Box on the Tracks

Jackson George Daniels, or "George" as he preferred to called, waited for the JR Central, the bullet train that would take him to Kyoto. He had time off and the trains of the 24th century were so fast that it'd only take him a couple of minutes to get there. There were other, faster means of transportation, but he wanted to take the scenic route. Well, a route that was as scenic as possible. There were trains that ran slower than this to give tourists the time to see the country roll by, but it was much too expensive for him. So the 12 minute train ride was the best he could do.

As he waited, George noticed something on the tracks. It was a bizarre sort of box, resembling a small house with two windows on the upper section of each side. The side facing the tracks had what appeared to be a door. with a handle and lock. But the oddest part was the word "Police" written in English in a sign above the windows. It was an odd sort of decoration to leave on the tracks. He surveyed the area around him. No, he was the only person here. The station was probably being used to film something. And yet he didn't see any signs indicating as such. And he was sure this was the station where the train would be arriving. There was a yellow line that ran parallel to the tracks. It released a transparent barrier that prevented anyone from crossing before the train had stopped for its passengers. He came as close as he could to it to get a better view.

The intercom suddenly blared out that the train would be arriving in 5 minutes. Surprised, George lost his balance and fell over the yellow line onto the tracks. What the hell? Why hadn't the barrier worked? Its speed meant that even if he spotted it coming through the tunnel, he wouldn't have even a second to still climb out before it crushed him. Panic overtook him. He frantically scanned the tube for the ladder. It was there, just down the track...behind the blue box. No...He had no way out. This was the right station and this box wasn't even supposed to be here. In a few minutes both he and this bizarre object would be crushed. Nothing made sense. Why had the barrier failed? And what the hell was this box anyways. Supposedly it was used by the police but he'd never seen any of these around Tokyo. The door to the box suddenly opened.