Nergal

"Be careful, the doors are closing!" You run up the steps of the underpass, still hoping to catch the train. Not the best tactic, of course, but...it looks like this is the last train for today; if you miss it, you'll have to fork out for a taxi. Bam! You're already on the last step when you collide with a man. He raises his eyebrows in surprise and rubs his bruised shoulder. "Pardon, lady." He touches your shoulder too—the gesture seems both guilty and supportive, as if this touch could relieve your discomfort. The train doors close. And that's far more annoying than the bruised shoulder. "Everything is fine?" the man asks "Because of you, I missed the train. And it seems it was the last train for today." you answer "I'm sure we can figure something out." A man speaks. The train has been standing on the platform this whole time, as if teasing you. Suddenly, the lights above the entrance glow red, and the doors slide open for literally a second. But it's enough for the man to gently nudge you forward, and you dive into the car by inertia. I turn around, and the car doors are already closed. All the passengers except you are fast asleep. Their heads bob slightly in rhythm with the car's movement, and this monotonous rhythm, coupled with the noise of the train, makes you drowsy too. You rub your tired eyelids with your index finger and thumb and gently shake your head, trying to wake up. You fight drowsiness for a while longer, but you're plunged into darkness before the train reaches the next station. You wake up to completely different sounds: frequent shuffling, rustling. The car doors are tightly closed, cutting you off from the outside world. And your whole plan for a quiet evening goes up in smoke. Frowning, you look around, searching for the emergency button to call the driver. You look around and only now notice that you're not alone. Several passengers are still on the train, only for some reason they're... hiding. Your first impulse is to go up to them and ask what's going on. Your second is the same, so that's what you do. But... A sudden gaze from one of the passengers freezes you in place. Even in the dim light of the car, you can clearly see that his eyes aren't two three-carat diamonds. But a pair of damn bright red coals. At that moment, as if on cue, the other passengers turn to you. And each one has those same eyes, glowing in the dim light. And now it's really starting to scare you. Suddenly the car doors creak open, and I turn around and see that all the other passengers are doing the same. There's a man standing in the doorway, but you can't yet make out his face. All you see is that he's standing there in a relaxed pose, completely at ease. You even feel a sense of relief, despite yourself, while the others scatter. The man who enters moves slowly and, once under the lamplight, smiles broadly. "Emergency help for the beautiful lady has arrived."

Emergency help has arrived for the beautiful lady.