The Mysterious passenger

Chapter 3:The 12th Name

The air downstairs was thick. Like breathing inside an old car.

Eleven figures stood in a circle. Black coats. Black briefcases. No faces. Just shadows where eyes should be.And in the middle of them, an empty chair. Metal. Cold. With a number nailed to it: *12*.

Daniel's legs wouldn't move. The gate above him had locked on its own. There was no way back up.

`You're late.`

The voice was the same one from before. Calm. From everywhere.

One of the figures stepped forward. It didn't walk. It glided. The briefcase in its hand clicked open.

Inside wasn't money. Inside wasn't papers.

Inside was a name tag. Written in red ink.

*DANIEL MENSAH*

His full name. His government name. The one only his school and his mom used.

Cold ran down his spine. `How do you know me?` Daniel whispered.

The figure tilted its head. `We know all 12. We've been riding this route since 1987.`

1987? The terminal was abandoned. The bus company closed that year.

`Every night at 11:59pm, the bus makes one last stop,` the voice continued. `We pick up the ones who are meant to join us.`Daniel looked at the other eleven. Now he could see faint details. A school badge on one coat. A wedding ring on another's hand. A scar on the third's briefcase.

They were people. Or... they used to be.

`What happens if I don't sit?` Daniel asked. His voice shook.

The lights flickered. All eleven turned toward him at the same time. No heads moved. Just their whole bodies.

`Then the bus crashes,` the voice said. `Again. And again. And again. Until the 12th seat is filled.`

Daniel remembered the crash. The screeching tires. The feeling of flying. Then waking up on the road.He hadn't gotten off the bus. The bus had gotten off him.

We need you to complete the route,` the voice said. `Sit in Seat 12. Take the briefcase. And we can all go home.`

The empty chair scraped across the floor by itself. Stopping right in front of Daniel.

On the seat was another briefcase. Smaller. With his initials: D.M.

His phone, cracked on the floor above, buzzed one last time.

Unknown Number: `Don't do it. They lie.`

But the door behind him was locked. The stairs were gone. And the eleven were closing in.

Daniel's hands were shaking as he reached for the briefcase. It was warm. Like it had a heartbeat.

The moment his fingers touched the handle, all the lights went out.

And every single voice in the room whispered at once:

Welcome aboard, Passenger 12.`

A loud horn sounded. _HOOONK._

The floor beneath him started to move.The bus was leaving again.

And this time, Daniel was on it.