What Lurks Underground

A London underground station 

The last train had departed. All the customers had left. The station had completed its timetable. It now was closing time. 

The station master had left the office and locked up. He was glad to have finished another long day at work and that he could go home and get some rest. Having made sure that all staff and travellers had left, he was heading towards the gate ready to lock up. Before he reached it, he noticed a man sleeping on the floor. The man was lying in a sleeping bag. He knew straight away that the man was homeless. He had seen those types of people one time too many times in his station. Though he remained calm about it as he needed to, he was also annoyed by it as he didn't want them stinking the place out as he felt it was bad for the station's reputation. He did not want to risk complaints from passengers and health and safety inspectors. 

He went to the man slowly. “excuse me sir” he called out wanting to keep his distance. 

The man slowly opened his eyes woke up feeling a little dazed . Slowly he looked up and saw the master.  

“I'm sorry sir but were closing now. I'm afraid that you're going to have to vacate the station.” The master told him. 

The homeless man shot up like a bullet upon being told that. “Oh no please don't guv” he protested pulling his arms up. “Don't send me out there on the streets please! It's cold out there and it's full of hooligans! I get all sorts of trouble out there. They pick on me and mock me and throw things at me. I don't feel safe out there. People out there pissed out of their nut and looking to start all sorts of trouble people like me get a load of abuse from them. They get a kick out of picking on people like me! Please let me sleep in here I'm begging you!” 

The station master thought about it for a bit. Thinking was it a risk to let him sleep in here for the night? Then again, he was also weighing up everything the man told him. 

Eventually, taking pity on the man the master replied “Okay. You can stay here. But just for tonight. However, you must be out of here when we open up first thing in the morning.” 

“Oh Thank you, guv. thank you” the man replied. “I will do” showing his gratitude for being allowed to sleep in somewhere warmer and more safe. 

the master then made his way to the gate and upon exiting it he locked it shut. Upon hearing noise of the heavy metal gate shutting, the homeless man went back to sleep. 

The homeless man's name was Bill Wanless. He was in his 50's and had been homeless for 7 years. Before being made homeless, he had been worked in a firm for many years. He had been doing very well for himself and he was respected. He also enjoyed his joib and was respected among his peers. He never really had any problems or issues in his work place. 

 That all changed however one day when some young worker who either was jealous of Bill or due to experience evulated employees and declared Bill surplus and hence bill was laid off from his job. 

With that unfortunate situation, Bill struggled to find another job mainly because of his age and hence lost everything. His job, and his home. He had no family so therefore could not stay with any relatives during that time and hence he had no choice but to end up on the streets. 

It was a devastating experience for him. He struggled to adapt to the change at first and his mental health struggled. Having to sleep on the cold, dangerous streets facing constant threat from nasty people and such it made his life hell. Gradually he learned to adapt to it. 

He had spent the last seven years living in different areas in London. Mainly he spent it in the areas of Piccadilly or Westminster or other touristy parts of London. The reason for that was because it was so crowded it would be his best chance to get as much money as he could to buy food or find places to stay.  

Being in the station it felt like some kind of luxury for Bill. It was quiet enough for him to get some decent rest and he was all alone there with no one to bother him. Plus, his sleeping bag offered him some extra comfort to. He had gotten better sleep then he had in a while. Of course, like most homeless people, he had the option to go to shelters but of course it was well known that those types of places are not ideal places for people sleeping rough. It can as a matter of fact in some ways be more dangerous than on the streets as shelters are full of drug addicts, thieves, criminals etc and there was always the risk of being harmed, getting robbed etc. Bill knew better than that and at times when had enough money he would spend nights sleeping in hotels or bed and breakfasts as they were more luxurious though of course more expensive to stay hence, he rarely got that opportunity. 

 Some time had passed when bill was woken up by a sound. It sounded like a scrapping noise. . It seemed to be coming from the railway tracks. Kind of like a tool hitting it. However Bill knew there was no workers there. He didnt see any earlier. Bill was startled. There couldn't be anyone else there could it?  

He listened carefully. He waited for a bit listening very carefully. He waited a few minutes but then heard nothing else. It was probably just his imagination. So he drifted off back to sleep. 

Only a short time later he was woken again by the sound, and he went to investigate. The corridor was long, and he walked along slowly. The cold air of the tunnels he could feel rushing onto his face. It was and dark and bill was a little nervous when he went along as he could not see well. 

Breathing slowly and taking more little steps Bill tried to remain calm however his heart was beating fast all the way as he could not bare to think what may be on the other side.  

He finally made his way to the tracks. The light was bright and did make his eyes sting a bit. He could hear nothing Bill thought it might have been a fox or something, but could they have gotten in this station? Was it possible? 

Bill scanned the area. He looked all around. Turning his head slowly. He was observing every detail. He stepped onto the edge of the platform, staring into the yawning black mouth of the tunnel. The tracks were empty. No glint of eyes, no shifting shapes. Just dead air. 

Relieved, he spun around to head back to his blanket. A massive, towering silhouette lunged straight at him from the wall. He jumped back, his heart slamming against his ribs, a breathless gasp tearing from his throat. He threw his hands up to shield his face— But the shape stopped. It mirrored his exact posture. 

He blinked, his breathing ragged. It was just his own shadow, stretched and distorted into a monster by a single, flickering emergency light at the far end of the platform. He let out a weak, shaking laugh, cursing himself. 

Relieved bill made his way back along the cold dark corridors of the station eventually reaching to where he was sleeping. Laughing to himself about his jump scare "I'm losing my mind" he said to himself. "It was just my shadow". He looked at the ticking clock. It had been 2 hours since he had been alone in the station. 

Bill knew he needed to get as much sleep as possible back to sleep before reopening and hence lay back then and shut his eyes. 

Not long afterwards yet again he was woken up by another sound. This time it was a very quiet, suspenseful noise it made him bolt up. It startled him. 

“Who's there?!” Bill called out bolting up. There was no reply. It was quiet. Too quiet. He was stumped. Maybe he was imagining it? His mind did often play games. With him due to lack of sleep but this time he wasn't so sure 

“I could have swore I heard something” he muttered to himself. “Like someone whispering.” He looked around observing the whole place. He couldn't see anything. No one. Nothing. He listened as carefully as he could. He could not hear a sound. Not even a pin drop. He waited again for a few minutes to confirm. 

Afterward he once again decided he was imagining it again and lay back down to go sleep. He only had a few hours left to get as much as he could before he would get thrown out onto the cold streets.  

As he was preparing to sleep, he sniffed the air. As he did so smelt something funny. He bolted up again feeling alarmed. He sniffed harder this time to get a better whiff. 

“What's that stench?" He cried to himself? "Smells worse than me!” 

Bill knew he smelt bad. People passing by him often complained that he smelt like a toilet or had been lying in a rubbish bin. But this stench was worse than anything even he had smelt. 

The smell was unbearable. Like rotting meat. Maybe even worse. It would make even the toughest persons eyes water. 

Bill knew with a sudden and with a terrible certainty, he was no longer alone in the station. Slowly, millimetre, by millimetre, he turned his head. 

Nothing could have prepared him for what he saw next. 

Looming in front of him of him appeared a creature perhaps no other person had ever seen before. Being was shocking at first and he was stumped when he saw it. 

The creature had grey skin and was about as big as a human. And the smell coming from it was unbearable. It had razor sharp teeth and large black eyes. It looked like a mix between a giant mutant rat and an alien. It was also making grunting noises which sounded like monsters you see on movies. Not a normal animal voice. It was a terrifying sight to look at.  

Bill was paralyzed with shock. his mind completely blanked as he stared at the nightmare before him. He couldn't scream. He couldn't even draw breath. 

The paralysis lasted only a heartbeat before the creature lunged at bill and let out a roar. As the creature attacked him, Bill let out a blood curdling scream.