Work Text:
Jane shifts in her seat as the train whirls behind her, moving through her consciousness, wading through memories. The Driver sits across from her, hands folded firm in her lap, her gaze fixed towards the train window.
They like to talk during Jane's rides to the surface. The Driver helped her when she was struggling, and Jane is appreciative. Sometimes the Driver will simply sit and absorb her company, drenched in deep thought next to Jane's presence—these are the times that Jane cherishes most. A moment away from the others, with someone who sees her. It's calming.
She's beginning to prefer this over her station, but she cannot reside on the train forever, regardless of how tempted she may be at times. No one besides the Driver can make a home here.
"What is it like," Driver 8 says, snapping her neck towards Jane, "you know, up there?"
Jane smirks. "I thought you didn't want to go to the surface."
"I don't," the Driver replies. "But I'm just curious. I like my job, I feel like I have a purpose… I just wonder sometimes."
With a resigned shrug, Jane leans back where she sits, crossing her arms and relaxing. A puff of air leaves her lips. "It fucking sucks," she says. "It's fucking awful."
The Driver looks away -- in shame? Humiliation? Disappointment? Jane cannot tell. They share a mind, but Jane cannot read her. "Oh," she says, and then, a minute later: "I suppose that's why we all exist."
"Probably, genius," Jane says. It comes out harsh, but they both laugh. A drawn-out, dramatic roar of a sigh comes from Jane's throat. "I mean," she continues between clenched teeth, "it doesn't suck completely. There's some cool stuff, like weed and moonlight and, I don't fucking know… art and shit."
"Eloquent."
"My point is that the surface world… it's complicated. Things are much easier for you down here."
"Maybe," says the Driver. She nods. "But it happened to all of us. It's not as easy as you think."
And Jane's eyes open into the real world, as if being born again, as if being recreated. The surface is complicated, she thinks, and the memory of the Driver's words may haunt her.
It happened to all of them.
