Chapter 2 The beginning

Nolan Foster acknowledges that she appears attractive but expresses no interest, saying, "You can go ahead and date her on your own; don't involve me in this."

"Come on, Nolan. She looks great, and among our circle of friends, you're the only one without a companion. Why not consider it?" Anthony suggests earnestly.

Nolan was rendered speechless by Anthony's words, admitting that he's the only one without a girlfriend because it would be a distraction.

"Forget it, Fatty. I'm not ready yet; I'm still young," Nolan replied.

"Alright, then. I'll respect your decision. Wanna play basketball after school? Those from other schools have become arrogant. They even proposed a match yesterday when you were gone to take your sister home. Oh, I'm so pissed," Anthony spoke with rage about their taunts.

"I'm not free today, Fatty postponed it for today, and let's have a match tomorrow. It's my mother's birthday today; I'm going to buy a cake after school ends," Nolan replied nonchalantly, not really caring about their taunts or even the so called match.

"Wait, today is Aunt's birthday? Why didn't you say anything? I forgot to buy a gift," Anthony said with resentment while looking at Nolan.

"Hey, hey, hey! Don't blame me here. Besides, I told you my mother's birthday a year ago. Did you already forget?" Nolan replied, filled with questioning.

"That was like a year ago; who the hell would remember that?" Anthony said, full of confusion.

"Alright, alright. Just buy something that is not really expensive. My mom hates expensive things, or you can just greet her later. She will still feel happy without any gift or anything," Nolan suggested.

Anthony was about to say something again, but the door of the room slid open, and the teacher arrived, carrying a book in her arms.

Then the lesson started, and after that was done, another teacher entered the classroom. Finally, in the afternoon, the bell rang, and school ended.

"Fatty, let's go now. We'll just go our separate ways outside the school," Nolan reminded Anthony in case he forgot.

"I know; I'm not that forgetful," Anthony replied.

They then wore their bags and got out of the classroom, exiting the gate. Nolan saw outside the gate; his sister is standing there, waiting for him.

He sped up his pace and arrived at his sister's front, with Anthony behind him following.

"Have you already bought a gift for Mom?" Nolan asked.

"Yes, I have it with me inside my bag. What about yours?" Kristene replied and asked.

"Mine is in my room. You go home first; I'm gonna buy a cake. I still have money left from my savings. Don't go anywhere else, straight home, got it!" Nolan spoke strictly.

Kristen narrowed her eyes but did not get angry. She knew that her brother had become like this because of their father's death, making him a little overprotective.

"You don't need to remind me. I'm not a child anymore. Hmph," Kristene snorted while going on her way back home.

Nolan, who saw this, could not help but smile and shook his head. He then looked at the guy behind him and said, "Fatty, what about you? Are you not going?"

"Of course, I'm going. Don't start the party without me, got it!" He said while running in haste to buy a gift at the mall.

Nolan, who saw that Anthony was slowly fading away, could not help but feel a little grateful toward his friend, Anthony.

"It's almost 5 now; I should hurry before it closes," he ran through the sidewalk while keeping an eye on his watch, but it still seemed a little far away.

"I should just take a ride," he thought while running down the stairs to find a subway.

He saw that there was still one train left, so he paid a ticket and quickly ran through the closing doors.

When he arrived inside the train, it honked, clearly stating that it was about to go. Nolan, who was inside, quickly found a seat. Finally, he found one and sat down fast, afraid that someone would race him.

After sitting down, he finally took a deep breath, clearly tired from the running. Inhaling some refreshing air with a combination of different odors, but what caught his attention was a smell that was so refreshing and sweet.

"That perfume is really sweet and refreshing," he spoke inwardly while looking at his seatmate.

When he saw the person who was seated beside him, he was stunned. A lady with silver hair, rosy lips, big round eyes, and a beautiful oval face with a hint of frost.

"Isn't this the girl in the picture, that fatty show me?" When Nolan was looking at her, the lady beside him noticed and looked back.

Seeing a man looking at her intently, she couldn't help but take a glance but was stunned.

She never once expected that a man this handsome was seated beside her, looking at her intently. She shook her head and smiled.

"Is there something you want to ask? You're looking at me so intently. You do know that it's sexual harassment. If you keep looking at me, I'll gouge those eyes of yours," she spoke coldly while threatening Nolan.

Nolan was stunned by her words, so he quickly looked away to avoid eye contact. When the lady beside him saw that he finally looked away, she snorted.

"Even if you're handsome, you're still the same as those other men," she spoke inwardly.

Nolan, who was beside her, decided not to look anymore, or this fierce woman might gouge his eyes out.

"This woman is beautiful but dangerous. I should better add her to my blacklist to avoid unnecessary trouble in the future," Nolan mumbled to himself.

The train was traveling all this while. When Nolan got bored, he took out earpods from his pocket and inserted them into his earlobes.

Listening to a song, he arched his back and closed his eyes. The woman beside him noticed his movements but only gave him a glance before looking elsewhere.

Moments passed, suddenly the train began to shake violently, and the passengers inside began to panic.

Nolan also noticed the disturbance and increased the strength of his grip on the seat. There were shouts and cries throughout the train.

"What's going on? Are we having an earthquake, for God's sake?" a passenger exclaimed, the uncertainty in their voice reflecting the collective anxiety spreading through the shaken train.

Amidst the chaos, more passengers joined the chorus of panic. Frantic whispers and gasps filled the air as uncertainty gripped everyone on board. The rattling continued, amplifying the sense of fear that hung heavy in the confined space.

Nolan's eyes wandered across the scene, observing the scared and panicked people. His gaze then stopped to his left, where he saw the girl closing her eyes, shaking, and gripping the armrest too hard.

Nolan could feel her breathing going rapid nonstop. Amidst the chaos, the light in the train began to malfunction, causing it to turn on and off, finally shutting down.

More series of panic occurred in the train as the lights went off with the constant shaking while traveling.

When the train finally emerged from the tunnel, unexpectedly, they were in the mountains. Due to the broken rails, the train directly went straight, falling into the not-so-high cliff.

The train falls, and when Nolan felt the absence of gravity, he knew they were in danger. Without further ado, he quickly saved the closest person to him.

The girl, who was as cold as ice, was nowhere to be seen on her face, it was only the expression of being scared and terrified. "Am I about to die?" the lady mumbled inwardly.

Caught off guard, she felt a warm embrace covering herself. When she looked at who was the one bold enough to do this, it was actually the guy sitting closest to her.

She did not resist because the falling train had already hit the ground, causing it to lose balance and crash. The train tipped sideways, further adding to the chaos.

The people inside were injured and received bruises from the fall, and from being tossed over and over.

Now that the train was fully on the ground, nothing happened anymore, but constant groans and whimpers could be heard echoing inside the train.

"Owww, my back is broken! Help me!" a middle-aged man groaned in pain.

"Shit! What is wrong with this public transport? If I ever get back, I will report this to the authorities!" a man in a suit said, enraged and filled with bruises and cuts on his face and shoulders.

"Guys, the door is stuck because it's now facing the ground. I think our way out is by breaking that window above us and getting out," a guy said, looking for a way out.

"Everyone, is it just me? I've been trying to call for the police and an ambulance, but there's no signal. Can you try it on your phone if there are any services?" a middle-aged lady with disheveled hair said.

The others also took out their phones to check and saw the same thing—there was no signal.

"I have none," a guy said.

"I have no signal here either. What about the others?" another one added.

"Me neither," others said in unison.

While they were still communicating with each other, Nolan, who embraced the girl beside him, received a small bruise and a bumb on his head, when his head hit wall of the train.