There was no one inside.
Not a single person.
No engineer.
No pilot.
No crew.
Nothing.
The controls moved on their own.
The levers trembled.
The gauges flickered.
"What the hell…?" Nicolas whispered.
He rubbed his eyes.
Once.
Twice.
Still empty.
"How is this train moving without anyone driving it?" he said, panic rising.
His breath became shallow.
His hands trembled.
I have to stop it, he thought.
But he didn't know how.
He started pressing any button. But there was no response.
Then—
He saw a dead end around a kilometre away.
At that moment his eyes saw a lever on the right side of the engine.
He grabbed it.
Pulled.
It didn't move.
He gritted his teeth.
Pulled harder.
Nothing.
His muscles strained.
The lever didn't budge.
"Come on—COME ON!" he shouted.
The train roared louder.
The tracks screamed beneath them.
And a sound came.
[Clack]
The lever was pulled successfully.
The train starts to slow down.
[SCREACH]
The train slows down.
But the dead end was so close.
"Shit" Nicolas shouted.
The train came closer to a dead end and stopped at the last moment.
Nicolas got off the train.
"Heyy, Sierra!" Nicolas shouted in a hurry.
"Yea–" Sierra said.
" Pack everything that is needed immediately." Nicolas said swiftly "We need to leave this train immediately."
Sierra turn toward him to ask what happened but–
Nicolas' face was terrified as if he saw a ghost.
She knew something was up in the train. But they need to leave it first.
Sierra exited the train and saw the train was on the edge of the platform.
"Why did the loco pilot change route," Sierra continued, "and why are we here?"
"I don't know," Nicolas said while looking at the engine room.
"Then what did you talk to the loco pilot?" Sierra asked.
"Why don't you talk to him?" Nicolas moves his hands toward the Engine room.
Sierra goes to the engine room.
But it was empty.
No one was there.
"W…was it empty?" Sierra hesitantly asked.
"Now, you get it, right?" Nicolas said.
There were mountains on the right side and plains on the left. The plains were empty as far as they could see.
"Let's go towards the mountains. There could be a village there because on the left side there is nothing," Nicolas said.
Sierra didn't say anything.
They started walking towards the mountains.
AFTER SOME TIME
"I can't believe the train became empty. Even the driver" Nicolas said. "Was it cursed"
"I don't know." Sierra said "I guess no one was in it from there from the start"
Nicolas flinched.
"W…Why" Nicolas asked hesitantly.
"The Mistwood town. It was destroyed 100 years ago." Sierra continued "When they said they went to Mistwood town frequently. I thought they were joking to you altogether. So, I also became a part of it."
"But I didn't know they were not joking. Also, you remember the luggage that remained there. It caught mold and pears were swarming in it. I checked it after I came from the engine room."
Nicolas didn't expect it.
"Let's move forward," Nicolas said.
"We reached close to the mountains." Nicolas said while setting his grip for luggage.
Sierra said in mockery. " If you feel burdened on the route, you can give them to me for carrying."
"Who do you think I am?" Nicolas said irritably.
"Pfft," Sierra smiled to calm the situation.
"We don't have the time for this," Nicolas said while turning his head.
"In which direction should we go?" Nicolas asked.
They could see mountains that were not big enough to be considered challenging to climb, but they were big enough to consume some time to cross.
"Let's go," Nicolas said.
Around 2:00 P.M.
They reach the top of the mountain.
There Nicolas saw something.
"Is it a town down there?" Nicolas points finger in the direction.
"Yeah, finally a place to stay. I thought we needed to stay outside at night" Sierra said.
"We should test here for some time to walk fast there." Nicolas said.
"If we go there, all we can do is rest. So why don't we go first? Then rest" Sierra said.
Nicolas didn't say anything.
"Let's go," Sierra said cheerfully.
They started walking down the mountain.
AFTER SOME TIME
After travelling several hours. The town was so close to them.
They were about to reach the town.
Both were tired because they didn't get the chance to rest on their journey.
"We are so close to the town," Nicolas said tiredly.
"But, we need to know where we are right now." Sierra asked.
"We should talk to the people of the town after reaching there. About our location" Nicolas said.
"But I never knew a town could be this quiet at this time," Sierra said suspiciously.
"I guess this town isn't that big." Nicolas said.
"I guess so," Sierra said timidly.
After going into the town, they found out how big that town was. But the problem was that the town was in ruins. It looked like many centuries had passed here without any civilization. All the buildings were like they would fall at the slightest touch.
"I guess they relocated their town." Nicolas said sadly.
"That's why it was so quiet." Nicolas said.
Then, they stroll around the town to find a place that is in good shape to shelter for one night.
There they find a Church.
"Sierra. Look, there is a church. It's looking in the right shape" Nicolas said.
They entered the church and realized.
It was not the church to worship Jesus. That people worship.
They saw a horrifying image that they didn't even imagine in their dreams.
"What the hell.. is this?" Nicolas said while terrified by the sight.
"The.. cross... is inverted." Sierra said, while shaking.
"Why is the cross inverted here?" Nicolas said while terrified.
"Wait a sec, Something is written in the walls" Nicolas said.
"It's not paint. It's blood. It is so old that it dried up" Nicolas says while touching
"What!" Sierra shouted in fear.
"Wh.. what is written in it." Sierra said hesitantly.
Then, he read the sentence.
"The Godd is… deadd!" Nicolas read what was written
[Terrified]
Nicolas became shocked to see what was written on the church walls.***