Off The Tracks: A Short Story

Off the Tracks
The train stopped suddenly, and Olivia was sent flying out of her seat. She stumbled towards the front and hit something hard. Next thing she knew, she was laying in the aisle with a headache and a loud ringing in her ears. She glanced at the dark, gray ceiling for a moment, before sitting up and looking around. Olivia could barely see, partially because it was the middle of the night, but also because her glasses had shattered when the train stopped. Everything was incredibly blurry, so she had to feel her way around, and soon she noticed a thick, bitter scent in the air… the smell of smoke.
Olivia heard loud screams that seemed to be coming from a child and she decided to move towards them. They were coming from a little boy,
Olivia learned that the woman’s name was Lauren, and she had been taking her son to see his father for his birthday in Louisiana. Lauren said that she had already tried using her phone to call 911, but there was no service because of their remote location. Olivia wished she had brought her small gray suitcase outside with her since it contained an extra pair of glasses, but the fire had most likely destroyed it by now.
As they stepped outside into the dark, humid air, the little boy, whose name was Noah, began crying hysterically. Lauren was trying her best to calm him down and pulled a bag of peanut butter crackers out of her leather purse. Olivia watched as the boy gobbled them up and was suddenly transformed into a completely different person, smiling and giggling about how funny the crackers were shaped. Lauren and her son began laughing together, and Olivia was happy to see them in such a good mood. However, she was starting to worry because hours had passed since the crash and there was still no sign of
The woman’s expression changed and she said that she was sorry for Olivia’s loss and that she had lost her mother recently as well. The three of them walked around the flaming train and finally got a good look at the freight train that was lying on the ground a few feet away. All Olivia could think of was missing her mother’s funeral. Her own mother’s funeral. She regretted her vacation to Florida now more than ever.
Olivia was still in shock from everything that had happened, wondering why and how only the three of them survived. They had gone around and checked the other bodies to see if they were breathing, but to no avail. Lauren and Olivia agreed that there was no point in moving the bodies outside, given that neither of them liked the idea of dragging dead people outside through the small emergency exit window.
* * *
By now, the train was completely engulfed in flames and after what seemed like hours of just staring at the fiery remains with the now silent boy and his mother, Olivia came to her senses and took a look around. They were surrounded by nothing but grass and a few scattered trees for miles. Olivia had always been an optimistic person, and she wasn’t going to stop now. Although she was somewhat doubtful of things turning around, she knew she couldn’t just give