Charlie felt her heart beat pick up as her feet hit the bottom of the tunnel. The doubt was killing her little by little. Was it really touching more than one rail? Better not to touch any of them. Better to be safe. Charlie watched her feet and took careful steps. She heard the running of the trains from different platforms and increasingly felt that there must be one coming down this track. She could picture it barring down on her, ready to end her life, but the track remained clear. Still her hear couldn't be convinced. She wanted to run, every instinct told her to flee, but instead she slowed down. She was extra careful stepping over each rail.
There was one rail specifically that seemed frightening. It was about twice the height of the others. She counted to six for each inhale and exhale as she stepped over that one. Finally she had reached the little sidewalk-esque walking path and let out a sigh. Not dead yet. Then she picked up the pace.
Although she had never really been bothered by rats or rodents in particular, the constant squeaks paired with dim, almost non-existent, lighting and the distant sound of trains kept amping up the tension. She wanted to run, to burn off some energy but she knew she couldn't. It was too dark, there were too many unknowns, it was dangerous. What if she tripped? What if she fell across one of the rails? What if she knocked herself out when she fell and got hit by a train. There were too many what ifs. She was panicking and her mind was spinning in anxious knots.
Time was her enemy. It was wearing against her nerves. The work lights way back on the tracks were few and far between and Charlie hadn't brought a flashlight along with her. She strained her eyes and kept one hand against the wall trying not to think of what might be mixed with the condensation. She wondered if she would become one of those neat freaks after this. At the very least she needed a long shower and to shed at least a couple layers of skin before her hand would feel clean again but she was afraid of losing her way in the dark so she kept her hand against the wall.
Eventually she began to notice an intermittent rustling sound along with the noise of squeaks. Rats. In the darkness her mind made them grow to outrageous sizes as if they could swallow her in a single bite. Or sometimes it felt like the numbers had multiplied into a swarm, a flood of small, intelligent, diseased, flesh eating omnivores that could strip her bones in less than a minute. She kept asking herself if she had made the right choice and would find a way out or if she was now lost in the interminable underground of the city. Maybe this whole thing was just fighting against fate. Maybe she should have gone to the police. Maybe she should have just given in and let her parents use her as they wished.
No
No, she would never be anyone's whore.
Finally, there was a light in the darkness. It was faint at first, she thought it was her mind playing tricks on her again. But though dim, the light slowly grew as she approached.
After a time, she found the open door from which the formless illumination was emanating. It seemed odd. Some part of her had expected to arrive at another platform but instead she found herself going through the door and down a much smaller tunnel-like hallway. There was a part of her that laughed and the coincidental light at the end of the tunnel before she mentally scolded herself for her morbid humor. The light was a beacon and like a moth to the flame she was drawn by a force she couldn't control.The light continued to grow and eventually the murmur of voices could be heard.
Charlie wondered if she had stumbled on a worksite down in the underground. But as she finally arrived at the end of the hall, she could only curse her bad luck.
She peeked around the frame of the open door after attempting to listen in on the talk that was going on but there were too many distractions and the words were to soft for her to catch more than one or two at a time. She had no choice but to look.
There was a part of her that argued that she should go back and return to that original track that was supposed to connect to the 5th Ave station, but her time in the underground had worn down her courage and she wanted to feel safe. She needed to feel safe.
So she looked into the room. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the bright lights that flooded the middle of the space. They were work lights and seemed to be hooked up to a generator that was lightly purring in one corner. It wasn't really a room or a tunnel or a hall. It felt somehow like a rotunda or atrium. She wondered if the light was pointing at the ceiling, would she discover some old mosaics or paintings that have be sitting forgotten for decades? Had she some how gone deeper down into the earth to have such an expansive overhead space? Why was this space created? She couldn't be sure, couldn't even hazard a reasonable guess.
Throughout this strangely grand space, there were two groups of men roughly scattered. She did not see any women. One group dressed in pure black suits that did not belong in the underground tunnels, the other group wore work jumpsuits one might expect to find, but they had accessorized them with military-esque weapons.
A man in what must have been a custom charcoal suit seemed to be in charge of the "workers." Though he was wearing a suit like the other group, he somehow fit in this space. Charlie figured no matter what he wore or where he was he would always seem to belong. He had a specific air about him.
The man in the charcoal suit had just opened one of a couple dozen crates and revealed yet more firearms. He pulled one out and handed it to a deceptively cheerful looking man in a black suit. The man inspected the weapon carefully with the flare and confidence of an expert.
Then one of the "workers" appeared in front of Charlie and pushed her back into the hallway away from the opening.
Charlie didn't yell or scream. Internally she was cursing her incredible lack of luck. Seriously, she asked the world, I run away to avoid being sold to an old man only to stumble upon an ilegal weapons deal? She hoped that there was still some way out of the entire messed up situation although the multiple firearms strapped to the body of the man now standing in front of her were not an encouraging sign.
"What did you see?" The man demanded in a hushed whisper.
Charlie decided to play stupid, "What do you mean?" she asked. Her voice was even softer than his had been and she tried to make her eyes large and innocent.
"What. Did. You. See."
"You mean the rats?" Charlie pointed to a pair of the rodents scurrying away from the lighted space where the weapons deal seemed to be going down.
"Rats?" the man asked.
Charlie nodded, "I heard on the news the city was looking to decrease the number of rats in the underground." This was actually true. "I didn't know they were going to use handguns." She deliberately glanced and the holster on the man's hip.
Internally she cringed. No one would be stupid enough to actually think that right? He had to know she was lying through her teeth. It was the first thing that popped into her head.
"Exterminators?" The man laughed, clearly he wasn't a moron, "What are you doing here?"
Charlie considered making up some bullshit but considering the police presence at the long distance train terminal she figured she had or would soon be reported missing on the news so that well meaning citizens would do their best to help the police return her to her potential pimps.
"Running away," she sighed.
He seemed surprised by this, "In the subway tunnels?"
"The police were all over the long distance terminal." Charlie shrugged.
"So instead of going home you, what, climbed onto the tracks?" The man appeared to be disapproving and disbelieving.
"It was the safer option," Charlie said quietly as she looked away.
"You think being here is safe?" The man demanded.
Charlie rolled her eyes in a very unladylike manner, "It wasn't part of the plan alright. Anyway, I didn't expect to run into any.... exterminators down here."
There was a pause before the man asked, "Do you think I am that stupid?"
"No, I just have really shitty luck." Charlie sighed and folded herself into a sitting position. She tilted her head back against the wall and closed her eyes. She couldn't run, it was too dark for that and anyway she knew just how long the hallway was, he could easily shoot her if he wanted. They wouldn't even have to hide her body. Who would find it down here? She was trapped and she knew it.