Journal entry of a Somerville resident, dated Tuesday July 12, 2011
I will never forget what I saw today, try as I might. I was running late for work and jumped on the Red Line at Davis Square to get into Downtown Crossing. But in between Porter and Harvard the train broke down. I figured, great, just my luck. Of course the Red Line’s going to stop and delay in between tunnels. It’s notorious for doing that around Porter Square. At first people were pretty calm. What could you do in that sort of situation? Then it began. It didn’t seem that everyone heard it. In fact, it seemed from the news reports later that behavior on the train was civil, and that people had actually made new friends. But I heard it, and I saw others who apparently heard it…
It started off as a low whisper, and then it sounded like several voices whispering to each other in a chaotic, senseless mess. I looked up to see what was going on, and I could see other people doing the same, trying to figure out what this sound was, just as confused as I was. Then it resolved itself into the same phrase, whispered by these unseen voices at the same time
Ia! Wm’Biy-Taw fhrasth hyiv’ze!
Nonsense syllables. I would have thought that I was losing it, except the other people who were looking around seemed to be just as concerned. All of the others seemed to not notice, or to just be unconcerned. A group of youths moved to one end of the train. The repeated phrase became a little louder, a little more noticeable, but still at a whisper level, and no closer to making any sense. Nor did it seem like anyone was actually saying anything.
Ia! Wm’Biy-Taw fhrasth hyiv’ze!
A pregnant woman seemed to get a bit agitated. The group of youths in the corner seemed pleased with themselves. The people who didn’t seem to notice the chanting before started to fall faint, and slumped over in their seats. I had figured that it was due to the stress of the situation, or the air conditioning being turned off, but it looked like they had been holding themselves as if to keep warm. The chanting became more insistent, and was now at speaking volume. The youths formed into a circle.
Ia! Wm’Biy-Taw fhrasth hyiv’ze!
The remaining awake passengers started to get alarmed at this point. The youths lit some sort of incense, later someone, deluding themselves to the truth, would call it weed, but it was noxious smelling, and it was filling the car. They said in unison, “It is time! Hail Wm’Biy-Taw! Accept this mass sacrifice and arise from your prison!” They now chanted in unison with the disembodied voices.
IA! WM’BIY-TAW FHRASTH HYIV’ZE!
IA! WM’BIY-TAW FHRASTH HYIV’ZE!
IA! WM’BIY-TAW FHRASTH HYIV’ZE!
It was terrifying. People started to panic. Pregnant women screamed, mothers clutched and shielded their children, men seemed to lose their minds and started ramming themselves against the doors and windows. The din became ear-piercingly loud like some obscene rock concert. The disembodied voices were now drowning out the worshippers of this Wm’Biy-Taw.
IA! WM’BIY-TAW FHRASTH HYIV’ZE!
I started to freeze, even though I knew it was stuffy down in the tunnel. My thoughts fogged over. My vision started to fade to grey....
IA! WM’BIY-TAW FHRASTH HYIV’ZE!
I woke up to firefighters evacuating us from the train. A man who had been sitting next to me asked me if I was ok. Dazed, I asked what had happened, and he said that I had fallen asleep, and it was just as well because it had been quite an irritating two and a half hours. I asked what about the chanting, and the kids. He gave me some of his water and told me it was a dream. I walked with my fellow passengers through the tunnels and out to Porter Station.
Yeah, it must have been a dream. But what I want to know is why do the headlines say that 700 people were evacuated from the Red Line and the MBTA can only account for 450? And why can they still not explain what caused the train, and the second train sent to tow it, to break down?
