Author's Note: So, in usual Night fashion, this was due to be posted like 2 days ago but I got distracted during Wednesday and didn't have it ready and then last night, my internet connection was being a little shit. But, better late than never, huh? As always, I'm keeping this with the date it was meant to be posted on because fic wise, it makes sense.
This one was interesting to write to the point I used the part of The Last Of Us where Joel, Tess and Ellie are moving through the subway with the clickers, for inspiration. It was harder to describe a station that I thought, especially cos the underground here in London looks quite a bit different to subway systems in America, in my opinion. Hope I did it justice and the description etc makes sense!
Bc I've raced to get this posted, I haven't proof read it, so I am certain there are errors but don't worry. I shall clean it up either tomorrow or... very soon lmao.
Next chapter should be posted: Wednesday 29th July (however... I'm due to be returning to work so if this does get delayed or anything, please forgive me. Also, RobStar week is coming up in July (5th - 11th, I do believe) so Ima try and bust out a oneshot for each day. My focus after RobStar week is going to go towards working on Bound and the whole CTD series again because I really miss updating it and I have cleaned up my plans for the fic so it's more accurate and makes more sense than it did before. So, hopefully I'll be more active soon in terms of writing.
Oh! Heads up there's more swearing in this than usual. Just in case you don't like that or something. Idk.
Anyway, I have rambled long enough. I hope you guys enjoy this one and please do let me know what you think of it. I appreciate all feedback! ^.^
Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans.
Exploring Abandoned Subway Station (CHASED OUT!)
Uploaded by Gar Logan
24th June 2020
Length: 00:41:45
Stepping backwards after giving the camera, which was sitting still upon his trusty tripod, a last once over with his forest gaze, Gar grinned and tilted his head slightly towards the lens.
Gar had positioned it as strategically as he could as he, along with his friends, congregated just outside of a Taco Bell which was fairly empty and just off of a quiet street, with only a few cars driving upon it every few minutes.
His lips split into a grin that reached his eyes, lighting them up as he opened his arms towards the camera, "Whaaat's up guys, it's Gar and welcome back to my channel!" He paused and gestured towards the outside world around them, "If you haven't noticed… we're not in the house anymore!"
"Thank God cos' I'm tellin' you now, another month of being forced indoors with you guys and I woulda killed y'all." Vic sighed, shaking his head,
Gar turned his head and blinked at him, "Well… we love you too, Vic."
Vic smirked and threw him a wink.
"Honestly, that's fair. It was a long time to be kept inside with the people you live with." Raven added, folding her arms over her chest from where she was standing between Gar and Kory.
"So, yeah. Jump City is one of the cities where restrictions have been relaxed and things have… pretty much been going back to normal. I mean, we still gotta queue when we head down to Walmart but it's not too bad." Gar explained, "And, since we're now allowed to go outside again for… leisurely purposes, I decided to do a video that I haven't done for a little while."
"It's funny because we've been inside for the last few months to avoid infection but now tonight, you're leading us down to a place where we could possibly get sick." Dick interjected, raising a brow at Gar,
He clicked his tongue and rolled his eyes, "Dude, it's gonna be fine." Gar paused and pulled his backpack around from his shoulders and briefly dug around inside before he pulled out several face masks, "I came prepared! We have enough masks to go around to keep us safe from any corona and any of the shit and dust that'll be inside this place."
Kory gently retrieved one of the masks from between Gar's fingers and smiled, "Ooh… this one is purple." She paused and blinked at her friends, blushing, "What? If I am to wear a mask, I want it to be colourful."
Dick smirked whilst Raven shook her head at her best friend who casually tucked the purple face mask in the back pocket of her light wash denim shorts that she wore.
Gar returned his full attention to his camera, trying to ignore the sound of the cars zipping past them every now and then, "So, right now, we're just outside of this Taco Bell because… we always get hungry before doing these things and also, it's like a 10 minute walk from here to where we're headed."
"Which is…?" Raven prompted, hoping he would get on with telling his audience what exactly they were up to for the night,
"Oh right! So, tonight, we are exploring this abandoned subway station. It's been left to rot for nearly 9 years, I read. It wasn't really used all that much and then the local government didn't think it needed funding and it fell into decay from not much use and then finally just got shut down and taken off subway lines." Gar elucidated, waving his hands around as he spoke,
"Which means it's gonna be grimy and dusty and is probably gonna smell fucking awful but hey, wouldn't wanna be spending my Wednesday night any other way, Gar." Vic mocked, good-naturedly,
Gar beamed and turned to his friend, "That's the spirit, dude." He paused and looked back at the camera, "So, what we're gonna do is… we've parked up outside this place and we had some tacos and burritos so we're good on that front. I'm gonna turn off the camera and I'll turn it back on when we get outside this place… because it's really dark and although it's only a 10 minute walk, I have a feeling we're gonna get lost."
"How? I thought you and Vic came out to look at it earlier today?" Raven queried,
"We did but… vision isn't as great at night, babe." Gar rebuffed, shrugging his shoulders,
Raven sighed and shook her head whilst Gar simply continued to smile like an excitable puppy.
"We all ready?" Gar checked, before he took a step forward and clasped the lens of the camera with the palm of his hand.
Gar inhaled deeply as the camera jostled back and forth for a moment before he tilted his wrist so he was filming himself,
"So, as I predicted, we got a teeny bit lost and what should have been around a 10 minute walk turned into a 30 minute one." Gar grumbled,
"I'm honestly surprised we haven't had anyone come up to us like the heck are you kids doin'?" Vic muttered, kicking the blades of grass beneath their feet.
Gar nodded, "But, we made it; the entrance is just over… there."
With that, he spun the camera back around so it was facing away from him and his friends until it alighted on what they were there to see.
Just out of reach stood a cube structure, made of metal panelling and glass which would have served as the entrance to the station, back when it was operational. The word, 'Subway' was still barely visible on the very top bar of the structure with available subway lines and routes listed below, despite being so faint and faded from lack of upkeep through the years.
Wooden boards were secured around the entirety of it, effectively sealing off any and all gaps. The sheets of metal that were still somewhat discernible amongst the wood were scuffed and marked where they had been hunted by the elements that came with day and night. There were shards of glass littered beneath where the windows would be; a clear sign that vandals were the likely cause for local authorities boarding it up after they shut it down.
It was just out of the way of the main street, with the Taco Bell they had started off at, only slightly in the distance. The lights were still visible but the station was tucked away through a wide alleyway, giving Gar the assumption that the station had never been one of the busier ones, even when it was up and running.
"Sooo… as you guys can see, this thing is wrapped up like a Christmas present. We're hoping to find a loose board or something, rather than making our own gap since then we're just as bad as vandals which… y'know is illegal. Don't want to be doing illegal shit and putting it on YouTube, y'know?" Gar chuckled, nervously.
Dick raised an eyebrow just as Gar spun the camera in his direction, "You know sneaking into an abandoned place is still illegal, right?"
Gar pursed his lips before he retorted with, "Okay but there are no signs saying this is trespassing sooo…"
Shaking his head at his friend, Dick waved a hand dismissively, "Sure. We'll see how that holds in a court, Gar."
Shrugging his shoulders, Gar turned the camera back towards his smirking face and lightly smacked Dick's shoulder as he wandered past him, "We won't have to, Dick cos' we're not gonna get into trouble!"
There was a squeaking like sound that echoed off camera and Gar snapped his head up, spinning the camera around yet again to show Vic who was standing over near the back of the boarded entrance.
"I think I found a way in, y'all…" Vic muttered, scuffing his shoe against a fragile board at the bottom of the back panelling and watching as it slipped and clattered against the concrete.
Raven stepped through the grass and joined his side, glancing down at the gap Vic had made before blinking at him disbelief, "Uh… are you expecting us to fit through that?"
Vic gave her a look and smirked, "C'mon Rae, you and Kory are small and you'll be able to fit through."
"Right… and how are you guys gonna get in?" She replied, as Kory inspected the gap for herself, crouching down to peer closer at it,
He shrugged, "Gar is pretty skinny too. So is Dick. The only one who'll have an issue is me. You four get in there and then look at pulling the board down. They've been installed from inside anyway by the looks of it."
Dick halfheartedly nodded and joined Kory in looking closer at it, going as far as to shine his flashlight inside to see what they would be crawling into.
"So… which one of us is going first?" Gar asked, amusement laced in his voice,
Vic grinned at the four of them, "Well, last time we snuck into an abandoned place, I went first and this time, I can't fit so it's up to one of y'all. Have fun."
Gar snorted whilst Raven glared at him. Kory shifted her weight from one foot to the other, constantly casting looks over her shoulder as if she could hear noises.
"I am not going in first." She mumbled,
Dick let out a deep sigh and thrust his hand towards Gar, "Give me a mask."
Gar blinked in surprise at Dick's volunteering before the camera jiggled where he slipped his backpack off to retrieve what Dick had asked from him.
"Dick…" Kory whispered, her concerns growing,
He offered her a smile, "It'll be fine. I'll go first and make sure it's all good and then you guys… that can fit…" He paused, smirking at Vic, "can come through as well."
She chewed on her lower lip, silently accepting his proposal as he leaned forward and briefly pressed his lips to her forehead.
Dick took a step back and fastened the face mask over his lips and nose, the elastic curling around his ears securely.
"You good, bro?" Gar checked, earning a curt nod from him.
He hunkered down, dropping low before his body went prone; just like someone completing an army assault course, Gar mused.
Balancing the camera in the palms of his hands, Gar pressed the button on the top of it to zoom in, capturing exactly what Dick was doing.
The light on the camera helped in providing some manoeuvrability but it was a tad distorted since they were outside and it was lost amongst the darkness. Gar was confident that once they were inside the enclosed space, it would be more vital to them.
Dick shifted his arms, dragging himself through the gap between the wood and the filthy ground, his t-shirt catching a little as he moved.
"How's it coming, Dick?" Vic asked, leaning up against the the outside, with his arms folded over his chest,
There was a brief shuffling sound, followed by some quick breaths before a faint, "Yeah…" came back to them,
A few moments more passed before Dick lightly rapped his knuckles against the wood from the inside, "Seems fine." Dick said, his voice quiet,
"Can you see a way to pull the board down?" Gar asked, the camera shaking as he walked closer to the entrance.
There was a pause as Dick seemed to consider, "Uh… yeah. It's loose from this side. One sec."
The group did as he asked and waited patiently whilst he tugged at the rotting boards and grunted with the movements. Gar lifted the camera just as the wood groaned under Dick's prying fingers,
"Keep going. I think you almost-" Vic was cut off as the board suddenly cracked and came away from the window frame completely, revealing Dick who was clearly smirking beneath the fabric across his mouth,
"Got it." He murmured.
Kory smiled and lightly tapped her fingers together as if applauding his efforts. Gar continued to record them as each of them moved towards the now open window.
Vic stepped in first, winking at Dick, "Aw, didn't you do well, Grayson."
"Shut up." He grumbled, stepping aside to let his laughing form pass.
He offered a hand to Raven and then Kory who stepped over and lightly grazed his cheek with her lips in thanks. Dick turned towards Gar but shook his head, "I'm not helping you through."
"That's fucking rude, man." Gar retorted, fumbling with the camera as he hopped the window frame, turning up the brightness of his camera light to be able to see their surroundings better than solely relying on the use of their flashlights.
Dick shrugged and looked unapologetic as he moved away from the open window to join Kory who was placing her purple mask over her nose and mouth before she pulled out her flashlight.
Gar huddled closer to them, walking around the tiled ground inside the entrance which was split and cracked in all different spots.
He hummed and shone his light all around, trying to get a better look at the inside. The interior was fairly basic, aside from all the debris and decay considering how neglected it had been during the past years.
Kory crept closer to the top of the steel staircase that led down into the pitch black abyss where their exploration would truly start. She made a keening sound as she directed her flashlight down the stairs, barely able to see anything still,
"I have not missed doing these things whilst we have been in quarantine…" She sighed, shivering as she turned back towards the group,
Gar smirked, "It'll be great, Kory."
"You always say that and it never is." She replied, the only show of her feelings on the matter evident by the brief roll of her eyes.
He chuckled before he half slid his backpack off once more and looked up at Vic and Raven, "Hey, come get your masks, guys."
The two of them moved closer, with Raven taking a black one and Vic taking a blue one. They applied them to the lower halves of their faces whilst simultaneously reaching into their respective backpacks for their flashlights.
Gar playfully nudged Raven's shoulder once she was done rooting around in her backpack and tilted his head at her, "Can you hold my camera for a second, Rae?"
She made a small noise of agreement and took the device from him, turning it around to record him as he hooked his own lime coloured face mask over his nose and mouth. He threw his pack back over his shoulders and shimmied in Raven's direction,
"Be honest, babe. How hot do I look in this thing?" He crooned, taking a step towards her,
Raven shook her head as she passed the camera to him, "Oh yeah… I can barely keep my hands off you."
Gar chuckled and positioned the camera so that it was recording the environment around them, trying to remember to keep it facing outwards to capture everything around them.
"Alright… let's… head on down, shall we?" Gar asked, sensing the hesitance lingering between them.
"Man, this reminds me of like… every single horror movie I have ever seen. We're about to go down some creepy ass steps into an abandoned subway station. That is just asking for trouble." Vic pointed out, panning his flashlight left and right in an attempt to light the shadows.
"Heh… yeah… now that you mention it…" Gar trailed off and cleared his throat, "I… I'm sure it'll be fine, guys. I just wanna have a look around and then we can get out and head home."
"If we're not murdered first." Raven deadpanned, earning a scowl from Gar which was only half effective on account of his face mask.
Gar took a deep breath and slowly moved down the stairs, wincing as the metal creaked beneath his feet, with each agonising step.
"I still am in awe that there were no forms of guards outside…" Kory murmured from near the back of their line as they descended the subway stairs.
"Yeah. I thought you guys said there were guards here when you scoped the place this afternoon?" Dick questioned, shining his flashlight upwards to check on the ceiling in case it was a few seconds from caving in on them.
Gar nodded, making the camera shake with the gesture, "There were. I guess… they clock out at like 6pm or something."
"Or they're already in here looking for us." Vic muttered,
"I doubt it… I mean… listen…" Gar whispered,
The five of them paused in their tracks, just to hone in on the sounds of lack thereof. There was the sound of dripping water here and there but for the most part, it was stillness that surrounded them.
"Mm… true. What's ahead of you, grass stain?" Vic wondered, peering over the tops of his and Raven's heads but failing to make anything out clearly.
As they reached the subway level, each of them shone their lights in different directions, trying to get some kind of visual. It was difficult considering the amount of dust and debris particles that were clinging in the air, warping their vision in the darkness.
Gar swivelled his camera from right to left, showing how much the station had deteriorated in the time it had been abandoned.
The tiles had all but fallen from the walls, cracked or smashed and lying in pieces on the floor. Some of them were still up but what once were fresh white tiles were covered in grime and dirt and Gar knew if he were to knock against them, they would probably plummet with the rest.
Cobwebs and dust coated the corners of the room, the roof above their heads littered with marks and graffiti. The pillars that were dotted in this first area looked sturdy enough but Gar noticed Dick and Vic eyeing them up several times.
There were large advertising posters on the walls in frames; movies, new products and restaurants were the subjects on all of them; stuck in time and remaining frozen in the year the station was left to die.
"Spooky…" Raven murmured as she gave the glass of one poster frame a wipe to see past the grit that had amounted over it.
Gar chuckled and continued to scan the first area with his camera. There were a few doors that led off to other parts of the station but Gar had a strong suspicion they would be locked up tight if he tried to get inside those rooms.
On the far side of the room, there was a glass window that looked inwards to what appeared to be a control room of sorts; again, hidden by a thick layer of dust and soot.
Below the window were several ticket machines, no longer in use and no longer lit up with power. They appeared to be rusted and discoloured; a damn sight difference to when they had been functional, Gar guessed.
A circular ticket and information counter was placed right in the middle of the area, with an 'i' sign hanging from the ceiling above it. Pamphlets and leaflets were damp and curled, ripped in several different places and spread out across the surface.
"This… is already creeping me out." Kory admitted,
"Aren't you glad we're not doing one of Gar's overnight videos in here?" Raven mentioned from where she was peering over the information counter; right where the station assistants would have been perched.
Gar grinned beneath the mask and turned towards Raven, "Hey, there's an idea-"
Kory spun around from where she was looking at the ticket machines, "Do not even or I will make Silkie sleep in your bedroom every night."
"That doesn't sound so bad."
"You have not heard Silkie when he sleeps."
Dick suddenly turned and pulled as much of a face as he could with the mask on, "Oof… Gar, quit while you're ahead. Silkie's snoring could rival a damn snorlax."
Gar blinked in surprise but turned, pleadingly towards Kory, "I promise I will not ask you to do an overnight here."
"Ever."
"Ever." He confirmed,
Kory made a small noise of approval but turned back, pulling out a ticket from the small tray that had clearly been left behind. She peered down at it and gasped, "This is dated 10/23/2011…"
"God… it's so weird, knowing how long this place has been closed." Vic muttered, joining Kory to look at the ticket for himself, despite how faint the text was.
Gar nodded his head in agreement but wandered deeper into the station, halting at the tripod turnstile gates before him. The metal poles of each were rusted and with a gentle push on one of them, it was clear that they would not be shifting like they would have, back in the day.
Vic chuckled as he came up behind his friend, just out of shot of the camera, "Stranger still… if this place was still active, it'd have what all stations have now… those electronic barriers that are like sliding doors."
"Really makes you realise how far technology has come, huh?" Dick commented, earning a nod from Vic.
Gar bit his lip and considered the turnstiles before he squatted down and bowed his head, shuffling under them in order to get through to the other side.
"Ah… clever." Vic voiced, mock clapping in his direction; not that it stopped Gar from bowing his head like he was some kind of genius.
Gar held the camera on them as all four of his friends followed suit and got as low as they could to the ground, before shifting under near the poles.
Once through, Gar turned the camera away from them and filmed the situation further down the hallway. There were more posters up on the walls, covered with spray paint where others had done their own kind of exploration before them.
There were a number of small, square shaped lockers, presumably for those who were using the station all day long or thought the station would be a safe place to keep personal items if they needed to step out for whatever reason.
Plastic seats lined the middle of the space and up against the back walls too with large TV screens mounted higher up; a clear waiting space for people who would have been waiting for their trains to arrive.
There were at least 4 archways, leading down to the multiple subway platforms that were scattered throughout the vicinity. They were dark and dingy looking, with a sense of eeriness floating in the air around them.
"It's so quiet…" Raven pointed out, looking at a folded newspaper that had been left on one of the seats as they wandered around,
"If I hear any kinda zombie sounds, I am bookin' it." Vic admitted, as he walked over to the framed posters on the walls.
Gar made a quiet humming sound as he moved, walking over to two vending machines that were in the corner of the area, with snacks still inside.
"Yo, Vic. Check these out." Gar called, keeping the camera trained on his friend as he ambled across to where he was standing.
With the way his cheeks puffed up, Gar could tell he was grinning, "Ha, no way…"
"Why would they leave the snacks and drinks in there to just go bad?" Dick asked, from where he was standing near them, shining his light down one of the hallways leading to the platforms.
"It is a damn tragedy, is what it is. It's an insult to snacks." Vic muttered, crouching down to see if there was anything left in the pickup slot and clicking his tongue when he found nothing.
"It seems the local authorities do not really care for what they leave behind." Kory mused, looking upward at the pipes that lined the ceiling, all rusted and broken.
"I guess it's down to things like… they would rather not pay out to demolish some of these buildings." Raven added,
"Mm and it would probably be a case of; if they're not rebuilding on it, what's the point in taking it down?" Dick replied,
Gar nodded in agreement at what they were saying, turning the camera back on Vic who rammed his shoulder against the glass of the vending machine.
The four of them jolted at the sound as it lifted and bounced around the room. Dick tilted his head to look at Vic, startled by the noise, "What are you doing?"
Vic blinked back at him as if his actions were completely obvious, "What's it look like I'm doing? I wanna see if these Snickers bars are still good."
Raven rolled her eyes, "It's been 9 years, Gar said. Of course they're not good anymore."
"Uh, I'll have you know, chocolate doesn't technically have expiry dates."
"What?" Kory asked, her eyebrows rising at his statement,
"So, chocolate doesn't really 'go bad' as such. There's a certain time it's best hence the 'best before' date but after that, it gets a 'bloom' which is why a candy bar will go white. That's just where fat separation happens. But, chocolate can technically last for 50 years and present no health risks. It won't taste the way it should but it's not a risk… health wise."
"Alright, science guy." Gar snorted,
Vic turned his head towards him, "It's not really even science… I only know that stuff because I've looked it up before."
"Honestly, anyone would think you never eat when in fact, it's all you do." Dick pointed out,
"And yet, you're not even fat." Raven commented,
Vic winked at her and thumped the glass of the machine once more, "That's thanks to daily gym sessions."
Gar rolled his eyes and kept his camera on Vic, in his pursuit of an outdated candy bar, "And what is banging the glass meant to do?"
"Have you never seen the movies that do this? Or arcade games where people bash it and it spits out money or tickets?" Vic countered,
Gar's eyes widened at the revelation, "That actually works!?"
"No." Raven muttered at the same time Vic nodded his head enthusiastically.
Vic gave it a couple more smacks before there was a thud and several candy bars fell into the pickup slot. There was a brief pause, filled with utter silence and surprise in the fact that had actually worked.
"Ha! I told you guys!" Vic crowed, slipping his hand inside and swiping up the chocolate.
Gar pulled a face beneath his mask and zoomed in as Vic held the Snickers bar up in front of his face, trying to catch whatever his idiot friend would do next.
Kory grimaced, her brows knitted together, "Surely, you are not actually going to taste it…"
Vic paused and pulled a face, "Well, duh. What's the point in getting it if I'm not gonna take a bite."
Raven shook her head and turned away, thoroughly grossed out.
Gar and Dick exchanged a glance and smirked under their face coverings before simultaneously chanting, "Eat it! Eat it! Eat it!"
Rolling her eyes, Raven placed her hands on her hips and leaned against the wall where Kory was anxiously watching to see what Vic would do as well.
Vic chuckled and unhooked his mask from one ear so that it merely hung from his other ear. He tore off the wrapper and stuffed it in his pocket to throw in a trashcan once they were out of the station.
He leaned forward, sniffing it and tilted his head.
"What's it smell like?" Dick asked, already cringing,
"Mm… nothing really. It hasn't got some rank scent which… good sign."
Ravens scoffed, "Yeah. That's a good sign that the almost 10 year old chocolate is still fine to eat."
Gar laughed, "Rae, if Vic wants to fuck his stomach up, you just gotta let him."
"It'll be fine." Vic stated, bringing the candy bar to his lips. He paused before he took a big bite of it, his eyes shifting from left to right as he tried to come to a conclusion with how it tasted.
"Well?" Kory prompted, watching with caution as he chewed, his lips twisting here and there.
"Um…"
"Is it delicious?" Gar asked, his tone showing his utter amusement,
"It's… uh… well…"
Dick chuckled and shook his head, "Vic, you can spit it out, y'know."
Vic did exactly that, turning away and spitting it out just beside the vending machine. He shuddered as he looked back at them all with an expression of reproach, seemingly regretting his choice.
"What did it taste like, Vic?" Kory asked,
"Shit." He stated immediately, "It had a bit of a rancid taste and the caramel and nuts… they were not sweet anymore… let's put it that way. Think cardboard and chalk."
"Mm… yum." Dick snickered,
Raven crossed her arms over her chest and lifted a dark brow at Vic, "And what did you learn?"
Vic turned sheepish, rubbing the back of his neck, "Not to eat chocolate that's been sitting somewhere for 9 years?"
"Weirdest sentence you've ever had to say." Gar chuckled,
"You'd be surprised, actually-"
Suddenly, there was a faint echo of metal hitting the concrete hard from one of the hallways to the far left from where they were all standing.
Kory's attention honed in on it instantly, "What was that?"
Gar, whose heart had dropped at the sound, swallowed and laughed it off, nervously, "Uh… I'm sure it was nothing."
"Gar."
"It was… probably just a few rats… maybe." Raven suggested, shining her flashlight down the hallway the noise had come from as much as possible,
"I don't think rats can drop metal pipes on the ground." Dick snorted, earning an eye roll from Raven.
Vic cleared his throat and tore his attention from the hallway and gestured towards the hallway to their right, "Well… let's… go this way and check this side of the station out instead."
Gar was quick to pan the camera to the hallway they were directly beside, the light on the camera illuminating it better than any of their flashlights could.
Together, they moved through it, briefly acknowledging how some of the tiles had fallen off the walls, much like in the main terminal of the station. There were cracks running all along the ceiling above their heads, as well as dust particles hanging in the air, like some kind of bad smell that would not shift.
As they stepped out into the open platform area, the creepy shadow that seemed to lurk behind them only served to get worse. Gar whistled to himself as he lifted the camera upwards, scanning it across the room.
The ceiling was rounded and very high up, having had to allow enough space for trains to roll on through on a day to day basis. Several square shaped pillars were dotted across the platform with maps and route information plastered across them, albeit being very faded, making them almost completely indecipherable.
Littered with debris and chunks of stone here and there, the platform was strangely silent. It was weird not to hear any trains approaching within a station, despite knowing it was abandoned. It almost seemed unnatural, not to hear the noise of a train pulling into the station.
Gar slowly walked to the edge of the platform, tilting the camera down to show the metal tracks which appeared rusted from lack of use. He turned the device towards the tunnel, with the light not nearly giving him enough to work with to enable him to see into the depth of the darkness.
"This area is really creepy… it's so quiet." Dick whispered, dangling one foot off the edge of the platform as he stood beside Gar.
"I mean… would you prefer to be hearing noises?" Gar countered,
Dick pulled a face, "Obviously not."
"Then don't complain about the silence, dude!"
Vic suddenly rushed past the two of them and took a leap of faith off the edge of the platform. Gar fumbled for his camera to get his actions in focus, just catching it as Vic stumbled onto the other side, spinning around and doing a random little dance of pride at his 'achievement'.
"Ooh, look at you." Gar teased,
"Don't be jealous, bro. I know we can't all make jumps like that." Vic snorted, offering him an obscene finger gesture,
Dick made a 'psh' noise and placed a hand on his hip, "Please… I could have made that jump when I was 6 years old."
"That don't count!" Vic argued, waving his hand around, "You're trained in gymnastics and acrobatics. It's your damn job!"
"Don't be jealous." Dick repeated his own words with a hint of mocking in his tone,
With that, Gar nudged Dick's arm, "Show him how easy it is, Grayson."
Dick chuckled whilst Gar took a few steps back, focusing the camera solely on him, to capture his movement.
Clearing his throat, Dick bounced on his toes for a moment before abruptly vaulting himself across to the other side of the track, without so much as a hair out of place.
He landed and hopped a little, regaining his balance before he turned and bowed in Vic's direction,
"D'you see that grace right there, Vic?" He ragged, watching as Vic rolled his eyes and waved a hand,
"Man, ya just a show off."
"Uh huh. Sure I am."
Raven sighed from where she and Kory had been investigating the newspaper stand that was near the archway of the platform. It still had some papers piled on it from the last day of operations with most pages being damp or torn.
Gar turned his camera towards the two women, tilting his head and smiling beneath his mask at their idle movements,
"Whatcha guys doing?" He asked,
"Well, whilst you three are being… you know, idiots… we were looking around at the stuff in here." Raven deadpanned,
"Aw, we can't help it, Rae. It looks fun. I would jump over if I wasn't scared of the camera falling outta my hands." Gar explained,
He shifted his camera slightly, recording Kory as she wandered over to the edge of the platform, giving the impression she was about to follow suit of the boys and jump across but she decided otherwise.
Kory dropped down onto the track, shining her flashlight left and right, just to see if there was anything of interest in her field of vision. She wandered across the space and placed her flashlight on the edge of the opposite side before placing her palms on the cold ground and hoisting herself up to sit on the edge instead.
"Kory! That was such a let down!" Gar complained,
"What?" She returned, twisting from where she had been looking behind her at more sets of lockers,
"You made it seem like you were gonna jump across!"
"I can barely see… I was not about to attempt jumping across, Gar."
"Bah! You and Rae are no fun!" He playfully said, filming Raven as she followed in Kory's movements and hopped down to walk across, instead of jumping.
"Rae! Babe! Can you catch my camera and record me jumping across?" He asked,
Raven exhaled loudly but held her hands out, "If I have to."
"Please… do not drop it."
She inclined her head to look at him, "Gar, if you are scared of that happening then just hold it and walk across."
He shuffled on the spot and furrowed his brows, "But… I wanna jump it."
"You are such a child." Raven muttered, reemphasising that she had her palms open and ready to catch the piece of equipment.
"Just… imagine it is our first born child, okay!?" He stressed,
"Sure. Just throw the damn thing already, Gar." She sighed,
Gar took a breath and tossed the camera to her, the image being captured just a rumbling of light and dark as it flipped and spun. The picture went still and an off camera grunt was heard as Raven successfully caught it.
"Ugh, Rae! I love you! Thank God!" He breathed out, clearly very relieved,
"I think that's probably the most heartfelt time you have ever said that. And it was because I didn't drop your camera." Raven mused, turning the device the right side up and wriggling slightly until she was comfortably sat beside Kory on the edge, with their legs dangling over.
She flipped the camera just in time to capture him as he pursed his lips and blew her an exaggerated kiss, earning a small giggle from Kory who was loving their domestic banter.
"Gar, you gonna jump or what?" Dick coerced,
In response, Gar took several steps backwards before he took off in a sprint, bounding off the edge of the platform at the last second and propelling himself across the huge gap in between.
He skidded a little as his feet landed on the the other side of the tracks, looking up at Dick as if for some kind of approval.
"Well, you didn't face plant the concrete so, take it as a win." Dick confirmed,
Raven made a quiet noise of disbelief at how kid like the boys were when presented with the opportunity when she jolted, hearing a sharp gasp from Kory.
She turned the camera towards her best friend, suddenly on alert, "Kory?"
The red haired woman was staring intently at something on the other side of the platform, shining her flashlight to try and confirm whatever her mind was telling her was there.
"Kory." Raven repeated, quietly,
"Hm?" Kory mumbled, turning her head towards Raven,
"Everything okay?"
"Um… yes... "
"You sure about that? You seem kinda distracted."
"I… I thought I saw something but…" Kory shook her head and offered the camera a smile, as if trying to brush where concerns off,
"Hey, guys!" Gar yelped, struck by an idea, "We should time ourselves. See who can jump there and back the most times in a minute."
"Pff, you two are going down." Dick chuckled, readying himself to work for the win,
"Gar, we could totally just trip him as soon as-"
Suddenly, heavy footsteps from the archway they had come through reverberated around the room, sending them all into a panicked silence,
"Uh… what the fuck was that?" Gar hissed, his hands already reaching for the camera which Raven was shoving in his direction as she and Kory jumped to their feet,
"Yeah… that… uh… that didn't sound like rats." Vic hushed, backing away from their side of the platform, trying to distance himself from the other side of the platform in which they had come from.
"Well, maybe it was just…" Dick was cut off as the footsteps suddenly started up again, shuffling and hurrying towards the archway.
Gar took a deep breath as the footsteps paused again and he shone his big camera light in that direction, watching closely for any signs of movement.
"H-Hello?" He called out, summoning some unknown confidence from god knows where, "Who's there?"
A bulk form suddenly appeared in the archway, hidden by the shadows crossing their face and a gruff, menacing voice rang out, "HEY!"
"Oh my God…" Vic whispered, ushering Kory and Raven behind him, towards the only other exit on this side that he could see, with Dick not far behind, remaining facing forward to see what was going to happen.
"Uh… sorry… we were just-" Gar voiced,
The man moved out from where he was in the archway, twitching as if he was hopped up on some kind of substance, "You kids shouldn't be down here!"
"Hey, man… we were only checking this place out-" Vic added, in an attempt to diffuse whatever the atmosphere was turning into,
"This place ain't yours!" He shouted, raising his arm and with a flash of Gar's light, he could see the man had a scruffy beard and a frayed beanie on his head, pulled low over his forehead. He wore dirty looking clothes and a coat, the boots he wore making loud thumps as he got ever closer to their side of the platform.
"Hey, dude… sorry… we were just leaving-" Gar tried again but stumbled back as he saw the wild flash in the man's eyes before he lifted a piece of pipe in his right hand,
"You shouldn't have fucking come down here." He grunted, hobbling towards them.
"GO!" Gar yelled, turning away and gesturing to the rest of them, "Fucking run!"
Not waiting for further instruction, Vic sprinted through the open exit on their side, throwing glances over his shoulder every now and then,
"Fuck! What's this guy on!?" Gar puffed, turning a corner and slipping a little in a puddle of water,
"Gar?" Raven checked, frantically looking back at him.
"I'm fine! Keep going! Up those stairs! Over there!" He barked, shining his light in the direction of a stone stairwell that appeared to lead out to the back of the subway station.
"What if there's not a way out?" Vic challenged, coughing as they ran through a particularly dust clad area,
"We'll make one." Dick ground out, ensuring Kory and Raven were still ahead of him and Gar and safely behind Vic.
The camera jostled back and forth, with no clear picture being visible for Gar's audience to see where they were going.
Reaching the first step of the staircase, Gar briefly paused to listen for the man and his stomach dropped when he heard faint but intimidatingly slow steps coming towards them, with a few clinks of his metal pipe against the brick walls.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck. Vic, get the fuck up there." Gar stressed,
Vic darted up the stairs, taking two at a time, "Yeah, no shit. Don't need to tell me twice!"
Kory and Raven raced up behind him, tightly gripping each other's hands so as not to lose one another in the consuming gloom of the underground station, with Dick following closely on their heels.
Gar wobbled the camera in his hands, his harsh breaths coming in short bursts from behind the device. Vic could be heard at the top of the stairs, rapidly shoulder barging a board, in an attempt to get out of this place.
"Vic, please tell me you've got something up there?" Dick asked, constantly looking down the stairs, just waiting for the man to appear.
"Dude!" Gar prompted when Vic said nothing,
"I've… almost…" He panted, repeatedly trying to pry the board from where it was lodged,
"Vic… please…" Kory fretted, breathing deeply in an attempt to calm her nerves,
"I'm trying!" He cried, punching his fist against it one last time and sucking in a gasp as it became loose, a narrow opening becoming available.
Gar turned his head, trying to ignore the sound of metal scraping against the brick wall from where they had just come as it became louder, "Got it!?"
"I got it!" He yelped, immediately sliding his body through the gap he had created,
"Get the girls through next!" Dick instructed, gently pushing both Kory and Raven through before shimmying past himself.
"Gar! C'mon!" Vic shouted,
Gar pulled the camera to his chest so that pure darkness covered the lens, "Quick! Help me through! I think he's-"
"Fuck…" Gar exhaled, slumping from where he was sitting inside the safety of Vic's car. He shifted, holding the camera forward but with the lens facing all of them.
"What the hell was that?" Vic cursed, rubbing a hand over his face,
Gar fixed the camera on the dashboard, just for a moment whilst they caught their breaths and tried to make sense of the heart pounding experience they had just had,
"Alright guys… so… just for an update. Um… we got out of the station and… we completely booked it across cos we could see the Taco Bell lights in the distance and knew the car was parked here." Gar paused and swallowed, "Uh… no sign of the guy who started chasing us… we just about got through the gap that Vic made."
"Did you hear him laughing? It was like he found the whole thing to be some kind of joke." Kory mentioned from where she was leaning into Dick's side in the backseat,
"Maybe he did find it funny. He seemed… just a tad unhinged." Raven muttered, dragging her fingers through her dark bangs before peering out of her window to double check they were okay where they were.
"We've been sitting here for about 20 minutes now… just to be sure that we're not gonna be followed or anything like that." Gar said,
Vic pressed a hand to his chest, "That was fucking terrifying, dude."
"I honestly thought he was gonna catch up to us." Dick interjected,
"I think he would have and… fuck man, I don't know what he woulda done. He didn't seem right in the head." Gar sighed, his breath shaky.
"My heart is still racing." Kory sighed, bowing her head whilst Dick placed his hand on her leg for some comfort,
"What was his problem?" Raven queried, pulling one of her knees to her chest,
"Maybe he was a guard or something after all." Dick suggested but Gar shook his head,
"No… I'll show you guys the footage later, if I actually recorded him but I saw what he was wearing and… it wasn't a security guard or anything. He looked like he was homeless. He probably lives down there or something."
"Jesus…" Vic swore, tapping his mouth with his fingertips,
"I cannot believe he had a pipe." Kory murmured, shivering as she recalled it all,
Raven turned her head towards her friend, "You did say you saw something. Guess you were right."
Kory chewed on her bottom lip, "I truly wish it had been just a rat."
Her indigo eyed friend gave her a ghost of a smile and nodded her head in agreement.
"What do we do? I mean… do we report him to the police or…?" Vic asked, tapping his fingers against the steering wheel.
"I'd honestly rather just forget and never come back here." Raven stated,
Gar nodded, "Yeah… I mean, like Dick said. We weren't even technically supposed to be down there so… as long as we don't come back, then we have very little chance of running into psycho Simon ever again."
Vic paused and snorted, "Psycho Simon?"
"Giving him a name makes it somewhat less scary." Gar defended, shrugging his shoulders as his pulse finally started to slow,
"God, I still can't believe that happened." Dick breathed, leaning his head back against the headrests in the back of the car,
"Just shows how dangerous the city can be." Vic shrugged,
"I'm pretty sure he was on some kinda drug. His eyes were insane. It was like he was some kinda lunatic you see in horror movies. I swear to God." Gar told them, half turning in his seat to look back at them, whilst Vic inserted his key into the engine of the car, preparing to get moving.
"Well, I don't know about you guys but I am ready to get the fuck home." Vic exhaled, checking the reflection of his rear view mirror.
"Yeah… all in favour of having a lighthearted movie night when we get home?" Dick asked, earning murmurs of agreement from each of them,
"Let's grab some McDonalds on the way home. Oh! And let's grab snacks from that 7-Eleven just before you turn into our street." Gar puffed, "I wanna gorge myself on food and forget that crazy stuff even happened."
Kory whimpered from where she sat in the back, "I just wish to cuddle Silkie on the sofa."
Gar chuckled lightly and turned back to the camera, scooping it up and keeping it trained on his face as Vic reversed out of the parking lot and started the drive back to their house,
"Whew… okay guys… so that took a scarier turn than I thought it would so you know… it would really mean a lot to me if you give the video a like. Y'know… just cause we almost died at the hands of some nut-job." He paused and rubbed the back of his head, "Thanks so much for watching guys and if you haven't already, make sure you smash that subscribe button to keep up with all my future videos… and… I will see you guys in the next one where we try not to get chased by some random dude!"
"I like the sound of that." Raven sighed,
He briefly smiled and held the camera up, in order to catch all of them, with only really Dick and Vic acknowledging it with a salute each. Gar grinned and gave the camera a two finger salute of his own,
"Thanks again guys! Peace!"