Downtown at the new station

Click this link for chapter one of this story.

It was a crisp November day. The winds were not blowing as strongly and the sun was finally peeking through the cloudy skies. The older gentleman looks upon the brightening day from within his well insulated home. Not for the first time he feels perplexed with the view from his window. It’s the station that he sees. In fact, who could see anything else, except the station? It was large, and unsightly, and took up an entire city block.

He closes his curtains and returns his attention to the evening news. How could they have allowed the station to be built there? Almost any other place would be better. There was no doubt it was going to get worse. Now the news has moved into the sports news now. The sound of screeching tires lances through his apartment. Another unsuspecting soul on the streets below. Next to that accursed station.

Sylvan turns up his television to mask the noise from the street below. There were sure to be more than a few issues on the street around the station tonight. Just like every night since it opened. Unfortunately, the main road runs alongside the station. Furthermore, the main entrance is on the street just below Sylvan’s apartment window. The activity on the street below is always loud. Sylvan knows what is ahead, therefore he turns up the volume on his TV.

Downtown

The station on seventeenth street is enormous. Built into the hillside, it covers most of a block. It is a police station. A state of the art, new facility, that serves a large city. Additionally, it is a municipal court building, with a night court. In other words, it stayed busy both night and day.

With this in mind, the compulsion to look each time a new noise blared from the street below was a strong one. Furthermore, after repeatedly looking out his window for the first few weeks, eventually, he learned to keep the shades drawn. It didn’t help with the noise, but it cut down on the distractions.

That wasn’t the worst of it either. Since the opening of the station downtown, the traffic and crowds were insufferable. The once quiet and uninteresting street, was now a chaotic mix of noise and activity, throughout everyday. When Sylvan needed to leave and do his normal daily routine, he always used the rear exit of the building. The eighteenth street side of the building, was the best way to avoid all the cacophony.

The Station

This particular afternoon Sylvan is leaving to run errands on his day off. Ordinarily he finishes errands during the workweek. This allows him more leisure time on his days off. However, work has been busier than normal lately. Therefore he is out to run errands on a chilly afternoon. Almost immediately, after exiting the elevator, he senses things are off.

It’s quiet. In fact, it is so quiet he can hear his own heartbeat. This is more than odd, it’s disconcerting. He walks to the front of the building, to the door leading to 17th Street and the station. Silence. Furthermore, there isn’t a soul visible anywhere, outside the glass of the door. And it is quiet as hell. Now Sylvan feels chills race up his spine. Instinctively he knows something is wrong.

He exits the building onto 17th Street and looks toward the station. There are clothes. Empty clothes everywhere. Cars are empty, and still running, their seats lined with empty clothes. The steps leading up to the doors of the station, are littered with empty clothes. Down the sidewalk, empty clothes lay abandoned, as though they were dropped in place by those wearing them. There is no other sound, or soul, around. Except for Sylvan, and his pounding heart.

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Downtown