Work Text:
Rosemary shook the raindrops off her umbrella and stepped onto the train. She had managed to book the appointment well before the evening rush, which resulted in a fairly unoccupied carriage. She put her bag down on a vacant seat, and began to take the wet coat off her shoulders.
“The rain got you good, huh?” Commented a man sitting across from Rose. She startled slightly at the unexpected voice, but upon a quick glance towards the gentleman she calmed, and politely answered. “Ah… Yes, it would seem so.”
“I’m Dan,” said the man, but made no move to shake her hand.
“Rosemary,” the woman responded. She shook her puffy dress to lay it down properly and sat down in a window side seat.
“Where are you heading?” Asked Dan. “If I may know, that is.”
“Umm…” Hesitated Rose, but answered nonetheless. “Central Warsaw.”
“Oh, well, I’m going to Eastern Warsaw, so only two stops farther,” he said and picked up his paper, which Rose hadn’t noticed before.
Rose picked her bag up from the adjacent seat, through which she started vigorously rummaging. Once she managed to fish out her desired notebook, she addressed the man again. “It seems to rain constantly here.”
“That’s November in Warsaw for you,” he said with a smile, and Rose did the same.
After that short exchange of politeness, both of them sat engulfed in the whirr of the train wheels on tracks, the man reading today’s paper, and Rosemary writing in her notebook.
The man was right of course, November in Warsaw was indeed a rainy time. Rosemary must have come to that same conclusion, as her eyes hung dreamily on the window next to her, admiring the droplets running down the glass. The view on the other side was blurred, due to the speed in which the train kept moving, but Rosemary was more interested in the reflection the glass displayed. She could clearly see Dan reading his daily paper, the two teenage girls sitting on the opposite side of the aisle, idly talking to one another, an older man right in front of them reading a book, and a tall man in a suit, standing behind his seat.
After a short while, the train entered a tunnel, flooding the carriage in complete darkness for a moment. When the train swam out on the other side, Rose saw a change in what she saw on the window. The man that was previously standing in the corner was suddenly looming over Dan.
“It’s been a while, Dan,” said the stranger, but Rosemary didn’t turn to look at the situation. She just kept observing it in the reflection.
Dan didn’t respond. He closed his paper calmly, put it aside onto an empty seat, and looked up at the well dressed man.
“Hoped it would take longer for you to find me,” admitted Dan. He looked saddened, but his face revealed the acceptance over his fate.
At that moment Dan pulled out a knife out of nowhere, and pointed it towards the other man. “I hope you weren’t expecting me to go down without a fight.”
The tall man reacted quickly, dodging the opponent, the attack only barely missing his stomach. He pulled out his own knife and prepared himself to fight. Dan had already stood from his chair, ready to advance again.
Rosemary couldn’t see the details of their fight, her vision limited by the size of the window and obstructed by the ongoing downpour. She, yet again, elected not to act upon the situation, her expression untroubled in any way. In the corner of her eye she could see another tunnel quickly moving towards them.
The men behind her were fighting, the other passengers alarmed by the situation, when Dan managed to knock the stranger’s knife out of his hand. The man looked confused for a moment, but looked like he had another plan in his head.
Rosemary saw his body change. His already disfigured reflection started to fold upon itself, only to unravel again in a different form. She heard the girls scream behind her, and suddenly they were again engulfed in darkness.
She could hear the creature rampaging on the train behind her, wreaking havoc upon the poor passengers. The sounds of their screams just kept quieting, one by one.
When the train was finally back in the cloudy sun, she saw the aftermath. She suddenly felt very sick. The floor was coloured red from all the blood and the bodies of strangers lying lifelessly on it. The creature, now again a man, was standing right on top, his suit still dripping red. That’s when he noticed the one person left on the train. The only witness to what he was, and what he had done. He turned his head.
The eye contact was unbearable for Rose. Insanely intense. She listened to the quiet steps the man was making towards her. He picked up his hand, his expression serious. He grabbed her shoulder and shook it gently.
“Hey, Rose? It’s your stop, isn’t it?”
Rosemary turned quickly and blinked. Dan looked a little worried, sitting across from her, his paper folded in half in his other hand, while the other was still hung in the air, waiting for her reaction.
She looked around, the girls were already moving towards the exit, while the tall man sat in front of the older man, who still was reading that same book. It was indeed the Central Warsaw stop.
“Ah, yes it is, thank you,” answered Rose. She quickly picked up her belongings and followed the girls.
After she left the train station, she moved towards the clinic. She knew that walk all too well, having visited that same place for nearly a decade.
The office was white, as it always has been, only a couple scrapes on the walls showing the bite of time. She greeted the secretary and was told that her doctor was already waiting for her.
“So, miss Rosemary,” started the conversation dr. Cooper. “Just a refill today?”
“Yes sir,” She answered gleefully.
“Alright, as always,” smiled the doctor and started writing the prescription. “And how are you, my dear? I saw your new book in a shop in my neighborhood recently, I’m guessing work is going well,” he added.
“Oh my! That's just delightful! Have you read it? Did you like it?” Said Rose.
“Oh no, no… your writing style is way too creepy for me, I wouldn't be able to fall asleep after reading those books,” he said and handed her the paper.
“That’s a shame.” Said Rosemary, packing the paper into her bag.
“Oh, and before I forget,” remembered dr. Cooper, “some of my other patients with schizophrenia have been telling me that the medication you’re on isn’t working for them, making their symptoms even worse for some. I know you haven’t reported any signs of the illness coming back in the past ten years, but I just have to ask. Have you been experiencing any strange hallucinations recently?”
“Not that I’m aware of, no”