I was on the tube, crammed between sweating strangers, when I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. The man on my right felt it too judging by the look of interest on his fat pink face. I caught his eye and the look of lustful expectancy there made me shudder, God I hate the tube. Desperately trying not to excite him further, I slid my hand between us to retrieve the phone. The warmth emanating from his body was horribly intimate against my hand and I tried hard not to think about what I might be touching. I pulled the phone from my pocket and raised it to my face, trying to shield its screen with my hair for privacy. I pressed the retrieve button and the message flashed up,

I CAN SEE YOU.

What the hell? I looked around, twisting my neck around without moving my body. There was no one on the train I knew, not that I could see anyway, and the first threads of fear began to twist around my heart. Don't be stupid, I told myself. It's probably Matt messing around. I'm always saying one day he'll go too far, maybe this time he really has. But Matt was snowed under at work, and when I saw him last night he'd been stressed and snappy. I couldn't really see him playing with me via text when he had so much on his mind. So who was it? Well there was only one way to find out I supposed, but as I went to hit REPLY I found I didn't want to know who it was.

I looked around again. Old fat and pink was sweating more than ever and staring down my top; as I watched his small wet tongue darted out and touched his upper lip. Ugh. I turned away and scanned the carriage; it was packed. Dozens of people stood shoulder to shoulder, swaying slightly as the train moved. I looked for someone with a phone, and there were so many, some texting, some talking, none looking at me though. Maybe it was the guy next to me. I forced myself to look again, but it couldn't be him. His hands were firmly planted on the hand rail and he hadn't moved them, I was sure of it. I would have felt it just as he'd felt me.

I looked at the message again, then hit delete. If it was one of Matt's stupid wind-ups I wasn't falling for it. Nearly time to get off anyway, in fifteen minutes I'd be home and up to my eyeballs in hot bubbly water. The thought of it relaxed me, and when the phone buzzed again I almost screamed, would have dropped the damn thing if it and my hand weren't wedged so tightly to my body.

OHMYGOD, OHMYGOD, OHMYGOD, the thought buzzed around my head like panic on wings. I shut my eyes and forced myself to calm down. I'm being ridiculous, I thought, It's just a joke. It's probably nothing, probably Mum wanting me to call her, or Lisa, or Matt. So why am I so scared? Why have I got cold sweat popping out on my skin, and why is my heart beating so goddamn fast. Get a grip woman!

I opened my eyes.

1 MESSAGE RECEIVED, flashed the phone. I'll wait until I'm off this bloody train, I thought. I'm sure it's nothing.

The train screeched as it pulled in and the sound was somehow ghostly, I shivered. I popped my body free of it's clammy cradle and got off the train.

On the platform I started to walk, pulling my coat tightly around me to cut off the chill. O.K, I thought, let's see what's going on. I pressed RETRIEVE.

STILL WATCHING

Who the hell is this? I looked around and realised I was practically alone on the platform, the only people in sight were a couple of grungy teenagers slumped against the tiles, their eyes red rings and their noses sore. O.k, get back on the train, this is too weird. I turned toward the carriage, then stopped. Hang on a minute, I thought, if he's still watching, and there's no-one out here, then he must be on the train, right? As I stared, the doors hissed shut and the train left.

'Wait!' I felt like screaming, 'Don't leave me alone!'

Shit, shit, you've done it now, I cursed myself. I've always been indecisive, never able to make a quick judgement. Now the choice was gone, I knew I should have got back on the train. O.K, get moving...Oh! The phone buzzed again.

ONE MESSAGE RECEIVED it flashed mockingly. My heart was really hammering now but I had to know. I pressed RECEIVE.

WHAT NEXT? Asked the green-lit screen.

What next? What does that mean? I started walking again, speeding up as I neared the escalators. As I started my ascent to the outside world, the phone buzzed again.

ARE YOU READY? It asked.

I began to run up the escalator, feet clanging, heart bursting. Ready for what? I don't believe this, i thought, as the sweat drenched my body. Got to stay calm, I told myself, but I could feel the fear scratching at my brain, wanting to come in and ruin me.

Finally I reached the top and ran toward the entrance. As I got nearer I felt someone watching me, felt the weight of their gaze on my back. Gasping, I looked over my shoulder, still running. There was nothing, only neon lights and shadows, no rapists, no muggers. Ahead of me the exit loomed and the streetlights beckoned, like gold at the end of the rainbow. Nearly there, come on, not far now, I urged myself onward. Suddenly, the phone buzzed in my hand and I dropped it, clattering to the floor. Aahh, quick, pick it up! I swept my hand down to grab it, but as my fingers closed around it the light changed. A shadow fell over me, and a smell invaded my senses, like rotting meat, like death. As I turned I knew I was dying, I was powerless to stop it, it was destiny.

The man stood, silhouetted in the doorway, the dull gleam of metal in one hand, his eyes like stones.

I crouched, staring up at him, unable to stop the hot stream of urine from leaving my body, or the tears from streaming down my cheeks. The smell was almost unbearable, cold and stifling, like old blood. He stepped closer, bending down as he did so, and his breath caught my cheek, hot and moist. His huge rough hands caught my face and held it up, bathing me in neon as the calloused palms caressed my cheeks and the blade pressed into my skin. How could this be? Why did he want me? My eyes pleaded silently, bulging with terror as he drew me closer. As I reached him I felt the heat of his body, felt his frantic excitement and saw the glint of passion in his eyes.

"You....are ...the...one...."he panted, his lips brushing mine as he spoke. "I knew you would be here, tonight, on that train. I've been waiting for you."

He drew the cold blade down my face, tracing a thin line from my eye to my chin. It glistened and swelled as the blood forced its way through.

'Wait!' I sobbed, 'Please, pleeeeee', my words turned to screams as the knife's long blade pierced my heart, the agony hot and fluid, like molten lava in my chest. His hands grabbed my hair, his thick fingers entwined in the strands, pulling my face toward his. He kissed me.

'Are you ready now? He whispered softly in my ear. Between us the knife turned and turned and suddenly the pain was unbearable. As the world around us began to fade, there was only he and I, and I welcomed the darkness.