Chapter 7: Midnight
619 Words
The clock continued ticking.
11:59.
Daniel couldn't move.
The figure in the dark coat stood at the end of the carriage.
Its face remained hidden.
Daniel took a cautious step backward.
"Who are you?"
The figure didn't answer.
Another second passed.
11:59:30.
Daniel looked toward the window.
The dark train was still travelling beside them.
The old man was gone.
Daniel looked back at the figure.
"Where is the old man?"
The figure slowly raised one hand.
It pointed toward Daniel's photograph.
Daniel looked down.
The photograph was changing again.
The picture of the family was fading.
In its place appeared another image.
A railway platform.
A little boy.
A woman holding his hand.
And a train waiting behind them.
Daniel stared at the scene.
Then he remembered.
A flash.
His mother's voice.
"Daniel, don't let go of my hand."
Another flash.
The sound of a train whistle.
Then darkness.
Daniel dropped the photograph.
"I remember..."
The figure took one step forward.
Daniel stepped back.
"You were there."
The figure stopped.
"Why?"
The figure finally spoke.
"Because you asked me to be."
Daniel shook his head.
"I never asked you for anything."
The figure's voice remained calm.
"You were only a child. You didn't understand what you were asking."
Daniel looked at the clock.
11:59:50.
Ten seconds.
"What did I ask you?"
The figure moved closer.
"To make you forget."
Daniel's breathing became unsteady.
"Why?"
"Because you saw what happened."
"What happened?"
The figure looked toward the window.
The dark train had disappeared.
Daniel turned back.
The figure was standing directly in front of him.
"Your mother never left the train."
Daniel froze.
"What?"
"She has been waiting for you."
Daniel shook his head.
"That's impossible."
The figure pointed toward the carriage door.
"Look."
Daniel turned.
His mother was standing there.
She looked exactly like she had in the photograph.
Daniel's eyes widened.
"Mom?"
She smiled.
"Daniel."
The clock began its final countdown.
11:59:55.
Daniel stepped toward her.
The figure grabbed his shoulder.
"Don't."
Daniel looked back.
"Let me go."
"If you cross that door before midnight, you may never return."
Daniel looked at his mother.
She held out her hand.
"Come with me."
Five seconds.
11:59:56.
Daniel hesitated.
Four seconds.
11:59:57.
His mother smiled.
Three seconds.
11:59:58.
Daniel took a step.
Two seconds.
11:59:59.
The entire train went silent.
One second.
Then—
MIDNIGHT.
Every light in the train went out.
Daniel heard a loud train whistle.
The floor beneath him shook.
Then everything stopped.
Silence.
Daniel slowly opened his eyes.
The carriage was empty.
The figure was gone.
His mother was gone.
The old man was gone.
Even the train seemed to have stopped.
Daniel looked at the clock.
The hands were pointing straight up.
12:00.
Then the speaker above him crackled.
A voice came through.
"Passenger Daniel Mokoena."
Daniel looked up.
"Your journey has now begun."
The lights came back on.
And Daniel realised something terrifying.
The train was no longer moving forward.
It was travelling backward.
---
Author’s Note
Chapter 7 is the turning point of the story.
Daniel finally remembers a piece of what happened when he was a child, and the mysterious figure reveals that Daniel's memories were deliberately taken from him.
But the biggest revelation is about Daniel's mother.
She may not have simply disappeared from his life.
She may still be connected to the Midnight Train.
The clock reaching midnight also changes the rules of the journey. Daniel is no longer travelling toward an unknown destination.
The train is now travelling backward.
Chapter 8 will explore where the train is taking Daniel and what happened during his first journey many years ago.
The past is no longer staying in the past.
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