TJ and Tyler were a contrast to Ben and Lana who didn’t even speak. In fact, they didn’t even look at each other.
Ben did take that latte though.
Abby clutched her purse to her chest, mouth on the edge of it to stop herself from crying. Occasionally she’d pull her sleeve down to cover the small bandage from her self-inflicted wrist wound. Embarrassed by it, as if it screamed out, ‘Look at this. Look at what I have done to myself!’
It was an injury no one else would have noticed or paid attention to or even cared about.
Foster saw it. He knew exactly what it was, especially with her trying to hide it. But he didn’t know her and it was her business. He just wanted to get on that train.
The 141 came to a halt to pick up the next batch of passengers at the Hartford Station.
The train was bound for Penn Station in New York.
The lives of Ben, Lana, Abby, Foster, Harry, TJ and Tyler were so different.
The happiness of the perfect father and son contrasted with the miserable lives of the unhappily married couple, the lost young man who needed to get away, the desperate woman who wanted to die and the lonely old man who just sought a reason to live.
All of them were so different.
But on the morning of April 25, they all had two things in common.
They all sat in the second car and they all boarded a train that would forever change their lives.
Harry didn’t notice at first and neither did Abby. They weren’t all that experienced in riding the train. But TJ did.
“Something’s wrong,” TJ whispered.
Tyler looked up. “What’s that, Dad?”
TJ shook his head and stood up. “We’re picking up speed.”
“Maybe we’re running late.”
Another shake of his head and TJ looked at his watch.
“Do you feel like we’re moving faster?” Lana asked Ben. “It feels like we just kicked into another gear.”
Ben had his head back and popped open one eye. “I don’t think trains kick into another gear. There’s…” Suddenly he sat up. “We are.” He peered out the window.
The automated voice over the speaker in the car announced, “Approaching the New-Conn tunnel.”
“Wait a second,” Ben stirred more in his seat. “Why are we flying into the tunnel?”
Harry’s back felt adhered to the seat and he didn’t need to be a rocket scientist to know the train was flying faster than it should have been. It didn’t happen the last time he went to town. Maybe it was a new thing or the train was running late.
The rush of mumbling voices airing out concerns caught Harry’s attention and he looked around, trying to zoom in on what they said.
Total strangers, who not ten minutes earlier were quiet and didn’t speak, were now all asking each other questions about the train’s speed.
Something was wrong and a twitch hit Harry’s stomach with that thought. Aside from the speeding train, something else occurred that was odd.
Everyone’s phone started ringing.
The whole entire second car was filled with ringing cellular phones and people scurrying to find them and answer.
Why was everyone getting a call at the same time?
The voices of the passengers meshed together in their attempts to retrieve the calls.
“Hello.”
“Hello.”
“Mom? What’s wrong?”
“I can’t hear you.”
“What’s that?”
“I can’t hear. Our connection is bad.”
“What happened?”
“Hello.”
Squeal.
The darkness of the tunnel encompassed the train and the brakes hit so loudly the sound was piercing.
The sudden attempt to stop the runaway train created a rush of screams as those standing flew forward. Items were tossed about, cell phones dropped to the floor and Harry found his face pinned to the seat in front of him.
He couldn’t move back, he was smashed there by the force of the train.
It was trying to stop, but it couldn’t. It was still traveling full speed ahead, but not for long.
The train hit something and the force of the hit threw everyone into the air in different directions, tossing bodies about the compartment and causing even more screams and cries.
Harry heard the sound of crunching metal. He caught himself long enough to look up and come to the realization that it was over for him.
Car number two of the 141 jumped the track. It flew outward and smashed into the wall of the tunnel before landing on its side.
Harry went from one portion of the train car to another. When the car hit the wall he flew backwards and when it slammed on its side to the ground, he landed back first on top of a person. Cringing in pain, he opened his eyes and then raised his arms to shield himself as people rained down upon him.
The second car dislodged from the rest of the train and slid another hundred feet, creating sparks as the metal contacted the concrete at a high rate of speed.
Finally car two stopped and rested against a wall.
But it wasn’t over.
The rest of the train kept coming, each car jumping track, some rolling front over end, others side over side with each sequential train car coming to a devastating halt and smashing into the tunnel walls.
Train cars three and four rolled and landed length wise against the wall. The rest of the train cars piled up, barricading it in.
