Snatchers

With less than one hundred miles to the next stop a conductor slows the train. All the passengers are fast asleep, he makes sure of it. The train is scheduled to stop there and stop it must, but it isn’t required to let anyone off.

There’s no announcement of its arrival or departure, it might wake the passengers, or worse, the Snatchers. They only ever appear at night, once a train pulls in and passengers exit.

The conductor witnessed what they do and now prays to whatever God is listening no one wakes up.

Then he hears someone speak.

“Damn.”