Cole examined the fourth car. While it had a chair in each corner, the center of the room was rather bare. The walls were lined with shelves that contained row after row of books. It looked as though the car was meant to be a miniature library or a study. Cole took a few steps into the room, making his way closer to the bathroom. Tobias moved away from the doorway, allowing Wendy to go inside. She leaned in, examining the bathroom’s interior more thoroughly before turning back to Tobias.

“Where could she have gone?” Wendy asked.

“There’s still no sign of Dwaine, either,” Tobias said, turning to Niko and Susie, “correct?”

“None,” Niko replied solemnly.

Susie nodded her head in agreement, sticking close to Niko’s side.

“This isn’t good,” Tobias said. “None of you were given any instructions before entering your car, were you?”

“No.” Cole and Niko replied.

“I don’t think so,” Monica said.

“We weren’t,” Wendy said.

“Alright, so this is all we know so far.” Tobias continued, "We have to wait for one hour to enter our rooms, and everyone who has been left alone long enough has disappeared. Therefore, I suggest we all remain in one large group. Are we all in agreement?”

“I agree,” Cole replied.

“Us too,” Niko said.

Monica looked to Wendy, who was now leaning against one of the bookshelves near the bathroom. After giving Tobias a once-over, Wendy turned back to Monica, giving her a slight nod. Monica smiled, obviously relieved by the affirmation.

“We agree as well,” Monica said.

While Tobias had an intimidating presence, he seemed friendly and wise. Cole couldn’t help but respect him, as he spoke in a way that made Cole feel more at ease with the situation. Tobias had quickly found the problem and quickly brought everyone together to address it. The only other person Cole wanted the opinion of was-

“Lucy!” Cole said.

Cole had been so caught up with what Tobias was saying that he hadn’t fully processed how Lucy had also been left completely alone. He’d left Niko and Susie with her, but they’d followed behind him. Abruptly turning around, Cole ran back towards the first car.

“I thought we were staying together!” Wendy shouted at him.

“We’d better go, too,” Tobias said, signaling for everyone to follow Cole.

“Okay,” Monica replied, happily sticking with the group.

“Whatever,” Wendy muttered.

Cole quickly made his way through the third car. The group trailed behind him, making sure to keep everyone accounted for. Making his way into the second car, Cole moved more towards the right to see better into the first car. To his relief, he saw Lucy sitting as she had been. Cole slowed down as he entered the first car, stopping next to Lucy’s armrest.

Niko and Susie were the first to enter behind him, with Tobias following shortly after. The last two to enter were Monica and Wendy, as they’d kept a slower pace behind Lin and Zaviar. Lucy opened her eyes to see Cole by her side, intently staring down at her.

“Yes?” Lucy asked.

“Sorry,” Cole said with a grin, “I was a little worried.”

While Cole had confidence in Lucy’s ability, he couldn’t help but feel protective of his one lifeline.

“Now that we have everyone together,” Tobias said, “let’s all stay in cars one and two. That way, it’ll be easier to do headcounts.”

“Why not cars three and four?” Zaviar asked.

“I was thinking the same thing,” Wendy said.

“The engine room is attached to car one,” Tobias explained, pointing to the larger metal door connecting the cars. “This way, we won’t have to worry as much about cars detaching.”

“That’s a good point,” Lin replied.

“The engine room, huh?” Wendy said, turning her attention towards it.

Wendy walked towards the metal door, passing to Cole’s left. She first attempted to spin the wheel attached to it, but it wouldn’t budge. After another, more invigorating attempt, she loudly knocked on the door.

“Hey, Captain!” Wendy yelled. “Where’d Sadie go?”

Met with silence, she turned back around, walking to and taking a seat at the end of the couch opposite Lucy’s chair.

“It was worth a shot.” Wendy shrugged.

“Well,” Tobias said, “I’ll be at the bar, then.”

“I knew we’d make good partners.” Zaviar laughed, following Tobias to the bar.

Niko and Susie made their way past Cole, sitting against the wall beside the door to the engine. Monica followed suit with Wendy, taking the seat directly next to her on the couch. As Lin left the room to join Tobias and Zaviar, Cole was unsure of what to do.

“What do you think, Lucy?” Cole asked.

“I think we have forty minutes left,” Lucy replied.

Cole tapped his system band, revealing to him the clock he’d seen before. It read ’40:21,’ just as Lucy said.

“Yeah, but-” Cole said, closing the box.

“If this is a trial,” Lucy interrupted, “then I’m sure you’ll be able to figure it out.”

Lucy proceeded to close her eyes and returned to the relaxed position she was in before. Cole assumed Lucy was trying to be encouraging, but it wasn’t helping his anxiety much. He’d just been extremely worried about her, but all she wanted to do was relax. I’m probably overthinking things. Cole thought, shaking his head. Maybe I should relax, too. I’m sure Tobias has things handled.

On that note, Cole decided to join Tobias. Even if he couldn’t drink alcohol, he may as well get to know some real adventurers outside of just Lucy.

Cole walked across the tiled floor, making his way to the second car. He could see Zaviar fiddling with a few bottles from a nearby cabinet while Tobias and Lin were talking. As Cole got closer, he decided to take the seat directly next to Tobias.

“So you’re from Tul’kar?” Tobias asked.

“Born and raised,” Lin replied, pouring himself a drink. “What about yourself?”

“Can’t you tell?” Zaviar asked. “He’s from whatever region has the most abundant protein.”

“Funny,” Tobias said. “Lithia is my home. I was also born and raised there, though I spent my fair share of time questing in Ponzo.”

“Wow,” Lin said. “I couldn’t imagine living in a place like the capital. Going around the city every day must be fantastic.”

“It has its perks.” Tobias smiled.

“What about you, Zaviar?”

“Same as Tobias,” Zaviar said, reading the label of a bottle, “but I wouldn’t say I grew up in the capital.”

“What about you, Cole?” Tobias asked, turning his head.

Cole had only just sat down. He hadn’t been expected to be asked such a difficult question early on. Taking a moment to think, he came up with an idea.

“It’s something I’d rather not talk about,” Cole replied.

“Is that so?” Tobias asked.

“My home was destroyed by demons,” Cole said, trying his best to emulate Felix. “It’s something I don’t like reminiscing.”

“My apologies,” Tobias said, putting his hand on Cole’s shoulder. “You sure are one strong lad for coming here.”

“Ah-ha! Look what I’ve found.” Zaviar said excitedly. “Who’s ready to have some fun?”

Seemingly unaware of the change in mood, Zaviar turned around with a wide grin. Met with a stern look from Tobias, his enthusiasm faded quickly.

“Uh,” Zaviar said, frowning slightly, “I’ll look for something else.”

Zaviar placed the bottle on the countertop beside him. In his search for something more fitting, he began to scavenge through more cabinets.

“I’m sorry to hear that, Cole,” Lin said, pouring himself a glass. “I used to be worried every year about whether or not I’d return to Tul’Kar to find my home in ruin. The number of people we’d lose to raids in nearby towns would grow each year. I tried to convince my parents every so often to move closer to the capital, but they’re far too stubborn. To think that was only three years ago… it still boggles my mind. I’m sorry, Cole. I’m probably not helping.”

Lin laughed at himself, as if surprised by how much information he’d just divulged. Cole immediately felt a strong sense of guilt, as he’d merely been lying to protect his own skin.

“But you never know when those days will return,” Tobias said with an uplifted tone. “That’s why we need adventurers who can conquer their past fears and face the demons head-on. You’ll be one of those adventurers, won’t you, Cole?”

“I sure will,” Cole replied, trying his best to sound positive.

“Hopefully, we won’t have to worry about that,” Lin said, taking a sip from his cup. “After all, I doubt Slayer is going anywhere.”

Tobias raised a finger, seemingly in protest of Lin’s statement, but Zaviar interrupted Tobias as he began to scramble frantically behind the bar. As he tried to bring himself up from the ground, Zaviar knocked over the bottle he’d been so excited about finding. It fell to the ground, easily shattering against the hard surface. The dark red content of the bottle spilled out across the floor behind the bar.

“Having trouble are we, Zaviar?” Tobias asked smugly.

“Boss,” Zaviar replied, hesitantly, “we’ve got a problem.”

“What is it?” Tobias asked, leaning forward.

“Well,” Zaviar gulped, “I think I found Dwaine.”

Tobias immediately got up from his seat, swiftly making his way behind the bar. His posture tensed as he got in full view of what happened. Cole got up as well. What he saw when he reached Tobias’ side was nothing but horrifying. Zaviar was still on the ground, backed away from one of the lower cabinets he’d opened.

Sticking out from a cabinet Zaviar had opened, Cole could see the head and arm of a lifeless corpse. It had seemingly been jammed into the cabinet and had fallen out when it was opened. Zaviar’s assertion that it belonged to Dwaine was likely, given the corpse was obviously male.

“What’s going on?” Lin asked, looking up at Tobias.

“We found a body,” Tobias replied. “Given who’s been unaccounted for, it’s most likely Dwaine’s.”

Cole put his hand over his mouth. He’d seen far worse scenes in video games, so he was confused as to why he felt so nauseous. Attempting to keep himself together, Cole removed his hand from his mouth. If he wanted to fit in, he had to pretend that a site like this was normal. It’d taken some effort, but Cole managed to quell his nausea to a more tolerable level. Cole did his best to look at Zaviar, rather than the body, as that seemed to help.

“Oh, no,” Lin said. “I had a bad feeling when Niko said he’d gone missing, but I wasn’t expecting him to turn up dead.”

“Neither did I,” Tobias agreed. “This has turned into quite a serious trial.”

All of a sudden, a loud ding could be heard emanating from the car’s speakers. Everyone stopped what they were doing, turning their attention to the noise.

“It has been exactly half an hour since the trial has started.” IQ announced, her voice ringing out from the speaker, “in accordance with the provided rules, I will now be explaining the trial.”

“What the-” Zaviar said, still in shock of his findings.

“Imposters have hijacked your train.” IQ continued. “Your objective is to survive until the train reaches the next station. If you are killed by one of the imposters, you will fail the trial. If you can catch the imposter or deduce who they are, you will be rewarded. However, your main priority is that of survival. Currently, there are two imposters among you. Good luck, adventurers.”