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Speaker 1: The job offer came as an email with no company logo,

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no sender information beyond a string of numbers and a

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subject line that just read conductor position, private contract. I'd

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been out of work for months, barely scraping by and

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scam emails for nothing new, but when I opened it

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the details made me pause. The pay was astronomical, six

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times what I'd ever made running freight trains for a

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single ride. The hours were vague, for the message emphasized discretion, reliability,

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and the ability to work alone. There was a number

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at the bottom. I called, half expecting a disconnected line

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or a robotic scam message. Instead, a man entered on

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the first ring. He introduced himself only as a recruiter

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for a private client and asked if I was available

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to meet the next day. No company name, no office address,

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just a location, a roadside diner off a highway. I went,

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of course. The diner was nearly empty when I arrived.

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The man was waiting for me, sitting at a booth

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near the back. He wore a black suit, a crisp

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tie to match, and a dull expression. He didn't even

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introduce himself properly, just gestured for me to sit. There

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wasn't any small talk. He slid a contract across the table.

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You'll receive a list of instructions, he said, voice flat.

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Read them on your job site. They are non negotiable. Ah,

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all right, what kind of instructions? A pause? Then I

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tried again. I looked up at the recruiter. What kind

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of train is this? His expression didn't change. Just follow

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the instructions. Everything else is self explanatory. Then he pointed

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to something in the middle of the contract, a single

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bolded line. If you break any instructions, press the red

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button on the center console immediately. Someone will tell you

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what to do. I almost laughed. And if they don't,

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the recruiter didn't blink or say a word, just stared.

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After a long silence, he tapped the contract again. Sign

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The private station was nothing like I expected. It was

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tucked away in a dead end road beyond an industrial lot,

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surrounded by rusted fences and half collapsed buildings, no signs

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or employees, just the set of old but pristine tracks

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and a sleek, immaculate train waiting for me in the dark.

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The train looked like it belonged in a billionaire's collection.

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Long streamlined gleaming under the dim platform lights. The exterior

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was spotless, not a single scratch or sign of wear.

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I boarded the conductor's entrance and stepped into the control cabin.

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The cabin smell like fresh polish. Every dial, switch and

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lever was perfectly placed, modern yet oddly unfamiliar. There was

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no dust, not a single clue to indicate this train

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had ever actually been used. The chair was stiff and

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the seat belt untouched, and the passenger cars were almost

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completely empty. No boarding crew or a bit of luggage

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here and there. No clients were anywhere to be seen.

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I had no idea where I was going, who owned

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this train, or what I was transporting, if anything. I

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sat down on the chair and picked up a laminated

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sheet sitting on top of the control panel. The instructions

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the train must never stop, no matter what happens. Keep moving.

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Do not open any passenger doors. No one should be

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on board. If you hear knocking from inside an empty car,

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ignore it. If someone appears on the tracks, do not

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slow down. Do not look at them in the rear

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view mirror. At exactly two thirteen a m. Turn off

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all cabin lights for three minutes. Do as instructed thereafter.

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If the intercom comes on but no one speaks, respond

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by saying we are on schedule. Then do not speak

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again for exactly five minutes. One of the train cars

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will be filled with passengers. Do not acknowledge them, do

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not look at them. Do not enter the car. If

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you see someone sitting on the conductor's seat when you

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return from a break, leave the train immediately. You will

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not be able to board again. You may see another

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train running parallel to yours. If this happens, do not

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look at it for longer than ten seconds. If you

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break an instruction, press the red button immediately. Some one

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will call you with further instructions. I read them once,

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then again. My first thought was, what kind of sick

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joke is this? I glanced around the cabin, expecting cameras,

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some hidden speaker system ready to blare out a voice

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laughing at my reaction, But I was only met with

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ornate and beautiful decorations that adorn the corners and walls

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of the control cabin. I scoffed, shaking my head. I'd

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heard of companies testing new hires to see how much

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crab they'd put up with, but I wasn't sure a

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scare tactic, maybe some over the top way to keep

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conductors focused on the job. But why the hell where

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they need to It's a train. You follow the schedule,

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watch the tracks, and keep things moving. What was all

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this about knocking doors and not looking at passengers? I

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rubbed my temples. Whatever, if they wanted me to play along,

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I'd play along. As long as the paycheck cleared. They

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could put all the weird rules they wanted. The train

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pulled out of the station, smoothly, gliding over the tracks

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with barely a tremor. The engine was quieter than anything

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I'd operated before, smooth to the point I couldn't even

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tell when I was moving when I closed my eyes,

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I barely had to touch the controls. For the first hour,

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not much to note happened, just endless stretches of empty

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fields and dense forests rolling past under the dim glow

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of the moon. The rails were calming. For a moment,

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I actually thought this might be the easiest job I'd

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ever had. Then the intercom crackled. A burst of static,

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sharp and sudden filled the cabin. I turned instinctively, waiting

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for an announcement. For some kind of instruction. I frowned,

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tapping the panel, flipping a few switches to clear the channel.

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Still nothing. My eyes wandered to the list of rules

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sitting next to me. Number six. If the intercom comes

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on but no one speaks, respond by saying we are

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on schedule, then do not speak again for exactly five minutes.

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I almost hesitated. It was stupid, right, just a dumb

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corporate rule, a test to see if I would comply.

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I was sure of it. I cleared my throat. We er,

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we are on schedule. Something had changed, but I couldn't

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tell what it was. Immediately, some sort of pressure started

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rubbing against my skin. The hum of the engine felt

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further away, like I was sinking underwater while everything else

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drifted above me. I stared straight ahead, forcing myself to

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focus on the tracks. Four minutes. The longer I sat there,

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the worse it got. My head started ringing and I

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couldn't keep my eyes focused. Three minutes, the hairs on

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my arms stood up. The air smelled different, now charged

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like the moment before a thunderstorm. Two minutes I was

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entirely hitched in place. One minute the feeling passed, just

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like that. The weight lifted. The engine sounded normal again.

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I checked the clock, five minutes exactly. I exhaled slowly.

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What the hell was that? My mind started wondering with

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ideas from conspiracy theory documentaries. I've been watching brainwashing people

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into specific radio waves and such. But I brushed it

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aside and kept moving. The train sped forward, the night

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stretched out ahead of me. A blur of movement flashed

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just ahead. Right as I was starting to relax and

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put the strange feeling aside. I concentrated as the shape

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moved out of the trees to the left and right

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onto the tracks, fast enough that I couldn't properly register it.

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The headlights cut across the rails, and my stomach lurched.

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Some one was standing right on the tracks, a man.

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His clothes were loose, billowing in the wind, even though

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the night was clear. His outline was blurry, but I

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was closing in on him quickly. He didn't move. My

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fingers twitched toward the brakes. I had to stop. I

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remembered number four. If some one appears in the tracks,

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do not slow down, do not look at them in

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the rear view mirror. Every muscle in my body screamed

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at me to hit the brakes, but I willed myself

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to stop. I don't know what made me think hitting

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a man with a train was going to be justified

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by any instruction or rule, but I had no time

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for second thoughts. The train plowed through him, no impact

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or thud. I looked around, panicking. I couldn't believe what

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I'd just done. My heart hammered, and I snapped my

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gaze to the rear view camera, then stopped myself. I

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couldn't look. I forced my eyes back to the controls,

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gripping the levers tightly. The train rattled slightly as it

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shot forward, speeding into the black. I let go of

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the levers, pulse raising. It was fine, just the trick

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of the light, a stray thaw getting tangled with the night.

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If I had actually hid something, the results would have

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been catastrophic. I was going ninety five miles per hour.

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A train this size going at that speed would make

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some sort of noise, hitting even a leaf. I lad

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out a slow breath, trying to shake the tension off,

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reminding myself of the money waiting for me at the

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end of it. These rules were making me forget that

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I'd been doing this exact job for years. This was

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going to be no different. I was just nervous and

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over analyzed everything, so I guess the rules worked. My

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mind started to wonder. There was a much to do

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While the train ran, just miles of dark, empty landscape

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stretching out ahead. My mind drifted, skimming over the rows

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of dials and switches, then settling almost absent mindedly and

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the passenger monitors. Some one was sitting in one of

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the previously empty chairs, same loose, billowing clothes, same blurred,

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indistinct face, the same man I had seen on the tracks.

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I blinked hard. What I had checked the entire train

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before departing. Every car was empty. I would have seen him.

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There was no way I missed some one, had he

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been here the whole time. There had to be a

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logical explanation. Maybe I'd just been too focused on the

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start up sequence, going through the motions without really seeing

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the empty cars. It wouldn't have been the first time.

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Or maybe I'd just spaced out. Long haul conductors do

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it all the time. You get used to the routine,

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Your mind drifts and things blur together. Yeah, that was

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It didn't matter chances were this was some rich, big

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shot I was transporting, and he wanted a train all

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to himself, maybe even hid from me somehow, on purpose.

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I shook the tension from my hands and calmed down.

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The train was moving, everything was running, and I even

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had a passenger. Now I knew what I was transporting.

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As long as I followed the schedule, I'd be fine.

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Outside the world slipped by in streaks of dark green

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and silver, thick forest, stretching endlessly into the night. The

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hum of the engine filled the cabin, steady, and even

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a rhythmic pulse beneath my finger tips miles of emptiness ahead,

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miles of emptiness behind. Then out of nowhere, a slow,

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steady tap, tap tap against one of the cabin doors.

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I straightened in my seat, eyes flicking toward the control panel.

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The passenger cars were still empty. Apart from the man.

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Nothing had changed, and yet the knocking persisted. I reread

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the rules, rule three. If you hear knocking from inside

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an empty car, ignore it. I did my best, the

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focus forward, pretending it wasn't happening, but the knocking grew louder,

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bam bam bam, like someone was hammering their fists against

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the metal, trying to break through. Desperate, I felt a

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sensation in my chest, a deep frustration. I was tired,

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I was irritated, and I was done playing along with

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these stupid rules. They had driven me to such delusion

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that I thought I'd hit someone. I stood up. My

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boots thudded against the floor as I strode back into

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the passenger cabins, heart pounding as I followed. The sound

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the knocking led me to cast six. I hesitated. The

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rule says to ignore it. I inhaled, sharply, my hand

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hovering over the latch. What was I expecting a prank,

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a malfunctioning door. If it was any of those, I

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was entirely ready for the consequences. These rules were taking

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a toll on me, making me imagine things that weren't

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even there. I'd just break this one rule, prove myself right,

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and get on with my shift. I unlatched the lock

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and swung the door open. The cabin was completely empty.

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No people, no luggage, no sign of life at all,

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except for the footprints. They stretched across the floor in

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a perfect trail, starting right in front of me and

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disappearing into the next car. The footprints were dirty, muddy,

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like someone had just stepped inside. A shiver crawled up

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my spine, A feeling deep inside me, screaming that I

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had just made a mistake. Before that thought could fully manifest,

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I was thrown off balance. The train started slowing down.

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The air around me lurched, and I grabbed the door

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frame to steady myself. The train was losing speed, but

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I hadn't touched anything. I spun, rushing back to the

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control cabin, my breath coming faster now. My eyes flicked

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the dashboard. Every system was still active. The speed should

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have been constant, but the train was steadily slowing down.

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The radio crackled again, a burst of static, followed by

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a voice warped and distorted, like it was dragging itself

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through the speakers. Why did you stop? My pulls hammered

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against my ribs. I I didn't. The brakes when engaged.

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The emergency systems weren't triggered. The train was stopping on

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its own. I grabbed the controls, yanking the throttle, trying

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to force it back to speed. It wouldn't respond. Outside

237
00:19:45,640 --> 00:19:49,599
the front window, the landscape crawled by, slower and slower,

238
00:19:50,079 --> 00:20:02,440
until the train finally completely halted silence. Shortly after movement.

239
00:20:05,400 --> 00:20:08,319
Beyond the trees, just at the edge of the dim

240
00:20:08,359 --> 00:20:14,599
platform lights, figures were emerging from the darkness, dozens of them,

241
00:20:15,839 --> 00:20:20,000
tall and thin, the limbs stretching at unnatural angles as

242
00:20:20,039 --> 00:20:25,119
they moved toward the train in slow, balanced steps, not rushing,

243
00:20:26,160 --> 00:20:32,400
just walking. A mechanical hiss cut through everything. I snapped

244
00:20:32,400 --> 00:20:35,440
my head toward the monitors, a cold pit forming in

245
00:20:35,519 --> 00:20:43,319
my stomach. The train doors were opening once again. I

246
00:20:43,400 --> 00:20:47,400
hadn't touched the controls. My hands were still clenched around

247
00:20:47,400 --> 00:20:52,359
the throttle, my knuckles white. The system hadn't even indicated

248
00:20:52,400 --> 00:20:57,720
a stop. We weren't supposed to stop, and yet the

249
00:20:57,799 --> 00:21:05,079
door slid open smoothly. Outside the figures stepped forward. One

250
00:21:05,160 --> 00:21:08,960
by one. They emerged from the trees, their shapes flickering

251
00:21:09,000 --> 00:21:12,799
against the dim glow of the train's lights. They moved

252
00:21:13,000 --> 00:21:17,000
like they had all the time in the world. The

253
00:21:17,039 --> 00:21:23,200
first one stepped inside, then another, and another, filling the

254
00:21:23,240 --> 00:21:28,279
empty cars. I could see them on the monitors, standing

255
00:21:28,319 --> 00:21:32,480
in the aisles, in the seats, occupying every available space,

256
00:21:33,240 --> 00:21:38,960
yet never moving. I swore quietly, my fingers flying over

257
00:21:39,000 --> 00:21:43,079
the dashboard searching for anything, some kind of override, an

258
00:21:43,119 --> 00:21:50,200
emergency restart that failsafe. Nothing worked. I tried the radio.

259
00:21:50,480 --> 00:21:56,759
I flipped the breakers, I jammed the throttle forward, no results.

260
00:21:57,440 --> 00:22:01,960
Outside the figures had started boarding. The doors remained open.

261
00:22:03,279 --> 00:22:07,119
None of the figures did anything but stare blankly forward.

262
00:22:08,359 --> 00:22:11,920
I felt panic rise up in my chest, real panic.

263
00:22:12,680 --> 00:22:17,000
My pulse roared in my ears. Why is the train

264
00:22:17,119 --> 00:22:22,799
not moving? My eyes darted to the red button. I

265
00:22:22,920 --> 00:22:30,680
slammed my palm against it. The radio crackled a life instantly, Hello.

266
00:22:31,680 --> 00:22:35,720
My voice came out sharp, panicked. I didn't do anything.

267
00:22:36,000 --> 00:22:40,319
The train stopped on its own. You broke a rule.

268
00:22:42,359 --> 00:22:46,359
My throat tightened, but before I could say anything, the

269
00:22:46,480 --> 00:22:52,880
voice continued, Do not acknowledge them, they are the passengers.

270
00:22:52,920 --> 00:22:57,160
Now keep driving until the last stop, and do not

271
00:22:57,400 --> 00:23:04,000
break any more rules. Stay vigilant. A low clunk echoed

272
00:23:04,000 --> 00:23:09,160
through the cabin. The door slid shut. I tried moving

273
00:23:09,200 --> 00:23:12,680
the train again, and as smoothly as the first time,

274
00:23:13,519 --> 00:23:19,200
it started moving forward. I press my lips together, keeping

275
00:23:19,240 --> 00:23:24,359
my gaze locked forward. The intercom stayed silent, and the

276
00:23:24,440 --> 00:23:31,640
train sped back into the night. The tension never left

277
00:23:31,720 --> 00:23:36,400
my body My fingers remained locked around the controls, stiff

278
00:23:36,480 --> 00:23:41,799
and aching, my forearms hurting from the strain. I refused

279
00:23:41,799 --> 00:23:45,559
to lock back, not even a glance. There was an

280
00:23:45,640 --> 00:23:48,759
overwhelming sense that if I did, if I so much

281
00:23:48,839 --> 00:23:52,480
as acknowledged their existence again, I would not be in

282
00:23:52,519 --> 00:23:58,839
for a good time. After a while of total stillness, monotony,

283
00:23:58,920 --> 00:24:03,319
and paranoia from my end, something shifted at the very

284
00:24:03,480 --> 00:24:08,519
edge of my vision. Moving alongside the train keeping perfect pace,

285
00:24:09,759 --> 00:24:15,480
another flicker, a break in the darkness. A second train

286
00:24:15,640 --> 00:24:20,319
was running parallel to mine. The sight of it made

287
00:24:20,319 --> 00:24:24,119
no sense. There had been no crossings or signals that

288
00:24:24,240 --> 00:24:29,079
another set of tracks even existed beside my own. Yet

289
00:24:29,079 --> 00:24:34,200
there it was, keeping speed effortlessly, its steel body gleaming

290
00:24:34,359 --> 00:24:40,640
under the faint moonlight, and through the windows I saw figures.

291
00:24:41,799 --> 00:24:47,039
They appeared dark, the interiors shrouded in shadow. But as

292
00:24:47,079 --> 00:24:51,039
I looked closer, I realized there were dozens of them,

293
00:24:51,559 --> 00:24:56,359
maybe more, pressed harshly against the glass, each one wearing

294
00:24:56,359 --> 00:25:00,759
the same wide grin. Their faces were frozen and their

295
00:25:00,759 --> 00:25:04,599
eyes locked directly at mine. They looked just like the

296
00:25:04,680 --> 00:25:11,599
passengers that had just joined my own train number nine.

297
00:25:11,880 --> 00:25:15,759
If you see another train running parallel to yours. Do

298
00:25:15,839 --> 00:25:21,200
not look at it for longer than ten seconds. I

299
00:25:21,200 --> 00:25:24,759
wouldn't make the same mistake again. The presence of the

300
00:25:24,839 --> 00:25:28,559
other train lingered in my periphery, but I didn't acknowledge

301
00:25:28,599 --> 00:25:36,119
it again. I just kept driving. The intercom shot to life.

302
00:25:36,960 --> 00:25:40,279
A sudden burst of static made my shoulders jump, the

303
00:25:40,400 --> 00:25:45,359
tension in my body snapping tight. For a moment, there

304
00:25:45,400 --> 00:25:49,839
was only empty noise, the same cold emptiness that had

305
00:25:49,839 --> 00:25:52,640
filled the radio the last time I pressed the red button.

306
00:25:54,680 --> 00:25:59,640
Look at the time. Slowly, I glanced at the digital

307
00:25:59,680 --> 00:26:06,200
clock on the control panel. Two twelve a M number five.

308
00:26:07,559 --> 00:26:11,160
At exactly two thirteen a M. Turn off all cabin

309
00:26:11,279 --> 00:26:17,759
lights for three minutes. Do as instructed. Thereafter, I paused

310
00:26:17,920 --> 00:26:22,200
and reached for the switch. My fingers trembled slightly as

311
00:26:22,240 --> 00:26:28,400
I flipped it down. The cabin was plunged into absolute darkness.

312
00:26:29,160 --> 00:26:32,920
I blinked, trying to adjust, but there wasn't anything to

313
00:26:33,000 --> 00:26:38,160
adjust to. It was so dark that everything was swallowed whole.

314
00:26:39,079 --> 00:26:43,119
No outlines, no faint glimmers of control lights, no reflection

315
00:26:43,279 --> 00:26:49,519
of the window. Just avoid The intercom came through again.

316
00:26:50,319 --> 00:26:54,480
This time, there was no prelude to it just a clear,

317
00:26:54,799 --> 00:27:04,920
short sentence, do not move. A new sound filled the air.

318
00:27:06,359 --> 00:27:10,359
I heard it before I felt it, A slow, painful

319
00:27:10,480 --> 00:27:16,319
movement against the metal floor. Not footsteps, but something dragging

320
00:27:16,359 --> 00:27:22,400
itself forward, joints popping, a strange slithering scrape beneath the

321
00:27:22,440 --> 00:27:28,640
clatter of the train. Whatever was making that noise, it

322
00:27:28,799 --> 00:27:35,440
was in the cabin with me. Then came the wheezing.

323
00:27:37,519 --> 00:27:40,839
It was deep and uneven like. Whatever it was had

324
00:27:40,880 --> 00:27:45,640
several lungs that were inhaling, in staggered burst. Each breath

325
00:27:45,759 --> 00:27:48,680
pulled at the air, filling the cabin with a thick,

326
00:27:49,079 --> 00:27:54,240
humid heat that stuck to my skin like mucus. The

327
00:27:54,279 --> 00:27:59,119
smell followed her second later. It wasn't like anything I'd

328
00:27:59,200 --> 00:28:05,839
ever encounter before. It was sharp, medicinal foremost, but undercut

329
00:28:05,880 --> 00:28:09,880
with a sticky sour scent, like burnt plastic mixed with

330
00:28:10,000 --> 00:28:14,279
harsh chemicals. The stench made me want to throw up,

331
00:28:15,240 --> 00:28:22,119
but I kept perfectly motionless. It crawled closer, still shifting

332
00:28:22,200 --> 00:28:27,599
near the control panel, sniffing its breath, rasping against the levers.

333
00:28:29,000 --> 00:28:32,680
A single clawed scrape against the console made my entire

334
00:28:32,759 --> 00:28:38,559
body lock up. It circled me the warmth of its breath,

335
00:28:38,720 --> 00:28:42,759
shifting from one side to the other. Something brushing against

336
00:28:42,799 --> 00:28:48,880
my shoulder but not quite touching my chest burst, but

337
00:28:48,960 --> 00:28:54,480
I didn't dare do so much as exhale. Three minutes

338
00:28:55,759 --> 00:28:58,599
I counted in my head, trying not to let panic

339
00:28:58,640 --> 00:29:03,720
take hold. I couldn't move, I couldn't react. I could

340
00:29:03,720 --> 00:29:07,599
only sit there, locked in place, as whatever was inside

341
00:29:07,640 --> 00:29:11,119
the cabin decided whether or not I was worth noticing.

342
00:29:14,279 --> 00:29:19,359
In a split second, with no sound at all, it

343
00:29:19,480 --> 00:29:24,920
was gone. The heat in the air lifted, the smell faded,

344
00:29:26,400 --> 00:29:33,319
a low click, the cabin lights flickered back on. I

345
00:29:33,440 --> 00:29:38,039
was still too terrified to move, unwilling to take any chances.

346
00:29:39,519 --> 00:29:42,960
After a while, I was confident enough to adjust myself

347
00:29:43,000 --> 00:29:47,039
and my chair. I shoved down the lingering nausea and

348
00:29:47,119 --> 00:29:50,079
pressed my hands against my lap, trying to stop them

349
00:29:50,079 --> 00:29:56,640
from shaking. The digital clock blinked two sixteen a m.

350
00:29:58,279 --> 00:30:00,400
I saw the words appear in the main day display

351
00:30:01,920 --> 00:30:07,759
final stop, arrival imminent. The station lights emerged from the

352
00:30:07,839 --> 00:30:13,359
darkness ahead, cold and unwelcoming, but still the most welcoming

353
00:30:13,400 --> 00:30:17,920
thing possible to me. The train didn't slow as it approached.

354
00:30:18,720 --> 00:30:24,279
I calmly pulled the brake, but it wouldn't budge. We

355
00:30:24,279 --> 00:30:27,720
were getting closer. I pulled the lever until my arms

356
00:30:27,759 --> 00:30:30,960
felt like they'd rip off my body. I fumbled with

357
00:30:31,000 --> 00:30:34,599
the controls, smashing the red button until my palm throbbed,

358
00:30:35,839 --> 00:30:39,960
but nothing gave. We rushed toward the platform at a

359
00:30:39,960 --> 00:30:44,680
great speed. I didn't know what to do. Adrenaline searched

360
00:30:44,720 --> 00:30:48,480
through my body as my legs started shaking, and before

361
00:30:48,519 --> 00:30:56,000
I could even take precaution impact the first jolt sent

362
00:30:56,119 --> 00:31:00,119
me flying forward, slamming my chest into the console. A

363
00:31:00,200 --> 00:31:04,519
crunch from inside me followed. It hurts so badly I

364
00:31:04,559 --> 00:31:08,759
thought I'd die then and there. The windshields shattered as

365
00:31:08,799 --> 00:31:13,240
steel and concrete collided, the deafening snap of metal ripping

366
00:31:13,279 --> 00:31:19,839
through the cabin. The sound was unbearable, screeching, tearing, the

367
00:31:19,880 --> 00:31:24,200
agonized wail of the train collapsing in on itself. Sparks

368
00:31:24,200 --> 00:31:27,599
exploded across my vision as the front cars crumpled like

369
00:31:27,640 --> 00:31:30,799
a soda can, the force of the impact buckling the

370
00:31:30,799 --> 00:31:39,559
walls inward. The entire world turned sideways. I was thrown backward,

371
00:31:39,960 --> 00:31:43,960
hitting the wall before rolling onto the floor. My ears rang,

372
00:31:44,240 --> 00:31:47,920
my ribs ached. The air was thick with smoke and dust,

373
00:31:48,240 --> 00:31:53,039
filling my lungs with every ragged breath. Somewhere beyond the

374
00:31:53,119 --> 00:31:56,599
ringing in my skull, I could hear the train's last

375
00:31:56,920 --> 00:32:01,319
desperate groans, the final shuddering low as it came to

376
00:32:01,359 --> 00:32:07,839
a violent grinding hold. I lay there, stunned, my hands

377
00:32:07,880 --> 00:32:16,039
trembling against the cold floor. I was still alive, somehow,

378
00:32:16,240 --> 00:32:20,880
despite the crash, despite the sheer destruction I'd just experienced,

379
00:32:22,640 --> 00:32:29,799
I was fine. Slowly, painfully, I pushed myself up. The

380
00:32:29,839 --> 00:32:36,920
cabin was intact, no shattered glass, no twisted wreckage, no

381
00:32:37,119 --> 00:32:41,400
clapsed walls. The train sat perfectly parked at the station,

382
00:32:42,240 --> 00:32:45,920
as if it never even moved at all. The console

383
00:32:46,039 --> 00:32:50,359
was unscathed, the windshield unbroken. Even the faint hum of

384
00:32:50,400 --> 00:32:54,319
the engine had returned steady, like it had been running

385
00:32:54,359 --> 00:32:59,559
this whole time. But I knew what I felt, the

386
00:32:59,559 --> 00:33:05,480
bruising forming on my arms I had been in that crash.

387
00:33:05,680 --> 00:33:08,200
My injuries weren't as fatal as I was sure they

388
00:33:08,240 --> 00:33:12,200
were just moments ago. But the train had collided with

389
00:33:12,279 --> 00:33:17,359
the station, had collapsed around me, that I was sure of.

390
00:33:19,319 --> 00:33:24,960
Yet here I was unharmed. I turned toward the passenger

391
00:33:25,000 --> 00:33:29,720
monitors to see empty rows of seats, the train finally

392
00:33:29,799 --> 00:33:35,240
rid of its impossible travelers. My stomach tightened the moment

393
00:33:35,519 --> 00:33:39,680
my eyes landed on him. The figures from earlier had

394
00:33:39,720 --> 00:33:45,240
all disappeared, but the men remained. His clothes waved around

395
00:33:45,279 --> 00:33:48,440
as he walked. There was a fluid grace to him.

396
00:33:48,680 --> 00:33:52,240
As he rose from his seat and began walking forward.

397
00:33:52,839 --> 00:33:58,319
His movements were so smooth they were hypnotizing. My body tensed.

398
00:33:58,799 --> 00:34:02,400
My instincts screamed at me to move, to run, to

399
00:34:02,480 --> 00:34:06,640
get out before something happened that I couldn't undo. I

400
00:34:06,680 --> 00:34:11,679
staggered toward the door, but it was locked. No matter

401
00:34:11,719 --> 00:34:14,840
how much I pulled or pushed, I couldn't open it.

402
00:34:16,199 --> 00:34:19,599
The weight of the moment was suffocating, and for the

403
00:34:19,639 --> 00:34:24,000
first time since this nightmare began, I finally had a

404
00:34:24,079 --> 00:34:29,199
moment of clarity, and I realized just how wrong everything

405
00:34:29,239 --> 00:34:34,199
had gone. I snapped out of my days and slammed

406
00:34:34,239 --> 00:34:38,360
my hand against the red button. The radio remained silent.

407
00:34:39,519 --> 00:34:43,199
I hit it again, harder, this time, my palms sweating

408
00:34:43,239 --> 00:34:50,000
against the plastic. No response. The man kept walking. I

409
00:34:50,079 --> 00:34:54,480
pressed the button again harder. Desperation crawled up my throat

410
00:34:54,599 --> 00:35:02,559
like bile. The doors behind me opened. A deep mechanical

411
00:35:02,639 --> 00:35:06,280
noise filled the cabin as the last remaining entrance slid

412
00:35:06,320 --> 00:35:12,719
open with agonizing slowness, revealing an empty, black void beyond it,

413
00:35:14,119 --> 00:35:20,039
he stepped into the conductor's cabin. I was trapped, my

414
00:35:20,159 --> 00:35:23,800
back pressed against the console, every muscle in my body

415
00:35:23,920 --> 00:35:26,920
locked in place as he stopped just a few feet

416
00:35:27,000 --> 00:35:31,559
from me. Up close, his shape was even more wrong,

417
00:35:32,440 --> 00:35:37,039
his proportions slightly off, his arms too long, his posture

418
00:35:37,239 --> 00:35:41,280
just a fraction too rigid. It was like someone had

419
00:35:41,320 --> 00:35:44,679
built the idea of a man without ever having seen one,

420
00:35:45,480 --> 00:35:50,400
a close approximation that almost fit, but missed something fundamental.

421
00:35:52,639 --> 00:35:56,599
For the first time, he turned his head slightly, as

422
00:35:56,639 --> 00:36:02,199
if acknowledging me directly. Voice there was neither deep nor high,

423
00:36:02,679 --> 00:36:08,159
neither young nor old, neither kind nor cruel. He spoke,

424
00:36:10,880 --> 00:36:16,800
thank you for the ride. He looked at me a

425
00:36:16,840 --> 00:36:23,079
moment longer, his featureless face betraying no emotion. Then without

426
00:36:23,119 --> 00:36:27,119
another word, he turned and opened the conductor room door,

427
00:36:27,960 --> 00:36:30,639
the one that I couldn't open no matter how hard

428
00:36:30,679 --> 00:36:37,119
I tried, then stepped out. A new sound pulled my

429
00:36:37,159 --> 00:36:44,960
attention away footsteps. I turned toward the platform the recruiter

430
00:36:45,320 --> 00:36:50,159
was waiting. His hands were clasped neatly in front of him.

431
00:36:50,719 --> 00:36:53,360
I practically jumped out of my seat and straight toward

432
00:36:53,400 --> 00:36:58,079
the man. Who What the hell was that? What the

433
00:36:58,119 --> 00:37:04,920
hell was I transporting? What just happened? The recruiter didn't

434
00:37:05,000 --> 00:37:10,280
answer immediately. Instead, he glanced past me toward the train,

435
00:37:11,000 --> 00:37:15,800
his gaze lingering on the now empty cars. He exhaled

436
00:37:16,239 --> 00:37:22,800
and barely their sound before finally speaking, what did you

437
00:37:22,880 --> 00:37:26,599
think of the job. There's another Riode schedule for tomorrow night.

438
00:37:27,519 --> 00:37:30,159
You did a splendid job, bringing the train all the

439
00:37:30,199 --> 00:37:36,039
way to the last stop. I quit, I rasped my voice, raw.

440
00:37:36,800 --> 00:37:39,000
I don't care about the money, I don't care about

441
00:37:39,000 --> 00:37:47,280
whatever this is. I'm done. The recruiter smiled, not smugly, though,

442
00:37:48,199 --> 00:37:53,000
just the warm and welcoming smile. Then he gave me

443
00:37:53,039 --> 00:38:02,000
a slow nod. You were transporting the dead. I didn't

444
00:38:02,000 --> 00:38:05,880
ask any more questions, as absurd as what he had

445
00:38:05,880 --> 00:38:09,880
said just sounded. I was too tired to care or

446
00:38:10,000 --> 00:38:14,719
rationalize anything else. I walked away from the train, from

447
00:38:14,800 --> 00:38:20,119
the recruiter, from the nightmare I had barely survived. I

448
00:38:20,280 --> 00:38:25,119
just knew one thing for certain. I would never set

449
00:38:25,159 --> 00:38:27,760
foot on a train again.