I blew a strand of my blood soaked hair out of my face, only for it to fall right back in front of my eyes
I would have just used my hand to brush it back like before, but I was too busy thinking, I almost missed the announcements,
Things were weird… too weird.. actually, I was certain I died, if not from some bloodthirsty monster in the train definitely by my head hitting the ground as hard as it did,
In fact I blacked out almost immediately.. so how am I fine?
I'm standing, I can put pressure on my leg, I'm awake, it should all be impossible, that much blood and i don't even feel dizzy..
At least it's my own instead of someone else's this time.. it's not as sickening as someone else's blood splatter,
It seems like my earlier injuries had healed for the most part other than a slight ache in my lower leg and the blood matting my hair to my scalp,
Actually..
Now that i'm thinking about it, I'm not even bleeding anymore, my blood is just.. wet.
This.. combined with the voice was.. weird..
'I'm exhausted.. but my body feels fine mostly at part'
"It's not so bad quite yet… the train is moving normally and nobody has died yet," Yeon Siyun mention, tilting her head, index finger tapping her chin twice, "..perhaps the dying part lies in breaking the rules maybe?" Her voice was soft and her way of speaking was slow,
'It feels nice to listen to'
"It seems that way, you're really calm", it's offhanded, i don't expect a real response, as nice as this woman seems, i probably look disgusting. Even if i don't feel like it,
But she doesn't take offense, surprisingly, "You're pretty calm yourself… is it that weird?" She turned to the shorter man standing beside me, "Baek Siyun, am I strange?"
Oh, was that his name?
He flinched, fidgeting with his hands, twisting and pinching the skin of his fingers with his shortly trimmed nails, "ah.. well.. um, you seem like you know how to handle.. all this.." His face was still pale, nauseous,
I understood the feeling, the pit my stomach mirroring his expression, "then again.. you said that you worked in a morgue before.. all.. of this.." the innocently faced man with flat, short hair laughed weakly, shoulders hitching all the way up to his ears as the car rocked slightly with turbulence, before letting out a small sigh.
"Oh.."
He really lives up to his name.. doesn't he..[1]
"I suppose.. i guess i've always had a grim look about life.. I think this is typical for a situation if it were to happen"
"Wha.. what does that mean..?" I could tell the flat haired man was trying hard not to freak out, his voice slightly strained,
"What i'm saying is that this feels like the usual plot in a horror novel, or ghost story, so it's easier treating it like one instead of taking it seriously"
Oh,
"So you're treating this like some kind of an escape room? But that's…!" He was tried to argue against it, but he just feel silent, he probably thought it was at least a good idea to consider, "..what if you die?"
"I'm not saying that it's an easy mindset, or that you have to do it either," she dismissed easily, It feels so absurd yet it's so simple, it's easy to think about how terrible things were, how unlike ghost stories this was real.. "it just comes more naturally to me to feel this way"
But I didn't really have too.. I could treat it as something not so serious,
That's right,
I won't die if I just survive this 'story'. And getting hurt doesn't seem that bad since my body is fine.. though i'd still have to check if it actually works like i think it does,
Can't I actually just survive this?
I'm great at riddles, especially when they pertain to Horror Stories..
And there's enough people here that they'll get themselves killed so I don't have to hurt anyone myself.
Hic
Hey..
If all I need to do is not die..
…
Isn't this kind of fun?
"Are you thinking about something good.. Kim Hyunjin-ssi[2]..? Your smiling.." Baek Siyun muttered,
"Ah, not anything in particular.."
Srkkkkk
before the train's lights turned off, shrouding everything in black, dark aside from the occasional flicker from the bulbs,
"Oh.. I suppose we spoke too soon, we might just die right now"
"Please don't say things that—"
[Dun~~Da~Dun~~]
[Ehkerm, Mhm, Pardon me, our train has come across a few unexpected difficulties. Please wait for us to regain power.]
"ah.. we're going to die."
Drip
"Hm? Is the seat wet?"
"Ugh.. is there a leak somewhere? There's water in my hair"
"Do you think the lights will come back on?"
Drip
People murmured amongst themselves in the dark, it was hard to tell where and who was speaking, even with the brief intervals of flickering lights,
"Wait-"
creeak
The train made a turn and I staggered back, hitting the wall behind me, I can hear the same happening to a few other people who's been standing as well instead of sitting,
The lights flickered.
Flick
Drip
Flick.
Drip
"..oh, did you two fall over?" Yeon Siyun's voice murmured softly, "It's too dark too see.."
"I didn't fall, just stumbled.. but.. Yeon Siyun-ssi.[3]. do you hear that.?"
Drip
The melodic sound of dripping water got louder, each drip mounting more pressure than the last,
"yes I do… how weird.. the water didn't start dripping until the lights malfunctioned, so we'll probably die now—"
"Please stop saying that..!"
[Dun~~Da~Dun~~]
[Ehkerm, Mhm, Pardon me, power will be on shortly, please remain seated, the inspector will be there soon.]
Drip
The lights flickered on, then off again,
Flicker on
Flicker off
"Oh! Well that's good!"
"Are we sure it's safe…? After all those people.."
"Yeah.. it could be a trap you know? Making us all calm before we get chopped up into pieces..!"
Drip
"Don't say stuff like that! You're just trying to get us to freak out!"
"Yeah! Maybe they pushed us onto the right train without realizing it!"
Flicker
"B..but that doesn't sound likely..! Could we really be that lucky?"
"Who's to say we aren't!"
Flicker.
Drip… drip..
Drip
[Dun~~Da~Dun~~]
The lights turned on,
[Ehkerm, Mhm, Pardon me, Thank you for your patience, passengers. We apologize for the wait, The lights have been restored.]
I barely hear the announcement because of what i'm seeing, something sticky and slimy, slowly streaming down from the ceiling with occasional gaping intervals,
Drip
Squelch.
It has a foul stench, the rancid stench of decaying meat, it wasn't water that had been dripping, it was blood, flesh scattered around the floor and blood, oozing from the ceiling, a sickening pulsing red.
Drip
Looking up there was a corpse pinned to the ceiling, or perhaps that was the wrong word, a dead man, for he'd still been person at some point before stepping onto this train, his skin had clusters of hives swelled grotesquely in patches, thick and raised, his head was swollen, eyes bulging grotesquely from their sockets like plump sausages stuck beneath the skin moments from popping out, his neck was broken, twisted grotesquely, skin a disgusting bruised color, heads hanging uselessly.
Drip
an overwhelming, nauseating stench filled the car amidst the sight, i couldn't help but feel my nose wrinkle as I covered my mouth with my hand, revulsion crawling up my throat again like a squirming, slithering thing.
"ah.. ahh.."
"Doyun..oppa[4]..?"
Drip
"What in the world is this.."
"..why is this happening to us..?"
Drip
"Urk— kurgh!" A woman no older than a university graduate retched uncontrollably, tears and snot streaming down her cheeks, face twisted filled with complete disgust and horror, clawing at her head where his blood had dripped over her scalp, revealing a sweltering gobbet of puss-infected flesh,
"So disgusting..!"
Drip..
Drip..
"W..what the hell..", another man looked down at his arm, red, puss filled Blisters that burst when they were scratched, oozing a black fluid that dripped down his arm, the fluid reeked of something foul much like the corpse hanging above them,
Drip..
One more woman clutched her throat scratching and clawing at her skin as she screamed, "What is this?! What the hell is wrong with me?! help.. help me please!"
Another, then another, until four passengers were itching sweltering blisters from where the corpse's blood had touched them, filling people with terror and disbelief.
"What the hell is this?!"
Drip..
"Fuck.. holy shit.."
"Why..!"
Drip..
Nausea churned in my stomach, holding back the urge to vomit, "Yeon Siyun, are you alright? It looks like everyone that was sitting down are like this!" Baek Siyun quickly swiveled over to the long haired woman who'd long since stood from the seat,
Drip… drip..
Drip..
Drip..
Watching the man's frantic state, she spoke surprisingly calmly, tilting her head to the side a bit, showing him the blood on her sleeve before rolling it up to reveal unblemished arm free of blisters, "Calm down… It appears, As long as it doesn't touch our skin we'll be fine."
Drip
However the other four didn't have the fortune of being this lucky, they howled in pain and despair, scratching, scratching and screaming their heads off as more and more puss-filled blisters spread cross their skin, people quickly stepped away from them, too scared of getting infected too should they even try and help,
"Please!"
"Help us please!"
Drip..
"I don't want to die..!"
"no.. no no! It's not real! There's no way this is happening..!?"
Drip… drip.. drip..
Their wails transformed into hysterical sobs, descending into an odd garbled sound, like they're throats were closing up until their words became nothing but gurgled, unclear nonsene,
Their bodies trembled violently as they continued to claw their skin bloody, eyes darting around in terror as they continued to try and speak incomprehensible words no one could understand, drool and foam rolling off tongues like rabid dogs, bodies twitching and seizing until they began to drop, one by one until there was nothing but deafening silence and the eerie, rhythmic and uncordinated dripping,
Their eyes bloodshot, glassed over and fixed on nothing, saliva driped down their mouths.
"A..are they dead..?"
A short woman whimpered on the other side of the train, gripping onto her taller friend tightly,
"Yes, they are", Yeon Siyun said simply,
Four of the people in this car had already died within mere minutes after entering, leaving only six people left in the train car.[5]
[Dun~~Da~Dun~~]
[Ehkerm, Mhm, Pardon me, The Inspector is arriving, please remain seated, and prepare your tickets by the time he arrives.]
[1] 思云(Siyun) meaning “thoughtful cloud”
[2] ssi; a polite honorific used after a person;s name, similar to "Mr.", "Mrs.", or "Ms." in English. It;s used to show respect when addressing someone you;re not close to or who might be older than you, or when addressing someone with similar social status. It;s a common way to address strangers or colleagues
[3] ssi; a polite honorific used after a person;s name, similar to "Mr.", "Mrs.", or "Ms." in English. It;s used to show respect when addressing someone you;re not close to or who might be older than you, or when addressing someone with similar social status. It;s a common way to address strangers or colleagues
[4] Oppa; a term of address used by females to refer to an older male, whether it;s their older brother or a close friend. It;s not limited to biological relationships
[5] 8 passengers was the Minimum limit but there were 10 passengers on the train (four died, leaving 6/10 left)