A Summer Train Ride (The Silver Ninja™ short story).

There I was again, getting into trouble like I always seem to do. During the summer, I love to go down to Brighton Beach in New York City and do my workouts on the sand. But when you take public transportation to said destination, you never know what sorts of crazies you’ll run into. Like any other day, I ignore the nut jobs that ride on the subway and never make direct eye contact. Let me repeat, never -ever- make direct eye contact with anyone on the train, especially if they’re of the opposite gender. Even if that person looks somewhat normal, you’re going to either:

A.) Get stared right back.

B.) Get cursed out.

or C.) Attract creepers.

Now I don’t want to sound full of myself, trust me, I used to be that girl who called herself ugly, fat, and stupid every day. After years of teaching my brain not to beat up my self-esteem, I can finally say that I’m pretty and have a nice body, (happily married I might add). Hence why I don’t look at anyone while riding the train, if I did, the weirdos would look at me like fresh meat. Not that I would care if I drew attention to myself, I am a super hero after all. But, anyway, let’s ignore I said that, and I’ll tell you what happened while I was riding the Q train going uptown.

So I was standing there, picking out my music selection on my mobile; when a guy, probably about thirty or so, came on the train with his bike. I didn’t stare for long because… -remember what I told you right?- So I paid him no mind and looked out the window instead. This particular subway was an outdoor/indoor train, so before getting to the island, I could actually enjoy some beautiful sunlight. I know, hard to believe.

Anyway, from time to time I would glance at the guy with the bike, and each time I saw him, he looked like he was pumping himself up for something. Naturally, I was curious as to what he was getting ready for, so I scanned my eyes slowly to the left. I saw a girl, maybe a little younger than me, reading a book. And man… she was in full defensive position: crossed arms, crossed legs, snapping bubblegum, and earbuds wedged deep inside her ears. The world was happening around her and she wanted no part of it.

My eyes drifted back to the dude. He raised his head which made the subway lights glint off of his sunglasses and helmet. He mustered up all his courage and put a big smile on his face and said, “What are ya reading?” Pretty bold, but I could see his knees shakin’.

The girl blew out a pink bubble the size of a melon and continued reading her book. I had to chuckle to myself, that girl had her public transportation procedure down pat. Normally, that’s enough to deter anyone who feels compelled with the gift of gab, but not this guy. He started saying, “Excuse me,” and repeated it over and over until he got the girls attention.

She looked up at him through her black bangs and continued to chew her gum. If it were me, maybe, maaaybe I’d entertain him with some short, “uh huh’s” and “wow that’s great.” But this girl was in no mood. Her eyes looked like they were made of ice and I’m not referring to just the eye color. Once he had her attention the guy said, “What are you reading, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“A book.”

She was reading a book called The Silver Ninja- super heroine or menace. Yes, I was quite flattered that it was about me. Though, when I read the title, I blocked out the menace part. Anyway, the girl was as stiff and stone cold as a rock, but bicycle guy just wasn’t getting the hint.

“What’s it about?” he said.

“I’m sorry, I just want to be left alone.”

Bam, shot down. I can’t say I would have closed him out the same way, but I respected her no nonsense attitude. I wish I could say the same for bike dude, because when I glanced over to him, he looked as though his whole world had come crashing down. You would think the girl told him his mother died, he looked so distraught.

I felt bad for the guy, but what can you do? Girls like her and I get approached by random weirdos everyday. It was in her best interest to play it cautious, I would, and so would anyone else, even guys. I stared back into my mobile to pick out another song to listen to; but something in my peripheral vision caught my attention.

Bicycle dude looked at the ground and started rocking his head back and forth. “No no no no no no no no no. I told you,” he said quietly to himself.

His voice started to rise slowly. “I just wanted to talk to the pretty girl, that stupid bitch.”

When I overheard him say those words, the only thing I could think of was, okay buddy, you need to calm down. But he wasn’t calming down, in fact, he was getting more agitated with each passing second.

It wasn’t until he started saying, “I told you mom, they’re all fucking whores,” that the girl took her eyes out of the book and stared at him. Her stoic, cool demeanor, shattered into a broken glass of fear and paranoia.

He doubled over, clutching his stomach and started bobbing up and down like a lunatic.

He screamed, “I just wanted to talk mom, I just wanted to talk! Stop yelling at me, I didn’t mean to hurt her!”

He began to cry and scream like a man child throwing a deranged temper tantrum. At this point, I have to give credit to the girl. She slowly closed her book, grabbed her bag, and walked towards me until she was near the door.

What annoyed me was that no one on the train was speaking up or saying anything. I guess they were afraid of what this guy was going to do, but still…

We hit our first stop and the girl faked exiting the door. The bike dude almost walked out, but when he noticed that the girl didn’t get off, he hustled back into the cab and parked his bike inside. He stood there, staring at her with a crazed look in his eyes. I took one peek at the girl and saw her wipe a tear from her eye. She had her book wrapped so tightly around her chest that she could suffocate it.

He shook his head while tears rolled down his eyes, a cascade of rage. He whispered, “I’m gonna fucking kill you, I’m gonna kill you.”

At this point, we entered the tunnel; so if someone was planning on calling the police, it was too late. I took off my earbuds one by one and wrapped them into my pouch. Then I placed my cell phone into the armband holster wrapped around my bicep.

Remember that rule about not staring at anyone? Yeah… I broke it. I fastened the straps of my fingerless gloves around my wrist and leaned up against the pole behind me. I observed the exit doors and pre-planned a route for a clean exit.

The next stop was coming up, and the girl was trembling at the door. I could tell she was going to make a run for it. The rest of the people on the train looked concerned too, but it still aggravated me that no one was willing to step forward. I mean there’s only one of him and a dozen of us, he could be easily overpowered. Whatever, I have the training, I’ll do it myself. I’m not gonna use the suit though, the situation isn’t extreme enough.

The conductor announced the next stop and within seconds, the train slammed on the brakes and threw everyone forward like it always does. The chime went off and the double doors split open. The girl bolted out of the train and creeper followed right behind her while rolling his bicycle.

The girl was in such a panic, that she accidentally tripped and fell face first on the floor. Bike guy threw his bicycle on the ground and sprinted after the girl. She screamed for help, but everyone ignored her–except for me.

Bike guy raised his hand into the air and clenched his fingers into a fist. Before he could drop the hammer, I grabbed onto his forearm. He looked at me for a split second in complete shock, before I slammed him down on the concrete platform. My leather gloves squeaked as I twisted his arm and rolled him onto his stomach. I dropped my knee onto his back and locked him in place as I sat on him. I may not be tall or heavy, but I had muscle, and he wasn’t getting out of this one.

I turned my head behind me and saw the girl staring at me with her mouth wide open. I asked her, “Are you okay?”

“Oh my God thank you, thank you so much.”

“You should get out of here.”

“Can I at least know your name?”

“Cindy,” I told her.

“Cindy. I won’t forget you, thank you again.”

The girl ran down the stairs and disappeared from my sight. Now all that was left, was bike guy over here who became a blubbering mess. I tapped his shoulder to try to calm him down and asked him one simple question.

“Are you on medication?”

He panted several times before he answered me.

“Yes.”

“Did you take them today?”

“No, I didn’t want to. They make me feel sick.”

“Okay–well… you just lost your mind. So you need to take them right now. Do you have them with you?”

“Yes.”

“Do you want me to let you go?”

“Please.”

“Then you need to take your meds in front of me. If you do that, I promise to let you go and I won’t report this to the police.”

He agreed to my terms. I very carefully let him up off the floor and asked him where his meds were. He pointed to a container attached to his bike. I pulled him over to the bicycle and grabbed the water bottle attached to his bike and the container. He popped his pills and took a big swig of water.

Although the effects weren’t immediate, I could tell that he was much calmer. Maybe I accidentally knocked some sense into him and snapped him out of his craze. Either way, he was relaxed now. He thanked me for not calling the police and apologized profusely for what had happened. I wish the girl was still around so he could apologize to her but you take what you can get.

It was a very tough decision for me to let him go. What was I gonna to do? Throw him in jail for a crime he didn’t commit? In a sick twist of irony, I would probably be the one that gets arrested for taking him down in the first place. Regardless, I was glad that it didn’t escalate into me having to use the suit.

It really is a shame that a young girl can’t go anywhere without the threat of being harassed. I can’t imagine what my life would be like if I lived in another country where women were treated as the instigators. If I were in that position, I’d fight until the day I died.

So that was my summer train ride, never a dull moment in the city. I still stand by my rule though, and it’s something you would do well not to forget: “Never, look, someone, in the eye.”

 

Wilmar Luna

Wilmar Luna

Couldn't be a superhero in real life so he decided to write his own. When he's not creating empowered female characters he can be found watching films, reading books, and playing lots of video games. Buy his books here: https://www.thesilverninja.com/purchase/