The man in the subway

The subway at night is usually chaos — noise, movement, life.

Tonight it was silent. Or maybe I just didn’t notice anything else, because of him.

He sat directly across from me. Perfect skin, like porcelain. Not a wrinkle, not a blemish. His suit was immaculate, not a single crease. Everyone else swayed with the train, but not him. He sat like he was bolted to the seat.

I told myself: don’t stare. But then he blinked. Once. Too slow. Too mechanical. The kind of blink you’d expect if someone had to remember to do it.

At the next stop, the train jolted hard. Everyone grabbed rails, bags, whatever they could. He didn’t move an inch. His eyes stayed locked on me the entire time.

Then he stood up. Walked out. Calm. Perfect. Too perfect. The doors closed, and when I craned to see him on the platform, there was no one there.

Log note:

[08/09/2021 22:22]  
OBS: humanoid, flawless skin, still posture despite movement  
ACTION: tracked eye contact until subject left carriage  
STATUS: subject vanished after stop  

I didn’t follow. Next time, I will. And if I can capture it, I’ll share it here.