was to become a boxer. He trained for six years to enter a league oversaturated with people of his talents. He still remembered what his last coach told him before he quit “Son, success is 90% hard-work and 10% talent, but that 10% just has to be there”. Now here he was, a grown-ass man on a train, stuck in a delusion where he massacred and interviewer’s face with a flurry of jabs and uppercuts.
"……...Recently there has been a breakthrough in warp technology by DimenFrontier. However, they complain of excess energy vanishing from test sites. The theory of conservation of energy questioned for these cases………." A teenage boy browsed through a news review.
"Hmm, maybe I should've gone to school for science. Those guys are raking in cash these days," Kevin muttered. But he knew that was a pipe dream. He barely scraped together funds for coaching as an orphan. University was a whole different ball game.
“Announcement, Next stop XXXXXX, Next stop XXXXX. Remember, the doors open on the left side. Please don’t forget any luggage or personal items after departure. Thank you.”
As the train entered the tunnel of the station and people prepared themselves to get down.
BOOM!
The train compartment shuddered, people tripped and fell like dominoes, followed by a cacophony of resounding groans. All the lights tripped of as everywhere was coated in darkness.
Crackling noises filled the passengers' ears as Kevin felt weightless for a few seconds and then blacked out.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Kevin woke up to screams of children and crazed shouting of “Where are we?” “This has got to be a joke" and "My SUIT! Someone is going to get sued for this!" Well, the last one was limited to a select few. The thought of why someone with such an expensive suit would board the subway flashed through his mind as he struggled to regain his consciousness*. All of a sudden, his olfactory senses, which seemed to be on hold, went into overdrive as a rush of humid air wafted towards him, reminding him of the tropics.
"Wait; what?"
Kevin shot up and looked around. The train carriage was punctured by a thick branch, which also served as a support, half its width. Trees the diameter of trucks blocked his view as he tried to get his bearing.
Bodies with ruptured heads littered the floor. At the head of the carriage, there was a congregation of about 12 people. Five women and seven men. They seemed to be arguing. Kevin stepped gingerly over bodies and made his way over.
“What the hell is happening! Where the hell is this!"
A man screamed as he gripped the collar of a man who seemed to be an employee as he wore the uniform of a loco pilot.
"I think we entered a worm-hole."
Everyone turned to the direction of the voice. In the corner, a teenage boy, dressed in baggy jeans and a red t-shirt that read XXXXXX. The black-haired boy looked ragged to say the least. His light-brown skin was matted on his face and elbows, while his shirt had been ripped from the sleeve. Though, that couldn’t conceal the bright glint in his eyes.
“I have been watching updates on DF’s research on teleportation recently. I think we’ve just solved their mystery on the missing energy.”
" What does that have to do with the subway?" Kevin stepped up and asked.
“I don’t-“
CREAK⁓
The train compartment shuddered gently tilted.
"I think we need to figure that out first."
