Time to Nigemasu!

I'm not sure how long I have been sitting on this train. There are no clocks to keep track of reality shuffling forward around me. I also couldn't tell if my nerves are speeding things up, slowing them down, or switching between the two as I idly fidget and shift in my seat. I roll my head back and sigh. Maybe I should have brought the whiskey? Had I done the right thing... My thoughts drift back to that question for what had to be the hundredth time. And for some reason I seemed to assume she would either wake up and leave, or stay still. But what if she reads the message I'd left and start exploring the train till we bumped into each other? Do I run? Do I try to explain? It's times like this I kinda wish I'd taken up smoking so I could at least give myself something to do. Because right now I'm alone with my anxious thoughts – and they suck.

I must have been here at least an hour. But it is hard to tell even that. Since I can't see the sun with the mountain blocking my view on one side, and the station on the other. But I'm sure it had been at least an hour – maybe even two. It must have been around mid-day when I had arrived at the camping store. And since I can just make out the first traces of the Summer daylight starting to fade it couldn't I earlier than 5:00pm.

I raise my head up again and return to my new fun game of "hyper fixating" on what little I can see and hear. The ugly, textured pattern on the seat in front of me. The feeling of my feet nervously tapping against the linoleum floor. It seemed more tactile than ever before. Like every nerve in my body is awake and firing. But I have nothing to do with the energy.

'Come on...' I grumble, willing for anything to happen so I could be saved from my boredom.

That is of course when the universe decided to grant my wish and ruin everything.

With my ears in their hyper tense state, I manage to just catch the sound of the station doors opening.

My heart plummets as I whirl around to face the window facing the station. I can't help but assume it has to be the sleeping woman. She either couldn't read, or didn't listen to my warning and I've almost certainly let her walk out to her death... I'm a God damn monster...

However, to my partial relief, I turn out to be horribly, horribly wrong.

'Fuck...' I spit out as I see the lanky figure of Yellow Head making his way onto the platform. He has that whip chain around his waist and this time not one, but a half dozen of those flesh cicadas all bound to a single leash.

I immediately drop down below the window terror crawling into my heart.

It's clear they came here for the train. But why? Yellow Head could speak a little Japanese. Could he have learnt it by going to the "real world". If so, he might be looking for a ride to Tokyo.

But I shake my head. If that was the case surely it would be important for him to catch the train. He would have rushed over here like I did. However, he waited several hours before coming. With how quiet Ombake Machi is, he must have heard the train arrive even if he was as far out as the supermarket.

So if Yellow Head isn't that worried about missing the train, what is he after?

I glance towards where I had left the sleeping girl and an obvious thought springs to mind. But if he wants humans then why did he seem pretty content to let me go yesterday? Maybe he just isn't interested in human men? A voice in the back of my mind says. I can't help shuddering at the implications. But I can't ignore that it makes reasonable sense... After all the only feminine entities I have encountered so far in Wandarando are the sleeping woman and Hello Kitty.

I try to supress ideas like that for now. Regardless as to what he is doing here exactly, it is pretty clear Yellow Head is after the train. and I doubt he'll be happy to find me on board...

I peer back over the side. He seems to be walking down to the back of the train. It has about 4 carriages and I'm in the first. If he enters at the back then I have more than enough time to leave out the station door. But that means abandoning the train... I'm not sure I'm ready to do that. I look all around me for a hiding place. But the best I can see is on the luggage rack overhead, and even that is made of meshed steel so is full of holes. Yellow Head would see me in an instant.

I don't want to abandon the train. But I can't hide on it either. I also doubt I can fight them. If it were Yellow Head on his own I might stand a chance, but his pack of flesh cicadas are hardly going to stand back and watch.

I look on as Yellow Head enters the rear-most train carriage and that's when I have an idea. I don't have to abandon the train to get off it. All I have to do is get off now, wait till Yellow Head moves into the next cartridge and then enter from behind him. So long as I stay below the window I should be able to slip by without issue. Obviously that leaves me open to the train starting to move while I'm on the platform. But so long as I don't go chasing cats I should be able to slip into whatever door is closest if it starts to move.

What about the girl? Says my conscious in the back of my mind causing me to freeze. I bite my lip in thought for a moment. But I quickly realise there are no easy answers for that one. I'll just have to cross that bridge when it comes to it I decide as I keep moving.

I grab my back pack and sling it over my shoulders. Then I take my hatchet in my right hand, and the mallet I found in the camping store in the other. It builds my confidence a little to have the weapons in my hands. But I'm still hoping I don't have to use them.

I press the button on the train door and it slides open – thankfully in near silence so not to alarm Yellow Head or his cicadas. There is a blast of heat that hits me as I step onto the platform. It's amazing how quickly our bodies naturally assume climate controlled environments are normal, and not a result of still very modern technology. Still I can't let a little thing like heat bother me.

I crouch down and start to scamper across the platform – always keeping my ears sharp in case the train, or Yellow Head make any noises I have to react too.

I get to the end of the first carriage without issue. But the reasonable easy so far only fills my heart with dread. I get about half way down the second carriage when my attention is ripped away from what's in front of me and back towards the train carriage by a sound. To bee specific the sound of a woman screaming.

My heart starts to pound like crazy I can't stop myself from looking in through the widow to where the sleeping woman had been earlier.

Unsurprisingly she is awake now. And she is standing bolt upright. Her eyes are fixed with terror towards the back of the train car. It's obvious she has seen through the window in the door that separates the cars to where Yellow Head and his pack of flesh cicadas are approaching.

I catch a decent view of the woman's face for the first time as she stands, mouth agape, screaming. Despite her terrified state, she has a homely beauty that I recognise in an instant... She's the woman from the dream-like experiences I've been having. That has to be the last thing I wanted to see right now.

I want to be heartless. I want to use "it's her or me" logic. Then I can just leave her to the mercy of Yellow Head and his beasts. But now I know I can't. Even if I don't understand why, I can tell I have a history with this woman. A history to strong for my to leave her to her die... Or worse...

'Hey! Hey! Over here!' I call out as I beat against the window. The woman looks towards me and our eyes meet. She pauses for a short moment, her brow furrowed. She's either terrified or confused by me. I was struggling to tell which.

'This way!' I call, pointing towards the closest door that is in the opposite direction to Yellow Head. The sound must be muted by the hard plastic and glass of the window. But I have to hope something is getting through. Otherwise she no doubt thinks I'm some lunatic.

The woman has to understand me. Because she suddenly nods and starts sprinting towards the exit. I am about to follow suit. When I catch a glimpse of something yellow in the corner of my eye.

I look over and see the door between the compartments slowly opening as Yellow Head and his flesh cicadas come pouring through.

'Oh shit...' I breath, then take off running.

As I reach the door the woman has thankfully already got it open. She is unsurprisingly panicked and her dark brown eyes are wide with confusion.

'Come on!' I shout, grabbing her by the hand. 'We have to go!'

'Where?' she asks back in surprisingly good English. She had a hint of an accent that told me English wasn't her native tongue. But it sounds like she must have lived abroad. Still I didn't have time to consider how strange being able to talk normally to someone suddenly feels. We have to move.

I glance around trying to make a plan. We could make for the station. But Yellow Head's pets are fast enough that they would catch us eventually. I need to put distance between us and our pursuer. I cast my gaze down to the end of the platform. There is a bared metal fence that blocks the end of the platform. There is only a narrow gap between the fence and the train I grit my teeth for a moment. This is going to be risky. 'To do something stupid,' I finally answer.

The woman frowns at me and I can tell I'm already losing her trust.

'Listen, this is all going to sound crazy. But your choices right now are come with me, or say with them.' I thrust a pointed finger in the direction of Yellow Head and his mob as they scamper towards us.

'Okay...' she says, the terror not leaving her voice. But nevertheless she let me guide her off the and onto the platform. Meanwhile I had to grit my teeth to hide the anger I had with myself. With its cargo now unloaded I knew what the train is going to do next. But I had to hide my anger for now. Otherwise there is no way the woman will follow me.

'Great job!' I say back, forcing a smile. My old preschool teacher instincts kicking in – reminding me that thanks to working with kids all day I'm actually pretty good at hiding my feelings. All I have to do is keep her focused on the goal by filling her with encouragement. 'Now run!'

I start to sprint towards the front of the train, keeping the woman's hand tight in my grip. I may be squeezing tight enough to hurt her but I really don't have time to think about it right now. Thankfully I think she understands how dire things are because she is keeping her grip tight on my hand as well.

Together we take off down the platform. An alarm starts from the train and I hear a soft whirring sound from behind us. I risk a glance over my shoulder to see Yellow Head has slipped out just as the doors were closing. Most of his cicadas are with him. But one has gotten the back half of its thorax caught in the closing doors. Where a normal train would have automatic safeties that cause the doors to open at any obstruction; it is hardly a surprise that this hell-bound locomotive does not.

I watch the ugly creature as the doors pin it in place. It starts to panic, kicking and squealing with terror. But then the doors just crush harder and hader until they finally crack through the fleshy exoskeleton and rip the flesh cicada in half.

'What was that?' the woman pants beside me, her eyes forward.

'I don't think you wanna know...' I answer back with a shudder. 'Come on! We don't have long before the train moves.'

'Why does that matter? And why are we running this way? The door out is behind us!' she says.

I grimace. I'd been hoping she would just follow my lead. But she's apparently to smart for that. 'Because if we try and out run them they'll catch us.' I say, attempting to pick up the pace. 'We need to get to the end of the platform and squeeze between the fence and the train before it leaves the platform. If we can do that Yellow Head will be stuck here and well have the head start we need to get away!'

'Wait you mean the fence at the end of the platform? Are you crazy? If we get caught between the bars and the train we'll be torn apart!' she spat out.

'I know! That's why we have got to hurry!' I answer.

'Ohmygawd!' she cries out as the train thrums with the first signs of life. I glance over and see that her panicked and confused face is already covered in beads of sweat. I have to get her to the shrine – and fast. I at least had time to gradually realise the madness of Wandarando. This woman has been thrown in the deep end and she can't be holding it together all that well.

We reach the fence and come grinding to a halt. 'Go!' I shout, pushing her towards the narrow gap we had to squeeze through. Our eyes meet and she looks about to argue. But then a ear splitting cry comes from the train and she turns to the gap. She must realise we have no more than a few seconds if we want to end up as anything more than a bloody skid mark on platform.

The woman grabs the fence tightly and squashes her body into the narrow space between the metal bars and the train. She starts yanking herself through. But she's a fairly well built woman and the gap was no more than a foot and a half wide. I cold see the strain on her face. But I didn't have time for her to slow down.

'Hurry!' I shout as I hear the trains wheels starting to move. I whirl around to check out pursuers. My heart starts to pound in my chest when I see they are no more than a hundred metres away. If she isn't through in the next few seconds then Yellow Head will be on me for sure. I may be able to take one or two of his cicadas. But there has to be at least five of them and they are all being backed up by their master. I don't stand a chance.

'I'm through!' I hear the woman shout. In an instant I swing around and throw myself at the opening. The train is already starting to pick up speed at this point. My gut instantly gets caught by the moving train and I feel it yank me across the metal bar of the fence. My rib cage smacks against the steel again and again and I feel the deep internal pain of future bruises. But – thankfully – it isn't hitting so hard to brake bones. As soon as I am clear of the fence I throw myself away from the train just as it starts to hit high speed. The train sounds it's horn sending a thunder-clap like noise across the quiet town. It rips through my eardrums and into my skull. I fall to my knees on the grassy earth – gasping for air and shaking.

'Are we safe now?' I hear the woman ask through the ringing that still echoes in my ears.

I force myself to calm down and attempt answer her. But just as I look up and open my mouth I'm cut off by a vitriolic scream.

"Baka!"

My ears prick up as they catch the sound of jangling metal and I launch myself forward. I spear tackle the woman who cries in panic as we both fall to the to the dirt.

She looks like she's about to slap me when Yellow Head's heavy steel linked chain thunks deep into the ground where she had just been standing.

'shzzzata baka!'

I pull myself off the woman and turn to see Yellow Head pressed against the metal fence as the train rolls onward. His hand outstretched through the bars, and his fingers splayed out like talons.

'To answer your question,' I say as I get to my feet. 'As soon as the train passes he'll be right after us again. So no. We're not safe. Now run!'

We both start to sprint away, making it across the road before Yellow Head can even get off the platform. I consider making a break straight for the shrine. But Yellow Head would no doubt be able to catch up with us that way. After all I have a heavy backpack. And the woman is in business casual attire. Instead I point at the camping store.

'We can hide in here,' I say. The woman seems confused and terrified. But she seems to gets that I am looking out for her. So she nods and follows me inside.