A Different Kind Of Morning

While sat at his desk, he wondered about the thoughts that can go through a person's mind. About what they're thinking at the time, of the things eating away at them, any worries and grief bugging them, of the thought process of their decision at the time, to even what drives a person to do such thing.

It was suppose to be a normal day for him. Yet, the scenes he saw that morning on his daily rat race to work will be forever etched in his mind.

The office was as normal as it will ever be. A low murmur of conversation, phones ringing with the constant tapping of fingers hitting the keyboard filled the dull space. The screen before him glared bright with spreadsheet staring at back at him, waiting to be filled with numbers and figures. He glanced at it before staring back down at his steaming mug of strong Coffee. Despite trying every single remedy he knew, he sat there feeling god-awfully ill with his head pounding. He regretted drinking that last bottle of Wine the night before.

'At least your still alive and breathing. Some poor son of a bitch had it even worse than you.'

He rubbed his eyes. Looked around more, tapped his desk, checked the time. What felt like 5 minutes was in fact only 2 minutes that passed. He groaned a little. It was going to be a long, painful day.

Just then, someone walked past him from behind.

“Ah, Lee! Thank god someone is here on time.”

Lee snapped out of his daze and looked over. His friend-part-manager stood there with a witty grin holding a stack of paperwork under one arm.

“Oh, er...How's it going Al?”

“A typical bloody Monday, that's what going!” he tutted before swigging from a large Starbucks cup.

“Ahh...Anyway, everyone one else is running late today, no thanks to the London Underground...”

“R..really? I wonder what's wrong this time!” Lee laughed nervously. Though, he would be kidding himself. He knew exactly what was wrong.

“God knows. There's always something wrong. Bloody TFL: They squeeze your balls for ridiculous money and then run a crap service. Where's the fairness in that?” Alan Ranted. “How did you managed to get here on time then?”

Lee paused. “Got a Cab instead,”

“Now that, I admire you for. That is daylight robbery! I would've walked instead,” he quipped.

He then and placed the stack of paperwork on Lee's desk, before patting it a little for emphasise.

“Like I said, at least you're here.” He continued “Here's the figures from our recent sales. You know the rest.”

Lee nodded a little, wincing from the pain from his pickled brain.

Alan then stopped and looked at Lee more closely. He raised an eyebrow.

“You alright mate? Looks like you've seen a ghost,”

Lee shook his head and brushed his brown hair back. He fumbled for some of the paperwork.

“Nah, I just...had abit of a late one last night, that's all” Lee then reached over and grabbed the small jar of White Tiger Balm near his phone and pot of pens

Alan, still looked at Lee with scrutiny. He then smiled before throwing his head back and laughed.

“Let me guess: Was Natasha keeping you up late knocking back a few more?” Alan used his thumb and little finger to gesture drinking out of a bottle.

'Half the truth is better than none of the truth I suppose...'

“Yeah, she did,” Lee groaned as he rubbed the aromatic ointment on his temples in a circular motion.

To his relief, Alan chuckled before patting his shoulder.

“Ah, I knew she was a cracker. Hasn't changed one bit has she?”

Lee nodded.

“I'll let you get on then. If you're going to spray chunks, do it quietly in the bog and not in the waste bin.”

Alan then strolled off, whistling a chirpy song.

Lee watched his old friend walk out of sight. He then relaxed and slumped his head on his desk. He felt too sick to start number crunching. Not from the hangover, he had worked through worst.

What he saw on that platform was why...The ear piercing screech of metal...That horrific sound...

The image and noise grew louder and louder in his head...

 

*

 

 

2 hours earlier...

 

“Christ, I've got to stop doing this to myself.”

Lee clutched his ruined stomach in a crippling heap as he was slouched back on the train seat. He was in a bad state after binging on Red wine all evening with his Fiancé. It felt like his brain was removed during his sleep to be used as a Rugby ball then rubbed with sand, all before being jammed back into his skull. He screwed his eyes shut and concentrated with all his might not to project vomit over the other commuters sat opposite him. And despite drinking over a whole bottle of water and some Lucozade, his mouth was still dry as a bone. Lee cursed himself for allowing his future wife to pour his drinks.

'Damn it, Tash! You're the one that can stay in bed late, not me!'

He opened his eyes before quickly shutting them again, after being blinded by the sunrise over London. Not wanting end up dozing off and probably end up in Hayes, he forced himself to stay awake with all his might, bleary eyed. The only thing that kept him alert was the overpowering fumes of Nail Varnish from a woman opposite him. She delicately painted her nails, humming a soft tune as the fumes continued to knock Lee for six. He checked his Watch. It was 6:21 in the morning, and it was barely halfway through his train journey.

“Hurry up, I need some fresh air!” He groaned pathetically.

The woman opposite him looked up, thinking he was referring to her.

Soon enough, the train slowly pulled into Charing Cross. Huddled up in the crowd, Lee adjusted his Duffel coat and shuffled out of the carriage. The blissful fresh air made him feel less nauseated and cooler. But he knew he still had to tackle one last hurdle, which was venturing down the dark, stuffy tunnels of hell also know as the Underground. Lee tapped himself out of the barriers and allowed himself to have a breather. At first, he considered actually walking to his office, just to clear his head. His body must've of sensed this and rejected the idea of a walk. He hung his head, rubbing the centre of his forehead. He really couldn't be bothered to put up with all of this.

Reluctantly, he decided to go along with his normal route and dragged his hungovered self down the escalators. There was shoving, hustling, curses exchanged, swearing, the same crap he normally encountered on his commute. Only this time, he was in no mood to be polite.

Lee only had a few stops before he had to change lines. He hopped off at the interchange station and plodded his way through the dank,fluorescent lit subways to the next platform. He ignored the same, monotonous grubby tiles and kept going as his gorge continued to rise in his throat, making him retch. Not the best place to lose some of his stomach lining.

On the last stretch, the narrow tunnel was fairly empty. Except he had a problem. One commuter, was walking painfully slow, practically dragging his heels along. Lee tried to go around him, only be blocked by the large suitcase this commuter was carrying. After a couple more unsuccessful tries Lee stopped and screamed inside his head, mentally swearing curses that would make a Sailor blush.

'Come on! I'll grow a bloody Beard by the time I get past you!'

Someone barged their way through. Knocking Lee and the Tortoise in front of him to one side.

“Move! Sodding slow-coaches!”

The perpetrator in a Sky Blue suit cursed as he steamed ahead in a rush. Lee scowled and gave him the finger. The person in front then abruptly stopped in his track, nearly causing Lee to bump into him.

“Sorry, excuse me.”

Lee brushed past him and carried on walking. He glanced over his shoulder to look at the stranger. He couldn't help but notice how tired and grey he looked, especially with his thinning black hair.

He was at the final corner before the platform before hearing a set train doors open. Immediately, he quickly started to make a run for it and tried to reach the train, even though his fragile body screamed no to it. A scramble down a stairs, he bumped into the wall and re-bounded off of it, an open door was in sight...

The doors beeped and shut closed; Missing it by a nose.

Lee growled and threw his arms up in frustration. He knew he should've decided to walk. And after seeing the next one was in 6 minutes, it pissed him off even more.

“Argh, cock nuggets...” he grumbled under his breath. The sound of shuffling leather drew closer behind his back. Lee looked over his shoulder, seeing it was the dawdling man. His eyes fixed to the chewing gum covered concrete floor as he mooched onto the platform. He Lifted his head up and looked at Lee. The long black overcoat, along with dispirited look he wore on his face made the a Pug look like the happiest animal on earth. Lee wondered if he ever cracked a smile in his life. In the end, he simply shook his head at the glum being and moved further along the platform.

A few minutes past, and Lee was getting more and more impatient by the second. Right now he was imagining sitting outside a coffee shop, breathing in all the fresh air he could whilst sipping a fine Espresso. But no,instead of that, he was still bunged in the muggy, hot tunnels of the Central line waiting for the Can to come rumbling in. All thanks to the pace of how someone can walk.

He glanced looks at him every so often. He just stood there, solitary as a lone statue, not taking his eyes off he soot covered rail tracks. And Lee couldn't help notice how close he was to the platform edge. At first, he thought nothing of it. It was a common sight anyway. Though he had a bad feeling about it for some reason. It was that or the combinations of his hangover and the suffocating air from the deep tunnels.

Soon, there was an automated announcement of the next train coming in the next minute. Lee and a few others slowly walked to the edge of the yellow line, standing where he predicts the doors will open. A few more moments, and a soft breeze blew through, indicating that a train was nearby. He looked to his right, seeing the man that held him up.

Only this time, the tip of his shoes were over the edge of the platform.

Lee suddenly clocked something was not right. Nobody ever stands that close. He looked around to see if anyone else has noticed this. No one has even batted an eyelid.

Lee snapped his head back toward him. By now his heart was pumping faster than normal. Why was that man standing so close to the edge?

Lee stepped forward a little closer towards him, moistening his parched lips.

“Er, excuse me?”

The clatter of tube stock grew louder and louder. The stranger looked at Lee with a pair of sad, moist eyes. He had his mind made up...

The face of the train emerged from the mouth of the tunnel at full speed.

“Good day.” he said

Lee could only watch him in alarm as he fell forwards. In front of the oncoming train.

The sound of the impact made everyone on the platform scream in horror.

 

*

 

Lee emerged from the station toilet, pale as chalk after just paying 30p to empty the contents of his stomach. He walked limply, his movement lifeless. He stared down at the shabby laminate floor. The station was on full alert. The emergency alarms wailed like Sirens throughout the area. Crowds of rushing commuters gathered around the Tube entrance that had been closed off. They all demanded for what was the commotion was all about, despite the staff calling for calm. The ignorant souls have not realised what some had witnessed.

Lee pulled out a tissue for his pocket to wipe the corners of his mouth. His hands trembled as he tried to carry out the simple task. The rancid taste of vomit lingered in his mouth. The sight of that man taking his own life was enough for him to finally make him sick. Lee almost forgot about his crippling hangover, and stood there numb; Staring into nothing. He then noticed the gates to the stairs opened a crack, only to allow a handful of Fireman and paramedics through, before shutting them once more. Lee watched them one by one rush down to the scene.

'God help them...They're in for a grim sight they'll never forget.'

Lee slipped his still trembling hand in his pocket again to fumble around for the packet of Polo mints he just purchased, hoping it would mask the smell of sick from his mouth. The sweet quenched his dust bowl mouth, plus replaced the taste of stomach acid with fresh Spearmint. He continued to look around the scenes of discord before him. It amazed how everything can seize to a halt from one incident. While others blindly took no notice of the nature of why and demanded for how to get around as it, those who was unfortunate enough could be spotted in the crowd. They were the silent, scarred ones. Including Lee himself. He recognised some of the shocked faces on that very platform at that very moment. Some of them looked at him, both silently communicating that what they saw, they could never forget. He wondered for a moment. How can he repeat this to anybody? Can he ever re-live the images he saw, even to Natasha? Could he ever forgive himself for being so ignorant to a man was possibly be in time of need.

Lee managed to peel his gaze away, only to look up the source of the Sirens. A grey, rectangular box hung above the shuttered gates, brightly displayed the warning notice: EMERGENCY DO NOT ENTER. As the red beacon next to it flashed on and off in sync with the alarm. He didn't know why. But he stared at that very sign. 'Emergency, Do not enter' the red letters stared back at him. His hearing drowned out the sounds of the station, only to focus on the cry of the alarm.

Emergency.

The siren grew louder; Everything got quieter.

Do not enter.

The beacon still flashed it's red light.

“Do. Not. Enter.” Lee whispered.

“Don't.”

The siren was all he could hear.