forum 4, 3, 2, 1 (CLOSED- stalk if you want to.)

Started July 17, 2020 by @Brooklyn_Is_Here

tune

ATTENTION ALL PASSENGERS, PLEASE REMAIN IN YOUR CARTS

Naomi didn't understand, it was as simple as that. Naomi didn't understand why Ellis decided to date her in the first place and she didn't understand why the train was on lockdown. She watched as security guards and police passed her, eyebrows furrowed in worry. A sense of dread was creeping up on her,but she decided to ignore it out of spite. The feeling in her stomach said other wise. She was a bit anxious that she was going to be late to her class, the dorms were not an option that she could afford and she was already deep in student debt already.
Looking around, she could only spot 3 people with her. One if them seemed really over dressed, the other looked like a cool dude, and the last one looked like a they had a business meeting.

Alex frowned at the announcement, well, not the announcement, the tone in which it was said. It was the voice of someone being forcefully calm, placating. He had never ridden on a train before, but he figured any major mechanical problems would be obvious. Though it was probably just technical difficulties, Alex couldn't shake the feeling that something more was going on. He gently shook his head, he was just being paranoid. No one would know where I am or even care enough to follow me in the first place, he thought to himself. In hindsight, it was pretty careless of him to watch that horror movie last night, given he was already stressed. He watched as more police officers filed through their mostly empty cart. If all went as planned, the train would move again soon and he would be on his way to a future job and a nice apartment to match.

Claude couldn't help but tilt his head in response the announcement. Nothing else had really put him in a low-mildly area of confusion before. Like seriously? What is making a bleeping train stop at a time like this? It could be anything, even the craziest thing you could think. He shook his head trying to avoid all of the possibilities topping on each other. There wasn't any reason for him to be nothing more than just a bit concerned; of course, a depressing phone call from his dad a couple days ago might be a pass.
Seeing the officers pass by sent some shivers down his spine. Claude's eyes gazed up and down at them as the went into the next cart. "Well shit…", he whispered to himself. He sat his sketchbook beside him to get a glimpse over. After a minute, Claude turned back glancing around at the other three people sitting in the same cart as him. Odd how he didn't really notice them per-say till now. Slowly he picked up his sketchbook again still gazing at them before leaning back in his seat.

The cart was far too small to be sharing with three other people. That's what Drew was thinking about during the mess of a ride the train had already proved to be, she was beginning to think her Mother had been right about this whole affair. Public transport was simply frowned upon in their family, and Drew had been sure she could handle it because, well, hadn't see been born into poverty like this?
Still, this hadn't been what she had expected.
The heating systems were damaged to say the least, the food was dreadful, the people rarely intermingled past a greeting nod and of course, there was the whole "remain in your carts" thing. Surely, being surrounded in this nightmare had to be the least of her worries but her mind was ticking away, she didn't know these strangers and something was definitely going on. The silent air around them was buzzing, the rush of silence drowned out her inner voice of reason and panic of all kinds was washing over her.
Drew considered herself good with people but already the vibes she was picking up from the people around her were stressed, closed-off and ultimately dangerous. The only other woman aboard the cart looked just as horrified with her situation as Drew felt and she had to stop herself from interacting, terrified to be the first person to cut the icy quiet. She'd be safest sticking by the street kid to her far right if things came down to it, and really didn't that say enough?
Perhaps she should call for help, get a servant to pick her up and admit her mistake to her Mother.
But looking at the concealed masks of terror around her, she wondered if it was already too late.

Sensing eyes on him, Alex looked up from his novel at the other passengers in the car. He made brief eye contact with one of the young women before she swiftly turned to look out the window. Even with her back turned, he could tell she probably had more spending cash on her than he had had in his entire life. Still feeling the sensation of being watched, Alex took his time and paid his fellow passengers more attention. The only other woman in the car appeared to be more relaxed than the first, her style and age leading him to believe she was a college student. He silently hoped she was working hard, in this day and age, it seemed almost impossible to get a good job without a degree. The last passenger in the cart was a boy about his age. Alex took inventory of the boy's tattoos that were visible and his sketch pad. Must be one of the artsy types, he thought to himself. Though there was only four of them, Alex couldn't help but feel the cart was fuller. He could tell the others felt this way too. By their silence, they all had agreed that something more was going on in the train. The question was what.

"E-excuse me, sir, do you know what's going on?" If no one was going to ask the question, she was. The two young officers looked at each other with worry before addressing her. "We'll just be accompanying you today Miss, that's all." One of them looked at the other with a little hesitation, questioning, before speaking, "I don't know if you know ma'am…..but there's…well there's been some murders happening, so we're just here to keep you safe." He replied.
Instantly, her blood went cold, her mind couldn't even register what he said, Murder?
That feeling in her gut had been right, something bad was happening, being late to class was going to be one of the least of her worries.
"The, the trains not moving sir, I have to get to class, is there anyway to get off?" She requesting, it felt overwhelming, the walls closing in, she wanted to get out, get out, get out.
They shook their heads, "I'm sorry Ma'am there's nothing we can do for now, if you want we can send a message to your school if you'd like?"
Nodding, standing there for what seemed like forever, she took her seat.

Twirling a pencil between his fingers, Claude stared at his design eavesdropping on the conversation between one of the other passengers and the cops. Every few couple of seconds, he would stare at the two officers before back at his work. The way they were stiff as statues sort of alarmed him.
Some murders? Everyone else heard that too, right? The choice of wording made Claude drop his pencil. If it's not just one, is it two, three, hell even four? How could it be that more than one murder happened and no one's pointed it out till now?
If he had to be honest, his heart jumped out of him for a moment. You don't expect anything like killings to happen near you especially on a train. Claude's fingers clenched so hard that they created creases in the paper.
Taking off his cap, he ran his fingers through his hair. "Anything else you two can tell us about these killings?", he sighed.

Drew was used to playing ignorant to her surroundings. She pretended she couldn't hear kids call her racial slurs at her boarding schools and she ignored whispers about her cut in the family will all the time. Hell, she even turned the other way when adoptive parents discussed the benefits of having an African-American child directly in front of her. But overhearing the fact that not one, but two murders had taken place in the train and now the cops were all over it? Yeah, she couldn't exactly ignore that one.
Her fingers were turning white with the clenching pressure as she wrapped her hands under her seat in effort to stop fidgeting. Drew had to make a conscious effort to lean away from the window and heave in long, slow breaths. The room suddenly felt smaller and the safety of the silence had long left the four strangers, each chancing small looks at each other as the police officers voices bounced off the walls around them.
Drew leaned towards the last person who had spoken, eager to hear the reply and gain as much information as she could before things escalated any further.

They shook their heads, "I'm sorry sir, but this is an ongoing investigation, all we can do now is sit and wait." Nothing else was said, a heavy silence filled the air leaving Naomi to her thoughts. Proceeding to plug her headphones in, she began to think.
All she could do is sit here and wait, wait for them to catch this murder, wait for this train to start again, wait for this to be all over, all she could do was wait. She glanced at all the individuals who were in this situation with her, they were all wearing an expression of shock and confusion like her. But surely the officers could keep them safe, right?

Fighting the urge to roll his eyes, he just gave a slow nod in response. Their response didn't settle within Claude at all. It just wasn't sounding right, like do they know anything or not? He wasn't really expecting them to spill anything but just a conformation of having a clue would be comforting. Probably isn't the best idea to question everything now, although no one knows anything about the murders or even the killer. Doesn't necessarily sound reassuring at all.
Everyone else seemed to be really tensed or on edge. It's dreadful giving the fact that they all probably have something to look forward too. The amount of silence in the area told every bit. Sort of felt a bit suffocating if you asked him.
The whole time Claude's mind drifted off, his pencil leaned into the paper before the tip broke off. A few swears left his lips in a mumble. He closed his book gently then placed it on his lap. "Alright so, how are you all doing?"

"Well besides the fact that a murderer is loose on the train, I'm doing ok." Alex responded. Realizing that his words might have been too blunt, he tried a different approach. "Judging by what the cops said, they just want everyone to stay calm. It'll make things easier for them considering they don't seem to know much", he said, feeling strangely calm considering the situation. It's probably because I'm preoccupied with getting my arrangements made in the city and signing the lease on that apartment, he told himself. On the other side of this train ride was his potential future, he'd just have to get through this situation first. Trying to banish the now sinister silence, Alex began again, "Hopefully they'll be on their way soon and we can all get far away from here. I don't know about you guys, but I was looking forward to what's on the other side of this ride."

Drew could feel herself nodding along to what everyone else was saying, especially the street kid, he kind of reminded her of the brother she used to have.
"Wow, too far down the rabbit hole there" Drew muttered to herself, pulling her thoughts back.
She glanced up to see a few raised brows cast her way, realising she had definitely sounded strange and spoken much louder then she had meant to. Drew straightened out her favourite black coat, mostly out of habit and partly to hide a growing blush.
She cleared her throat. "You're right, I'm sure it'll be fine if we just listen to the police officers"
Drew turned to look out of the window again, calming herself by gazing across the whipping countryside.
"In the meantime," She added. "It might be best to distract ourselves with becoming acquainted. My name is Drew Peyton, I'd like to say I'm happy to meet you all, but considering the circumstances, perhaps that would be out of place."

Alex felt a small smile tugging at his lips. Drew seemed like she came from an old money family, but he couldn't place the name. The rich girl also seemed to be a clever socializer, something Alex would have to learn in addition to knowing which families owned what corporations. He was getting ahead of himself. One step at a time, he reminded his own ambition. He took a breath. Though he didn't exactly trust the police, he was glad to know that his words achieved a somewhat calming effect. At least that counted for something.
"I'm Alex Ferguson. "In a different situation, I'm sure it would be a pleasure to meet you all", he said, letting his eyes roam to the other passengers. "I'm being welcomed by a moving truck when we get to the city, how about you guys?"

She could see their mouths moving, but it wasn't like she could hear anything anyway. The music blared in her ears as Naomi watched what was going on, they seemed to be talking to each other, did they know one another? She decided to stay silent and observe what was going on, instead she studied the officers. They seemed to know what was going on, but their faces displayed nervousness, paranoia. So she know that this was something that was to be taken seriously, as if murders weren't serious enough. Taking out one of her earbuds and lowering the music a little, Naomi eavesdropped on their conversation while still keeping an eye on the officers. The rich girl was Drew, the street kid's name was Alex. It wasn't like it was any useful information since she would probably never see them again.
Suddenly some chatter came through the radios, the 2 officers looked at each other before addressing the people on the cart.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, we are leaving for a different location, we will be at the stop, but have a nice ride, yeah?"

Claude snorted before giving a short chuckle. His eyes were at the ground as he smiled. The kid is right, meeting them in another situation would be more pleasant than this. Alex is his name? Well, it seems like he's got spirit which is something they could all use right now. Then there's the girl who introduced herself, Drew, who of course appears to come from wealth but seems very nice too. Last but not least, there is the college girl who's keeping quiet. It was interesting how she just inspecting everything.
He felt bad, everyone looks tense and scared; even the cops. They'll all know something or even can just guess what the elephant in the room is. No one knows anything nor has an idea which opens up to many possibilities including who did it.
Just as his lips parted open to say something else, the officers began to talk again. Claude uncrossed his legs and sat up straight. This isn't it, not one bit. He doesn't want get heated up about this cause it's sort of scary to him at the same time. There's no point yet seriously? "No, there is no way in hell this will be a nice ride; I mean look at everybody.", he sighed,"And why the fuck are we going to a different location? Is Columbo coming on to find and get the killer?"

"I'm with our artistic friend over there" Drew threw in immediately. "I've read and seen enough crime to know that moving the train is the perfect way for the murder to jump and run. Uh, that is, just a concerned citizen's approach."
She added the last part on when the larger of the two police officers frowned angrily at her. If Drew could remember anything from her past it was the brutality directed towards people below the police when you showed any sign of disrespect. It was hard to forget that sort of thing.
Half of Drew wanted to go sit beside Alex, and abandon the quieter woman by her side. Though she was sure the woman was nice and held a level-head (very useful for such a situation), establishing dominance or at the very least joining the strongest team was always the best choice. Alliances, alliances, alliances were what you needed to stay alive.
In wealth or poverty.
She smiled over at the man with the notepad. "And as for Columbo, I think I'd much prefer Hercule Poirot about now."

"Hell, at this rate, I'd take Nancy Drew", Alex said quietly. Though he didn't think the cops heard him, he noticed the scowl on the large officer's face and quickly stopped himself from making another sly remark. For people like him, it was always better safe than sorry. Everyone back home could testify to that, each one of them able to give a story of someone's unfortunate circumstances. He glanced at the college student across from him. Despite everything, she had remained quiet, observing the situation and people. He supposed it was the smart move; he wished he had enough control to stay quiet like that.
No matter. It was obvious that someone had to step up, to play nice to the rather unhelpful cops, and most importantly, get information. Putting on the polite smile of someone trying to sell you something, Alex turned toward the cops.
"Sir, what I think my friends here mean is that if the murderer isn't in custody, wouldn't it be best to isolate the suspects?"
"Listen, sir", said the taller officer, "I can assure you that we have the situation under control. Unless the detectives on the scene find something of particular interest, we're moving this train to the next stop, that way we can have reinforcements if need be. It would be in your best interest if we all just remained calm."
Fighting an eye roll, Alex sighed. As long as that knucklehead of a cop was in their cart, it seemed he wouldn't be getting a lot of information.

While the others were talking and arguing, Naomi was thinking. She hadn't said a word since she asked the officers her question. She suspected that the officers knew details that they didn't which was fine. They probably didn't have any suspects which is why they had officers on the train. Though it would probably prove to be ineffective since the murderer wouldn't do it around the presence of police officers. That was why they had to leave. But why? Unless……unless they were going to let another murder happen.
Lock the carts
No one in or out
Smart.
They would be able to narrow down their suspects with ease. Yet why risk the life of one? Something didn't make sense here, why were they willing to let someone die? No, there had to be something else, something that she wasn't thinking of.
As she was about to open her mouth and ask a question, the officers left and the train had begun to move. Naomi was now alone with the 3 other strangers in her cart. Perhaps she should talk and get to know them a bit more since they were all talking. Drew was the rich girl, Alex was the street kid, and then there was the man with the notepad. Her professor always says to know the people around you.

To press harder on the cops or to not, that is the question for Claude. By the way they both looked at him and the others, it was frivolous. It was annoying how they just stood there too. Seeing how they stood made Claude tighten his jaw a bit. On the other hand, might as well place two officers in each cart till everything gets solved. Finding the person might take a while and that's not what he wants; he just wants to go where he needs to be as soon as possible. And when they get to the "other location", the killer could easily leave or they might've already.
He kept his eyes on the officers hoping they would manage to say something of use. Just one thing. That's all, anything would be nice. Although, his attention went over to Drew who referred to him as artistic and friend. Very nice to know I have friends on a train with a killer. For a second he question whether it'd matter if he dropped his guard down or not around these people. Sure, they all look like nice people who he'd rather talk to not in a fiasco like this; but again, the questions and the endless wild possibilities.
"You can call me Claude if you want.", he interjected with a light smile,"And I'm glad to see we all know some figures who do their job, at least."