That's the stuff of nightmares.

Gotta give the guy props though, he didn't freak out. Just kind of stood up and scared it off.

It was probably close to 2 am, and I'd been out drinking (long island ice teas), a young woman heading home alone from Manhattan to Brooklyn, missed my stop and was heading towards coney island, asleep until I felt something on my shoulder...

It was a man's arm. He smiled and asked "I go home with you?"
I was disoriented, but sobered quickly. While not true, I replied someone was waiting for me, so he asked "you go home with me?" And I again replied someone was waiting for me at home Then he said "I'm Mexican" and I'm not sure why he said that. Perhaps he thought I was Mexican, or wanted to let me know he wasn't Puerto Rican or Dominican. Different Hispanic cultures in NYC back then kept to themselves, didn't mix with others, and there were large numbers of Puerto Ricans, fewer Mexicans. I was wondering why he said that and how to reply, at which point the doors opened, and I scrambled out just before they closed. I waited for a train heading back towards my stop, and made it safely home, promising myself I would be more careful in the future, and grateful I hadn't woken up in coney island, at the rail yard, and only had to go a few stops back

I never fell asleep on the subway again. I was 19, and over the next few years I also stopped drinking large quantities of alcohol, which led me to fall asleep. I can't imagine how I would have reacted if it had been a rat. That's gross, but not as dangerous as human vermin IMO.