The man stared out of the window of the carriage, watching the rain mercilessly pelt the window. The rain thickened, and the man pulled his scarf tighter around his neck, while anxiously watching the seconds tick by on his golden wristwatch. He had given up on reaching home before sunset, and, as the sky darkened once more, he pulled the curtains firmly shut. He thought of his wife at home. She would have finished cooking by now, perhaps wondering when he would return, sneaking glances at the clock on the mantle. He let out a long sigh. His return home from the conference could be delayed another hour.
The train's snail-like pace was soon altered by a downhill slope. The driver barely noticed - he was drumming on the steering wheel while singing along to a song on the radio. If he had been paying even the slightest amount of attention to the track ahead, he would have noticed something wrong. But he wasn't and it took the train's jolt and his radio going haywire, before he realised. The track he was now travelling along was warped, bent and blackened by a lightning strike. The driver did not react but sat petrified in shock, watching like a bystander as a tragedy he could prevent struck.
The man was attempting a particularly tedious crossword puzzle when he too felt the jolt. He looked around. Trains never usually have a reason to jolt like that. The man got up, pushed past the person in the seat next to him, and made his way towards the driver's room. He was stopped abruptly by a burly transit officer. The man considered trying the push past him, but quickly dismissed the idea. The man was tall, and surprisingly strong, but would be no match for the guard, who reminded him of a tank.
"I need to see the driver," the man said forcefully. His voice was followed by another violent jolt.
"I'm afraid you must return to your seat, Sir" said the guard. Though he was trying to look tough, there was a quaver in his voice, and a trickle of sweat was running down his forehead. He was fearing for his life. The man changed tack.
"If you want to survive, you need me. I can help. Trust me"
The driver was frozen in shock. He almost registered a tall man walk into the room, push him from his chair, and grab the handbrake while putting all of his weight onto the footbrake. The driver did not make any attempt to stop the complete stranger from trying to control the train, and doubted that he could have even if he'd wanted to. The man had a commanding presence about him. He would know what to do.
The man was worried, though he did not show it. He was practically standing on the footbrake, but his grip on the handbrake was not strong enough in his vertical position. Only both brakes together would be enough to stop the train completely. They were nearing a jagged break where the track ran out. Just when he was about to give up hope, he felt some of his pressure on the handbrake relieved with only fifty yards to go. The man spared a look to his side and saw the guard, face contorted, pulling at the handbrake. Would they stop in time? The train was slowing, but not enough – the engine slewed off the end of the track. It lurched forward with such force that the prone driver was catapulted into the steering column, a resounding crack signalling the end of his life, as with a deafening shriek, the train finally stopped.
The guard let out a sigh of relief, but it turned into a choking noise, when he noticed the driver who was lying on the floor, his neck at a right-angle to the rest of his body. The guard grimaced, and then stood up.
"Thank you" he said to the man..
"I don't need thanking" said the man quietly, as he was now viewing the train timetables with an intense interest.
"Yes you do" the guard pushed on. "You did my job for me back there. You saved so many people…"
"Listen carefully," said the man. "Communications must be down, that's how we didn't hear about this. Another train is going to come down this line in two and a half minutes. We obviously can't get off the line, or repair the track in that time frame. We have to evacuate, and no one's gonna listen to a normal person like me"
The transit officer nodded. He ran to the door of the cabin, and burst through the door. He sounded the alarm.
"EVACUATE" he screamed.