The End of the Line

Ben opened his eyes. His head hurt and his body felt heavy. It was Friday night, and he had been at the pub with his friends. As usual, he’d drunk too much beer and then fallen asleep on the train.

However, this time something felt different.

The carriage was silent. Ben sat up and looked around. Every seat was empty. No people, no voices, no footsteps. Only the sound of the train on the tracks.

Something felt wrong. The train should have stopped already. It should have reached the last station. He pulled out his phone, but the screen was black. It did not work.

The train slowed down. Then it stopped. Ben stood and held the rail. He looked out the window. There was a platform with a few weak lights. The place looked old and strange.

He stepped out. The doors closed behind him. When he turned, the train was gone. It had disappeared into the dark tunnel.

The platform was long and empty. No people, no shops, no signs. Only one big board above him. It had no name, no letters—just a blank board.

“Hello?” Ben called. But nobody answered.

Then he heard it. Step. Step. Step. The sound came from the far end of the platform.

He tried to see what it was, but he was too far away. A shape moved slowly toward him. At first it looked like a man. But as it came closer, Ben realised it was not human. The body was thin. The arms and legs were too long. The head moved from side to side in a strange way.

Ben frowned, too scared to say anything. He stepped back.

The board above him lit up.

LAST STOP, the letters read.

Then the words disappeared. The board was blank again.

The shape came closer. Its hand reached out. The fingers were long and sharp.

Ben opened his mouth to scream—

Suddenly, a hand touched his shoulder.

“Sir, wake up!” a voice said.

Ben’s eyes opened wide. He was on the train again. The lights were bright. A man in uniform stood in front of him. The conductor.

“You slept the whole way,” the man said with a small smile. “We are at the end of the line. Time to get off.”

Ben’s heart beat quickly. He looked around. The carriage was normal again—bags, bottles, papers. No shadow, no strange board, no shape.

He stood up, legs shaking, and walked out into the cool night air. He touched his head.

It was a dream, he told himself. Just a dream.

But when he closed his eyes, he thought he could still hear footsteps following behind him.

📒 Key vocabulary

• carriage – one of many parts of a train in which passengers sit
• tracks – the metal rails that trains run on
• rail – a metal bar you can hold for support
• platform – the flat area beside a train where people get on or off
• weak – not strong; easy to break or hard to see
• tunnel – a long, dark passage under the ground or through a hill
• blank – empty
• frowned (frown, frowned, frowned) – make a serious face by pulling the eyebrows down
• conductor – the person who checks tickets and helps people on a train
• shadow – a dark shape made when light is blocked

🤔 Comprehension quiz

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