This railcar was no longer a train railcar, but a subway railcar. The door was midway open and looking back I could see the fancy dining railcar I had come from with the mountains visible through the windows, but the railcar in front of me looked like an underground subway railcar about three cars in length. They were not partitioned by doors but it was one long tube.

The seats were positioned against the side facing the center walkway. The “subway” train was turning a corner and I could not yet see the door to railcar 95. The doors to exit onto a subway platform had big 96’s on each window. Looking out each window you were met with a dark underground wall passing by an occasional light. It really did look and feel as if you were underground. This train was not what it seemed to be.

As I walked through the subway railcar the swaying caused me to stumble a few times. I noticed the ads on the sides of the railcar for video games, movies, hair care product, and lawyers. Seems like your normal subway. The map of the underground network showed a large infinity symbol, with a 3D visual next to it. One part of the intersecting portion was on a higher level, while the other was on a lower level.

As I got closer to the third section of this railcar, I noticed something shuffle in the seats ahead. I hadn’t seen them before because of the train turning, but three hooded figures stood up and started walking towards me. Just as this happened, the subway car was coming to a stop. Will I be able to leave this train?

“This is your stop.”

The largest of the group grabbed me with both arms and shoved me out of the door that had just opened. I guess so.

“Please mind the gap between the car and the platform as you enter and exit. Thank you.”

“Doors closing.”

The subway doors immediately closed and the train sped off.

Watching it speed away, I saw that it was a singular three-car train! Where were the other railcars? What was going on? Maybe this was just like the void hole I fell into in railcar 98. As I looked up and down the platform, I saw that it was covered with tiled walls and painted concrete floors. There were a few scattered seats and similar ads to the ones on the subway, but I also noticed a digital sign that showed when and where the next train was arriving. Beneath it was a clock.

The sign itself said “Car 96: 5 Minutes Platform A.”

I looked at a nearby placard on the wall and saw that I was currently on Platform B.

The clock below the sign was also not a typical clock. It did not show a traditional twelve- or twenty-four-hour clock, but it instead it was counting down, from five minutes. It was currently showing “4:30” and continuously dropped. I would’ve waited a total of ten minutes, assuming the railcar would circle back in the same amount of time from platform to platform, but as I was staring at the clock, I saw something in the corner of my eye.

The tunnel in which the subway train came and went was slowly disintegrating. Turing to dust and leaving a black void. That void looked empty and soulless, unlike the one in Railcar 98. It gave an unsettling feeling in my stomach and I knew for a fact that I should not get caught in it. I looked at the timer again: “4:15.”

I scanned the platform I was on for a route to Platform A. I saw a walkway tunnel I could use and quickly ran towards it. It was a short path that took me near some stairs and further down were some doors to what looked like an elevator. As I reached the stairs, I was immediately unsure of myself. Looking up the stairs, it was a long winding set with hundreds of steps. How far up was the next platform? Why didn’t this place have an escalator?

I ran to the elevator in hopes that it would work. I pressed the button while peaking back onto the platform I was just on. It was almost entirely gone, with the void creeping towards me. The elevator doors opened and I dashed inside and pressed the A button. I did notice a C button, but I knew my train was about to arrive at A and I didn’t have the luxury of time to check out that option. There was a timer in the elevator and it showed “2:04.”

Just as soon as the button had been pressed. The doors had shut and the elevator started moving.

“Going down.”

What?

“Hahaha. Just kidding. Going up”

“Hello?”

No answer.

Was there someone watching me?

Surprisingly the elevator made it to the next platform in no time at all, about four seconds. I entered the hallway leading to Platform A and ran towards it. It was an exact replica of Platform B; the only difference was the placard showing the A.

The digital sign above showing: “Railcar 96: 2 Minutes.”

I stood around for the remaining two minutes and watched as the subway train sped in and slowed to a stop. All three sets of doors opened and I could see the three hooded figures still sitting in the front of the train.

“Please mind the gap between the car and the platform as you enter and exit. Thank you”

 I decided to enter the back section so I wouldn’t be blocked while getting on. Once I was on, it appeared they hadn’t noticed me, so I pulled my wrench out of my bag just in case I needed to use it.

“Doors closing.”

The doors shut and immediately the train took off. I stumbled backwards.

Since we had just left the platform, there was nowhere for me to be thrown out. I marched towards the next railcar.

“Oh, back for more?”

The largest of the group stood up and faced me. He noticed the wrench in my hands.

“Now aren’t you big and scary.”

He stalked towards me trying to make himself larger than he was. He pulled his arm back and brought it straight towards my head. I deflected it with the wrench. But in the same motion he brought his foot up and used it to kick me back, causing me to stumble. The other two figures stood up. They stood in the back waiting to see if the larger one needed help.

As I regained my balance the larger figure grabbed one of the nearby poles and ripped it from where it was bolted into place. He immediately swung it in my direction and I attempted to deflect it again, but was too slow. The metal pole crashed into my right arm causing it to go numb. I had to grab the wrench with my off hand while my arm regained feeling.

The figure relentlessly attacked while I held the wrench up with my left hand blocking as many as the blows as I could. I used the other standing poles to my advantage to prevent him from swinging horizontally. He would occasionally try a stabbing motion and luckily I was quick enough to avoid those.

As we neared the first section of this railcar the train was slowing to a stop. My right arm had finally regained some feeling and while the figure rebalanced from the change of speed, I took advantage and had him on the defense. I swung and swung as much as I could while he two handed the pole to use it for blocking.

The doors opened.

“Please mind the gap between the car and the platform as you enter and exit. Thank you”

I struck past his pole and managed to land a blow right on the side of his head. Tahe large figure stumbled out of the door and onto the platform. Having realized this, he quickly reached in and grabbed me onto the platform as well.

“Doors closing.”

Not this again.

Still a little dazed from the blow to the head, he kept swinging at me while swaying back and forth. I kept attacking where I could and blocking what he threw at me. During this back and forth, just behind him, I could see the platform slowing dissolving.

Getting angry the large figure broke his pole in half over his knee. He was now coming at me with gusto and speed while double handing the poles. The wrench that I had was large, but it was not large enough to block everything and it was only one thing. If I blocked one pole, the other bashed into another part of my body. I was getting badly damaged from his hits.

Seeing the oncoming void and the wanting to avoid his power I made a run for the stairs. There’s no way he would let me escape through the elevator and I wouldn’t survive a close combat elevator fight.

He yelled as loud as he could before chasing after me. He was quick. I had made it to the base of the steps before he caught up to me. He did a jump with a double downward slash of the poles when he was near me. I jumped as fast as I could out of the way, but was too slow and the poles collided with my leg causing me to fall.

Once he recovered, he was over me swinging like a monkey gone wild at every inch of my body he could see. I was getting badly beat. I could feel ribs cracking, giant bruises forming, and blood beginning to rise in my mouth. I wasn’t going to make it.

As I lay there about to die, I saw the void reach just behind us near the steps. I yelled as loud as I could to muster all my strength. This briefly caught the large hooded figure off guard for just a moment, but it was the moment I needed. I used both of my legs and I kicked as hard as I could into the figure and caused him to fall backward, into the void.

I had no time to celebrate because the void was creeping up towards me. I had to gather myself as quick as I could and make it up the stairs. Step by step as I dragged myself up using the rail, the void followed. Each step it maintained it’s proximity. As long as I kept this pace, I would make it to the next platform.

As I made up the winding steps, I reached a turn to where I could see the floor of the next platform in the distance. The void stopped following. It must only clear one platform at a time.

In the distance I could hear “Please mind the gap between the car and the platform as you enter and exit. Thank you”

“Doors closing.”

I was too late.

Shortly after I heard the message, the steps that were just erased slowly began to rematerialize. I now had to make my way down to Platform B again.

Once I made it down, I had another two minutes to spare before the train arrived. So I took a seat to regather some of my strength.

The train arrived and I knew that I had two other hooded figures to deal with. My only issue was that I was so badly hurt that I was limping when I moved and I required some support to put weight on my legs. There was no way that I was going to fight those other two.

“Please mind the gap between the car and the platform as you enter and exit. Thank you”

As quickly as I could, before the doors closed again, I made it to the last railcar. I could see the other two hooded figures sitting up in the front.

Thinking back to the previous railcar, the food that Cornrose had given me had healed me up completely. I needed that now. So, instead of moving forward I went back to the previous railcar.

As I exited railcar 96 and entered railcar 97, it was unbalancing to me. The quick speed and sharp sways of the subway train compared to the subtle gentle rocking and open-lighted atmosphere of this dining train railcar threw me off. It took a moment to regain my senses.

Immediately, I noticed that Cornrose was missing. Where could he have gone? There’s no way he could have passed me up and there was nothing in the latter railcars. Unless he made it through while I was on the platforms. In his place, on the table was a platter, two rolls of bandages, and a note.

I opened the platter while grabbing at the note. It was a slice of chocolate cake with a decorated frosting and a cherry on top.

“Your desert, sir. This should help you in your time of need, so please do eat up. I do apologize for not being present, sir, but I was called away to the kitchen for an important matter. I shall return.”

I sat down and started eating the cake. It was the most moist and delicious cake I ever remember eating. If Cornrose was the one who made it, or how it seemed, in charge of whoever is making it, he is doing it right. As I continued to eat it, my ribs ceased to hurt and my bruises seemed to fade away as well. I no longer had the taste of blood in my mouth and I felt healthy enough to run a mile. I bagged the two rolls of bandages for later use.

Once I had finished the cake, I recollected myself for what was to come. I felt more ready now, knowing what I had to do and after what had just happened.

I reentered railcar 96.

The subway train was speeding through the underground tunnel it was in. The turn caused me to lean to my left. I saw the two hooded figures sitting in the same spot as before.

As I approached them, they stood up hastily. They both looked in my direction, their faces still shrouded by the hoods. They had zero hesitation in both yelling while charging at me.

Since they both were smaller and, hopefully weaker, than the larger figure, they had no weapon to attack me with. I still had my wrench, ready to go in my hands.

As the first one neared me with both of his hands outstretched, I brought the wrench down hard on them and he stumbled forward toward me. On the way back up the wrench caught the underside of his jaw and knocked him backward towards the side of the railcar.

The other figure scooted around the fallen one and was more prepared. He kept his arms up to avoid the strikes to his head.

I continued to land blows on his arms and I would occasionally go low to his chest to catch him off guard. He would go on the offensive and strike for my head, but I would use the wrench as a makeshift shield.

The first figure worked his way up from the floor as the train began to slow.

I held my ground as the second one continued his attacks towards me. Compared to the larger figure, these two were weaklings. A punch from the second one felt nothing like the blow from a metal pipe.

I had an idea on how to easily take care of these two and I needed to position myself just right.

The first figure was waiting behind the second one for his turn to strike. I used the wrench to force my way to the opposite side of the door with the two hooded figures in front of it.

The doors opened.

“Please mind the gap between the car and the platform as you enter and exit. Thank you”

I dodged a punch from the second one and got low to shove forward with all of my might. I caused the second figure to fall back into the first one which pushed him out of the railcar. The first figure lay on the ground on the edge of the platform while the second figure stumbled trying to get back up. I took advantage of this moment and did an upward strike on the second figure causing him to flail back and land directly on the first figure on the platform.

“Doors closing.”

The doors shut. Both figures disappearing as the train sped off to the next platform. Finally, I could continue on to the next railcar.

Not wanting to stay on this railcar any longer and not wanting the off-chance of those two reappearing on the next platform, I made my way to the door of the next railcar.