Author's Note: Hmm, I never thought that I would go back to a story I wrote in 2009 and revamp it to match my current writing talent. Alas, I recently experienced a big kick back into the Final Destination fandom. In addition to writing a new story in the fandom (which is NOT the sequel to this), I thought I would update this one as well. The last two chapters of this were the only part I considered adequate writing, so I thought, why not bring up the rest of the chapters to match? I have quite a few details to clean up, so here we are. Enjoy updated chapter one!

Out of Place

Chapter One: Premonition

"So, what do ya think so far?" Kyle's words fell on distracted ears. "…Taking it all in?"

For the first time in his life, Kyle's best friend, Matt, was sitting on board a subway train—in the back, of course. He'd always been anxious about being crammed onto an underground can filled with strangers and out of his control, but the complex underground network was definitely a sight to see.

"It's like I always said," Briana added from beside the two, "you're too old and too close to New York City for this to be your first subway experience."

"Hey, hey," Matt replied, finally paying attention. "I am here, aren't I?" He watched as tens of people continued to shuffle about outside the doors of the train.

"These seats are way too small for me to fit my hot ass in," Patrick joked, several seats away from Matt. In fact, several of his friends were on board; when Briana heard that he had finally been convinced to ride a subway, there was no way she would have been able to keep from telling the entire world.

He looked back outside, finding an electronic board positively brimming with departure times and other such information. The first line of text to catch his eye was one bound for a town named McKinley, which he'd never heard of. Below it, a line of text for subway 180 flickered twice. "Uh, which train are we on again?"

"We're on a train called the subway," Tyler answered clicking his tongue at Matt.

"Thanks for the help, smart ass," Matt replied. He was glad Tyler was one of the ones who decided to tag along, but his one regret about the trip was that two of Tyler's close friends came along as well. Scott was a dismissive and ignoring type, and Robert was downright vitriolic. Who knows what he sees in those friendships, Matt thought.

Perhaps he had one more regret—his chest was sore as hell. Should have brought the painkillers. He would have to remember to pick some up after they arrived, not that he could ignore the unpleasant condition.

"Ours is number 57," Sam said. Matt was surprised to hear her voice, considering she was sitting so far away, but she seemed to have walked over to check the schedule as well. "We'll be taking off hopefully in two or three minutes."

"You're the best," Matt replied, a hint of a chuckle in his voice. He checked his watch on impulse, finding the time to be 4:23 PM. The watch dimmed after a few seconds, and he looked away. As his arm dropped, the minutes digits flashed on again, unnoticed.

He did a quick inventory of the friends he had yet to speak to, trying to remember to send a quick wave in their direction. Elliott, Michaela, and Jenny were all on the opposite side of the train, sort of at an angle to where Matt was sitting between Kyle and Briana. A shadow suddenly passed over Jenny's face, and Matt flinched.

"Are you excited, buddy? Almost time to go!" Kyle grabbed and rubbed Matt's shoulders to emphasize how over the top he was being.

Unfortunately for him, there was no chance to respond, as the intercom whirred to life. "Good afternoon, everybody, and welcome aboard Superbway train number 57! We'll be taking off in thirty seconds here, so make sure you are all seated and secured. Estimated time of arrival…" Matt's attention slipped away from the narration, returning to the schedule board. Their train was at the top of the list now, being the next departure, and as he saw it, it faded to black.

"Hey, this'll be fine, Matt," Briana said, placing a hand on his knee. It was then that he realized just how sick he looked.

"I…" he started. "Y…yeah, you're right. I guess I just… ate too much…"

"Hon, Kyle and I have been with you since we woke up this morning. You could hardly eat a thing." It was a fair assessment; Matt's morning stomach was a cruel beast that accepted no offerings, especially when his adrenaline was up.

Finally, the subway rattled to life. It seemed to accelerate quickly, at least more so than Matt was expecting. He gripped onto his thigh tightly, focusing on slowing down his heart rate.

His friends seemed to believe this was all normal, and he trusted that they would know far better than he. Jenny stood up to walk back to greet him, offering a wave as she approached.

Then, the train began to rattle. The sudden turbulence was disquieting, and Matt shut his eyes. Alas, he was prompted to open them again as he heard a loud crunching sound from the front of the train.

From here, everything seemed to happen so quickly. Jenny had fallen away from Matt and tumbled toward the front of the subway car. Patrick leapt up to grab hold of her, but struggled to make his way in the violently rumbling cabin. The car yanked suddenly to the right, pulling the two into its window, which cracked on impact. The car shuddered left and then right again, throwing Jenny out through the now-shattered window.

Unable to stabilize himself, Patrick stumbled over, his head leaning out of the gap. The car rocked again, smashing his head into the wall. Several of the passengers screamed as the rest of his body collapsed to the floor.

A shard of metal rushed down and sliced into Sam's chest, seemingly out of nowhere. Matt hadn't seen it until it was already sprouting blood. The next violent shake of the subway was a vertical one, launching Elliott and Michaela up into a handhold bar above their seats. Michaela collapsed to the ground with a scream, but it sounded to Matt like Elliott's neck had been snapped. He followed Michaela's lead and shouted out as well.

Briana gripped tightly onto Matt's shoulder, likely squeezing enough to numb the arm, but he didn't notice. He watched through the doorways between the cars as the front car jacked sideways, blocking the rest. Of course, they refused to stop, instead barreling right towards their own wreckage.

A chunk of debris crashed into the ceiling of the back car, leaving a giant hole and knocking directly into Robert's body. Shrapnel rained down on Tyler as well, whose miserable wails ended suddenly.

And then, their car had caught up with the front cars. As the back car was flattened, Matt busted through the back of the entire subway, which had been damaged by debris. He turned around just in time to see Scott crushed under the wreckage, but in a fit of adrenaline, he leapt away, tucking and rolling as the accident came to its conclusion.

He heard a crunch from his own body and felt sickly cold, knowing that something large of his had broken. He opened his arms, letting his head free to look around. No one was beside him, which meant that Kyle and Briana had not escaped the subway before being crushed. But Matt was not able to cry. His left arm and leg suddenly felt as though they were overheating, revealing the damage to him. With a wail, he rolled onto his back.

At that moment, he almost wished he hadn't. A large light fixture had been installed above that particular patch of subway line, probably for emergency situations. Alas, the real emergency was that steel carnage had knocked it loose, and it dangled over Matt menacingly. Slowly, he tried to slide out from under it, inching away as though quick movements might shock it.

It was capable of being shocked on its own. A cord snapped, and the bulky light dropped right on top of him.

"Are you excited, buddy? Almost time to go." The sudden presence of sound and light where there had been none before was enough to jar Matt's senses, but Kyle's hands on his shoulders made him flinch out of his seat.

"Matt?" Briana asked, clearly confused.

" Good afternoon, everybody, and welcome aboard Superbway train number 57!" The intercom had come on, whirring and overlain with static.

"Oh shit!" Matt would have shouted this if he was capable of more than a whisper. He could almost sense the sweat that framed his face, but his skin was too hot to feel the breeze evaporating it. "It's leaving in thirty seconds, we gotta get off!"

"What?" Kyle asked. "We just got on!"

"No my fucking god Kyle we have to get off! It's gonna crash!" Matt had quickly crescendoed into hysterics.

"Matt, what is going on?" Briana said, standing to approach him. Kyle followed suit, ever the loyal friend.

"Please!" Matt grabbed them both and yanked them towards the still-open door.

"Are you okay?" Michaela said, approaching with Elliott and Jenny close behind.

"Just get out of here!" Matt said, running out of the door with his two friends still in his grasp.

"Could you maybe not pull me next time?" Kyle said, rubbing his arm as Matt ran to a bench.

"Dude, what in fuck," Robert said, standing to look out the window.

"Shit, man, we better check on him," Tyler said, exiting without another word.

"…whatever," Robert replied. He and Scott felt no particular desire or obligation to care for Matt, but there was no point in going along the trip if they would have to wait at their destination for Tyler.

Patrick looked to Sam with uncertainty, and she nodded back at him. The two followed, ensuring that they'd left nothing behind.

"You think you're important shit don't ya?" Robert said as he walked up to Matt, who was resting his face against his knees. Briana, who was rubbing his back, shot Robert the harshest glare she could manage.

"Don't be a dick, he's obviously freaking out," Kyle said.

"I think he's having a panic attack," Jenny followed.

"Yikes," Elliott added in.

"Does it fucking matter? We're missing out on valuable trip time because he can't get himself to ride the damn subway," Robert chided.

"I saw it crash! Like I felt myself on it as it took off and then it crashed, but it hadn't happened yet." Matt couldn't bring himself to look any of his friends in the eye.

"Dude, that's not something to joke about," Tyler said.

"It's not a joke! I really-" He was cut off by a cacophony of sounds from the tunnel that Subway 57 had entered less than a minute before. The groans, creaks, and smashes of metal kept his stomach in turmoil, and he rushed to the nearest trash can to vomit.

"It…" Scott said, the first word Matt had heard him say all day. Everyone remained frozen, slowly shifting their gazes from the tunnel, one by one, to stare at Matt. The pressure of their eyes was too much. Matt sat down beside the trash can and slipped unconscious.