“Stopping at station C.” I nearly stumbled as the train’s brakes kicked in— I was barely hanging on the pole with one hand, and I pulled my arms in, trying not to drop my phone. I adjusted my tie with my free hand, smiling at my phone screen as a crowd of bodies pushed passed me, leaving to their destination.

A home camera had been a good investment. At first it was for security, but now I mostly used it to check on my dog, who was waiting by the door for me. I watched, tracing his image as he stood up, looking into the kitchen and back towards the door. “Aw, just a few more minutes boy.” I muttered under my breath. A new wave of people were pressing into the train and a moment later it was moving again, but I was ready for the sudden acceleration.

I smiled as my boy, Jax, sat outside the door.

Then the tram went dark. I looked up. It was odd— I didn’t remember there being a tunnel this close to home, and there was an ominous hush over the crowd. I craned my neck to look out the window. The whispering and conversations were escalating from quiet to loud confusion. The smell of alcohol passed under my nose.

“Bad day for a walk, huh?” Someone asked from beside me.

I squinted out the window. Was the city still out there? It was pitch black, and I saw, instead of the inside of a tunnel, a stretching landscape of fog.

“I’m talking to you.” The man spoke again.

“What?” I pocketed my cellphone, squinting.

“I said…” He leaned towards me. “Bad day for a walk.”

“Early time for a drink.” I stepped backwards, squinting at the strange man that was talking to me. He smiled, turning away and pushing into the crowd. Distantly in the train, I heard him ask someone else the same question. Was that some kind of code word? My eyes scanned the crowd.

Sure enough, there was someone staring at the drunk. But he didn’t look interested— he looked angry. His hair was shock, neon blue, like something out of Yu-Gi-Oh.

The brakes nearly knocked me off my feet this time as the tram came to a stop. I caught myself— barely— on the pole, as the electronic voice once again droned out over the speakers.

“We have arrived at the station. All passengers must deboard.”

I muttered an obscenity under my breath. What the hell? In the tunnel? The mood on the train had turned to panic, now. Was it having a breakdown?

The doors opened, mist pouring into the tram, flooding the floor. Was the tunnel having a breakdown? People pushed and shoved to get out of the train.

“We have arrived at the station. All passengers must deboard. Please take one briefcase on your way out.” The voice said, the last lane added. A briefcase?

As if on cue, below the seats, hidden cupboard doors slid open like the tram’s, sliding on their side. It was filled completely with black briefcases, packed side to side.

I looked back at my cellphone. I had lost signal— to be expected from inside of a tunnel. I eyed the briefcases and the exit.

“We have arrived at the station. All passengers must deboard. Please take one briefcase on your way out.”

I grabbed one of the briefcases, reaching down briefly to slide one out and step out of the door. The crowd pushed me out, people moving behind and in front of me, as I scanned the crowd.

To my left, the drunk waved— he had two brief cases in his left hand. Did he know what was going on? Where was the other man— there. His hair had him standing out in the crowd. He, too, was carrying two brief cases. I turned.

If they knew what was going on, I should grab another— but as I turned, the doors on the train slammed shut. There was the beeping noise that indicated it was about to depart— and then it slammed forward, its wheels sparking on the track, screeching an awful tone of metal on metal, accelerating far faster than a train should. There were screams from near it as people jumped out of the way.

I cursed, backing away, looking around, then nearly swore as the world in front of me flashed.

Name: Vincent Shepard

Tokens: 0

Challenge Coins: 0

Stats:

Dexterity - 10

Strength - 10

Constitution - 10

Will - 10

Intelligence - 10

Perception - 10

Skills:

None

What was this, some kind of game interface? Are these statistics mine? Dexterity, Strength, Will… it was like a sheet from a role playing game. Evidently, everyone else in the crowd had the same pop up, because they all stopped. “Dismiss!” I said, waving hurriedly to try to will the interface away and assess my surroundings. It complied, disappearing without a trace of evidence it was real and not just some deluded hallucination.

This wasn’t the inside of a tunnel— we were surrounded by fences— and, above us, providing dim light, was a full moon. It was afternoon when I got on the train— the ride didn’t take this long. There was only one exit to the fences— a toll gate. There was a flicker in the distance as an old-school electronic sign flickered on, half burnt out bulb lights flickering to print out a simple message and number.

“Arrival Station: 60”

Beside the sign, the number 60 appeared, flashing twice. Was this station 60?

In the wider area, the crowd thinned, spreading out, and others were noticing the sign now, pointing and shouting, as it flashed a second time.

“Arrival Station: 59”.