So it goes

The book was filled with the names of everyone who was there or at one point in time there. It was worn and the pages crisp and slightly stained from age. The names were written in red pencil by those who were there. Although hundreds or thousands appeared to pass through, the book was far from full. The names filed into two columns. Two columns per page. Twenty names per column. As he flipped through the book, he noticed the crossed out names of those who passed through this very hallway. Prisoners to be executed were to cross their own name out as if to check out. It was a cruel punishment to delete oneself from existence. One down, hundreds to go. The names were ordered in the name they would arrive, which didn't necessarily meant it would be the same leaving.

He was pushed forward and had his knees taken out from under him. His tattered jacket fell around his shoulders from the sharp rip in its back. The hood molded to the back of his head, offering only the smallest sense of security. He gave up trying to maintain his posture and relaxed his spine so his hair touched the floor. Then he touched his face to the concrete. His rested his nose on a crack. It was cold.

Someone in black pushed him forward so he fell sideways and slowly pulled his legs closer to his body. Fluorescent lights turned on. They flickered for an eternity before finally settling in a glowing position. They didn't help his disposition but instead illuminated the slimed green walls that were in desperate need of repair. They weren't forgotten, but were not acknowledged. Those walls were expected to last and so they did. Whoever was with him had evidently left. He thought he heard a subway train go by, screeching along, transitioning flawlessly through the confluence of the metal tracks. It was only the wind by his ears. The milieu was stationary in time and could have existed in any number of decades. The Underground was a museum dedicated to the assumed.

His eyes watered, but he didn't cry. He closed his eyes although it pained him. Suddenly, the real world had become scarier.