I didn't know if should curse out loud or laugh.

The bloody system was really rewarding us for our kill count.

And apparently, I was not the only one who had noticed. Giorgio was looking sideways in my direction, a smirk on his lips. 

"Ah—People are pushing each other off the train!" Grace shouted, her face still glued to the small window on the back door. It was almost as if she was too shocked to walk away, too indecisive to join us in the front, too afraid to dare to make a choice.

And of course… Passengers who "jumped" out of the train would "be chosen". From the looks of it, that choice could be made for them.

Giorgio leaned into the panel, watching the landscape through the window. "They can only blame themselves; it was pretty obvious what we had to do to get the points."

Dunya opened her mouth, turning toward the man with a raging gaze, yet no sound came from her mouth.

"What? Are you going to say I'm wrong? The rules were clear—they made their choice and we made ours. That's why we are here."

Dunya said nothing to reply to the shorter man, she only looked away. Yet I could notice, the way the soldier glared at Giorgio, a silent anger boiling from within his eyes. Somehow, knowing this brought some comfort to me.

"Wait! I think it's stopping…the passengers are not fighting anymore, maybe the system is done choosing them?"

I glanced towards the screens. It didn't take much for new people to appear. However, the moment the new passengers appeared on the tracks, I lost my breath. I could also hear Grace gasp and see how Dunya and the soldier clenched their fists, the older woman cursing under her breath. The new problem was—

They were all children. The difference was there were five on one side and two on the other. And at that moment…

[A new rule has been added.]

I expected nothing less...

[Operators can vote on their preferred choice.]

[The results do not need to match the final decision.]

"There is no need for a vote. We—we have to save the most we can." Dunya almost choked on her words, as if she was about to get sick and throw up.

On the middle screen, one vote was counted to save the right track.

"Yes, I say the same."

The soldier's vote went for the same side. Grace was speechless, tears frozen in her eyes as if they were unable to fall.

"Same…" My voice trailed off, my gaze following Giorgio. In that brief time, he had practically closed the distance between the panel. "What about you, Giorgio? You agree with us, right?"

The man smiled, turning his back to the panel. "Yes, sure. Of course, I do."

I exchanged glances with the soldier, and we didn't need to say anything else.

"I want to press the button this time. You don't have any complaints about that, right?" The soldier's voice was as assertive and sharp as lightning, enough to make the other man stop in his tracks.

"No, I don't see a problem with that."

I should have known from the first moment he opened his mouth. From when he introduced himself to the way he did not waste two seconds pressing a button that condemned the lives of three people. I should've known because I had spent years in my previous life dealing with rats like Giorgio, despicable in every angle.

I was the closest to him and, still, I was not fast enough. The moment I grabbed his hands, the tracks were already changing and shifting, the train going for the right track.

Toward the five children.

"What have you done?! We don't even know what these points are for—they could be useless!" I grabbed Giorgio by the collar, shouting right at his face without being able to control my anger. I could feel the blood rushing through my veins and if someone told me it had turned into poison, I would've believed them.

I would cut my skin and force that man to drink it all.

His voice was enough to turn my stomach upside down. "Not taking any chances, and you should follow my example."

I did not even bother to argue with that rat again; I pushed him to the side and stared at the panel. There had to be something I could do, something I was missing.

My eyes ran through the buttons and levers as I recalled every single rule. ETA. Control speed. Sensors. Maneuvers. Wheel.

There was a huge chance I was wrong…

...yet just in case I was right...

I turned towards the soldier, relieved to know I didn't have to tell him to hold Giorgio. He had already pinned the smaller man to the ground. "Don't let him move from that spot."

The soldier didn't answer me, only twisted Giorgio's arm enough to make him grunt. I pressed one button and pulled down the speed lever, moving towards the wheel. The train speed went down, almost stopping.

"Are you even thinking straight?! We have a time limit, the train is already on the right track—if you stop it we will all die, you fucking bastard!"

I ignored Giorgio's shouts, barely noticing as Dunya came by my side.

"Do you have any idea of what you are doing?" Her whisper was rough yet desperate.

Well, what I had was certainly an idea.

"When I give you the signal, pull that lever all the way up."

"What does it do?"

"Trust me, when I give you the signal—"

"But what. Does. It. Do?" Dunya's voice could almost match the growl of a bear.

"Just trust me! Can you see them?" From where I was, I could not see the screens.

It took a while until I could hear her voice again. "I see them…"

"Keep your eyes on that screen and your hand on that lever. When I tell you to, pull the lever. Okay?"

I turned just so I could see Dunya nodding once, closing her fingers around the lever. I kept my eyes on the tracks, watching through the window with sweat running down my face.

Deep down, I wished it had taken longer to reach them, to hear their screams and loud cries. My fingers curled around the wheel, my grasp on it so tight it hurt my hands.

"Almost there…"

"What are you—"

"Now!"

Dunya didn't have time to finish her sentence. I turned the wheel all the way to the left and from my right, I heard as Dunya pulled the lever, my heart beating so fast I thought it would jump out of my chest and explode. For a desperate moment, nothing happened. And then…

The entire train began to tilt to the left. I had no way of knowing how that was even possible, and as the cabins tilted to the side I felt gravity pulling me down, the rest of my body fighting my feet and legs as they slid over to the left. "Hold on to something!"

To me, it felt like forever. Only when I heard Dunya shouting over Grace and Giorgio's screams did I turn the wheel all the way back, the cabins returning to their normal angle. I took a few steps back, staring at the screens.

The ETA had increased by almost an entire minute, yet the children were safe.

All of them.

I let out a shaken breath, resting my hands on the panel. It had worked.

I could not believe it had worked.

"How did you even know…?" Dunya's question was lost in the air between us as new messages from the system appeared in front of me.

[Congratulations! You gained 250 points of maneuver.]

[The Sensors were activated!]

[A new rule will be added.]

[Beware of your speed! You can't let the Mole get the Jolly Train.]

Before I could even wonder what that meant, the screen on the right blinked and started to show the back of the train. I felt and heard the rumblings before I could see them on the screen.

Behind the Jolly Train, a giant mole appeared from the ground. It was taller and bigger than the train itself, its claws so big they could slice the cabins like they were made of leaves. 

And it was not only eating and destroying the tracks, it was rushing in a straight line toward the train.

Toward all of us.