Hide and Go Die(1)

Behind the rotting door stood a tall man with deep-set Northern features. He resembled a police officer with the kind of face that would instantly set someone at ease.

Bai Chuan carefully sized up this rather strange newcomer. Instantly noticing the bloody scalpel gripped between his pale fingertips.

Unlike the other bumbling idiots that screamed and made a fuss after finding themselves here. This one only sported a welcoming grin.

He seemed almost harmless if it wasn't for the warm blood dripping from his fingers.

Bai Chuan had seen the dirtiest and darkest side of humanity in his previous copies. So he knew better than anyone else, that in the Nightmare Shuttle, desperately doesn't necessarily mean good.

Chu Yi smelled of danger.

For an instant, he had the overwhelming urge to run but carefully shoved it back down. Running meant becoming prey, and in the shuttle, there was nothing worse than being hunted from all sides.

Moving his eyes away from those hands, Bai Chuan carefully examined the newcomer.

He was tall and as thin as a bamboo pole, his face-

Swallowing the gasp in his throat, he could feel his heart palpitating.

This creature was true.

Too beautiful.

The lines of his face seemed to be chiseled from the finest stones, his skin translucent even in the dim darkness. He was angelic yet his eyes were a bloody red as if staring deep into an abyss of blood, pain, and darkness, yet so enthralling you couldn't help but be pulled in. A small tear mole sat quietly under his eye, like a spot of ink on a blank canvas.

His every feature was the perfect replica of God's most precious work. Yet so perfect, it seemed broken. A beautiful yet blasphemous piece of divine art.

His heartbeat was harder, the force of blood pumping made his ears ring.

Bai Chuan stood fixated in a trance, staring into those pools of blood-like orbs, leaning almost unconsciously forward, as if he was facing an alter, willing to sacrifice himself to this evil spirit.

Chu Yi stared boredly at the man before him, the smile already slipping from his face.

He hated those eyes the most.

Hated them.

His grip tightened on the scalpel, arm tensing as he prepared to gouge the pathetic man's pupils out.

Still high in emotions from his interrupted kill.

His hand raised slightly, fingers turning proficiently; the scalpel in his hand seemed to cry out in anticipation for the fresh baptism of blood,

His bloody pupils flashed darkly as he swung!

Ahh!––

The sudden shrill scream startled Bai Chuan out of his reverie. Relying on instincts he only barely managed to avoid the sharp knife from stabbing into his eyes.

Leaving behind a shallow cut trailing along the side of his face.

He moved away from the newbie quickly, bumping into the newcomer whose scream had saved him from being blinded.

It was a woman.

Chu Yi stared indifferently at the two, there was no panic nor remorse from being caught. Only the disappointment of a failed kill.

A few seconds of suffocating silence passed by, and when it seemed like no one would speak, Chu Yi suddenly broke out into a large grin, stepped forward, and waved a pale hand.

"Sorry about that Mr., I just really disliked your eyes for a moment and wanted to crush them into bloody bits. I hope I didn't offend you. Sorry"

Bai Chuan and the woman stared speechless at the man in front of them.

You almost blinded a man you just met, because you didn't like his eyes, Do you think a sorry is all it takes to forgive you?

Bai Chuan stared at Chu Yi for a second before letting out a nervous laugh.

"Ah yes…ha..understandable, understandable. People always told me, my eyes were a bit ugly. It's fine.. ha...No worries....."

Chu Yi let out a gentle laugh in accordance.

"Oh right, let us go out to the trolley and meet with the others. I assume you are also a newcomer?. We can all discuss it together."

Bai Chuan laughed again. He had a hunch that, if he didn't forgive him. His blood would spill onto the rotten floors instantly.

Chu Yi nodded to indicate agreement before following behind the nervous Bai Chuan and the woman carrying his bag and the book.

The train was dark and moldy, the occasional creak of the board underfoot indicated that the train hadn't been repaired in years. It was dirty and the air was heavy and seemed to press on them from all sides.

After taking a few turns, they came out into an open compartment.

The sign above the door read

[Car 2, MD]

In the car were 5 people. They immediately turned to stare at the newcomers.

There was a visible lull when their eyes met Chu Yi, but the timely cough from Bai Chuan snapped them back.

The one that seemed like the leader of the pack was the first to speak.

"It seems that's all the passengers are here. We can begin now."

"You all have been given the rule book and you know that we are on the Nightmare Shuttle. I need not explain more."

"What I will say, is that this is not some elaborate prank by a terrorist group or a TV show. If you die here, you die."

"Don't be disillusioned to believe that you can get out of here alive. Always be prepared for death."

"If you panic, You die. If you scream, You die. If you refuse to believe, you die. And in the Nightmare Shuttle, dying isn't scary. It's the last minutes before your death that is the most gruesome."

"Completing your task is of utmost importance because being sent to the chambers is certain death. Even if you come out alive, you'd wish you were dead."

"Welcome to the Nightmare Shuttle"

There was pin-drop silence.

In this instance, it seems that none of the newcomers was the type to deny reality. But they still all turned white at those words.

One of the newcomers raised a hand trembling,

"W-why were we picked? I didn't ask to be sent here."

The gruff leader only grunted sardonically.

"You think any of us asked to be picked?."

The timid newcomer shook his head like a rattle.

"No one knows what the system uses to judge who to pick. All we know is that you must have desperately been yearning for something at the moment you were picked. You could have been yearning for a new watch or even begging for life. Only the most desperate are the so-called Chosen ones."

The timid newcomer fell silent. Most likely thinking about what the man said.

Nobody spoke for a while.

Bai Chuan looked around quietly, catching the eye of Chu Yi, who smiled back politely.

With a shudder, he spoke up,

" Let's introduce ourselves and make this easier. My name is Bai Chuan and I've experienced 2 copies so far"

The gruff man who seemed to be the leader introduced himself as Chun Li

"4 copies. This is my fifth"

The redhead woman who had interrupted Chu Yi earlier was called Zhan Xi and this was her second copy.

The rests were the timid newcomer, Ren Yuanqing, a balding uncle Zhong Feng, and two college students Dan Bai and Wu Xin.

When it was Chu Yi's turn, he greeted them with a wide smile. Eye flashing darkly in anticipation,

"My name is Chu Yi."

"I look forward to playing with you."

[4:38:56]