Hide and Go Die(6)

There was a short crackle before the scratchy and indifferent voice of the system rung throughout the entire train.

[All passengers gather in Car 1, MD, in preparation for the start of the the first Instance 'Train'.]

Chun Li listened with furrowed brows, beside him Bai Chuan was covered head to toe in blood, breathing heavily and an unconscious Zhan Xi laying limply on his back.

Bai Chuan immediately sighed a breath of relief hearing the systems word. This nightmare was finally over.

He stumbled even with the support of Chun Li, and carried Zhan Xi all the way to the first car. It was just as silent and empty as they had left it and there were no signs of those terrifying shadows.

Placing Zhan Xi on an empty seat, he rummaged around for a piece of dry cloth and used it to wipe the blood from his face. Neither him nor Chun Li spoke as they waited for the others.

Not long after came the sound of rushed panting, before the door was slammed open. In came Ren Yuanginq and Dan Bai, who were obviously injured but didn't stop running. Wun Xi was no where to be found behind the two.

They both had visible relief on their white faces, upon seeing the others before dropping into the seats.

Ren Yuanqing burst out crying after a few moments of silence. His wails were loud and noisy and sounded particularly annoying in the quiet train.

Bai Chuan who was already on edge couldnt help but yell,

"SHUT UP YOU FUCKING IDIOT"

Yuanqing stopped crying out of shock, his wails turning into quiet sniffles.

They waited anxiously for the others but even after waiting for a long time, there was no sign of Chu Yi and Xhong Feng.

Something had definitely happened to them and nine times out of ten they were killed.

With a complicated face Chun Li turned away from the door.

On the other hand, Bai Chuan's left eyes twitched incessantly, he had a bad omen. Someone like Chu Yi, couldnt be killed so easily.

[Timer stops at 00:00:00. The conductor will collect your tickets and the train will begin immediately. ]

[The time is now 5:30:00, please evacuate to your rooms by 10:00:00. ]

Again the unreliable system immediately disappeared after relaying the message, leaving all the actual work to its diligent employee.

An absolute scum.

Before they could ponder on the meaning of the 5 hours given by the system, three sets of footsteps sounded.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

The conductor was here but this time he wasn't alone. Trailing behind the conductor was one beautiful but deadly serial killer and a balding middle aged light bulb.

What the-

The others fell into a short lull. Why were the newcomers suddenly in cohorts with the conductor, to the point where they could walk together back to the train instead of trying to kill each other in the most gruesome ways possible.

No one said anything, only stared at Chu Yi. Unlike at the beginning this time not in appreciation of his beauty but the horror of seeing something inexplicable yet absolutely terrifying.

Zhong Feng who lurked behind them was entirely ignored and he could only slink back to his seat pitifully.

Chu Yi ignored the eyes of the rest and took a seat at the front indifferently.

Right in front of the conductor, eyes never leaving his sight.

The conductor himself seemed to stare meaningful into his red pupils before tearing his eyes away to address the rest of the passengers.

He cut to the chase quickly, not rallying like the beginning. Obviously impatient.

" The train will start immediately after the collection of tickets. Failure to show tickets will be punished accordingly."

The conductors red conductors uniform seemed to turn an even bloodier red at the mention of punishments.

Purposely bypassing Chu Yi, he started with Zhong Feng who nervously turned out an ID. The string around the badge was fully coated in blood but you could still vaguely make out the words ticket written in block print.

The conductor indifferently collected the badge, only nodding slightly to acknowledge his approval.The rest in turn provided a bloody finger tattooed with the words ticket, a crumbled paper, a brochure, a vacation wristband and a bloody pair of shoes. All with the words ticket written on it..

With a wave of his hands, the items disappeared into thin air. The conductor then turned slowly towards Chu Yi, a faux professional look on his face.

"Ticket please."

Chu Yi immediately glared at him before standing up angrily. Instead of handing him the ticket as expected, he actually reached out and embraced conductor tightly.

The others once again fell into a strange lull . Why did they have the illusion of being force- fed fragrant dog food.

When Chu Yi ended the hug after what felt like a eternity, the corner of the map mysteriously appeared in his hands.

Shoving the damn thing to the conductor, he immediately returned to his seat. Very obviously unhappy.

Who wouldn't after having his tofu eaten so blatantly.

There was obviously an ambiguous atmosphere here but Chu Yi wouldn't take the initiative to open his mouth and Zhong Feng rather preferred to keep his small life . Therefore what happened in that short trip from the conductors room to the First Cabin would probably never be known.

The smile on the conductors face immediately dropped after he turned back towards the others.

They were such annoying eyesores. He preferred them dead and out of the way of him and his sweetheart.

"The trains will start immediately. I wish you a happy trip. The fight for provisions will begin in 5 days. "

With a happy smile towards Chu Yi, the conductor disappeared out of the door of the cabin.

Chun Li broke the depressing atmosphere with a cough.

"We're all here. Let's discuss each of our experiences so as to better understand the situation on the train."

Chun Li began first, since neither Bai Chuan nor the still unconscious Zhan Xi had the right mindset to retell the horrors that happened in the short 5 hours that they were given.

When they started out, at first the atmosphere was calm. By the second hour Zhan Xi and Bai Chuan had already found their ticket and they were on their last flight in search of Chun Li's own. But that's when things began to get weird. The lights began to flicker and dim every 30 seconds and each time the lights dimmed there would sound an eerie cacophony of ravings and madness in their ears. Even after the lights could turn on they could still here the sounds ringing in their heads, driving them positively crazy. But that wasn't the worst of it.

Zhan Xi suddenly started to to feel as if there was something hanging on her back. Looking around fearfully, she saw nothing, only the infinite darkness closing in around her. But the more she walked the heavier she felt until she couldn't even move under the heavy weight hanging from her back. Bai Chuan had offered her a helping hand but not even that would work as she was slowly pushed toward the floor.

But then the pain started, it began with a low ,numbing thrum throughout her legs before quickly spreading to her whole body. She tried to scream but it was like she was alone in a separate dimension. No sound came out of her mouth. She screamed silently in agony, feeling the bloody tears in her throat. Then the blood started to pool out of her mouth, her internal organs were being crushed by the heavy pressure on her back. She was slowly dying.

But that was when the panicked Chun Li found the problem.

It was in her shadows.

Her own shadow had grown a life of it's own and had hung from her back, hands clenched around her neck. Growing bigger as it absorbed her life force, slowly crushing her internal organs as it tried to take her place in the sun.

They stood their frantically and could only watch as she slowly died in front of them. There was nothing they could do.

On the verge of light and death, Bai Chuan noticed something. Everytime the lights turned on, the shadow dimmed for a brief moment. With a flash of inspiration. He grabbed the only flashlight from his backpack and shone it directly onto the shadow.

Fortunately, his speculation proved right and the shadow twisted and screamed in pain under the torture of the light. Naturally, as a creature born into darkness, it was most afraid of light as it seared its skin and it eventually exploded into a shower of flesh and blood. Drenching Bai Chuan in its remains

This signaled that minute later it would have killed Zhan Xi and taken her place.

It left behind, the bloody finger that was used as Chun Li's ticket

Bai Chuan's breathing had picked up heavily during Chun Li's retelling. Distressed, he glanced at Zhan Xi

Chu Yi stared at him meaningful. There was obviously something other than friendship between the two.

Next it was Ruanqings groups turn.

The first sentence out of his mouth sent the rest into shock

"Wu Xin was devoured by t-ten- tentacles!!"

Little Red ate someone?.