Page 18 of Pervade London
This man had been a constant in my thoughts since he’d walked out of my bedroom and I was too caught up in the mystery of him to walk away.
This chase was exhilarating.
A jolt and a shudder signaled the train was changing tracks. It took off down another tunnel. From the worried expressions of the other passengers, I could tell they weren’t expecting this either. This wasn’t the train’s regular route.
Xander stared back at me, raising his phone.
No, I was imagining it. Surely he’d not just changed our direction with his phone.
The train squealed to a stop at a deserted station. Light bulbs flickered like in some old horror movie where you know things were about to go wrong.
The overhead announcement informed passengers that this was not a working platform and it was closed to the public. There had been a “technical glitch” and we were “being re-routed.”
With my jaw taut with tension, I watched Xander tap the screen of his phone. The doors in front of him opened and he took a leap onto the abandoned station’s platform.
With a whoosh the doors before me parted as well.
Glancing back at the other passengers, my heart jack-hammered over what I was being coaxed to do. From halfway down the platform, Xander held my stare as though challenging me to join him.
I didn’t want to see the expressions of anyone witnessing my leap onto the platform with my violin in tow. I ducked, hoping to avoid being seen by the train’s driver, and hid behind a pillar, inhaling a steadying breath.
The train pulled away with a screech and headed off into the tunnel. I was left standing alone, the silence only interrupted by the far-off sounds of trains flying by on distant tracks. The echo of the Underground clanged around me.
Xander was gone.
A shimmering vaulted ceiling stretched overhead. My addled mind knew this station had been built in the early part of the nineteenth century. I noticed old stains on the walls from water damage, but the rusted arches above were still spectacular.
Xander reappeared on the track about twenty feet away and I let out a sigh of relief. I hurried towards him, wondering why the hell he was making this so difficult.
I closed in on him. “Did you change the destination of our train?” Even as I spoke those words, I didn’t really believe them.
He gave me a provocative smile, which looked a lot like ayes.
“Why?”
“Why not?”
“Because those people need to get to their destination.”
“A bit of adventure never hurt anyone.”
“I’m serious.”
“They need to be shaken from their routine. They need to know that one person can make a difference.”
Maybe he was some kind of vigilante?
I raised the violin case.
“You deserve even more than that,” he said.
“Xander, it’s too much!”
He shook his head. “What you did for me—”
“One night on the sofa.”
“Emily, you saw me. The real me.”
