"Eula… Eula… wake up."
Maki's whisper was soft, almost lost in the darkness.
Eula stirred, blinking herself awake. The sky outside her window was still heavy with night, though a faint blush of dawn had begun to creep over the horizon.
She turned toward the figure at her bedside. "Maki? What is it?"
"I have to leave for a couple of days," he said quietly.
Eula's brow furrowed. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and began pulling on her clothes. Maki rarely gave warnings before his disappearances; normally, he would just vanish without a word.
Did something happen?
"Go, then," she said, fastening her jacket. "Just be careful. Don't worry about me."
A small smile touched his lips. And then, without another word, Maki faded into the air.
At Breakfast
Laura pushed her food around her plate before finally forcing down a few bites. Lately, her appetite had all but vanished, though she couldn't explain why.
The dining room was hushed; the quiet clinking of utensils was the only sound.
Afia sat at one end of the table, headphones on, chewing methodically. Beside her, Pacey sipped milk while her eyes stayed glued to the glowing tablet screen.
Laura glanced to her other side. Eula sat there, eating with calm precision.
Laura cleared her throat. "So, uh… Eula… where's that little boy who's always with you?"
Eula's fork paused mid-air. "Maki won't be here for a few days," she said evenly. "And he's not a little boy—he's hundreds of years older than any of us."
Laura's mouth fell open. "Oh… right. So… um… what do you think we'll do today?"
No one replied. Pacey's focus remained on her work; Afia didn't even look up.
"Most likely training," Eula said at last.
Laura forced a smile, though her shoulders slumped. Training—again. She'd lost count of how many days they'd spent "training".
Laura had thought the day couldn't possibly get worse. She was wrong.
Arwan sat slouched in his chair, one leg over the other, the kind of smirk on his face that made her want to punch it off. His eyes skimmed over them, full of disappointment that felt rehearsed, like he'd been waiting to deliver bad news just to see how they'd take it.
Without warning, he slammed a thick file onto the table. The sound cracked through the silence.
"Today," he said, leaning back and kicking his boots onto the desk, "will be your first task."
Eula stepped forward, flipping the file open. "Terminal… sixty-nine?" she read aloud.
Arwan's smile was thin. "I doubt you've heard of it. But it's a good place to… sharpen your skills. Think of it as team-building."
Her eyes narrowed. "What's at this place?"
Before he could answer, Laura spoke up. "How do we know you're not just toying with us—or trying to get us killed?"
Arwan chuckled under his breath. "You don't. And you don't have a choice, either. You'll just have to trust me." He spun his chair lazily to face away from them. "If this is already too much for you, Laura… maybe you should just crawl back to where you came from."
Afia broke the heavy silence. "Take us to the place."
That earned her another smile from Arwan, quick and satisfied. Without another word, he stood and left the room, his footsteps fading down the hall.
Laura exhaled sharply, watching the door close. "I'm telling you, that jerk cannot be trusted. He's one of them. For all we know, he's leading us straight into a trap."
Pacey shrugged as she headed for the exit. "It's just an abandoned station. How bad could it be?"
Terminal 69
The answer came hours later, standing on the edge of a forgotten platform deep beneath the city.
It smelled of rust and something older, something damp and clinging. The flickering lights overhead cast the walls in uneven shadows, making the peeling paint look like stretched skin.
The station sign was so faded it was barely legible, but the number was still there—69—painted in bold white, half-scratched away.
Afia adjusted her headphones, eyes darting along the empty tracks.
Laura kept her gloves tight, hands buried in her jacket pockets. "This place is giving me goosebumps."
Pacey scanned the shadows. "Feels more like a ghost story than a mission."
Eula stepped to the platform's edge, looking down the tunnel. "Ghost stories always start somewhere."
From behind them, Arwan's voice echoed. "Consider this your introduction."
They turned to face him—
But he was already gone.
Somewhere deep in the tunnel, far beyond the reach of the light, a low metallic screech echoed… followed by the sound of a train that shouldn't exist.
The rails beneath their feet began to tremble.
"Honestly, let's just come back another time. I'm feeling a bit worn out, you know?" Laura said, her voice trembling.
Pacey swept her hair back, then drew her arrow and shot it into the dark alleyway of the train station.
The arrow illuminated the station briefly before it flickered out.
There was nothing—no one in sight.
Eula stepped toward the dark alleyway. "At this rate, we'll be here all day."
Afia trailed behind while Pacey scanned the entrance.
Before long, everyone had vanished into the shadows.
Laura hesitated, contemplating whether to follow them into the unknown.
"What am I doing here? I didn't sign up for this," Laura silently complained. "Think of the money, Laura. The money..." she reassured herself.
Suddenly, she heard footsteps behind her.
Laura quickly turned to see the source of the sound, but found only emptiness. She shook her head, convincing herself she was overthinking.
Just as she was about to move forward, Eula zoomed past her and landed hard on an old empty trash bin, sending dust flying everywhere.
Laura rushed to help Eula up.
Eula gasped for breath. "Dammit!"
Twenty minutes earlier.
"Hello?" Pacey called out.
"I highly doubt anyone is going to answer you in here," Afia replied.
Eula moved ahead. What exactly was their mission here? Were they just supposed to look around? To solve something? How was this helping them?
Just then a low groan reverberated through the station, sending vibrations through the rails beneath their feet. Dust drifted down from the cracked ceiling.
Pacey froze. "Y'all heard that, right?"
Before anyone could respond, something scraped at the far end of the tunnel. A dragging sound, metal against stone, slow and methodical.
From the darkness emerged two pinpricks of red light—eyes, unblinking. Then the rest of it crawled forward. Its body was enormous yet hunched, its limbs jointed awkwardly, like a spider forced into a human shape. Rusted chains dangled from its wrists, clattering as it moved, each step leaving deep claw marks in the concrete.
The creature opened its mouth, unleashing a guttural wail that was so piercing Afia had to cover her ears.
"Damn," Pacey muttered, already drawing another arrow.
The monster lunged, surprisingly fast for its size. Pacey's arrow struck its shoulder, glowing briefly before fizzling out. The creature barely reacted.
Eula stepped in with her katana, aiming upward, but the monster swung one of its chains, sending her sprawling across the floor. She skidded several feet before crashing into a toppled trash bin.
Present Time.
Pacey dashed behind the beast, aiming her arrow at its legs, but the chain lashed out again, wrapping around her wrist. She screamed as it yanked her off her feet and slammed her against a cracked pillar.
"Watch out!" Afia warned.
The creature turned toward her, its chains scraping along the ground with a deafening sound. Its red eyes locked onto Afia, and it began to crawl—faster, jerking, its limbs twitching with unnatural spasms.
Afia stumbled backward, tripping over a loose tile. She scrambled to her feet just as the monster raised its chain, preparing to strike.
Before it could swing, Pacey shot another arrow, this one crackling with blue light. The shaft embedded deep into the creature's chest, and for the first time, it let out a roar of pain.
Black smoke poured from the wound. The monster thrashed violently, slamming its chains against the walls, shattering tiles and sending sparks flying.
But even as it staggered, it didn't fall. Instead, it began to rise taller, the chains tightening around its body as if fusing with it, the red glow in its eyes intensifying.
Eula coughed, pulling herself up with her katana. "It's transforming."
The chains rattled like living creatures, slithering around the creature's arms and torso until they melded into jagged, armor-like plating. Its body stretched taller, the ceiling creaking as its hunched form scraped against the concrete beams.
Then it came crashing down on them.
Eula barely rolled aside before one massive chain smashed into the floor, obliterating the tiles and sending shards flying like shrapnel. She slashed upward, her blade sparking against the iron-hard chains. The impact jolted through her arm, nearly ripping the sword from her grip.
Pacey, clutching her injured wrist, forced herself upright and stabbed her arrow into the monster's leg joint. The blade sank a few inches before being wrenched free as the beast jerked its limb. The counterstrike was brutal—the chain whipped around, wrapping her waist, and slammed her against the ground. Dust and blood flew as she gasped for air.
"Pacey!" Laura screamed, stumbling forward before Eula yanked her back.
"Stay behind me!" Eula shouted, her eyes locked on the monster.
Afia quickly got to her feet. A sound echoed through the station. It was the sound of a flute. The beast turned its attention toward Afia, its eyes glowing with anger before unleashing a roar. Then the creature reeled back, shrieking so loudly the station seemed to tremble.
Afia panted as she noticed the beast's eyes suddenly pop open. Dark liquid began to drip from its eyes.
The beast staggered only a moment before charging blindly, chains lashing in every direction.
Eula rushed toward Afia, meeting the beast head-on. She dodged one chain and vaulted upward, driving her blade into the creature's shoulder joint. Black smoke hissed from the wound, but the monster's clawed hand seized her midair and hurled her across the station. She slammed into a rusted sign, the metal crumpling around her.
Laura's entire body trembled. Her ears rang from the shrieks, her lungs burning from the acrid smoke. She pressed a hand against her chest to steady herself, whispering, *The money... the money...* but her voice felt hollow, thin against the monster's roar.
Then her hand landed on the wall as she tried to get up. A new memory flooded in, and Laura turned to the wall, noticing it—etched faintly into the cracked surface behind the beast. A strange symbol, glowing softly whenever the monster drew near.
"Pacey!" she shouted, her voice breaking. "Look at the wall!"
Pacey's gaze darted to where Laura pointed, her jaw tightening. The symbol pulsed like a heartbeat, brighter each time the monster's chains scraped the ground.
Eula, coughing blood, dragged herself out of the wreckage. "That's it," she rasped. "That's its tether. Break the mark—and we can kill it."
The monster roared again, chains writhing as it prepared another devastating strike.
The creature reared back, its chains writhing like snakes ready to strike. The glowing symbol on the wall pulsed faster, almost in sync with its movements.
"Cover me!" Eula shouted, forcing herself onto shaky legs. Blood trickled down her temple, but her grip on the blade remained firm.
Pacey drew two arrows simultaneously, her hands trembling but steady enough to aim. She released them in rapid succession—one embedded in the monster's chest, bursting with blue light, while the other struck its knee, causing it to stumble. The beast shrieked, one eye burning hollow, its chains thrashing wildly.
Afia, groaning through pain, blood dripping from her ear, staggered to her feet. "I'll buy you time." She dashed forward, her flute quickly transforming into daggers that flashed, slashing across the beast's wrist. The chains snapped outward, catching her shoulder, but she twisted free, creating an opening for Eula.
"Now!" Pacey yelled.
Eula sprinted, ignoring the blood soaking her side, her eyes locked on the glowing mark. The monster seemed to sense her—its head snapped toward her, and all its chains lunged as one, writhing like vipers.
Laura's body moved before her mind caught up. She hurled a loose piece of rubble, striking the monster across the jaw. "HEY! Over here!" she screamed, her voice cracking with fear.
The creature froze, its one remaining eye blazing as it turned toward her.
Eula didn't hesitate. She plunged her blade deep into the heart of the symbol.
The wall erupted in blinding white light. The chains around the monster convulsed violently, snapping and shrieking as if alive. Black smoke poured from its wounds as it clawed at itself, its scream a mix of fury and agony that rattled every bone in their bodies.
It staggered forward once, twice—then collapsed in a heap, its body dissolving into ash and smoke that spiraled upward into nothingness.
The station fell silent.
Laura dropped to her knees, chest heaving. "Oh… oh god…"
Pacey lowered her bow with trembling hands.
Eula pulled her katana from the cracked wall, the symbol now lifeless. She glanced at Laura, then at the others.
Laura turned toward Afia and noticed her pale face, then the blood trickling from what seemed to be under her headphone, likely from her ear.
Footsteps approached.
"I see you all cleaned up the mess... that was unexpected."
"You were here the whole time?"
Arwan just looked at them in silence. "If you had looked carefully, this wouldn't have happened," he muttered coldly.
"We could've died!" Pacey exclaimed.
Arwan smirked, "I know."