"Haunted... I swear... it was... the railway."
"I... cannot... remember..."
"Whoever... is reading this..."
"I could be..."
...read Johnny, off of a piece of paper.
"What d'ya reckon this could be 'bout?" questioned Johnny, my partner for most of our investigations. He had no idea of what this meant. It seemed to involve something about a railway which was... haunted?
"I have no bloody clue," I replied hastily. At the top of the paper read a year: 1986.
"Nine'y eigh'y six, ey? 'Ow the frickin' 'ell could this've lasted for twen'y som'in years? Must've been very strong paper," said Johnny, surprised.
However, I was not too bothered about the strength of the paper. What I was bothered about was the clues of the paper. It appeared to be from someone who could've... died? Although that would be the biggest possibility, I didn't rule out some other ones too. A railway - an abandoned railway - ran not far off the edge of town, through a vast forest which spanned a great amount of space. It has been out of service since the late 80's/early 90's. I don't have a brilliant memory, so don't always rely on my information. But I suppose the paper could be referring to this railway...
The line of the railway terminated in our village, which I cannot mention for privacy reasons. Although the tracks went on from the terminus, the part then on was infested with tall grass and small trees, making it inaccessible if traveling by train. Most of it was blocked off by a fence, but it was easily avoidable if you walked. According to many people around town, they say that this part was blocked off due to unusual happenings along this section.
As Johnny and I went off around town with the paper, I asked several locals about it, and if they knew anything about it. But each time I asked someone, they seemed to ignore me, shrugging me off as if I was a prankster. No-one which I came across actually answered me, leading to Johnny growing impatient and randomly shouting out, "The heck you guys thinking?" as we approached the library. Despite my growing fatigue and impatience too, I remained calm, hoping to find some kind of person who help us. "Shut up, Johnny," I replied. "Wha's ya problem mate?" he asked, seemingly annoyed. I didn't reply. "Ya gonna speak or what?" He spoke as if he was more superior than me. Again, I didn't reply. I couldn't be arsed to answer a person who kept on nagging me for a while.
"Hey, yanno what mate? I'm off na'. You're too much of a borin' faggot." And he left for home.
But before he escaped my sight, I questioned loudly "Are you still part of my investigation?"
"No, this is boring th' hell outta me… it's creepin me ou' as well."
What a baby. He acted like a three-year-old child. Now that's quite pathetic for an eighteen-year-old "cool" kid, or at least that's what he considered himself. I was going solo now.
I quickly forgot the childish actions of Johnny, and strolled along towards the village's single library. There was not a single person in my sight. As I crept past with my paper, an old man caught my eye after he seemed to wave at me. For some reason, he called me over.
"Please excuse me, but… do you have a piece of paper about the abandoned railway?" he asked.
"Um… yes, I do. How did you notice?" I was quite nervous due to the fact that he was a stranger.
"…Hm… hm… hmmm…"
"Um… heh heh heh… yeah, funny."
"Please see me tonight by the railway bridge…"
"One question… Who the hell are you!?" I looked up, but he walked off without reply. I didn't get any glimpse of his face, but he had a black leather jacket, and some strange looking black jeans. He had wrinkly hands, leading to my theory of him being old. But moving on... with some minor fear, I assumed he was going to kidnap me. But my curiosity overpowered my fear. I decided to go ahead and visit him. From my hospital bed, I now regret this decision with an even larger fear.
So later that night I set off from home, but again with Johnny beside me as he had reversed his decision to quit. Also, my friend Evelyn had decided to join us out of curiosity. We approached the railway bridge, the only one in the area. No streetlamps were located anywhere, so we were slightly paranoid. The railway was covered with grass, leaving the tracks resembling a pathway. They could be accessed through here too: down the embankment by the bridge.
In the distance was a bright figure which looked humanoid, and I flinched. Shaking with slight fear, I took the courage to slide down the embankment and approach it. Evelyn was more courageous than Johnny, so we left him behind. He watched on.
As we approached the figure, he hissed:
"You- your people disposed of me… and my railway."
It was the man from before. I got to stare at… wait… he didn't have a face.
"Oh… my… fucking god…" I nervously spoke.
"Why are you picking on me?"
"I was a man who was gotten rid of right here by some of the villagers. I was a criminal... I haunted this part of the railway since 1986. Since then, they haven't used this part."
It then jumped towards me and Evelyn, and I blacked out.
The next thing I woke up in a hospital bed.
"Oh, you're awake!" said the nurse joyfully.
"What happened?" I asked, injured.
"You were found unconscious on the abandoned railway..." she replied.
I was silent.
"Along with this piece of paper."
"Did you find the attacker?" desperately asking.
"Attacker? You weren't attacked."
"What...?" and I just decided to forget about these events as I curled into a ball and hid under my bed cover...
2 Days Later[]
'BOY FOUND UNCONSCIOUS ON ABANDONED RAILWAY' appeared in the local papers.
The beginning part read:
"An eighteen-year-old man was found unconscious on the village's abandoned railway last week, after being attacked by an unknown source."
"The man, who did not want to be named, was found in the early hours by a dog walker who spotted him from the Forest Bridge, and called police..."
Another part read:
"Investigations have gone under way to search for the attacker, which police have believed has not been identified. However, other sources have mentioned that he had not been attacked by anyone..."
"The man has yet to be interviewed…"
Apparently, that frightening man has not been found. No traces, no evidence, nothing. I'm slightly paranoid now, I feel too scared to go outdoors now.
This incident has really scared me very much. I do hope I'm only dreaming…