tube

I

Like any other day, I'm on the tube. Like any other day, I'm sat reading the day's paper. Like any other day, I'm on my way to work. But obviously, this isn't like any other day.

The first sound is that of the screeching brakes of the tube, as we grind to a firm halt. Many of the passengers jolt around and stumble like new born deer. It's nothing that hasn't happened before, so I don't even look up. Not until I hear our driver speaking over the intercom.

"Due to an unforseen obstacle on the tracks, the tube will be delayed. We apologise for any inconvenience caused."

There are mumbles, speculations. People generally assume it is a suicide and whisper things like, "oh no, I hope everything's alright" or even just a "for fuck's sakes". I just look back down and continue my reading. There's nothing I can do, after all.

The stillness goes on for another twenty or so minutes until the lights go out- all of them at once. Once again, it's not something that is out of the ordinary, so I ignore that too. Since I can't read in the dark, I'm forced to sit around and look frustrated like everybody else. I pull out my phone.

No new messages.

I don't have any signal down here, so I can't phone work. By now; it seems everyone else on the train has sat down and are just waiting, confused. Any moment now, something terrible could happen. The train could blow up. A SWAT team could come and eliminate us all. The little girl in the corner could turn into a zombie and eat us all. I couldn't care either way. When you live the same futile existence every day, you delight in the face of change, even if it be lethal.

I've been indoctrinated into some kind of cult. A cult wherein all you do is work and work and work until you die. We worship our capitalist society. Rituals include: taxes, filing, co-worker brunches, and more taxes. It is a way to live at the very least.

The low grumble of chatter is somewhat comforting. Not to say that I'm scared, but I'm beginning to feel uneasy. The train stopped around an hour and a half ago, and we haven't had any updates for at least half of that. The last thing the driver said to us was to relax because we were "going to be here for quite a while". I think some people are even asleep.

My phone buzzes in my pocket, so I take it out and look at the screen. It's been dark for so long that the screen's brightness puts an awful strain on my eyes.

No new messages. One new call: User ID withheld.

There's no use looking. Whoever it is, it's not like I could even call them back down here. I'll have to remember to check it when I get back home. It might be Isaac. He's always calling at ridiculous times of day- 9am or 9pm. Times where I'd literally rather do anything than listen to him drone on about whatever the day holds or has held. Ugh.

I am gently tapped on the arm. I turn to the direction of the tapping and and am greeted wordlessly by a elderly woman. She looks distressed.

"Do you know what's happening?" she inquires.

"Not really," I reply. It's not a lie. "I think they said there's something on the tracks. They're probably just clearing it."

"Something... like a body?" she asks, with a concerned look on her face. In the low lighting, the lines on her face look like rings on the inside of a tree trunk.

"Perhaps, I'm not sure."

I get ready to go back to my thinking, when she speaks again, clearly ignoring the social cue.

"They're taking their sweet time, that's for sure," she mumbles frustratedly. "As if the rest of us don't have plans."

I can't really be bothered right now, so I just pretend that I didn't hear her. I take my earphones from out of my back pocket and shove them into my ears. There's no music on my phone, but maybe she'll stop trying to talk to me.

It's been almost two hours now. There hasn't been an update in over a hundred minutes. I think that I might try and sleep. At least the time will pass quicker. Or not. It's worth a try, at least.