Ship of Souls

air. Is she blind? Why else would she wear dark glasses in such a dark place?
    “Trouble? What kind of trouble?” she asks angrily.
    I look at my friends, hoping they’ll have an answer that will make sense to this strange woman. Before any of us can say anything, she starts mumbling to herself again and roots through one of the jam-packed grocery carts.
    “Kids always bring trouble, that’s all they do. Up there they always be messin’ with me when I ain’t done nothin’ to bother them. I mind my own business, I keep to myself.” She stops muttering, pulls a golf club out of her cart, and shouts at us, “I don’t want no trouble! Why you think I moved down here? All I ever wanted was to be left alone…”
    “I’m sorry—we don’t mean to disturb you. But…” I pause and search for words to explain our dilemma. “Something’s after us—something evil. We have to get away!”
    “Ain’t nothin’ down here but rats. And they won’t bother you if you don’t bother them.”
    An eerie, anguished moan drifts down the dark tunnel. The woman freezes and peers into the blackness. She looks alert but unafraid. “Trouble comin’ for sure,” she mutters, taking a few practice swings with her golf club. Then she looks at us hard, her gaze settling on Billy’s pale face. “Where you tryin’ to go?”
    “Into the city—we need to take the train,” I say.
    “I seen fools die tryin’ to surf them trains. You aimin’ to die young?”
    “No, ma’am. We’re trying to stay alive. But—” I glance over my shoulder. “We have to go—now!”
    She stares at us for another long moment, then turns and points to a small square opening above one of the brick ledges. “Pull off that grate. You gonna have to crawl on your belly ’cause it’s tight in there. When you come out the other end, you’ll see the tracks. Stay away from that third rail or you’ll fry—you hear me?”
    “Yes, ma’am. And thank you—thank you!”
    She waves me off and starts pulling the grocery carts around her to form a protective wall. I want to say something more—warn her about what’s coming, but there’s no time. I turn around and see that Keem has already pulled the grate off the wall. He stoops a bit and makes a step for Nyla by locking his fingers together. Nyla accepts the boost without a word of thanks and pulls herself into the square air vent. Keem hoists me up next, then jumps up and pulls himself into the vent without any help.
    I use my knees and forearms to pull myself forward, then stop. “Where’s Billy?”
    “He’s behind me—hurry up, D!” Keem gives my foot a shove and I wriggle faster. When I reach the end, Nyla reaches up her hands to pull me out of the vent. We both pull Keem out, and Billy manages on his own.
    “Watch out for the third rail,” warns Keem, pointing to the hooded rail running along the far side of the tracks. “Try to stay in the middle.”
    We do our best to follow Keem’s instructions, stumbling over trash and splashing through puddles as we move forward. Up ahead we can see white lights shining above the station platform.
    “Wait a minute,” Nyla says, holding up her hand. We all stop and listen as a distant roar rumbles behind us.
    “TRAIN!” shouts Keem, pulling me into a shallow alcove along the tunnel wall. Nyla and Billy do the same, and we all cover our ears as the silver train streaks by.
    “Come on—run!” yells Nyla.
    We step back into the tracks and race after the train, which is slowing down to pick up passengers at the station up ahead. Keem reaches the train first and easily pulls himself up onto the back of the last car. He reaches down and pulls Nyla up beside him, then they both do the same for me.
    I turn and hold out my hand to pull Billy up, but he’s retreating back down the tunnel. “Billy!” I try to jump back down onto the tracks, but Keem and Nyla hold me back. “Billy—don’t go! Don’t give up!”
    The flesh on Billy’s bones disintegrates as he moves farther away from me. “The light…”
    “You can do it, Billy—don’t be afraid!”
    Billy stops retreating but stands in the middle of the tracks shaking his head. “I can’t. I can’t…”
    “Leave him, D.” Keem wraps his strong arm across my chest as the familiar ding-dong signals that the doors of the train are closing. In another couple of seconds, the train will pull out of the station.
    “Billy, please !” I lean forward as far as I can and hold out my