Monster Of God

"Words... Don't come easy to me... How can I find a way to make you see i love you."

A melancholic song played in a young man's earbuds. He payed no attention to the world as he listened at full volume.

Staring at the train tracks, Thawrne thought to himself.

"Who produced the steel? Who shipped the material? Who assembled the tracks? Who maintains it?"

Thawrne was known to be a quiet person. Seemingly aloof to the world and in his own bubble.

The pitter of rain and the station's alert system breaking the silence of the afternoon.

Thawrne stood directly behind the yellow line stuck in his thoughts not noticing the upcoming train approaching at a dangerous speed.

The train's destination was a stop beyond Thawrne's.

WHOOSH

The bullet train speed through the stop with its whistles snapping Thawrne back into reality.

Thawrne's hair flew to the side. He pulled his face back a bit as the train's speed caused some rain to hit his face.

He stared into the windows passing by and the passenger's blurred faces. He then looked at himself.

"I really need to sleep earlier tonight."

Thwarne thought to himself, his face was distorted by the station's lights as the sun was beginning to be covered with dark clouds.

His still figure moved as if it were a flip book. He turned his head towards the train's destination then back at his reflection.

Thawrne's eyes widened in shock as a black amorphous figure appeared right behind him.

The black figure loomed over him. It seemingly got bigger as if it were to consume him.

It had an unnatural black color. There was nothing darker like it.

He stood in place out of fear and breathed heavily. His rapid heartbeat rang in his ears drowning out the screeching of the train tracks.

Out of the amorphous figure, a dark hand reached out. Its firm reach seemed to claim what once was theirs.

The terror was becoming too much for Thawrne. He clenched his right fist and spread his hand to release the tension.

The dark hand hovered over Thawrne's shoulder. He built up the courage to turn his head as the hand was just about to rest on his shoulder.

WHOOSH

The train fully departed from the stop leaving Thawrne alone. He left out slow deep breaths as he looked behind him.

There was nothing. Only bushes and trees filled his eyesight.

Thawrne readjusted his backpack out of anxiety. He constantly told himself that it must be a hallucination from sleeping late.

The sleepless nights must be finally getting to him. He had been going to sleep at 3 in the morning for months now.

He had been experiencing an unexplainable feeling of restlessness. Like there was something he should be doing.

To cope he often spent his late nights watching informative entertainment videos. That way he can at least reassure himself his not being idle.

WHOOSH

Thawrne's train finally arrived. He stared at the brush for one final glace before boarding.

"Next stop: Sandy Valley. Please have your ticket ready."

A robotic female announcer explained over the speaker.

There were few people seated. A mother with her child, a few teenagers laughing and messing around, and a couple of men in suits.

Thawrne sat by himself closest to the window and watched as the scenery moved slowly and gradually speed up.

He left his right ear unplugged as he waited to show his ticket. In the corner of his eye, he saw the little girl stand on the seat beside her mother.

She cupped her hand over her mother's ear but was loud enough to be heard regardless.

"Does he know Mommy? Time's up. He'll have to wake up soon."

Her pink ball rolled from her seat and bounced away from them eventually rolling to Thawrne's feet.

He ducked down to reach from the ball. The train then took a wide turn, rolling the ball back to the little girl.

"Ticket please."

A gruff voice said. Tilting his head up, Thawrne saw the conductor with his expectant gaze. He had a thick mustache and a dark blue uniform.

Thawrne sat up right and dug in his pocket. It took him a couple of seconds as he had a few receipts and his earbuds case stuffed inside.

"Ah right..."

He then pulled out his crumpled ticket. The conductor was a middle aged man. He grunted as he straighted the ticket.

He held the ticket close to his face to inspect. His eyes moving back and forth until they stopped and looked at him.

"You poor lamb."

"I'm sorry, excuse me?"

Thawrne blinked a few times in confusion.

"Nothing, get home safely Tharwne"

The conductor had already turned around and started walking away to the next cart before Thawrne could even ask what he meant. 

The deep underlying feeling of restlessness came back stronger than ever.

He felt like a child who's looked at with pity because of some tragic family drama.

It took home a few minutes and controlled breathing exercises to calm himself down.

The mother and daughter had already left two stops ago and the men in suits had already gone before he noticed.

"Next stop: Ashen Paths. Please assure you do not forget any items as we are not responsible for lost items."

The robotic voice intercepted, notifying him that his destination was here.

The train stopped and its doors slid open. Thawrne threw his backpack over his shoulder and stepped out.

Just as he stepped a foot over the yellow line. The robotic voice said one last thing.

"Get home safe Thawrne."

Thwarne turned his head back with his eyes widened with shock. The train had already closed its doors and was on its way.

He stood stiff as the black figure was sitting on his seat. The train sped off.

Thawnre was beyond terrified. He could no longer justify that it was all a hallucination to himself.

The only thing he could do was go back to the safety of his apartment. He started walking at a hurried pace.

He took slow heavy breathes through his nose to control his erratic heartbeat. The restless feeling kept intensifying.

He felt like his head was above the ground unprotected with a scythe ready to slice his neck.

He stood at a stoplight waiting for the crosswalk to give him the right of way.

His clothes were beginning to become mildly wet. He hadn't expected a drastic change in weather.

He kept his eyes downcast until he heard the beep notifying him that he can cross.

Looking up, all the pedestrians were staring at him. The stood unflinching and their eyes seemed to burn through him.

All the traffic and the passengers too stared at him. Their soulless eyes had been following Thwarne without him knowing.

Tharwne had had enough. He ran through the crosswalk with all his willpower. He didn't dare to look back.

His apartment was just across the street.

He flied up the stairs and took out his keys. He decided to not take the elevator and risk being in an enclosed space with a stranger.

He made it to the door to his apartment but abruptly stopped. The door felt different.

It didn't feel welcoming. It didn't feel like the apartment that he just started getting used to calling home.

He hesitated to insert the key, his fingers gripped the key tightly.

Water ran down from his face his drenched hair. Normally he'd instantly wipe it but the feeling of wrongness completely occupied his mind.

Tharwne felt a cold breathe on his sweaty neck. He instantly turned around defensively.

There was nothing. Nothing but total darkness. It was as if everything was consumed by pitch black.

Only the door remained in front of him.

A voice called out to him. It was gutteral. An unnatural voice that could move mountains.

"Open it"