When I was a little boy my parents gave me many toys, but my favorite were trains because they can take you to any place in the world.

My parents didn’t have much money but giving me toys on occassion was all that I wanted or rather needed. They said that I could be whatever I wanted- a teacher. An astronaut. A doctor. A painter. An illustrator.

Me? I wanted to become a train conductor. So that’s what I did. They thought it was funny. A little boys dream. But what they didn’t tell me is that out of all those titles, I must first be human.

And a human like me makes mistakes. I’ve hid alcohol in coke cans before. I never drank THAT much I thought to myself.“The tree crashed into me!” I could make that case, but it would be futile with the cops. A little girl behind me sobbed. A woman whispered to her husband, “Is he okay?” To which he replied, “Don’t think so.”

Will we ever be found? I was wondering. My head was pounding now and the woman behind them screamed at me, “Damn it! I knew you were drunk!” She told everyone to get to their feet. Meanwhile, I could barely stand. I started to talk but my words were slower than my mind could process. It felt like I was watching a slow motion picture movie. My speech was slurred. “Whatdya- this is m-your train! Your rules! No- my rules!” I tried telling her.

I’d been doing this job for thirty plus years. And all of a sudden this woman wants to tell me how to do my job? Hell no. The people were the best part about this job, and the views. God, you just couldn’t beat the views. Scenic mountains and rolling hills. God’s creation, you know?

The womans face appeared out of nowhere. It snapped me out of my reverie. Her face inches from mine. Her brows furrowed and face tomato red. “WE- she motioned to everyone in the back are going to go find help. Cell phone reception is poor out here and we need help. Someone’s bleeding in the back and looks like they’ll need stitches on their face, but you got it easy. All you need is water and therapy.”Her voice droned on. She recieved a water bottle from another passenger and tossed it at me. It landed in my lap.

“Trains.” I murmured. It all started with trains. It will all end with trains. My eyes felt heavy. The euphoria, the comfort of the weighted water bottle. Slowly i fell into a deep sleep. Darkness.

——

Do you think he wakes up in the hospital? Do the passengers sue him? What happens next- you decide. p.s. dont drink and drive!!!!