Subway Echoes

The Late Train

SUBWAY ECHOES: A One-Act Play Fragment

_Recovered Script Fragment, Unknown Origin._

Setting: A dimly lit, deserted subway platform. Late night. The distant rumble of a train.

Characters:
• ANNA: (30s) Commuter, tired, engrossed in her phone.
• THE FIGURE: (Non-speaking)

(The stage is dark, save for the flickering fluorescent lights above the platform. ANNA sits on a bench, scrolling through her phone. A faint, high-pitched hum begins, almost imperceptible.)

ANNA
(Muttering to herself) _Another delay. Great._

(The hum intensifies slightly, a subtle vibration in the air. ANNA frowns, glances up briefly, then back to her phone. Across the tracks, a FIGURE slowly materializes. It's indistinct, shimmering, like heat haze over asphalt, but roughly humanoid. It doesn't move.)

ANNA
(Looking up, a little more annoyed) Is that… a person? Hello?

(The FIGURE remains motionless. The hum grows, now a distinct buzzing that seems to emanate from everywhere and nowhere. ANNA stands, clutching her bag tighter.)

ANNA
Hey! Are you okay? You need help?

(The subway tunnel groans, a sound far too organic for metal and concrete. The lights on the platform flicker violently. The FIGURE shifts, its form rippling, and it seems to *lean* forward, though no limbs move. The buzzing becomes almost painful.)

ANNA
(Voice trembling) What… what is that sound?

(A train approaches, its lights cutting through the darkness. The FIGURE on the opposite platform, with an unnatural speed, dissolves into the shadows just as the train roars into the station. The buzzing abruptly ceases. ANNA stands frozen, staring at the empty tracks, phone forgotten in her hand.)

(Lights slowly fade to black.)