The door opened to a void of sound. Or rather—a cacophony.
A thousand screams tore through the air, echoing from every direction, shrill, guttural, impossibly close. The walls pulsed with the vibrations, making the floor tremble beneath Evelyn's feet. Each scream carried pain, terror, and despair so raw it felt like it clawed at her insides.
Evelyn clutched her ears, but the sound wasn't just heard—it was felt, pounding inside her skull, rattling her bones. Her vision blurred as shadows twisted in the screaming light, forming faces she recognized: strangers, friends, and—horrifyingly—herself. All screaming. All pleading.
Alex staggered, tears streaming down his face. "I… I can't… I can't—"
"Focus!" Evelyn screamed over the chaos. "We have to move forward. Don't let the screams trap us!"
The floor beneath them began to crack, jagged openings revealing mouths lined with sharp teeth, shrieking their own horrifying echoes. Each step they took, the mouths multiplied, snapping hungrily as if trying to devour them alive.
Sophie's shadow split from her feet, twisting into a screaming doppelgänger that lunged at her. Evelyn grabbed Sophie, yanking her free just as the shadow's teeth sank into the air where Sophie had stood. The smell of burnt flesh and wet hair filled the carriage, making her gag.
The train wasn't just showing horrors—it was creating them, manifesting fear as reality. Evelyn's own shadow shifted, becoming a dark, clawed version of herself, whispering:
"You belong to the screams. You will join them."
Her chest burned, lungs heaving. She clenched her fists. "No. We survive. All of us. Together!"
Ahead, a faint path glimmered through the writhing shadows. The screams intensified, echoing like a thousand broken lives. Every wrong step brought the echoes closer, clawing at her mind, whispering secrets she hadn't dared admit aloud.
Evelyn reached the glowing sigil at the end of the path. She placed her bloodied hand on it. Light exploded outward, silencing the screams for a brief, terrifying second. The shadows screamed one last time, recoiling, then dissolved into black smoke.
The friends collapsed, trembling, soaked in sweat and blood, hearts racing like drums in a nightmare.
Evelyn looked around. The carriage was empty now—but she could still hear whispers behind her skull, faint, mocking:
"You survived… but the train remembers. And it will not forgive."
Her fingers tightened on the railing. One step at a time. One carriage at a time. She didn't dare think about how many more horrors awaited.
The Midnight Train was far from finished. And Evelyn knew, deep down, the next carriage would demand everything they had left—mind, body, and soul.