“He’d heard of people who’s been wedged between a subway train and its platform, able to listen and speak, and to whom recue crews and a hastily summoned priest could only explain that the moment they were freed, their demise- delayed- would now be arriving on Track 2, and did they have any message for their loved ones before they were released from both their pinion and existence?”
In: Other
They are referring a situation where a person can be struck by a subway train and be trapped between the train and the platform. The result is as the train pulls in to the station the person gets twisted around and around their own hips like a doll. The result is the person remains alive and conscious and able to talk to their rescuers as if they were just trapped and needed to be freed. Unfortunately, the injury is clearly fatal and they will die almost instantly upon the train being removed and the person untwisting back into two broken halves.
So the narrator is being a bit cute with their wording, but they are basically describing this, how the person can ask for last rights from a priest, write down a message for loved ones and talk to their rescuers. The narrator also makes a joke on how the person’s death is delayed, like a train might be, and their “death is now arriving on track two”.
The final flourish is the person being released from both their pinion (a trapped position, like in wrestling) and their existence (one released they die)
EDIT: For what’s it’s worth I’m not positive if this kind of death is actually possible, or just an urban legend, or even something that entirely originated from this book. I’m familiar with the concept but can’t pretend I know it’s a factual thing.
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