THE TRAIN OF DARKNESS

There is a world in between existence where an able minded individual can manipulate the realm by constructing any thing a mind can imagine. The right person can build beauty and construct things of positivity and growth. But there is also evil in the world and they can create a wreak chaos by treating life. In the mind of a treacherous heart, lives can be at stake. If you are killed in the realm, then your soul is trapped until the host dies or frees you at their own discretion.

CAR #101

Awaken by the sounds of the train squealing, Sandrine sat dazed and confused. She turned looked out the window to see if she knew where she was and could see nothing but cloudy darkness. She turns and sees someone else on the train with her. She runs over to him and shakes him awake.

"Hey, hey guy, wake up."

With a burst the man awakens "Whoah what is this, where am I?" he looks around "Am I on a train?" he stand to his feet and runs to the door and tries to open it. " Have we been kidnapped?" he turns to Sandreine " Why are you answering me?"

"You haven't really given me a chance, Yes we are on a train, yes i do believe we've been kidnapped, but look outside, I don't know where we are. Oh and I'm Sandreine by the way."

"I'm Dice and last thing I remember was leaving my ex-wife's house going to see my son, I walked off the porch and just woke up here."

"I had just gotten off work and gotten into a Lyft." Sandrine said with discontent and confusion. "My phone." it was still in her pocket and so was everything else she was holding. "Everything is still in my purse so I wasn't robbed and i don't feel like I've been raped, what about you?"

"What?? no, and I still have everything too. My phone is off and won't come on."

"What do you think this is?" She questioned

"This, my dear is me doing whatever I want. Before you start asking me questions, no you don't know me. Both of you were just two random strangers in the wrong place at the wrong time. You have no significance to each other except that I want to watch you die horribly." Said the deep voice over the intercom. "Now that we've gotten the formalities out of the way, WELCOME TO THE FIGHT FOR YOUR LIVES."

"The fight for our lives? what does that mean?" said Dice as he stood to his feet.

"Each car holds a surprise. Enter slowly because you might run into something that could end you quickly. Gather weapons because the fight will be hard. Maybe this will be the first time I get beat. Watch out for the hundreds before you hahahah."

As they gathered the most weapons they could, the lights flashed and the doors to the next car opened.

CAR #202

"Dice, remember go slow."

"Ok, come on and stay behind me." Dice took a few steps in and Sandrine followed with her sword strongly planted in front of her. In a flash standing before them was a huge monterious spider. Sandrine screamed in terror as the spider grabs Dice and throw him against the wall. Sandrine pulls her gun and starts to shoot at it but the gun was not working,which made the spider stop and turn its attention to her now. There she stood frozen with fear. Dice pulls to his feet draws his sword, stabs the spider in it's thorax and jumps on with force. Holding on the the sword he pulls himself up and climbs to the head grabs tightly and with a beretta he stabs the neck and pulls until he is holding it. The spiders body fell at Sandreines feet.

"See, (a breath of relief) Easy Peasy" He said standing on he back of the spider reaching down to pull her over.

"Yeah I bet. If that was Car 2 i wonder what is coming for us in Car 3?

As she jumps off the the spider, the train goes into a tunnel. The lights start to flicker and revealing the lost souls of the people who are trapped on the train.

"Help us" "kill the host" "please help us"

Dice stops to look around as the souls circle them all crying and begging to be saved.

"Oh my God, these people."

"How do we find the host?"

"Soon.. finish the train and kill the host" the soul said as the lights came back on and the doors to the next car opened.

CAR #303

As Dice and Sandrine starts to walk into the car, Sandrine stops and grabs Dice's arm. "Dice look."

"What is that?"

Seeping through the walls like smoke, gargoyle demons. And in a fast swoop, one sweeps Sandrine off her feet and is in full attack while she fights on her back. Dice who has his own set of gargoyles to slay, glances at her and runs full speed knocks the demon off of her and another grabs him and slings him through the air effortlessly. He shakes it off and is back in the fight. Sandrine yells "NOTHING IS WORKING HOW DO WE KILL THEM?"

Soft voices start to chatter, "The heart, stab the heart.."

Dice took heed and put all his might into slaying the demons. It was a long fight, and after about 10 minutes, they had killed them all. Tired and beaten they both sit to rest.

"Dice, you are bleeding."

"Yeah I figured as much. It's not that bad though."

"Are you going to make it?"

"I have to, I can't die here."

They both looked at the doors as they opened.

"Wait, I have to rest a minute."

Sandrine agreed and sat back on the wall. "So what do you do?"

"Ummm, well in the morning, I teach MMA and Tai Chi, and at night I tend bar at the Owl House.'

"Woow, how lucky can I be ending up here with you."

"Well you seem pretty good too, what about you what do you do?"

"Haha, I'm a paralegal for a small firm in East Village. But I was very athletic in school. And I took fencing. So that's why the sword is my main thing."

"Hey look at the floor in the next Car. Do you think it's a trap?"

"Of course, I wouldn't expect any less. We will just go in really slow this time."

Studying the patterns of lights on the floor, Dice noticed that there were lights on and lights off. "I wonder what will happen if we step on the dark ones." he grabbed a demon and cut it's arm off and threw it on the dark tile.( swiip) 6 arrows shot through the car. "Wow, let me throw one on the light."

When he did it, the whole floor pattern changed.

"So we have to go one by one, ok I will go first, you rest for another minute."

CAR #404

"Well, look on the bright side, at least we don't have to fight."

Sandrine stood at the door and tightened her weapons. Then she sized up her first jump. And went off. "One pause, two, pause Three, pause

On until she counted 12 jumps. She had made it.

"No worries Dice come on."

He was ready, jump one, pause, jump two, pause... the lights started to flicker they both freeze. The light under Dices foot had turned off.

"OH NOOO" screamed Sandreine

The souls appeared again "Run"

Dice Kicked it into high gear as he ran through the Car with arrows barely missing him. Just as he reached the safe line an arrow struck him and he fell over into Sandrine's arms.

"Sandreine, I'm good, it's just my shoulder. Here tie my tie around it to stop the bleeding. I need you to pull the arrow out.'

"I can't do that, I get squeamish. and it didn't even come out the other side."

Dice stood up and pressed the end of the arrow on the wall as he screamed in agony he fell to his knees and Sandrine took her knife and cut the arrow head off then he pulled it out.

Dice was in pain, he took a few deep breaths and said "Sandrine, my real name is Declain Jovan Chrisp, my ex-wife's name is Brianna and my sons name is Christopher, They live in Parc Terrace #8 please do let the struggle with my death, find a way to tell them I'm gone."

"Come on stop talking like that, we are going to make it out of this."

"Look, don't let them look for me forever with false hopes, I'm serious."

"Well if that's the case then my name is Sandrine Carter, my parents are Melvin and Beth they live in upper D-Town 3812 Holly st. and it's the same for me. You ready to keep going?"

The lights stopped flickering and the next doors opened.

CAR #505

"Stop wait look at the floor, what are those clicks...?"

Click, Click, Click, and six swords shot up from the floor one went directly through Sandrine's foot.

"AHHHHH" she belted out as the sword pierced her foot and then with in a couple of seconds, retracted back into the floor.

Dice pulled her back off the floor where there were no slits. "Calm down, find something to focus on I have to take your shoe off."

She chose to look at the floor.

click, swords

click,click,click,to 9 swords

click click swords in the third spot

"I figured out a pattern, if we go after this one we should make it to the line"

"OK, im done, stand up put your weight on me"

The swords shot up and retracted and the count began.

"GO"

They raced to the line and just as Dice pushed Sandrine over the line, the swords went into his body.

"NOOOO" she grabs his hand as they retracted he fell lifelessly into Sandrine's arms.

"Dice come on I can't do this without you come on."

In comes a slow clap, A woman Tall and slim beautiful features. "You made it Sandrine look behind you, there go jump out of my train."

She looked up from Dice's body and said, "IM taking him with me." with fury and tears in her eyes.

"It doesn't matter Sandrine, he lost, his soul is mine. "

And in that moment, Sandrine remembered the gun she had in her waist. She acted as if she was just struggling with Dice and slipped the gun out, sent 3 bullets into the hosts chest and pulled Dice with all her might. They all three fell onto the street as the realm cracked open in front of Sandrine's home. She pulls her phone out of her pocket and calls 911 as she watches the lost souls ascend into the sky.

"Thank you"

"Thank you"

And one last soul. Dice stopped and touched her forehead and went into the sky with the others.