The woman had been on edge all day following the latest news announcement.
She was tired and very nervous. She’d heard it just before she left the office. The virus had gone global and was officially declared to be a pandemic. She hadn’t wanted to go to work, but had reluctantly decided to go in. There were rumours that the company was considering a complete shutdown. She looked around. The train seemed to be fuller than usual, although there were rules coming in about reducing crowds. The man sitting opposite across the carriage looked as though he was sweating a lot. His face mask wasn’t as good as her own. It looked a bit skimpy. His eyes were closed and his arms were hanging loose at his sides. The more she looked at him, the more uncomfortable she felt. Three more stops and she could get off!
The train slowed as it pulled into the station. The man’s bloodshot eyes popped open in surprise and his face mask dropped.
She screamed, “He’s got it!”
The man sitting next to her, not wearing a mask, but holding a paper handkerchief over his face, jumped up and pressed the emergency stop button. The train squealed to a halt and passengers quickly gathered around the exit doors, waiting to be let off. Meanwhile, the man at the centre of it all had been wrestled to the floor by a burly guy in a Hi Vis jacket. He had the man face down with his hands held behind his back. He was busy strapping his wrists with his belt when all the doors flew open. Within minutes everybody was out, standing around coughing, sneezing and complaining.
The sudden jolt of the train stopping was real this time.
She woke up.