As the train drew near the station I gathered up my few belongings and stepped into the aisle with the other disembarking passengers. I had no luggage, only my bulky purse, my sweater, and a paperback copy of "The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy". The instructions had said to leave all personal belongings behind. Anxiously I fingered the corner of the placard tucked into the side pouch of my purse, and silently prayed that I would not have to wait there long for my ride to locate me.
As I stepped down onto the platform my heart began to race and I paused for a moment, passengers streaming past me toward the terminal.
"Have a safe trip," said a grandmotherly agent with a smile as she caught my eye.
"Thank you ma'am," I replied. My legs were trembling as I continued toward the terminal. I pushed open the door, holding it for the man behind me with his luggage on wheels.
The sign was a long strip of letters that hung across the ceiling, in the center of the spacious room. "P A D U C A H", it said with arrows designating "all points north and west," to the left and "all points south and east," to the right. I felt invisible as I approached that area, where I had been told to wait. Briefly considering a bathroom detour, I took out my placard and stood directly beneath the letter U. There were passengers reclining in rows of chairs facing me disinterestedly. An elderly man glanced curiously at my placard and then went back to his newspaper. Three children stared at me solemnly while their mother comforted a crying infant. My heart continued to race, and my hands were sweating as I held the sign before me.
I caught a whiff of broasted chicken from the cafeteria and my belly rumbled. The instructions had said not to eat any thing once I got on the train. Which is why I had been drinking so much liquid, and now needed to pee. I shifted my weight and glanced around for the restroom. A ticket agent caught my eye with a smirk and then quickly looked away. I blushed with the embarrassment that the placard I held read "Mistress White Thorn" in bold black block letters. I fixed my gaze on the floor and tried to slow my anxious breath.
All at once I felt a shiver down the back of my spine, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up, and my stomach lurched violently downward. My head swung to the right and I saw them. Shock numbed my body and I froze as reality shifted and expanded in my head. I knew they saw me.
Their procession was entirely incongruous in this setting. Six men dressed in matching black pants and tshirts moved in unison, the chorus of their shiny black shoes tapping a staccato rhythm as they advanced toward me. All of them had the same short dark hair, and wore thick black leather collars with one heavy metal ring at each throat. I barely noticed them.
Leading the procession was absolutely the most remarkable woman I had ever seen. She stood perfectly erect and seemed to glide toward me, oblivious of all else, eyes boring into mine. Those eyes, so sharp and deep, held an unnerving intensity of purpose. She wore a flowing black robe and cloak. The only visible part of the floating black figure was her face, framed by a deep black hood. It was an achingly beautiful, impossibly pale, ageless face. The eyes held centuries of wisdom, and yet she could have been a young girl.
I had not blinked and now she stood before me.
I would not have needed the final admonishment in my instructions- that I was not to speak. My tongue was stuck to the roof of my mouth and my throat was constricted with sudden apprehension. I could not have spoken.
