Strange Train

2

"What's going on?" Zhao Rong was baffled.

I turned on my phone's flashlight and found all six bunks empty.

The stout man was truly gone.

Zhao Rong shrugged. "Maybe another attendant made him leave."

The bunk where the stout man had been lying was now pristine, as if it had been tidied up. There were hardly any wrinkles on the sheets, and the blanket was neatly folded and placed on the pillow.

I couldn't help but ponder.

Could all this happen in such a short time?

A faint smell of alcohol lingered in the compartment, evidence that the stout man had indeed been there.

But Zhao Rong didn't seem to care; she simply lay down on the bed and started using her phone.

The carriage began to sway gently, and I lifted the curtain to peek outside. Everything was still shrouded in thick fog.

The train was slowly pulling away from the platform, picking up speed.

Zhao Rong fiddled with her phone and suddenly complained, "Ugh, the signal on this train is terrible. I can't even send a message."

My heart skipped a beat as I took out my phone. Indeed, there was no signal at all, and I couldn't even dial emergency numbers.

I began to feel increasingly uneasy about this train journey.

Zhao Rong had already turned off her phone, ready to sleep.

Before long, the steady sound of her breathing filled the compartment.

I tried to calm myself and crawled into bed, closing my eyes, preparing to sleep as well.

As my tense emotions relaxed, drowsiness quickly engulfed me, pulling my consciousness into the abyss.

...

"Luyao, Luyao!"

"Wake up!"

I didn't know how long I had been asleep when I heard someone calling my name.

I groggily opened my eyes to find darkness surrounding me.

A blurry face suddenly appeared before me.

She stretched her neck, her face full of fear, shaking my body forcefully.

Startled, I instantly woke up, only to realize that the face belonged to Zhao Rong.

Seeing me awake, Zhao Rong tremblingly asked, "Luyao, did you... did you hear that voice?"

Voice? What voice?

"Someone talking... many people... there were so many people around me!"

Zhao Rong widened her eyes, gripping her head with both hands, looking utterly terrified.

I hadn't heard any voices.

And besides Zhao Rong and me, there was no one else in this compartment.

But judging from Zhao Rong's demeanor, it didn't seem like a prank.

"Zhao Rong, are you having a nightmare?"

I tentatively reached out to her, hoping to calm her down first.

"Don't touch me!" Zhao Rong pushed me away as if I were electrically charged, suddenly going hysterical, shouting, "Don't touch me!"

Before I could react, Zhao Rong flung open the compartment door and rushed out in a panic.

Instinctively, I wanted to follow, but I found myself frozen in place.

The moment I thought of the attendant I had encountered in the corridor earlier, an inexplicable sense of dread washed over me, forcing me to sit back down on the bed. I took out my phone to check the time—it was 1:30 in the morning.

I had barely slept for over an hour.

What should I do next?

Should I go out to find Zhao Rong?

But I couldn't shake the feeling that staying in the compartment might be safer.

Yet, what if something happened to Zhao Rong if I left her alone?

My mind was in turmoil, unable to make sense of anything.

Suddenly, my phone rang.

It was Zhao Rong calling!

I hurriedly answered.

The signal seemed poor, and I could only hear intermittent sounds, accompanied by crackling noises.

"L... run... they're coming..."

"Zhao Rong, what are you saying? Where are you? I can't hear you clearly!"

"Run... Ah!"

With a scream, Zhao Rong's voice abruptly cut off.

The call ended.

I tried to call back, but my phone still had no signal.

The compartment fell back into silence.

Clutching my phone, I sat on the bed, feeling stiff all over.

Who were the "they" Zhao Rong mentioned?

What did "run" mean?

Was she warning me to leave the compartment quickly?

Before I could make sense of these questions, the compartment suddenly filled with the sound of "drip, drip," like water dripping from the ceiling.

My heart pounded.

Then came a sharp "snap."

A black shadow flashed before me.

Something fell to the ground in front of me.

I moved the light of my phone, illuminating the scene.

A fat body lay sprawled on the floor.

It had no limbs, and its head was twisted.

Its sunken eye sockets, gaping mouth, and contorted features bore an expression of unimaginable horror.

I tried to scream, but I couldn't hear my own voice.

It was as if something was blocking my throat, rendering me unable to make a sound.

Despite only seeing it once, I recognized the face.

It was the stout man who had been lying on my bunk earlier, the one who had disappeared.

As the stout man slowly raised his upper body, I finally heard my own scream.

I stumbled out of the compartment, my mind blank, running wildly along the aisle.

When I reached the connecting part of the carriage, I suddenly smelled a strong smoke.

I stopped, gasping for air, feeling parched.

My heart pounded violently, drowning me in its rhythm.

Behind the partition at the carriage connection, gray smoke drifted out.

Almost simultaneously.

An oval-shaped head slowly emerged from behind the partition.

What was most horrifying was the multitude of mouths covering that face.

Each one puffing out smoke rings.

In the center of that mass of mouths was an eye.

Its slender, vertical pupil blinked incessantly at me.

The moment of terror spread to the tips of my nerves, causing my skin to crawl.

The creature seemed to notice me and slowly revealed its entire body.

It had only a bald torso, resembling a swollen tumor that almost blocked the entire connection.

Countless arms sprouted around the tumor, each holding a cigarette, occasionally inserting one into a mouth, like a chimney, continuously exhaling choking smoke.

I froze in place, unable to move.

It wasn't until it began to shift the tumor with its arms, attempting to approach me, that I snapped out of my stupor, remembering the text message on my phone. I quickly dodged into the nearby restroom, locking the door behind me.

A creaking pressure sound came from outside.

As if some creature was pressing against the door, trying to force its way in.

The restroom was narrow, barely enough room to turn around.

Above the door frame was a bright green indicator light.

Next to the urinal, a wall-mounted wireless communication device hung.

I didn't have time to think, so I grabbed the receiver and placed it to my ear.

This communication device seemed to have only one line.

After two rings, a hoarse voice came from the other end.

"Hello, may I help you?"

I forced myself to calm down and organized my words.

"At the connection between cars 5 and 6, there's... " I didn't know how to describe the tumor, so I said, "something smoking."

"Alright, we'll send an attendant to handle it immediately. Please stay in the restroom for now and do not go out."

After the call ended, I cowered in the restroom, trembling.

The mirror above the sink reflected my face.

The color had drained from my face, leaving it a lifeless pallor.

Trembling, I raised my hand and slapped myself hard.

It hurt, a lot.

It seemed I wasn't dreaming.

All of this was really happening.

But how could this be possible...

How could such monsters exist in reality?

In the midst of my chaotic thoughts, I noticed the indicator light on the door frame suddenly change from green to blinking red.

I was momentarily stunned, then remembered the rules in the text message.

A lingering sense of fear surged in my heart.

Because I remembered very clearly that the message said, when the indicator light in the restroom changes from green to blinking red, please leave as soon as possible!