Chapter 3All Passengers Gone, Agent Said the Train Never Left

I burst out of car 05, stumbling blindly through the train.

Car 04 was empty.

Car 03 was empty.

The dining car was also empty.

Over a thousand passengers, along with the luggage that had clogged the aisles, had all vanished.

Outside the window, the blizzard was gone, replaced by a churning, chaotic grayness. I couldn’t see a thing, only the roar of the train reminding me that I was still alive.

“Is anyone there? Hello!”

“Conductor! Anybody!”

I ran, shouting, but my voice was swallowed by the silence.

Driven by desperation, I reached the connection between cars and slammed the emergency intercom button.

“Bzzzt… bzzzt…”

Only static answered.

Calm down, Anna! You’re not the same naive girl you were last time!

My hands shaking, I pulled out my phone.

One bar of signal.

I immediately dialed my mom.

Ring… ring… ring…

Answer, Mom! Please, please answer!

“Hello? Anna?”

The call connected!

The moment I heard her familiar voice, a wave of relief washed over me. I slid to the floor and broke down, sobbing. “Mom! Mom, help me! Something’s wrong with the train! Everyone’s gone!”

There was a two-second pause. “Anna? Honey, what are you talking about? What do you mean everyone’s gone?”

“The train! G404! I’m on it!” I screamed, the words tumbling out in a rush. “It was full of people, and then suddenly they all disappeared! I’m the only one left!”

“Anna… is it happening again?” My mom’s voice was laced with a new, terrifying edge of fear. “Are you still in the city? Are you just upset you couldn’t get a ticket?”

“No! I got one! I’m on the train!”

“You’re lying!” she suddenly shouted. “They just made an announcement at the station! It’s all over the news! The blizzard caused a power failure on the line. Train G404 was canceled! Everyone who had a ticket is here getting a refund right now!”

It was happening. It was all happening again, just like last time.

My panic reached a fever pitch. “That’s impossible! I have the ticket in my hand! I’ve been on this train for an hour! Mom, look at the group chat! I sent a video! I filmed the other people in the car!”

I fumbled with my phone, switching back to the messaging app. “Look, Mom! The video in the group chat! That’s my proof!”

I heard my mom fumbling with her phone on the other end. “What am I supposed to be looking at? The only thing in here is a video of you talking to an empty train car!” she cried, her voice breaking. “Anna, are you sick? Please don’t scare me like this!”

Talking to an empty car?

My body went rigid. I looked down, my thumb trembling as I pressed play.

On the screen, I saw myself, holding my phone with a bright smile, excitedly narrating to the camera. “It is currently 3:20 PM on February 16th…”

The background was a car of empty seats.

“Hey, want to say hi…?” my video-self said, cheerfully panning the camera to the seat beside me.

It was empty.

There was no construction worker, no duffel bag, no golden-yellow orange.

“No… no…” I stared at the screen, my grip on the phone so tight I thought it would shatter.

“That’s impossible! I ate the orange! Look! Look at my hand!”

I thrust my left hand forward. I was still clutching the half-eaten piece of fruit.

But the video showed something different. I watched myself pop empty fingers into my mouth and pretend to chew.

A wave of nausea and cold dread washed over me, starting from my toes and crawling up my spine.

Am I losing my mind?

No! I refused to believe it! The sweet, tangy taste of the orange was still on my tongue. It was real!

“Mom! Believe me! I’m on the train!” I pleaded. “It’s still moving! It’s going really fast!”

“Anna, where are you? I’ve already called the police! They’re tracking your phone right now!” my mom sobbed. “Don’t go anywhere! Just stay where you are!”

The police… yes, the police would figure it out!

“Mom, tell them to check! I have GPS! I’m moving! I’m really, really moving!”

I switched back to my map app. The little blue dot representing me was flying across the map at an incredible speed.

The display read: 190 mph.

See!

That was the proof! Who on earth can run at nearly two hundred miles an hour?!