The Train
A damp purple sky died slowly into night. Rain fell over the space port rail junction. The wet rails shone like knives in the white artificial light. The leech-trains rolled in, bleeding passengers onto the platforms, sucking up those who waited. The flies of the city buzzed from their offices to the station and waited for their train home. Only when they got into their homes, and took off their work shoes, did they feel human again. Two men sat on a bench, as the buzzing frenzy thickened about them. The platforms were packed with shoals of sardines dressed in suits. The men sat next to each other, because those were the only seats available, and their train was delayed. The flies got onto their trains. The swarm trickled away, until only a few tired passengers were left. The two men remained beside one another. The platform was empty. Neither one of them felt the need to move to a vacant bench. Their silence had been ac...