Matching luggage took up both seats. They were a color you don't often see on luggage. And it's not like it was crowded. I would have been momentarily annoyed and never thought about it again except for what happened next. I more than glanced at the luggage. I had looked at them for maybe 3 full steps before I looked up. Immediately behind the seats occupied by the luggage were two riders sharing a bench. They were a couple of blue-hairs who looked like they were headed home after a day out together. They were wearing white patterned shirts and white hats, one with a full brim, the other more like a ball cap. On the other side of the aisle were two more pairs of riders. One was a young hipster couple complete with ten gallon beard and unicorn tattoo, and three benches past them a couple of sports fanatics. The third pair was a man and woman but they looked more like siblings than a couple. And all six of them were staring at me from behind faces that would have looked dead if not for the muted but unmistakable malice.
I almost stopped in my tracks. It felt like longer but really that all happened in a couple of seconds. But in the next couple of seconds I realized they were all still staring at me. It was the look a dangerous animal has when it knows the cage it is in is the only thing keeping your throat inside your neck. But there was no cage here. I sat behind the hipster couple. I should have walked much farther. From where I was the blues were to my left and forward with the luggage in front of them. I should have taken a seat much, much farther down.
In hindsight I sat down just to get those eyes off me. That look is something I still see in the air when it gets pitch black sometimes. The word dead springs to mind...except for that hideous air of brutality. It was the worst on the blues. Everything else about their bags, hats, and print shirts was utterly just as sweet as you'd want. Except for their eyes. After I sat they didn't look back so I figured it was in my head and I was having some kind of anxiety attack from a long day. The Fans were behind me and Hip and his Girl were in front of me so I was rid of the eyes. But it got worse. It got a lot worse.
