As soon as I crossed the threshold to this railcar, the gravity corrected itself to normal and I slid against the ground. It was a rocky, loose-dirt type of ground and I got a few scrapes on my arms and hands. Again, with the railcars not being actual railcars. I was getting used to it at this point.

Collecting myself, I sat up and looked around the room. If you could really call it a room. It appeared to be a small cave with a purple tint to the rocks. There was a wide array of small glowing bugs lighting up this cave on the ceiling and that also showed the vast number of stalactites that were present. Some dripped with a steady flow of water.

This cave had a massive chasm in the middle with a small rickety wooden bridge connecting two platforms. On the opposite platform I could see a stone arch with a metal train door inside it. It looked extremely out of place.  There were also three plinths underneath a strong concentration of glowing bugs which gave it the appearance of being under a spotlight.

On my platform, right next to the bridge was a small post with a sign on it. I looked behind me and sure enough, there was the same arch with a train door in the middle of it. There was also a set of three plinths on my side, fit with their own spotlight, but my plinths each had statues on them. Engraved on the side of each plinth was a large “93.” The statues were of a wolf, a sheep, and of a bag of grain. I think I know what’s going on here.

Before checking out the sign, I decided to try the door I had just fallen through. I grabbed the handle, tried turning it, and…. locked. It didn’t budge. I turned around and headed for the sign, hoping it would tell me what I already knew. As I approached, I could see the bottom of the chasm. It was riddled with stalagmites and I knew that if I fell off or through this bridge, it was the end of me.

I got to the sign and read:

A classic test reborn anew.

Will you be able to see this through?

Don’t trust your eyes, just trust your gut.

Beware the stinking filthy mutt.

Place each item across the bridge.

Like the common told adage.

One at a time you must do,

Or else the floor you will fall through.

Don’t leave one to eat the other,

Or sad truth’s you will uncover.

Lost forever and unable to leave.

Leaving you to sulk and grieve.

Makes sense to me. For this test I must bring each statue across the bridge and place them on the other side, one at a time. If I try to bring more than one at a time, the weight of the statues and myself will cause the bridge to break and I will fall to my death. I must also bring them over in a specific order, or else one might “eat” the other.

Although they are statues and I have no worry of them “eating” the other, I’d rather see this test through as it’s meant to, rather than risk being stuck here for all of eternity. Having just been in railcar 88, I’d rather not have that happen. I was making decent progress and I wanted to continue forth and get out of this train.

From the age-old adage, the wolf will only eat the sheep and the sheep will only eat the grain. I have to move the sheep across first, to start, because the wolf will not eat the grain. Once the sheep is across, I come back to grab the grain. I move the grain across and on the way back I take the sheep with me, as to not leave it alone with the grain and cause it to get eaten. Once I move the sheep back, I grab the wolf and take it across to leave it with the grain once again. Then I am finally able to come back for the sheep and place it on the third plinth to complete the test. Simple enough.

Looking at these statues, they looked to be around life-size. I could only hope they didn’t weigh as heavy as they looked. The wolf was slightly larger than normal, the sheep looked someone normal, but a little deformed, and the bag of grain was your standard burlap sack size. The sign said beware the mutt, so I gave the wolf a quick once over. I did get a slightly unpleasant smell while walking around it, but nothing too terrible. I poked at it and even smacked it. Nothing. Seems like it’s a statue to me.

With the grain being the smallest, I decided to test its weight first, just to see if I could even handle that much. Surprisingly, when I had picked it up off the plinth, it was rather light. Lighter than a real-life sack of grain. It was only when I had placed it back on the plinth that it retained its sturdy nature and would not budge when pushed.

I grabbed the deformed sheep, which was also light enough to carry without issue, and headed towards the bridge. I tested the first board with my weight. No issue. Then the second and the third. I heard the normal creaking of wood, but nothing that indicated I was too heavy for this crossing. I continued on at a normal pace.

As I was nearing the other side of the bridge, I started to notice a horrid smell. The statue I was carrying was getting heavier with each step too. Fearing that the extra weight would cause the bridge to collapse, I darted to the other side. Should I have ran back?

Having made it to the other side, the statue I was carrying had become so heavy, it dropped from my arms. It was also the source of the putrid smell. As it hit the floor, it landed on all fours and began to move. This was not a statue, but a stinky smelly sheep.

The deformed sheep turned to face me and looked me in the eye, smiling? If you could call it smiling. As we stared at each other, it began to move closer and grow larger. It’s face becoming more and more canine-like and its teeth growing more and more sharp. I froze. This sheep was not a sheep, but a wolf!

In a deep, raspy, mocking tone it said “Don’t you know how to read, you imbecile.”

Before I could draw my newly acquired sword, it lurched for my throat. I felt the pressure before I felt the pain. I could feel the teeth penetrate my skin and the wolf’s rapid jerks causing my flesh to rip and tear. I could feel the hot blood pouring out of my neck and flowing all over my clothes. This was it. I’ve failed. I should have been more careful. I’m going to die to a statuesque wolf in the middle of an unknown “cave” on a mysterious train. How did I even get to this point?

The world faded to black as I lost consciousness from the blood loss.

***

I woke with my face lying on cold hard steel. I was no longer in the cave. When my vision finally readjusted, I saw that I was back in the first cart I opened my eyes to. The steady sway and sound of the train riding on the tracks. It was almost peaceful.

I had died. Is this hell? I returned to the beginning of my new life after I had died, so this must be hell. Forever cursed to repeat this hellish adventure upon my death. The only thing is, the crates were all smashed, the broken hammer lay tossed off to the side of the car and there was no bag waiting for me. Bag. My bag! It’s missing. The only thing that remained of what I had owned were the clothes on my back. Stained with blood.

I stood up and looked out the back window. The door was still locked and we were back at the cherry blossoms. We must be repeating history, because we passed through mountains and empty plains and I was sure this train was far away from this place by now.

I made my way for railcar 99, hoping the door wasn’t locked. If it was, I had no way to move forward since the key was hidden in one of these smashed crates. Luckily for me, the door opened without issue, so I made my way to the next railcar.

This car also had the aftermath of my previous visit. All but one of the crates broken, the medical cabinet left open with nothing inside, and the giant curled up spider lying dead. I walked over to the spider and saw that it still had one fang left attached to its body. I knew they were worth something, so I pried it from its body. I had nowhere to keep it, so I held it in my hand for the time being. If it really came down to it, I could use it as a makeshift weapon.

I walked through to railcar 98.

This was the car I was most worried about. I had no bandages to heal myself if I had to run through the forest again. Since the previous railcars had no change to them, I could only assume this one would be the same as well. When I walked in, I almost fell to my knees with relief as the board I had placed over the void hole was still present. I easily walked over and headed to Cornrose’s railcar.

Railcar 97 looked exactly the same, with Cornrose standing next to the table with a set of fresh clothing placed on the table instead of a meal.

“Welcome back, sir.”

“What happened to me Cornrose? I died.”

“You have continued your adventure, sir. That is the power of this train. It wants you to continue. Death is not the end, but it most certainly is not your friend either, sir. As you have noticed, you are without your belongings. You must retrieve them before they are retrieved by someone or something else.”

“So, my things are where I had last died? That’s only a few cars ahead, I had better hurry!”

I quickly changed into the fresh clothes and left the bloody clothes behind.

“I shall see to these, sir. Good luck.”

And I was off to the next railcar.

I darted through the subway car as quickly as I could, thankful the three hooded figures were nowhere to be seen. Just as I reached for the door to car 95, the subway train was slowing to a stop. I continued through the door.

When I entered railcar 95, the heatwave shocked me once again. This time the blacksmith was working at one of the tables in this front room. She looked at me this time, instead of ignoring me completely. She opened her mouth to speak but the distorted growl that came from it only confused me. Picking up on this, she had realized her bracelet was not on, so she moved to go get it.

“I can’t stay right now! I have to get my things!”

I ran across the room towards her kitchen or storage room or living quarters. I had no idea which. I could see her confusion as I ran, another distorted noise coming from her mouth. As I ran by, I dropped the spider fang on her workstation.

“I want to make a trade for this! I’ll be back!”

I opened the door to railcar 94 and again was immediately sucked through by the gravity. I’m sure this was a real sight to the blacksmith, because she tried to chase after me to stop me from entering her home.

I dropped through cart 94, remembering to pay attention as I fell because I had thought I had seen someone sitting in this vertical railcar. However, this time as I fell, the railcar was empty. No person was visible. I slid to a stop on the ground of railcar 93.

Taking a moment to readjust, I sat up and peered about the room. The statues were as if I had not touched them. Stationary and visibly hard as stone sitting upon the plinths. I stared at the “sheep”, hoping it could feel my enmity. Looking away, I saw my belongings not where I had left them, but by the sign right next to the bridge. Unusual.

I walked over towards them, peering across the chasm to where I had died. I could see dried blood caking the ground. I did not see a body. Was my body moved? Did it just disappear? All of my things were left behind, but not my body. I reached down to grab my things, but noticed that there was a small note lying across the top.

“You should trust your gut next time. Because next time, you won’t have me to save your things.

P.S. You scream like a girl, when you’re not gurgling on your own blood.”

- H

My sword, scabbard, and bag containing the two rolls of bandages and a fire extinguisher were all placed neatly in a pile for me. There was one other thing included as well, a small wrapped piece of cake. Again, with a small note.

“Try not to die next time.”

Okay? Who the hell was this person? Was this the person that was sitting in 94? I picked everything up, thankful that nothing was missing. I had just gotten this sword and would’ve fallen apart if I immediately lost it. I tucked the cake away into the bag. If it was anything like the meals that Cornrose fed me, it should help me heal any wounds I get.

I stared at the statues and contemplated my next move. It was now clear that it was a trick test. The wolf was in “sheep’s clothing” and the wolf had to be the sheep. It just wasn’t visible at the moment. I wonder how to fix that. I also hadn’t even tried to open the door across the bridge to continue on to railcar 92. If I had gone all this way and died, just to find out that I could’ve opened the door across the chasm, I would jump into the spiky stalagmites myself.

I walked across the bridge, listening the creaks and moans as I went, holding on the rope rails just in case I fell through. Once on the other side, I passed my dried blood stain and reach for the door handle.

“Ouch!”

The moment I touched it I felt a searing burn. This was not a hot burn either. It was a frozen burn. The handle was so cold to the touch, it burned me. I’m surprised the handle wasn’t frosted over. The burn left my hand in agony causing me to use one of the two bandages I had. This is what I get for trying to bypass the test.

I headed back to the statues resolute on what I was going to do next. I had a hatred burning within me. I had felt fear, anger, and hate towards this wolf and it had literally killed me. I was not taking any second chances with this thing and I knew I had to kill it. I pulled my sword from its scabbard and with a quick thrust, I shoved the sword through the bottom of the sheep’s mouth, straight through to its brain.

I was unsure if this method would have even worked because visibly speaking these were solid stone statues. My sword did not hit stone though. It had gone through like it was flesh. The “sheep” transformed into the wolf it was and blood poured through the hole in its mouth. Once the blood stopped flowing the illusion over the “wolf” statue faded away to reveal a normal looking sheep.

Continuing with the test, as it should’ve gone, I grabbed the real sheep statue and walked it across the bridge. I came back for the dead wolf, and grabbed the sheep once I was back across. I switched the sheep for the grain and moved it next to the dead wolf. I went back one last time to grab the sheep and I placed it in its rightful spot on the third and final plinth.

Upon placing that final statue, I heard a click coming from the nearby door. The glowing light above the statues now radiated over the door to railcar 92. Taking that as the obvious sign it was, I headed over to the door. I tapped quickly at the door’s handle, seeing if it was still frozen to the touch. I didn’t feel anything. Maybe I went too fast. I slowly added more time to each touch before I ultimately grabbed it. It was not cold. It was not hot. It was normal, temperature wise.

I proceeded through the door.