On top of his good looks, he was a bass guitarist and loved the artists she did about as much as she did.
What she didn’t know was whether or not he liked her back. He kept sending all these mixed signals, total mind fuck, like put his arms around her to say hello. Who did that to someone they didn't know all that well? Why were boys so infuriatingly ambiguous and why did she get so irritatingly nervous and immature whenever he was around?
Just thinking about it now was kind of embarrassing and the only one she felt she could ever genuinely talk to about it was Lacey, despite her mockery. It trumped talking to her mother who would no doubt go into an awkwardly drawn out lecture about the birds and the bees, a lecture she certainly didn't need at this age.
The last few days had been spent sending childish Snapee photos to one another, it was probably she and her friends’ best way of communicating their feelings towards matters such as these, for sometimes words just weren’t enough to express how you felt.
The train pulled into London Blackfriars, having already passed Tower Hill and Monument. For every few people that got off, a wave of others got on. The crowd and heat were becoming unbearable, how many stops did she have left? She wriggled herself into a position to look up at the tube map. Seven more? It already felt like she had been in here forever, did she really have to endure seven more stops worth of this?
Ria decided to distract herself with other thoughts before her predicament overwhelmed her, but her thoughts kept returning to her phone, which in turn made her think about her father.
When did she start to feel this resentment towards her father she wondered. He had never been all there even during the times he had a job, he was always busy and when he was home, he still looked distant. Maybe the reason Ria wasn’t too bothered initially about him losing his job was because she naively believed it would give him more free time to spend with the three of them as a family. What a disappointment that was. He was probably more distant now than ever before.
Maybe it was the combination of his distant attitude and lack of enthusiasm towards anything in particular that frustrated her, or maybe it was the fact that he simply allowed Daniel to step into their lives without fighting for mum the way he should have and by fighting, she didn't mean physically, they all knew how well that turned out last time.
Even taking that particular altercation into account, it wasn’t so much the fact that he lost that irritated her, what could she really expect her passive, mostly docile father to do against someone who participated in one of the most violent popular pastimes for a hobby, it was the fact that he completely gave up following that. Men were supposed to fight for their woman, even when pummelled to an inch of their lives, they were supposed to attempt any means necessary to win her back, they were supposed to scale cliffs and traverse lava fields in order to win her heart back, but he just gave up and receded into his shell like a scared turtle, basically handing mum over to Daniel and that was the story of his entire existence , half-heartedly attempt to do something and then give up the moment that hill starts to look a little more like a mountain.
Even hearing him talk about mum now is somewhat aggravating. He can barely get his act together, any thoughts of getting them all back together as a family again and winning mum’s heart was delusional at best.
There was also the time he was so distracted with something else, he forgot George in a store. Anything could have happened to her kid brother and his idle-mindedness could have resulted in a sour situation he would forever regret, so it was a good thing they kept it from mum. Could she imagine if they did? She’d probably never see her father again. Why was he such an idiot?
She gazed up again, they were just passing embankment and on their way to Westminster, five stops left to go.
Honestly, most of the time she was with her father, you would think she was the adult, of course today he was trying to prove something, though what that was, was beyond her. It so wasn't his personality to behave like a responsible adult for a change. There was that time he was involved in a minor car crash and he wasn’t even the one responsible, yet still, he was the one apologising to the guy who was. Why couldn't he just be more of a man for a change?
Thinking about it now, it was an accumulation of various factors that created this resentment towards her pathetic father and she didn't believe he would change anytime soon. It was any wonder how he managed to get through the daily grind of life. Mind you, she hadn’t visited her father's flat in well over a year, it probably looked a dump now that mum had stopped cleaning it and thinking about it, the only reason she even used to was probably out of guilt, the guilt of going off with Daniel and leaving him a complete wreck, it was probably the least she could do.
As the train passed St James' s Park, her thoughts trailed on to her mother, brother and Daniel. George was a pest to say the least, he loved rough play and never knew when enough was enough. If he wasn't football it was wrestling, that fake crap with men rolling around in their underwear, who could like that? Still, he was harmless in a manner of speaking and if he had his ways, it was only because he strived to be like his father so much, someone Ria would have preferred he didn’t try to replicate. There wasn’t much else to think about regarding George to be entirely honest, he was her kid brother, a pain but no more than to be expected from any male. She had grown more than accustomed to the headache that males brought with them, but the least she could hope for was that her kid brother grew up to be nothing like his father.
On the thought of men, there was also Daniel, a man that took himself a little too seriously. His drive to be the best at everything was almost nauseating, from the best looking, the best at tennis, the best at golf to the best at mundane things like flipping pancakes, who gets competitive over pancakes for God sake?
He’d wake up early just to perfect his slick hair and gleaming white teeth, it was almost creepy how much he admired himself. There wasn’t anyone he loved more than himself and even her mother spent less time in front of the mirror. But at the very least he was an affluent man, there was no doubt about that. He had earned his keep from the ground up, so it was understandable that he was so obsessed with presentation, but Ria knew that he simply wasn’t compatible with her mother. It wasn’t that he didn’t love her or couldn’t protect and support her, because he was more than capable of all, but he would never replace the love he had for himself with anyone else, his house always had to be immaculate, something that irritated Ria and his mood would fluctuate more than British weather.
If she and her brother even so much as moved a cushion out of place, he’d be on their backs faster than a man on a horse. He was an utter nightmare to live with and even worse to cross. Still, maybe living with him was enough to spur her father into action, maybe it was the wakeup call her father needed, though whether or not her mother felt the same way was another question.
Ria was fairly certain that her mother was madly in love with that man. Her mother often reassured she and her brother that she would always love their father, for feelings were no simple thing to get rid of, but she simply wasn’t in love with him anymore.
Who knew what her mother was thinking half the time, she was such an unpredictable woman, so it was never easy to tell if her intentions were calculated to stir some kind of reaction from her father or otherwise. As the thought of her mother lingered in her mind, she was jolted back to reality by a sudden and shocking screech of the train coming to a stop halfway between Sloane Square and last stop South Kensington.
“What the hell?”
CHAPTER 5 - RIA: 11:45am - Outbreak
By the time the train had completely slowed down to a standstill, everyone on board had already been flung towards the front direction of the train. Naturally, irritation set in as everyone on board composed themselves, some having falling over on to others.
As people began to chatter, most speculating the cause of such a drastic halt, the intercom clicked on.
“Customer informa
tion, sorry about that, the train ahead pulled to a stop just before the platform. I have no information yet, but I'll be sure to provide it as soon as I know. Sorry for the delay that this will cause to your journey and we’ll be on our way as soon as we get the go ahead”. A soft click and the intercom cut.
“Ah, for fuck sake”, a man not too far away from Ria grumbled and followed it up with a tut, a common expression of irritation for Brits.
Ria composed herself and looked around, it was clear that irritation had settled in, people made that obvious with their facial expressions alone. No one wanted to admit it, but as time ticked away and the hot and cramped conditions failed to improve, they were all, including Ria, beginning to understand and relate to that angry man.
Ria sighed, today just wasn't going her way. Ten minutes passed and the intercom clicked on again.
"Erm... sorry about this, folks, hopefully we should be on our way soon. Something is happening at the station ahead, but I have yet to receive any information, until then, we'll be waiting here a little longer for the signal. Once again, sorry for the disruption this will cause to your journey". The intercom clicked off once again.
"See, it's this kind of shit that gets me angry, how the hell could you not know what's happening? Who are the incompetent pillocks in charge? Typical, and this is the public transport we pay increasing fares for every year, everyone, a bunch of chimps running the show and charging us more for less!" The same angry man snapped, but this time there was a crowd of angry commuters less reserved about agreeing with him.
Like a scene straight from a TV show, everyone begun contributing towards his point with other unpleasant experiences they had had using public transport and mentioning how ridiculous this situation was.
A lady turned to Ria and asked if she was okay, Ria smiled and nodded. She wasn't, but the lady didn't need to hear her further complaints about the heat and cramped conditions, there wasn't as though there was anything either of them could do about it.
Another ten minutes passed and anger had set in before any further announcement was made and when it did finally come, it certainly wasn't what anyone wanted to hear.
"Customer information, I err...” There was a drawn-out silence before he continued. “I’m going to begin leading you all off from the back. Please do not panic. I will lead us back to Sloane Square. The current running through the tracks has been switched off, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t still take precautions, it is dark in some spots and the emergency lights haven’t been switched on. I only have one torchlight, so if any of you have flashlights on your phone or at the very least a bright screen, please make use of them when we enter the tunnels. Stay close to everyone else, it’s easy to fall behind. I’ll make my way around to the back and we can make our way from there”. For the third and final time, the intercom clicked off, but this time the passengers on board didn’t know what to make of it.
There was no shortage of concerned chatter, but there was no doubt that things were a great deal more serious than they had all first anticipated, even that angry man had few words to say.
Fortunately, there were at least a few open parts of the tunnel on the journey back that that allowed the outside light to pour in from above, so the journey back to Sloane Square wouldn’t be entirely dark and treacherous.
Ria was beginning to get more frustrated, as if she wasn’t enough already. This was the perfect scenario to chirp or write a status about, but guess what? She didn’t have her battery! She couldn’t call her mum to let her know of the debacle and she couldn’t call Terry to let him know of what was going on either. Even if they walked back to Sloane Square, what was she going to do? Just stand there and wait like an idiot?
It wasn’t long before the crowd of people on the train began making their way towards the back of the train in an orderly fashion, they had nothing yet to panic about after all, even if an aura of concern loomed over them all.
Ria couldn't help but wonder what the cause of the holdup had been, then she began to ponder if it was something she even wanted to know.
Upon reaching the back of the train, she was helped down to the grotty space between the tracks, a surprisingly high drop from carriage to the ground that she would have had a tough time managing.
It felt strange standing on the tracks, she usually associated it with death. Growing up, she had honestly believed that any contact with any track at any time was more than enough to instantly kill her, not much different from how the notion of standing on the road meant instant death, regardless of whether or not there were cars on it. It was her overprotective mother that had instilled that irrational sense of fear she upheld to this day. It was that very same irrational thinking that irked her now.
As others remained behind to help the remaining half off the train, Ria proceeded ahead.
The journey back was treacherous and despite the open areas, it was still very possible to buckle over or twist an ankle, if not between the tracks, then the rough ground besides it. Ria was just glad she wasn't wearing heels like some of the other women, this couldn't have been a pleasant experience for them. She herself had decided to wear her converses over her heeled boots today and even though they were getting scuffed on this gravelled mucky surface, it beat twisting an ankle.
Ria glanced back when she got the chance and saw an entire line of people following behind, further proof that the train was ridiculously crowded.
It was interesting how events like this brought people together, they could grumble about their mutual displeasure to their heart’s content, but completely ignore each other when things progressed normally in their lives, usually absorbed by a book, phone, music, tablet, handheld games device, whatever it took to avoid eye contact with other commuters.
After what felt like an eternity, she reached Sloane Square and was helped up onto the platform by platform attendants. The crowds were still ridiculous and there besides the platform was the very reason why the train they were on couldn’t have just returned the station, another train, completely empty with another not far behind it. It appeared that whatever had occurred at South Kensington had subsequently stalled the entire circle line.
Ria could barely move on the platform as people blocked the way, listening for news, waiting for friends and loved ones and making calls, despite platform attendants’ best efforts to disperse the crowds.
Given that the train at the platform was a district line train, assuming the one behind it was another circle line and that Terry and her kid brother had managed to board it, they ought to be here somewhere, but as crowded as it was and without a phone, there was no telling where they might be.
The intercom clicked on and there came a voice, "Ladies and gentlemen, could you please leave the platform and exit the station via the stairs in a calm orderly fashion, we still have more people trying to get onto the platform and if you block their way, it will only make the process of getting everyone off the trains slower and more difficult. If you could kindly wait for family members and friends outside without blocking the roads, this would be greatly appreciated. To those planning to make their way to South Kensington and other stations beyond, we have been told to inform you that those stations have been cordoned off due to an incident which occurred. We have no further information at present”. The intercom clicked off and the mass of people began making their way up the escalators.
Where the hell were Terry and her kid brother? This was exactly this reason why taking her phone battery was counterproductive.
As Ria silently fumed, the entire crowd of noisy people were silenced by the screams of people emerging from the tunnels that Ria herself had only just a moment ago come from.
Unable to see over the crowds, Ria no other choice but to sit tight and listen.
“Help!” A woman screamed and faced with looming threat, the crowds erupted into a state of panic, the polar opposite of what the person on the intercom instructed.
More people began screaming and it was onl
y but a matter of time before frantic panicked pushing and shoving, pushing and shoving the likes of which she had never experienced before, as desperate people made for the escalators. If Ria wasn’t panicking before, she certainly was now.
Terrified she would be crushed, she focused on keeping her head up so as to not get distracted by her feet, whilst at the same time managing her footing and her footing so as to no topple over. Every step was potentially fatal in this surging crowd of terrified people, so if micromanaging her every action seemed excessive, it was all just as justified.
She pushed forward, trying to make her way towards the escalators, her heart thumping in her chest. She didn't believe she had ever been this frightened, what the hell had spooked everyone like this?
Confused platform attendants tried to calm everyone down, but were shoved out of the way by people who probably didn't even know what was going on themselves.
The next thing Ria heard was enough to make her all the more desperate to get out of this station. A shrill shriek and the loud smash of something behind, sent the crowd into mass hysteria, as though they weren't panicked enough. They went from pushing without any consideration to move or get crushed levels of aggression and Ria was beginning to find it a difficult just being able to breathe.
She could do naught but watch in horror as an old woman before her, was shoved without regard for her wellbeing and despite her desperate terrified pleas for them all to stop.
Cryptophobia (Book 1): Outbreak [Fear The Unknown] Page 4
