The horn blared again, louder this time. Three short, urgent blasts that seemed to shake the air itself. Dust swirled across the platform as the vibration grew stronger. The commuters backed away instinctively, clutching their bags, eyes wide. The station master’s radio crackled. “Northline seven-zero-two, brakes engaged! Repeat, brakes engaged!”
“Keep braking!” the station master yelled into the receiver. “We’ve got an animal on the track, do not pass the signal!” The sound that followed was deafening, the shriek of metal grinding against metal, the roar of displaced air, the deep, relentless thunder of something too heavy to stop quickly.