Metro Read Free Page B

listening to the music with her eyes closed. Lost in her own world. I want to shout “No!” Make him stop. Do something to protect her…but I can’t. My throat is locked, I am hardly able to breath; my body is paralyzed.
    My mirrored doppelganger is looking at me again, raising the left eyebrow as he continues to smile. Only now, the smile is so wide, I see his teeth sparkle between his lips. His glance locks on to mine for what feels like an eternity, and I swear I try to shake my head, tell him to leave the girl alone, but I am unable to do anything. A harsh croaking sound deep in my throat is all I manage.
    Inside I scream, yelling from the top of my lounges that he has to stop, I howl warnings to the girl, shouting Run! Run! Run! But on the outside I am silent as the grave, paralyzed by a force unknown to me. I am sidelined…degraded to play the role of a spectator.
    And now he has turned towards the girl. He walks over to sit next to her. Sensing him near, the girl opens her eyes. At first she seems more amazed than scared, but that changes the moment she spots the knife. She stirs, pushing away from him, pressing herself up against the train window.
    I can hear his voice, but not the words. He is talking to her. She nods her head as tears run down her face, turning her cheeks black with mascara.
    I shut my eyes, trying to regain control over my body. I need to do something, I need to stop this. Maybe I can rush out of the train at the next station, raising the alarm. That is the least I can do , I tell myself, and I can do that. I must. I am no hero; I have never been brave or even cunning. I am a cautious man, a nerd of numbers, but I do know how to run. I can at least get help. I have to. I move my legs, getting ready to sprint for the doors as soon as the train arrives at the next station. A mixture of relief and hope fills me at being able to move my legs. I can do this, I am ready. I know what to do.
    Through the front window I spot the lights from the station closing in. I inhale, preparing myself, feeling every muscle in my body as I risk a quick glance at the girl and my doppelganger. Her jacket is open now, and her shirt is pulled up to show her tiny, firm breasts. He pinches the nipples, making her moan with pain.
    As the train slows down and stops at the platform, I am on my feet, ready to sprint for the doors as they open, but they don’t. Instead, the train starts moving again and I collapse to my seat, feeling low, as the girl’s skirt is being pushed up, her panties torn to pieces, the knife pressed hard against her throat. He spits at his other hand, needing the spit to make her wet.
    I look away. In shock. What now? Next station? Or do I jump him, take my chances as he approaches his climax and hit him hard with my suitcase?
    The train halts for no reason at a dark spot of the tracks at the exact second he enters her. His voice is a constant hum as he keeps talking to her, holding her hair, licking her tears as his tongue dances down the side of her face towards her ear.
    “The train is waiting in line at the moment. An alarm has been activated at Norreport station making all trains stop between Christianshavn and Norreport.”
    I realize that I am crying. Big, heavy tears roll down my face. Forceful, but silent sobs form inside my chest, making my body tremble. I finally get it—there is nothing I can do. I am trapped inside this train with my destiny, my mirrored doppelganger. I am lost, stuck here, no longer capable of even turning my eyes away from the rape happening only a few meters away, unable to intervene.
    I am paralyzed for good, frozen in time and place—and so I have been all along. I finally understand. I am controlled by forces so much bigger and stronger than me, and it was never meant for me to get the opportunity to run for the station to raise the alarm. Neither would I have been able to use my cell phone. Not here, not anywhere. I was allowed to believe I could do it only so