The train came to a halt. I stepped off at the station, the glare of the streetlights shining off my face. My face showed no emotion, yet I was bubbling with excitement. As I exited the station, I broke off on a brisk stride. I looked at the paper in my hand. Boarding at 4044 Elm Street. I memorized the address as I left the station, grinning. I was finally on my own!
On the main road, there were at least 40 different men and women, all with staid expressions and briefcases in hand, moving with purpose. They all moved perfectly, touching each other, but no one bumped shoulders. No one broke their masks, and yet, I did not fit in with the crowd. I was not looked at, but it felt as if they all knew I was there. I broke into a sweat. The smile had long since vanished. No one acknowledged anyone; they just stared ahead, into space. At this point, I was very unsettled. I tried to look ahead and blend in, but it was not working. I looked around me, the crowd seemed to grow. I was scared, so I started running. Here was Elm Street! Just a little bit more and I would be safe.
Heart pounding, I turned, clenching my briefcase. Was it just me, or were there even more people here? The adrenaline raced in me. At this point, I was running, but it felt like the crowd was keeping pace. No one even so much as twitched the corner of their mouths, yet it felt like they saw me. It was a feeling unlike I had ever encountered before. At this point, there were about 100 people on the street, crammed together. I scanned the buildings – 4000, 4022, 4044!! Here I was! I skidded to stop. But the second I stopped, the entirety of all the people on the street stopped. With a slow, fluid motion, everyone on the street turned like gears on a clock to face me. I started trembling. I tried to make myself small, but I was the center of attention. Everything was quiet. And then, they all smiled so wide, you could see blood trickling down their overstretched mouths. The blood collectively pooled down onto the ground. Soon the floor was all blood. I was horrified. I slipped and fell. All I saw was red.
