Welcome to the Jolly Train!
Never I loathed a name more than that train's.
As Grace let out a shriek, I pulled the speed lever all the way up, cursing every second that it took for the train to speed up.
"Are you happy now, you fucking idiot?! If you hadn't done nothing—"
I walked towards that man—the short, sturdy and big man that a minute before all that had decided to kill five children just so he could gain more points that no one even knew the purpose of.
"If you hadn't pressed that button, this situation wouldn't have happened, you piece of shit."
After the train tilted to the side, the soldier must've lost balance, letting Giorgio loose. The real pity was how the man wasn't in a rounder shape, so he could roll out of the cabin.
Giorgio laughed at my face, a spit falling close to my eye. That was almost enough for me to throw up, yet his words were even more disgusting.
"And if you hadn't fucked up, I would have earned more points and there wouldn't be a damned animal behind us."
"How can you even say that? There were five children in those tracks!" Dunya shouted meters away from us, her voice filled with indignation and contempt.
"Say what you will, they were not my children. You, them—nothing but a bunch of strangers—"
I was not surprised that Giorgio was punched.
What surprised me was to see Grace the one doing the punch, sending the man a good few steps back. He touched his lip, blood coming out of a minor cut while Grace massaged her hand with a grimace.
Giorgio clenched his fists and teeth, a vein popping up from his forehead. "You cunt, how dare you—"
The soldier got him from behind, locking the man's arms on his back, whispering close to his ears. "You better shut up unless you want me to break your arms. Cunt."
Even I got shivers down my spine by hearing the soldier's cold, dead voice. I wondered how many people he had threatened, or even killed, whispering like that.
The left screen blinked again, showing the new people on the tracks. That time, there were four people on each side, however on the left side, three of them were elders.
Then there were bangs on the back door, someone hitting and shouting repeatedly.
"Hey, assholes! What happened during the last round, huh?! Any idea how many points you cost me?!"
"Are you trying to mess with us?! Just because you are the operators? You are all fucking heartless!"
Hah, I knew it…
The path we operators chose would be considered the 'most ethical and moral'. How more messed up could that system be?
Before the passengers could say anything else, an electrical current sent them away, silencing all their protests.
Sure, that was one way of doing things…
"What should we do now?"
It took me a few seconds to realize all eyes were on me after Grace's question.
Should I feel happy or pressured?
Perhaps the right answer was somewhere in between.
"We can try to do the maneuver again. This way no one has to die." And of course, the idea of no one dying was good.
Yet something told me we could still earn more with those maneuvers. If we were smart about it—if this Stage valued morality like the previous ones—we could make more points as operators without killing anyone.
Thankfully, they didn't refute my idea. I glanced towards the ETA—it didn't look so bad—and the mole was a good few meters away from the last cabin of the Jolly Train. Yet when I tried to move the wheel, it was as unmoving as a tree.
I made a few attempts before drawing a few conclusions. The options were limited. Either there was a cooldown of sorts to use the steering wheel, we could only use it after choosing a track or… There was another requirement we had to meet.
"Can you describe to me what happened with the train last time? When I turned the wheel." Since I was looking through the window, I had not seen what had happened on the outside. Yet Dunya was looking at the screens.
She opened and closed her mouth a few times before finding her voice. "It looked like pistons; they rose from the right wheels. There was a lot of smoke too."
Huh… Pistons?
I hit the button on the right, making the train enter the left track. It was almost hilarious how the mole shifted to the side automatically, as if it knew we were turning before the train even moved. I tried to steer the wheel again, yet it was still stiff.
That eliminated one of the possibilities. If the cooldown was too long, it made those maneuvers a terrible option to rely on. However, something told me that was not it—there had to be some other condition.
"We are approaching the passenger…" Although Grace hadn't shouted, there was a clear fear dripping from her voice.
And then, as I watched the screens and glanced at the panel, something clicked. I lowered one of the levers, the train's speed dropping significantly. A nervous smile grew on my face—I hoped I was right.
I tried to steer the wheel, and it moved like it was covered in butter.
Once again the train started to tilt towards one side, yet that time I had a look at the screens. I could see as the pistols raised one side of the train, making an angle just wide enough so that the people could safely pass below it. As soon as they passed the last cabin, a light surrounded them and they disappeared.
I immediately pulled the lever up, increasing the train’s speed again. A new message popped up.
[Congratulations! You gained 200 points of maneuver]
[Special conditions are currently applied]
[You did two maneuvers in a row]
[Your points will be tripled!]
The look on Giorgio's face as I glanced toward him, with a grin lit on my face, was priceless and worth every drop of sweat.
"Would you look at that—this barely influenced our ETA. We still have an entire minute to spare."
As Giorgio heard Dunya's words, his hateful expression did not change. "For now. Let's see in a few more turns."
We all repeated the process, one, two, three times. The points kept getting higher with the combo strike and even though everyone else was relaxed, with real hope lit in their eyes...
…there was just something. An itchy feeling at the back of my head, a sensation as if there was a hole inside my stomach. A bad omen I hadn't realized yet.
I kept stealing glances towards the ETA screen, afraid the numbers would suddenly change, afraid the mole would suddenly gain a boost speed. Fearing that system would not let things be that simple. Because things were never that simple.
And deep down, I knew I had to be right.
It was so sudden, we all thought he had lost his mind.
The soldier still had a strong hold on Giorgio, yet the short man began to laugh like a maniac, shaking his head with eyes closed and an insane smile on his face.
"Say, you can't see my messages, right?"
We all exchanged glances. As I turned to face Giorgio, it was as if a pit had opened inside me. An endless pit so dark and cold it was enough to freeze both my feet and make my heart stop beating.
He looked straight at me and at that moment, I knew. I knew I had been right.
But I was not fast enough.
Giorgio's pupils turned black at the same time as they shone, a glow bright and nefarious. Yet before the thought of closing my eyes or looking away came to me, I was already being engulfed by that blackness; it swallowed me whole.
I was stuck inside a place where the only light came from a woman. She was smaller than me, and the way she shrunk on her dress made it seem like the fabric was made of poison or needles.
I knew her.
I knew her too well.
She stared at me with tears in her eyes and she blamed me. She blamed me for all her disgrace, all her misery, and all her grief.
And she wasn't wrong.
「Are you happy now? If you are, kill me then. I have nothing left in this world. You made sure of that.」
Those words stung and ached, for I remembered them. I could recall the exact day and the reason they were spoken. They were enough to make my own heart bleed and fall into that ruthless darkness, losing itself in that nothingness.
When I opened my eyes, I was on the ground. My body refused to move, as if it was still imprisoned in that place—with that woman. As if it was wrong to breathe and move and all that could be done was wither on the ground forever.
But I heard the fight going on, the grunts and exchange of blows. I forced my feet to stand, the air still refusing to remain in my lungs long enough to oxygenate my brain. Black spots filled my vision—my hands shaking, my heart racing—afraid the blackness would swallow me again, the tears dry in my eyes.
My head and vision cleared in time to see Giorgio beating the soldier with a piece of metal. I turned toward the panel, the speed lever gone—that asshole.
"What, you already recovered? Fifteen seconds can really fly, huh."
Grace was crying in a corner, holding Dunya's unconscious body—a cut bleeding nonstop on her forehead. What the fuck had happened?
From the way Giorgio spoke, I had been completely out for those brief seconds.
…how could he have changed so much in such a short amount of time? There was this wild energy surrounding him, a primal, animalistic thing glowing inside his eyes, reflecting in his smile.
The soldier tried to get up, however Giorgio stepped in his face. My blood boiled.
"I hope you realize you are an actual piece of crap. There is a special place in hell for people like you."
"The Devil itself seems to disagree." Giorgio kicked the soldier in the face one last time before charging at me, trying to hit me in the head with the lever. Yet my body felt sluggish, heavy. It was as if I had bell weights on my limbs, my head still dizzy and cloudy.
I managed to dodge the first few times, ducking and turning to the sides, but he still managed to punch me in the stomach. I gagged, tears filling my eyes as I kept wondering how could a man like Giorgio be so strong—it made no sense.
"You seem like a smart kid. So let's see if you can figure a way out."
Next thing I knew, I was being kicked. The impact made my entire body shake, from every muscle and ligament to every single bone.
I don't know why at first I felt no pain, my only guess was that my body was too shocked and exhausted, my mind still fighting to process what was happening as I fell. Because I could feel the breeze against my skin, and see the cloudless, blue sky.
And I was not inside the cabin anymore.
[You jumped out of Jolly Train! Your choice is highly appreciated]
[You have earned 1000 points for your choice!]
[Survive the Jolly Train to receive a bonus!]
As I fell, watching as Giorgio's face twisted into a lunatic smile, I recalled one of the rules.
If a Self wishes to be chosen, all they need to do is jump out of Jolly Train to be moved.
It didn't say passenger. That rule applied to every single person on that train.
Before I ever reached the ground, I was surrounded by a bright, pure light. Like soft wings embracing me, taking me away to get stuck within the tracks. And it was funny.
Death should not be that beautiful.
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