MIDNIGHT TRAIN

It is a monotonous sound, yet still melodious in its own unique way. Metal against metal, grinding, churning and screeching almost all in its own wild rhythm. It is a timeless sound. One that I will never get tired of or rather one that I have become used to after all these years.

It is chilly now and the lonesome chime from the clock tower tells me that the midnight hour is close at hand. I sink my hands into the pockets of my black trench coat, huddling myself, wishing and praying that I could become invisible against the coldness of the fall evening.

I walk down the quiet steps, the murals on the walls that surround me filled with self-deprecating words and insults, hurled at everyone and yet no one in particular. It is a beautiful work of art, if you had the time to study such things. But I was way beyond that. I was used to seeing them after all.

The foul stench from the walkway below me fills my nostrils and I flinch in disgust. It is a rotten, wet and decayed smell. Years of decadence from humans and their wasteful ways have destroyed a place once thought beautiful and fresh to the senses. I kick at a stray flyer, the image of the scantily dressed woman leering at me in jest. Hmph, as if.

It is a lonely walk. I am the only one here…for now. I notice that the old janitor is about to make his way up the stairs and I cannot help but watch his movements in fascination. He must be about a hundred years old by now and yet I can still remember the first day he got this job. Oh, it was a grand thing to witness indeed. I could still see his virility and youth, oozing from his pores like sweat on a hot summer’s day. But now…he has been reduced to a shadow of his former self. Having to watch and clean after wasteful humans has begun to take its toll on his mind and body.

Kami, but it pains me greatly inside.

I bow to him respectfully and he smiles back in recognition.

“Oyasumi, Masahiro-san.” I greet warmly as I step down from the final stair to stand by his side.

“Hai…oyasumi…”

He will begin to talk, to ask his usual questions about my life. But I ignore them all and continue on my journey, unwilling to share such details. In the beginning I would have obliged happily. Hai, I had a lot to offer back then. I could go on for hours, talking about everything and yet nothing at all. He was always good at listening. Good old Masahiro. Too bad he will not live to see another day. His heart is failing and by tomorrow morning, he will be nothing but another statistic.

How pitiful.

I can barely hear him now as I round the corner and make my way down the second flight of stairs. This will lead me to my destination. I have to catch the final train to Kyoto. I have an important date to keep.

It is much quieter here and hello? It seems like I have a companion tonight. He is hidden amongst the shadows, sitting quietly upon a bench with a black hat covering his head and hiding his eyes from my view. But I really do not need to see those familiar depths. I am quite aware of whom they belong to. What really gets me is that he has dared to follow me all this way…again.

“I really wish you would stop doing this.” I mutter coldly, as I lean against a grimy brick pillar. I stare at the steel tracks below me. Roughly, four feet, if my calculations are correct. It’s eerily quiet, except for the slight drip from a leaking pipe and the sounds of another train quickly approaching Platform Twelve above us.

“You are not the only one who is hungry, you know.” Comes the soft reply.

“It is my night. You know that very well. Why do you insist on coming here to disrupt my feeding?”

He smirks. I clench my hands into tight fists; the urge and desire to wipe that smug look off his face almost too much to bear. But yet…this fire he arouses in me, cannot be denied. He is the only one that seems to put a heat through the ice that has filled my heart after all this time. And he damn well knows it too.

“Why don’t we share?” He cajoles quietly, finally raising his head to cock it gently to the side. A flash of lavender peeks through the dark ensemble and bright laughing blue eyes train their depths on me. Almost taunting. Fight me if you dare, they cry.

I growl. I do not wish to begin another one. It would end up with the same result.

He always wins.

“Damn you.” He knows I can do nothing. I am helpless, powerless, a goddamn pawn in this wild game of cat and mouse. “Just don’t get in my way.” Is all I can manage as I tear my gaze from his with more willpower than I had ever thought possible.

Our train is coming now. What am I saying? This is my train. I have always had this train and he being here isn’t going to change a damn thing. I find myself biting my lower lip in agitation. He is going to screw this up for me. He will make me so nervous that I will make a mistake and cause a commotion. One that many of our kind would dread with a passion.

“Please…” Had I really said that aloud? Was I actually pleading with him to be gentle? Anyone who knew him, knew that his methods were far from gentle.

“Aww…poor little baby. Am I really scaring you that much? I thought you would be used to me by now. I am only here to have some fun as well.”

I can barely stop the shiver that runs through my body as his breath caresses my now feverish skin with his husky whisper. I moan and close my eyes, hanging on to the cold pillars before me as the sounds of the engines from the machine become louder.

I can feel his canines scrape against my neck and I arch in mute response, giving him access, allowing him to do whatever he wanted to. I couldn’t even stop him if I tried. The pain is sharp, like a pin pricking through sensitive flesh. I whimper and feel my body throb with need and desire. The dull haze of wild lust fills my being and I press myself into the cold slab, willing the ache to die away.

~ Stop this…oh, please…stop… ~

“Give in to me, Go…” His words are stalled as the dual sounds of the train screeching to a halt and the happy laughter of a group of teenagers come floating down the stairs. He pulls away from me quickly and snarls in disgust as we both watch the gaily-dressed kids laugh and talk rather too loudly amongst themselves. They must have come from the festival that was going on downtown. They look happy and I can feel the sense of familiar emptiness in my heart. I knew that I could never be as happy…ever again.

“Let’s go.” He commands softly. And before I can even think, I am pulled into a cabin and pushed rather unceremoniously into a seat. I rub the area on my arm, where he had pulled me with a glare in his direction, but he never looks at me. Not once. His eyes are trained greedily on the four boys and two girls that had followed us inside.

I am slowly beginning to lose my appetite.

“Not them.” I beg softly, my gaze lowering to the floor as the doors swish closed. They are still loud, talking about all the wonderful things they had seen throughout the day. “Please…not them.” I beg again. But as usual, it all falls on deaf ears. The stench of death is becoming too overwhelming. I can barely breathe.

Since there is no one else to pick up, the train begins to move, swaying a bit as I almost collide into the steel pole before me. We are underground and so it is not unusual to have moments of seeming blackouts. The bright lights above us flicker on and off ever so often and one of the boys makes a joke about ‘faulty light bulbs,’ sending his companions into gales of laughter.

He is not amused.

I can feel the tension seep off him in waves and I clench my teeth, battling against the responding emotions within me. I cannot allow him to do this tonight. My victims were not this happy. My victims were never full of life and vitality. My victims were hardly this young.

The lights flicker off again and a piercing scream is heard.

Damn! He is fast!

I rise to my feet as I hear the loud cry from her companions. ‘What the fuck are you doing?! Leave her the hell alone!!’

Instincts completely take over. The need to protect your own kind from outsiders regardless of who he or she might be, take precedence and before I can stop myself, my fingers are buried within the neck of the burly teen, tossing him to the side quickly, as they seek for their next victim. I feel something ticklish and I realize that it is another boy punching my back. Too bad. I cannot feel pain any longer…from humans at least. I snarl and lurch for him, pinning him to the floor as I am quick to tear out the flesh from his neck.

It is messy. Too bloody and too messy. We are sure to leave tracks after this and I can already feel the acid that rises to my throat even as I continue to gorge myself on the feast before me. He nudges me gently and I know he is about to make some snide comment, some mocking gesture about my weakness. I push his bloody hands away from my arm and stagger weakly to my feet.

The lights flicker on again and I am faced with the lifeless faces of six young humans at my feet. Faces forever frozen with looks of horror on them. Eyes filled with accusations and dismay, mouths open wide in soundless screams. I raise trembling and bloody hands to my face, my body shaking with the enormity of what I had done. It was never this messy. I never left my victims so…

“You worry too much.” He retorts softly. I can see his reflection in the glass, as he wipes his mouth with the sleeve of his coat. He is practically covered with the damning red liquid, but he doesn’t care. Why should he? “Think of the good things you have done for them. You have saved them from growing up to see a world filled with filth and decay. Forever young is the best way to go, isn’t it…Goku?”

“I…I hate you.” I whisper with pain. “I hate you! Hate you! Hate you!!”

He laughs at me then. Rich, happy laughter that seemed to rip an even greater hole in my already torn heart. I am helpless to stop him from turning me around. Too weak to stop his bloodstained lips from caressing mine in a kiss that was nothing short of sinful before the eyes of our Creator. It is a heady rush… this kiss. The combined taste of the fresh meal and our own lust created a sensation that sent a warmth down my spine. He releases me and smirks softly. “I shall return again, Son Goku. Until then, keep me forever haunting in your dreams.”

I collapse to the floor as he finally lets me go. I hear him smash through the glass panes and jump out. Where he will go, I do not really care. But I know that he will come back for me, eventually.

Trunks was never known to give up his prey that easily.

The train finally comes to a screeching halt. I am finally in Kyoto. But my earlier enthusiasm is gone. A melancholy and dull feeling eats at me and I step out to the cold and empty platform, thankful for the solitude.

The train resumes it’s endless journey into nowhere, it seems, and I watch it disappear into the darkness. By tomorrow morning, the news would spread like wild fire. Six teenagers found dead in a train cabin…how brutal. At least my victims were left decently.

~ Damn you, Trunks. One day I will become stronger than you and reclaim my lost soul again. ~

I stick my hands into the pockets of my coat and begin the long walk to my appointment. Even though I feel no hunger at this point, I still have an obligation to keep, for my next soul to claim would have to be done tonight.

After all, the midnight train only comes by once on every Hallow’s Eve and for over a hundred and twenty-five years come tomorrow…

… I am yet to miss a single ride.

~ * Happy Halloween! *~