Once in a Lifetime

37

Peter shook his head. "No, the power went out. And I ran like hell."

"That's it. You just ran?"

"Yes, that's it. I literally just ran away from the insane asylum that was holding me hostage!" Peter yelled before lowering his voice. "How long have I been here?"

"The lockdown was three months ago."

"I've been missing for three months and no one came for me?"

She sighed. "That's what the Ghost Riders do. They erase you."

"Ghost Riders? Ghost Riders of the Wild Hunt?"

She nodded, surprised. "Yeah, you know what I'm talking about?"

He let out a long sigh. "Of course I know what you're talking about. They ride the lightning. They are an unstoppable force of nature. But, I promise you, they don't make pit-stops in train stations. I've escaped one prison only to land in another one. And this looks like the underground lair of a depressed bureaucrat."

"Come on, there's gotta be a way out of this place, right? Have you tried looking around? Have you talked to anyone who knows anything?"

Peter shot her a look. "If this is the Wild Hunt, there is no escape. You and I are doomed to ride the storm forever."

Tabitha frowned, more desperate than ever to get back to her boyfriend and friends. "Yeah, we're not in the storm, we're in a train station. But we can get out of a train station."

Peter shook his head. "We can't get out of here, Tabitha. Because this place isn't real."

"What are you talking about?"

"Beacon Hills doesn't have a train station."

Tabitha walked over to a door and tried opening it. Peter followed and sat on a chair. "What are you doing?"

The witch turned to him. "Little help, please?"

"Okay."

"What the hell?" Tabitha asked, seeing that she kept coming back to the same place.

Peter shook his head. "No, no, no, keep going."

She glared. "I don't see you comin' up with anything."

Peter's voice dropped to nearly a whisper. "Tabitha. Left shoulder against the pillar. Don't look." She did and Peter retorted, "I said don't look."

"Yeah."

"He's watching us."

"Yeah, so?"

"So... every person in this station is either comatose or catatonic. He seems very interested in keeping an eye on us."

"Hey!" Tabitha called, getting the boy's attention. "Oh, my God! Why are you watching us?"

"You tried the doors," the boy said as he chuckled. "Nobody ever tries the doors."

"Sounds like you have."

"The ones that could open. I've tried everything else."

Tabitha shook her head. "Not everything. You're still here."

"Yeah, it seems like you got some kind of a plan."

"So why don't you tell me about it."

"I can tell you. Doesn't mean you can do it," the boy replied as he chuckled again.

"Oh, I, I can do it. He can, he can..." She pointed to Peter.

The boy smiled. "Well, it's right in front of your face."