.
The rusty door creaked as it gave way.
Just like that, they were inside.
Not a tunnel—not yet. Just a wide, quiet room that smelled like dirt and wires. Broken lights hung from the ceiling like vines. The floor felt sticky and gritty under their sneakers. The air was hot—stale—like warm metal and wet rocks.
"Why's it so hot down here?" Hina asked, wiping her forehead with the sleeve of her hoodie. She was the only one who remembered to bring water.
Ren adjusted the flashlight duct-taped to the top of his toy camera. "Maybe old wires. Or ghosts."
"Can you not," Hina muttered.
Yuto crouched beside a patch of dust and pointed. "Look. Tracks or something."
They all leaned in. Two shallow grooves curved across the ground before disappearing beneath a slab of broken concrete.
"Train tracks?" Hina said.
"Told you it was real," Ren grinned, pulling his hoodie tighter. He lifted the camera higher, the lens whirring. "We're gonna be the first ones to find it. The hidden train. Bet you anything."
Minato wasn't moving. He stood near the wall, staring at the far corner.
"What's that?" he asked.
The others turned.
A thin, black crack ran from floor to ceiling, like lightning had once kissed the wall and left a scar. It wasn't wide—just big enough for a hand to slip through—but something about it itched the inside of their brains.
"Don't shine light into it," Minato said, quietly.
"Why not?" Yuto was already lifting his flashlight.
"Just... don't."
The light flickered as they descended the rubble slope, deeper into the hallway. The air changed. It didn't stink anymore.
It just felt quiet.
Not peaceful. Not safe.Like the world was holding its breath.
And then they found it.
The station.
It stretched impossibly far, the way dreams forget how to end. Thick stone pillars stood like exhausted statues. The tracks were empty but deep—carved like scars—lined with broken tile and old gravel.
"Why's it so fancy?" Yuto said, brushing dust from the wall. "Is this marble?"
"Secret government thing," Ren said.
"Or something they wanted us to forget," Hina whispered.
That's when the camera glitched.
The screen blinked once. The chat lagged, then caught up—lines and lines flooding past.
🔴 [LIVE]echoburn_ren: exploring Echo Line 7732k viewers
Then—
HinaFanClub: wtf was that???n0watcher: did u SEE that glitchredglass99: don't go furtherredglass99: don't go furtherredglass99: don't go further
The flashlight flickered.
Then came the sound.
Tap.
Silence.
Tap-tap.A dragging noise.
No one moved. Not even Ren.
Minato stepped off the platform. He didn't look scared. Just... focused. Like he was listening for something only he could hear.
The tapping stopped.
Then—BANG.
A deep, distant clang. Not close. But not far enough.
They ducked.
"That wasn't wind," Hina whispered.
Ren looked at the camera. The screen had gone black for half a second.
When it returned—
801,452 viewers
"Wait... what?" he muttered.
More comments now.
Scrolling too fast to read.Repeating words.Sentences that didn't make sense.Don't let it see you.Don't break the seal.RUN.you already did.YOU SHOULDN'T BE HERE
Then static.
The screen turned white.
The flashlight turned off.
A high-pitched sound pierced the air—not through their ears, but inside their teeth. Like metal being dragged across nerves. Something unspoken. Untranslated.
Then: silence.
Then: breathing.
Ren's heart was racing. He couldn't tell if it was his or someone else's.
The camera flickered.
The screen showed nothing.
Then, shapes. Not a face. Just... absence. Eye sockets where no face should be. A smear of too many mouths. But maybe that was the glitch.
He shook the camera.
The image warped again.Now it was just the station.Empty.Still.No noise.
Except for the chat.
They saw it.
Don't say its name.
Don't look at the cracks.
you're being watched
The lights didn't come back on.
They ran.
No one said anything this time.
Just footsteps. The clatter of sneakers over tile and gravel. The screen was frozen now—stuck on the same blurred frame.
Ren didn't remember when they'd split up. He just knew he was holding Minato's sleeve with one hand, the camera with the other.
The floor shifted.
Then—
"Where's Yuto?" Hina's voice cracked behind them.
"I thought he was with us!"
Another flash of static.
Then a sound.Far behind them.One scream.Cut off.
They skidded to a stop by a shattered hole in the tiles.
Yuto's shoe was sitting by the edge. Just one.
Still warm.
The screen finally caught up.
The view count ticked upward.
814,009 viewers.