Nightmare on the Métro

During the time I lived in Paris, I spent a lot of time on the Métro. Public transportation, you see, is the way to go there. A car is more of a pain than it is useful - the streets are narrow and crowded and there is literally nowhere to park.

One night I was on the Métro heading home with my French roommate, Anne, and my friend Tupou who is from Tonga. It was around 10pm and we were sitting in the "booth" like seats, me facing the two of them. A young man was sitting behind and across the aisle from them - let's call him loner.



A couple of stations after I noticed the loner, two men got on, and they sat with him - one next to him and one in front of him. As the train barrelled down the tunnel, I saw the man next to the loner pull out a hand gun and stick it in his ribs. I whispered to my friends "you guys, that guy's got a gun!" and, simultaneously, all of the passengers sitting behind me hit the floor. Loner jumped up and grabbed the gun which was still being held onto by the other man and they began fighting over it, falling over the seats and into the aisle. Several shots went off as we were ducking and squatting, trying to stay out of the way. A window shattered, apparently shot out and bullets where ricocheting off the interior walls of the train.

As the train came into the next station and they continued to fight not ten feet from us, we dove for the doors. I was frantically jerking at the mechanism that opens the door (they open automatically, but some times stick) prematurely as the train screeched to a halt. As I crouched as low as I could get, a shot rang out and I felt the impact from the bullet on my foot. I jumped and let out a "yip."

The doors slid open and all of the passengers burst out of the car, me being one of the first. I have never seen one of those train cars empty so fast. I looked down at my foot fully expecting to find a smoldering hole there. No hole - it must have hit the floor right next to my foot. I was dumbfounded as I watched the passengers run one way up the stairs and out and the robbers run the other way.



The doors of the train closed and it left the station, the conductor having no clue what had just happened.

My friends and I were ok, and the loner was cursing and spitting on the tracks. One of the robbers had nailed him with mace. We asked if he was ok, and he managed to say that he will be, so we got the hell out of there and took a cab home. Needless to say, the three of us did not sleep for a long time, we had so much adrenalin rushing through us. We were fortunate to be alive and intact. In fact, as far as I know, no one was hurt. Amazing.

Side note - I didn't tell my parents about this until I came home 6 months later. Ignorance is bliss. heh

Next Episode: Hit & Run Psycho