#engine trouble thread

“Oh God...” A sickening and clammy sensation rode up her chest, forcing her to hesitate for a moment before deciding to check around more. 

On either side of her were subway seats, standing sideways on the ‘ground’ like the door she was on top of, and the actual floor was right across from her. She caught her distorted reflection in one of the twisted but still shiny pieces of metal and noticed blood trickling down her temple as well. Brief but increasingly sharp memories began to flash through her bleary mind, one after another. A drowzy ride on the subway, being interrupted by a sudden lurching, momentum throwing her into headfirst into a pole, confused but fading sounds of crunching metal and glass...

It all meshed together in her throbbing skull, but she was still able to make sense of it. The clues in front of her were obvious enough by themselves. “...How in the hell did it crash?” She thought to herself as she climbed over subway seats, looking for any injured passengers. “It’s still operated remotely, right? That way it was supposed to prevent this shit from happening.” 

She gingerly placed a hand over the tender spot on her head as she cleared the last of the sideways seats. She didn’t feel any relief knowing that this car was empty; Jade always knew which cars tended to be consistently at low capacity and actively seeked them out when she rode. With that knowledge, Jade could feel her stomach sinking the moment she put her free hand on the flipped door.

After a few good yanks and a handy piece of shrapnel to prop the door open, she took a peek into the next room. “Uh hello?” She called out as she scanned the room from her little safe spot. “Is anybody in he--!!” Jade couldn’t help but gasp in shock at the tall, fallen figure before her.

“O-Oh my God! Mr. Nockhur--” Her cry was cut off by the door breaking through its shrapnel and nearly taking Jade’s arm off. Luckily it only got her fingers, which were already numb anyway. She shouted a few choice curses at the door as she pried it open again and ungracefully dragged herself inside the next car. The flop that she took when she made it inside didn’t seem to phase her; she took no time scrambling to her feet again to hurry and check on her old boss.