A few notes before we begin:
For a lack of good formatting on Fanfiction.net, italics will be denoted with single quotes. ('This should be in italics,' Hazel thought, 'but it won't because Fanfiction.net is mean.')
Rated R because Hazel and a few other people are just potty mouths.
I like reviews, especially constructive criticism. Anything to help me grow as a writer is appreciated. Thank you.
*** *** *** ***
'Sin. Again.'
'Before before before. Leaving the body.'
The blinds over the window were opened barely enough so the high street lamps constantly dashing by the train's window stung Hazel's eyes with bright pinpricks of light. She stirred and straightened, arching her back and inhaling deeply with a yawn. Her eyes stung with moisture built up as she'd slept, and she mopped it away with the backs of her hands. Beneath her, the car of the train murmured gently, and around her, people slept or watched the ceiling, eyes stricken with aggravation at their inability to sleep. Hazel pushed the headphones over her ears down to cling to the back of her neck and pushed herself up in her chair, careful to not disturb the elderly lady who dozed in the seat next to her.
'What? No. Leaving the body.'
'Sin Eater.'
She dug a pack of Virginia Slims from the pocket inside her coat and put the cigarette to her lips. The Slims went back into her pocket and a lighter left in their place, flicked on, and went back in. The cigarette smoldered at the tip and glared orange for a moment as Hazel took a deep drag. Worry struck her for a moment, and she glanced to the woman snoozing next to her, but she seemed unfazed by the smoke. Hazel settled again in her chair to face the front, dropped an arm over her stomach, and put use to the free arm as she drew the cigarette from her lips and let out a stream of smoke.
'Sin Eater.'
'Eat.'
She didn't quite enjoy smoking, but the habit wouldn't break.
'Burn.'
'Where did that come from?'
The train rumbled on beneath her, and Hazel rested against the seat, closing her eyes. Ah, there it was, the sweet menthol and tar concoction settling in her lungs.
'Ugh.' Hazel hated it.
She took another sip of the menthol air, dragging and dragging until the cigarette was reduced to a useless butt. The remaining embers died as she ground the cigarette butt into the ashtray.
"No smoking," she murmured, reading the lettering embossed across the ashtray's supports. "Then what's the point of the ashtray? Trashcan?"
She flipped the miniature metal container back up against the seat and resisted the urge to remove a second cigarette. No, it wouldn't do, it wasn't aiding her plans to quit at all, but then again, neither was the first cigarette.
But who gave a damn. She was going to die someday, anyway.
The second cigarette was just as good as the first. The woman next to Hazel coughed and stirred. Hazel sighed through her nose, raised her eyebrows a little in frustration, and dampened the cigarette into the No Smoking ashtray.
'Sin Eater. Make it stop.'
At first, the screech was too faint for Hazel to be dead sure she was hearing anything, but when it rose to the deafening, ear-splitting roar, Hazel knew something was wrong. Deep-sleeping people around her had woken, a child was bawling his eyes out, a baby screaming, and the murmur of worried voices was barely audible beneath the din of the train.
The train was stopping. Hazel raked a hand through her chocolate-colored hair and held it there, off her forehead. The train was stopping, that was it. She had no idea why, of course, but there were an infinite amount of theories. She sat up and turned around slightly, wincing as her
spine popped.
'Great. What a coincidence. Only the second time in my life I've been on a train, and for the second time, it's had to stop halfway to the destination.'
Train stewards were beginning to move through the cars now, stopping people and pushing them back into their seats, telling them that everything was fine, the train just needed to stop, the noise would die down soon. Hazel settled back into her chair and began to remove a third cigarette, then remembered NO SMOKING would most likely be enforced by the stewards. For the second time, she exhaled through her nose and raised her eyebrows in minor aggravation. Her fingers itched to grip the familiar Virginia slims again, and her lungs were burning, screaming, "More menthol, more menthol."
Nah. She could hold off. For a little while, anyway,
The train jolted forward. Hazel's head connected hard with the seat in front of her, and her back ached from the impact it felt with the hard chair behind her. "Ow," she muttered blandly. Her pain was mutual, though. She heard other people murmuring from the pain of the impact.
The noise had ceased, at least. Hazel scratched behind her ears and leaned gingerly against the chair, mildly aware of the bruising that was beginning to form on her back where she slammed against the chair.
Beside her, the elderly woman had dozed off again. Hazel raised her eyebrows at her, then turned away. On the pretense of finding a restroom, she stood and began sliding past people, moving northwards on the train, until she reached a close ambit towards the steward's car on the train. Unfortunately, several other people had followed suit before her, and there was a line five people too long leading towards the restroom.
'Nosy bitches,' Hazel though, then laughed when she realized she was just as nosy as the bitches waiting in line in front of her.
"They called from the Silent Hill and Maheya station. Said there was some huge, deformed dead animal on the track and they couldn't budge it. Said it would do more damage to the train...probably derail it."
"Good thing they called us in time."
"No kidding," Hazel muttered under her breath. It was all she needed to know. She drew a cigarette from her pocket and held it up to her lips, then pocketed it again quickly when a stewardess threw her a sharp glare. "Sorry," she muttered, cocking an eyebrow and looking at the floor.
White noise.
Hazel winced. White noise, piercing her ears and making her brain scream. Where the hell was it coming from? She groaned and stumbled out of the line.
Someone giggled. "I didn't know they served alcohol on the train. The ride must be more fun drunk."
"I'm not drunk," Hazel snapped, massaging her temples angrily. 'Stupid bitch.' She kept the thought to herself as she moved carefully back to her seat, the fuzzy noise still blaring in her ears. Why didn't anyone else hear it?
Voices were rising above the noise. Faint, faint screams. Hazel wondered if it was just the buzzing. "That thing-what the hell, it's coming alive-it just killed that woman-stay in the train, that thing will kill you-it's moving down the track-"
"Some kind of monster-"
Something piercing her mind above the white noise. It was a scream for sure. "It's huge-- we'll never be able to stop that thing-- oh my god it's killing everything it sees-- what the hell is going on-"
Hazel blinked. With a sweeping of wind, the noise was gone, leaving her skull feeling awkwardly empty. She inhaled deeply and, ignoring the stewards and workers around her, drew a cigarette out of her pocket and held it to her lips with trembling fingers. She fumbled with the lighter, dropping it several times before she set the tip of the cigarette to smoldering.
The train jolted, knocking Hazel forward for the second time, and began rumbling forward. The cigarette slipped from her fingers and to the floor. Hazel ground it into the carpet out of sheer frustration and slammed herself back into the chair.
"Ow."
She regretted it instantly as her back set to aching. Like dominoes, her head began to ache just after her back, triggered by the screeching the train gave off as it began to move.
Moving?
'Monster,' Hazel thought. 'Are we heading right towards an inferno? ...No...I was just hearing things.
"Monster!" someone screamed. Hazel's eyes snapped open, but she seemed to be the only person that noticed the outburst. She glanced around as far as she could without craning her neck.
"It's a monster...oh my god, oh my god..."
No. It was the noise in her head again, like a broken radio.
"Knock it off," Hazel muttered.
"Sorry," the sleeping lady next to her murmured. Hazel choked, slightly shocked as the woman spoke, then she realized the woman was speaking in her sleep.
"Not you," she murmured.
"Sorry," the woman muttered in reply, then snorted.
Hazel turned away from her and rubbed her head. It seemed the stronger she tried to will the noise away, the louder it became. 'My head hurts like a motherfucker...I need a cigarette...'
Somebody screamed again. The voice was all too real. Hazel jumped, but so did most of the people around her.
It was real.
This time as the train stopped, there was no screeching. Just a sudden, powerful and painful jolt that sent bodies flying over chairs, crashing into walls, through windows. Hazel's shoulder collided painfully with the ground of the aisle. She gritted her teeth. Whatever gave off the white noise that tormented her so seemed to have moved right into her head, burning and screaming at her ears. She screamed, and she wasn't the only one.
There was another jolt, and Hazel's body left the ground. She was flung up, then crashed into the door at the very end of the car. It shuddered against the onslaught of her body.
The third jolt lifted the very train from its tracks. Hazel felt her feet lift the ground for the third time. Beneath the noise in her ears, glass shattered, and when she was aware of things again, she was face up in a patch of soft grass, her body too pained to move.
For a lack of good formatting on Fanfiction.net, italics will be denoted with single quotes. ('This should be in italics,' Hazel thought, 'but it won't because Fanfiction.net is mean.')
Rated R because Hazel and a few other people are just potty mouths.
I like reviews, especially constructive criticism. Anything to help me grow as a writer is appreciated. Thank you.
*** *** *** ***
'Sin. Again.'
'Before before before. Leaving the body.'
The blinds over the window were opened barely enough so the high street lamps constantly dashing by the train's window stung Hazel's eyes with bright pinpricks of light. She stirred and straightened, arching her back and inhaling deeply with a yawn. Her eyes stung with moisture built up as she'd slept, and she mopped it away with the backs of her hands. Beneath her, the car of the train murmured gently, and around her, people slept or watched the ceiling, eyes stricken with aggravation at their inability to sleep. Hazel pushed the headphones over her ears down to cling to the back of her neck and pushed herself up in her chair, careful to not disturb the elderly lady who dozed in the seat next to her.
'What? No. Leaving the body.'
'Sin Eater.'
She dug a pack of Virginia Slims from the pocket inside her coat and put the cigarette to her lips. The Slims went back into her pocket and a lighter left in their place, flicked on, and went back in. The cigarette smoldered at the tip and glared orange for a moment as Hazel took a deep drag. Worry struck her for a moment, and she glanced to the woman snoozing next to her, but she seemed unfazed by the smoke. Hazel settled again in her chair to face the front, dropped an arm over her stomach, and put use to the free arm as she drew the cigarette from her lips and let out a stream of smoke.
'Sin Eater.'
'Eat.'
She didn't quite enjoy smoking, but the habit wouldn't break.
'Burn.'
'Where did that come from?'
The train rumbled on beneath her, and Hazel rested against the seat, closing her eyes. Ah, there it was, the sweet menthol and tar concoction settling in her lungs.
'Ugh.' Hazel hated it.
She took another sip of the menthol air, dragging and dragging until the cigarette was reduced to a useless butt. The remaining embers died as she ground the cigarette butt into the ashtray.
"No smoking," she murmured, reading the lettering embossed across the ashtray's supports. "Then what's the point of the ashtray? Trashcan?"
She flipped the miniature metal container back up against the seat and resisted the urge to remove a second cigarette. No, it wouldn't do, it wasn't aiding her plans to quit at all, but then again, neither was the first cigarette.
But who gave a damn. She was going to die someday, anyway.
The second cigarette was just as good as the first. The woman next to Hazel coughed and stirred. Hazel sighed through her nose, raised her eyebrows a little in frustration, and dampened the cigarette into the No Smoking ashtray.
'Sin Eater. Make it stop.'
At first, the screech was too faint for Hazel to be dead sure she was hearing anything, but when it rose to the deafening, ear-splitting roar, Hazel knew something was wrong. Deep-sleeping people around her had woken, a child was bawling his eyes out, a baby screaming, and the murmur of worried voices was barely audible beneath the din of the train.
The train was stopping. Hazel raked a hand through her chocolate-colored hair and held it there, off her forehead. The train was stopping, that was it. She had no idea why, of course, but there were an infinite amount of theories. She sat up and turned around slightly, wincing as her
spine popped.
'Great. What a coincidence. Only the second time in my life I've been on a train, and for the second time, it's had to stop halfway to the destination.'
Train stewards were beginning to move through the cars now, stopping people and pushing them back into their seats, telling them that everything was fine, the train just needed to stop, the noise would die down soon. Hazel settled back into her chair and began to remove a third cigarette, then remembered NO SMOKING would most likely be enforced by the stewards. For the second time, she exhaled through her nose and raised her eyebrows in minor aggravation. Her fingers itched to grip the familiar Virginia slims again, and her lungs were burning, screaming, "More menthol, more menthol."
Nah. She could hold off. For a little while, anyway,
The train jolted forward. Hazel's head connected hard with the seat in front of her, and her back ached from the impact it felt with the hard chair behind her. "Ow," she muttered blandly. Her pain was mutual, though. She heard other people murmuring from the pain of the impact.
The noise had ceased, at least. Hazel scratched behind her ears and leaned gingerly against the chair, mildly aware of the bruising that was beginning to form on her back where she slammed against the chair.
Beside her, the elderly woman had dozed off again. Hazel raised her eyebrows at her, then turned away. On the pretense of finding a restroom, she stood and began sliding past people, moving northwards on the train, until she reached a close ambit towards the steward's car on the train. Unfortunately, several other people had followed suit before her, and there was a line five people too long leading towards the restroom.
'Nosy bitches,' Hazel though, then laughed when she realized she was just as nosy as the bitches waiting in line in front of her.
"They called from the Silent Hill and Maheya station. Said there was some huge, deformed dead animal on the track and they couldn't budge it. Said it would do more damage to the train...probably derail it."
"Good thing they called us in time."
"No kidding," Hazel muttered under her breath. It was all she needed to know. She drew a cigarette from her pocket and held it up to her lips, then pocketed it again quickly when a stewardess threw her a sharp glare. "Sorry," she muttered, cocking an eyebrow and looking at the floor.
White noise.
Hazel winced. White noise, piercing her ears and making her brain scream. Where the hell was it coming from? She groaned and stumbled out of the line.
Someone giggled. "I didn't know they served alcohol on the train. The ride must be more fun drunk."
"I'm not drunk," Hazel snapped, massaging her temples angrily. 'Stupid bitch.' She kept the thought to herself as she moved carefully back to her seat, the fuzzy noise still blaring in her ears. Why didn't anyone else hear it?
Voices were rising above the noise. Faint, faint screams. Hazel wondered if it was just the buzzing. "That thing-what the hell, it's coming alive-it just killed that woman-stay in the train, that thing will kill you-it's moving down the track-"
"Some kind of monster-"
Something piercing her mind above the white noise. It was a scream for sure. "It's huge-- we'll never be able to stop that thing-- oh my god it's killing everything it sees-- what the hell is going on-"
Hazel blinked. With a sweeping of wind, the noise was gone, leaving her skull feeling awkwardly empty. She inhaled deeply and, ignoring the stewards and workers around her, drew a cigarette out of her pocket and held it to her lips with trembling fingers. She fumbled with the lighter, dropping it several times before she set the tip of the cigarette to smoldering.
The train jolted, knocking Hazel forward for the second time, and began rumbling forward. The cigarette slipped from her fingers and to the floor. Hazel ground it into the carpet out of sheer frustration and slammed herself back into the chair.
"Ow."
She regretted it instantly as her back set to aching. Like dominoes, her head began to ache just after her back, triggered by the screeching the train gave off as it began to move.
Moving?
'Monster,' Hazel thought. 'Are we heading right towards an inferno? ...No...I was just hearing things.
"Monster!" someone screamed. Hazel's eyes snapped open, but she seemed to be the only person that noticed the outburst. She glanced around as far as she could without craning her neck.
"It's a monster...oh my god, oh my god..."
No. It was the noise in her head again, like a broken radio.
"Knock it off," Hazel muttered.
"Sorry," the sleeping lady next to her murmured. Hazel choked, slightly shocked as the woman spoke, then she realized the woman was speaking in her sleep.
"Not you," she murmured.
"Sorry," the woman muttered in reply, then snorted.
Hazel turned away from her and rubbed her head. It seemed the stronger she tried to will the noise away, the louder it became. 'My head hurts like a motherfucker...I need a cigarette...'
Somebody screamed again. The voice was all too real. Hazel jumped, but so did most of the people around her.
It was real.
This time as the train stopped, there was no screeching. Just a sudden, powerful and painful jolt that sent bodies flying over chairs, crashing into walls, through windows. Hazel's shoulder collided painfully with the ground of the aisle. She gritted her teeth. Whatever gave off the white noise that tormented her so seemed to have moved right into her head, burning and screaming at her ears. She screamed, and she wasn't the only one.
There was another jolt, and Hazel's body left the ground. She was flung up, then crashed into the door at the very end of the car. It shuddered against the onslaught of her body.
The third jolt lifted the very train from its tracks. Hazel felt her feet lift the ground for the third time. Beneath the noise in her ears, glass shattered, and when she was aware of things again, she was face up in a patch of soft grass, her body too pained to move.