The Train to Oblivion

"Miss?"

A soft voice whispered in the darkness. It was like a gentle brush of the wind. "Is he okay mama? Why is she on the floor?"

"Shhh, I don't know honey. She looks very familiar. But I can't…remember."

Slowly, the darkness begins to fade as the person in question opens their eyes. The first thing that crossed their gaze were the dim fluorescent lights, which would flicker every now and then.

The smell of burnt, rotting flesh made its way into their nose. "Mama…! She woke up.."

A childlike voice murmured. The girl on the floor sat up quickly, heaving her guts out. Dry heaving for a bit, she caught her breath and looked around in a panic.

Where the hell was she? She scanned the area rapidly, growing more alert. She was on a train. A very… eerily empty, and silent train.

She slowly stood up, using the partially destroyed seats next to her for support. The train rocked heavily to the left, sending her into the chair and against the glass.

She hissed in pain as her head hit the window. "Ouch.. what the hell is going on?" She wanted to look out the window to see where she was, but immediately realized that she couldn't see anything but her own reflection staring back at her, with a sinister smile.

She flinches away from the window in shock, shutting her eyes for a split second from the sudden movement before opening them again. "What… what the hell.."

She stared at her reflection, analyzing it to see if what she saw was real. Slowly putting her hand on the glass, brushing over the reflection, she huffed quietly. "Oh.. there's nothing there..it was just me.."

As she stared into the window, she noticed her hair was a complete mess. It was completely matted against her skull, it appeared as if she had lost a few chunks somehow. Her clothes had multiple tears and what looked to be scorch marks. Black soot covered some of her features. She looked down at herself and saw dried blood, open wounds, and multiple third degree burns in various places. It was horrible. But… she felt no pain, only slight satisfaction.

She looked back up into the window. Her eyes… What was wrong with them…? As she stared into them, she heard a voice in the distance whispering the word "insanity…".

Her reflection sneered back at her and gave her an unnerving giggle before returning back to normal. The girl stumbled back in surprise. Insanity? That's the look in her eyes?

Not even a second later, a pale hand covered her shoulder, shocking her immensely. She lashed out in fright and fell away from the sensation.

She looked around wildly only to see no one there. In her state of fear and confusion, she heard a quiet whisper hidden behind her.

"...She has burn marks mommy. She scares me…"

The girl looked up, stiffening as she made eye contact with a small child holding a partially burnt teddy bear. A young woman stood next to her with a blank expression.

She knows for a fact that they weren't there before. They stared at one another. Just studying each other's expressions. The girl got to her feet and scowled, "What the hell lady? Why did you just pop out of nowhere?! Where are we??"

The girl crossed her arms in resentment at the fact that these two strangers snuck up on her. She was sure that she was the only person in this portion of the train. So how did she not see them?

The two strangers in front of her didn't say a word. They Just watched from afar. The girl couldn't help but feel disturbed by their intense gazes, so she decided to try and make small talk.

"Uhm...Where…where are the other passengers? Are… we the only ones here?"

It took a moment, but the little girl who was now hiding behind her mother shook her head. The little girl didn't even bother to break eye contact as she tugged on her mom's shirt. The mother kept the girl behind her and gave the girl a tight smile, "There are others. We have no idea where we are. Heck, we don't even remember who we are. We all woke up on this train covered in burn wounds and severe injuries. Yet none of it hurts. But… there's one more thing…"

The daughter whispered, "This train hasn't stopped once since we woke up."

The girl took the time to process this new information. It was rather unsettling, being told that this train, for some reason, hasn't stopped once.

The young woman stared hard at the girl, "But… Somehow, I get the feeling that you are a danger to my daughter and I. There's just… Something, about you that screams danger. I feel like I've seen you somewhere before, but I can't remember where."

The girl scoffed and rolled her eyes, "Yeah right. I don't reciprocate those feelings or thoughts. You do look familiar, but I doubt we've met before outside of this train."

The young woman smiled, except it didn't reach her eyes. "Perhaps… However, you are a danger to us all. You came to us. You took us by.. surprise. Like an explosion."

The smile fades. Tension starts to grow in the air like an out of control fire. The girl couldn't help herself but move away from them. What was that supposed to mean? How could she be a danger to them? She doesn't even know them!

"Well, I don't know what to tell you. I don't remember seeing your faces at all." The little girl frowned, squeezing her teddy fearfully. The mother gave her a small glance, as if telling her to not react.

There was a moment of silence before The sounds of a door opening interrupted the rising tension.

The girl turned swiftly at the sound and turned to look behind her, she could see at least 10 people walking into the cart. Some seemed shocked, while others looked afraid once their eyes landed on her.

The girl wasn't given the chance to think about their expressions as they all scurried to different areas of the room. Some people spaced themselves out on the chairs, hiding within themselves and staying low. While others simply whispered quietly, glancing at the girl for a bit. A couple other strangers that had entered were next to the mother and daughter pair, asking if they were okay as they kept glancing her way every now and then.

She could almost feel the growing anxiety and fear in the air. The chaotic vibe they were giving off was making her feel peace. It felt amazing to see their fearful and wary expressions.

The thought and feelings surprised the girl. Why was she getting pleasure from seeing them suffer? She honestly couldn't understand why everyone was staring at her. She took a deep breath through her nose and started to observe the new strangers.

She could instantly tell that they all had similar wounds like her, if not more severe. Third degree burns decorated various parts of their body, as well as cuts, bruises, and some nasty looking gashes. Their clothes were either ripped in multiple places or severely burnt in multiple areas.

Many of the people had grime all over them, as if they were rolling in the dirt before they came to this train.

Everyone kept their distance from her, watching her. She curled in on herself and covered her face behind her knees.

The girl felt her chest rumble in dissatisfaction and felt a strong urge to do something sinister to these people. She shook her head and shut her eyes. Trying to think of anything that could come to mind.

It felt like hours as the train rocked back and forth in a steady motion. Just like the mother said, the train didn't stop once. It was like a one way ticket into the unknown. Like an endless journey into a dark and empty abyss, where time stops. The girl glanced up at the time that was showing up on a board and could see it was 3:55pm.

Something about the time seemed to jog something in her mind, but it disappeared as quickly as it came.

She stared the clock down, waiting for the minute to change. But it didn't. Why hasn't it changed yet? She waited a couple more minutes, staring intently and frowned as the numbers remained that same.

She looked around, "Do any of you know why the clock isn't working? Or, does anyone have a working watch I could look at?"

Everyone glanced at each other secretly. It was obvious that no one wanted to answer her question. As if sensing that no one was going to answer, An older gentleman, who appeared to be at least 60 something, spoke up, "Lass...The most we all remember was waking up here in a daze. The young lass and her kid were with me for a while before these other strangers appeared."

The girl felt like something was off with that statement. "You mean you guys were here first? So then how did the others get on board? How did I get here?"

She was harsh with her words, she needed answers. She grit her teeth when the older gentleman just gave her a knowing look before redirecting his attention to another child on the train.

The girl then noticed that most of the ages in this cabin were people between the ages of 7 and possibly 65. She tried to think of her age, but nothing came to mind. Not even a name. No memories. Nothing. It was like she was an empty shell.

The time still reads 3:55pm. It would be pointless to pay any more attention to it. Just as the girl looked down, the numbers started to glitch out. She looked back up again towards the clock, and saw the time was still the same.

It was silent as the ride continued. It truly felt like hours had gone by. Suddenly, the sound of the train's announcement system blared for a bit, causing everyone to jump in shock.

"Testing testing! Attention passengers. Welcome... To the crossroads of Purgatory. You all have been selected for this enjoyable ride..."

The voice in the intercom started to distort. It sounded less like a human, it was ghastly. It was sickening and it struck fear into the hearts of the 11 passengers.

" As you all know, you aren't able to remember anything about yourselves and how you arrived in this death trap."

"That's all thanks to one person hahahahaha! You have a time limit of 2 hours to figure out who put you all here! Find them or face the consequences."

The girl growled, "Let us go! We haven't done anything to deserve this! Where is this train going?! Who are we?? And who the hell are you?!?" The girl was breathing heavily, face red as she screamed desperately at the speaker.

The voice began to chuckle. It chuckled until it became a hysterical, maddening laughter. "Dear girl..The only way to get out is if anyone can figure out who did it. Who committed a crime. It's time to confess!"

The intercom switched off. Everyone was stunned. So someone really did put them here? Who in god's name would do something like this?!

Everyone eyed one another with judgefwith ul eyes. The sound of the train horn blared amongst the dark silence.

Everyone stumbled as the train jolted forward. They could feel the speed of the train start to pick up little by little, until they could definitely tell that it was going full speed. And usually that's not a very good thing.

Someone started to scream in terror as they felt the train start to push itself further. Someone ran for the door, attempting to open it, but it was sealed shut. No amount of strength could budge it open.

Another person ran to another door and did the same thing. The person cursed loudly as he received the same reaction from the door. An older woman started to pray to herself while a young man started shouting.

"Someone help us!"

"We're going to die… I don't want to die again… not like this.."

"Stop the train! It's speeding up!"

Too much noise was going on, which was vexing to the girl. She was getting pissed. The noise was bothering her.

"Shut up…" it was a low whisper. Her eyes casted down, covered in shadows.

"I said shut up…" she spoke a bit louder. But everyone was in a state of panic.

"SHUT UP!" she screamed out.

Everyone stiffened and stopped making noise. They all looked at the girl. She was shaking. Her hands were balled up into fists, her right leg bouncing.

The girl felt compelled to look up. She didn't know why. But she did. Instead of seeing the people in front of her, she instead was looking at herself. Or at least, what appears to be her.

The cart was empty, just like before. But the only presence there was her… and this… thing. A thing that was wearing her face.

It smiled sweetly, making the girl have this sinking sensation in her stomach. "You don't remember what you've done Alice?" She hissed tauntingly.

Alice… A-Alice? My… name, was Alice?

The impersonator moved ever so slowly towards Alice. "Let me help you. Let me take over. Let me remind you of who you are."

Alice stood her ground. "Stay away. Don't you touch me. I don't know what or who you are, but don't come near me." Alice felt some sort of inner fury rise in her chest. She wanted to walk away and pretend she didn't just have a conversation with herself. She went to move, only to find out quickly that she had absolutely no way of escaping from her position. It was like there was an invisible force keeping her there.

The thing that wore her face smirked widely. Its mouth stretched over its cheeks. It slowly transitioned from a human form, to something that resembled a shadow. Red glint's, which Alice could assume were eyes, moved closer to her.

"Oh… you don't remember? Silly girl. I do, I remember it all. I know what you've done. What this body has done. For I was the one who helped you start it."

Alice stayed silent as the shadow gripped her face tightly. As if knowing what Alice wanted to ask, the shadow spoke. "In...regards to who I am… I am you. You, my dear… sweet Alice, gave Me, the name Willow. It should ring a bell now, yes?"

Willow? …Why… Did that name sound familiar?

She wasn't given any time to prepare as the shadow forced her mouth open and forced her way inside. Alice tried to scream, but couldn't. She watched as the shadow entered her body.

She was hit with a sudden migraine and fell to the floor, screaming in agony, as she held her head between her hands. The ten passengers jumped in shock as the girl fell to the floor screaming bloody murder.

"Mommy?" The little girl whimpered. The mother hugged her daughter closely. Fear was evident in her eyes. Everyone looked at each other with desperation and watched cautiously as the girl stopped screaming and shaking. She laid there motionless for a few minutes before she slowly stood up from the floor.

Alice was in a dark space, floating weightlessly. Screaming and laughing insanely as images of her past came rushing in. She could see herself, sitting in a completely white, padded room. Rocking a talking to herself quietly. She could clearly tell this was a mental hospital.

She had been placed in isolation. She was severely unstable mentally. The images flashed to the building she was in exploding into flames. Alice stares enraptured at the dancing flames she created. An ominous smile was plastered on her face. "Willow…. I did it. I burned the evil priests like you told me to."

A dark voice whispered back to her, "Good. Now make your way to the train station. We must go. You must get rid of the evil on the train. You must purify your soul. Kill… kill… KILL!"

Alice felt the pleasant sensations rise within her as she watched herself strapping multiple sticks of dynamite around herself, as well as putting a few extremely dangerous grenades in her pockets for later.

She watched as she stumbled across a mother and child when she arrived and boarded the train. They were in a corner talking about bears and candies.

She recognized that the little girl and the woman were the same people she was with on the train. The one with the teddy bear. She couldn't mask the Madness in her eyes as she observed the passengers. In total, when including her, there were eleven people all together.

Alice shuffled to an empty seat in a corner. She still wore the straight jacket she had on previously, but the straps had come undone during her arson.

She bent down slightly before pulling out the sticks of dynamites. Someone, she knew as the older gentleman from the train, came towards her to ask her what she was doing. Only to shout in pain when she turned and stabbed him in the hip, laughing and twisting savagely. The man fell in pain, the screaming not dying down in the slightest. The other passengers were terrified once they saw the explosives.

"Let me introduce myself! I'm Alice, but please remember me as Willow. For it's the last name you'll all hear. HAHAHAHA!!!!"

The train was moving across a bridge at full speed unaware of what was about to happen.

The sounds of an explosion shook the air. People in the outskirts of land where they can see the train witnessed it blowing up. Violent and agonizing screams pierced the air as the burning train derailed and fell into a dark abyss. The bridge that it was on broke and tumbled after the burning train soon after.

Alice felt something detach from her soul. This allowed her to rush back to the surface and gain back control. She sat up quickly, gasping and choking on her sobs. She was having a breakdown and couldn't stop.

Everyone watched the hysteric girl with distrust and sympathy.

As Alice started to calm down, and took a deep, shaky breath. She held herself tightly, everyone could see she was traumatized by the fit she had. They all watched as she held in sobs and struggled to find some word... any word to apologize, "I… I did it… I'm the reason everyone is here on this train. I remembered everything… I'm sor- so sorry…"

The 10 passengers honestly had no idea how to react. Most wanted to be angry. Some wanted to mourn. But at this point, it was pointless seeing how horrified she was. How little and scared she was.

The announcement system blared once more. Everyone held their breaths as they waited for the voice to start talking. A feminine voice chuckled through the speaker. However, it sounded twisted. Like some demon was speaking through it.

" My my… our lovely Alice confesses! How do you feel, everyone? Knowing this little girl was the one who murdered all of you?" They sucked in a breath.

The voice continued. Alice shivered violently as she recognized who the voice over the speaker belonged to. "N-no… Willow?"

"Bingo princess! It's me hahahaha!! I should congratulate you for finally confessing! But unfortunately…"

Alice felt the tears run down her cheeks as she heard the next words, "Your time is up doll. None of you will be disembarking from this train."

Flames engulfed the train as it descended into a dark abyss. Never to be seen again.

Stories of 11 people going missing on a runaway train were all over the news. They had been kidnapped and tortured by a psychotic woman named Willow who pretended to be a psych patient named Alice. The last date any of them were last seen was in the year 2026 in the month of October. It is the year 2035. Every year since then, a faint image of a burning train would pass over the bridge where the 11 people disappeared.

Remember guys, don't go playing with explosives… you might just die! :)

–Sincerely,

Willow ♡