# "I’m a Private Train Conductor. These Are the Rules I Have to Follow" Creepypasta

An episode of [CreepsMcPasta Creepypasta Radio](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1492008134), 29 Apr 2025, 39 min.

Audio: https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/65792154/i_m_a_private_train_conductor_these_are_the_rules_i_have_to_follow_creepypasta.mp3

CREEPYPASTA STORY►by Saint Zander Creepypastas are the campfire tales of the internet. Horror stories spread through Reddit r/nosleep, forums and blogs, rather than word of mouth. Whether you believe these scary stories to be true or not is left to your own discretion and imagination. LISTEN TO CREEPYPASTAS ON THE GO- SPOTIFY► https://open.spotify.com/show/7l0iRPd... iTUNES► https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast... SUGGESTED CREEPYPASTA PLAYLISTS- ►"Good Places to Start"- • "I wasn't careful enough on the deep ... ►"Personal Favourites"- • "I sold my soul for a used dishwasher... ►"Written by me"- • "I've been Blind my Whole Life" Creep... ►"Long Stories"- • Long Stories FOLLOW ME ON- ►Twitter: / creeps_mcpasta ►Instagram: / creepsmcpasta ►Twitch: / creepsmcpasta ►Facebook: / creepsmcpasta CREEPYPASTA MUSIC/ SFX- ►http://bit.ly/Audionic ♪ ►http://bit.ly/Myuusic ♪ ►http://bit.ly/incompt ♪ ►http://bit.ly/EpidemicM ♪ This creepypasta is for entertainment purposes only

## Transcript

[0:02] Speaker 1: The job offer came as an email with no company logo,
[0:06] Speaker 1: no sender information beyond a string of numbers and a
[0:09] Speaker 1: subject line that just read conductor position, private contract. I'd
[0:16] Speaker 1: been out of work for months, barely scraping by and
[0:20] Speaker 1: scam emails for nothing new, but when I opened it
[0:25] Speaker 1: the details made me pause. The pay was astronomical, six
[0:31] Speaker 1: times what I'd ever made running freight trains for a
[0:34] Speaker 1: single ride. The hours were vague, for the message emphasized discretion, reliability,
[0:42] Speaker 1: and the ability to work alone. There was a number
[0:45] Speaker 1: at the bottom. I called, half expecting a disconnected line
[0:51] Speaker 1: or a robotic scam message. Instead, a man entered on
[0:57] Speaker 1: the first ring. He introduced himself only as a recruiter
[1:03] Speaker 1: for a private client and asked if I was available
[1:06] Speaker 1: to meet the next day. No company name, no office address,
[1:12] Speaker 1: just a location, a roadside diner off a highway. I went,
[1:18] Speaker 1: of course. The diner was nearly empty when I arrived.
[1:24] Speaker 1: The man was waiting for me, sitting at a booth
[1:27] Speaker 1: near the back. He wore a black suit, a crisp
[1:31] Speaker 1: tie to match, and a dull expression. He didn't even
[1:36] Speaker 1: introduce himself properly, just gestured for me to sit. There
[1:42] Speaker 1: wasn't any small talk. He slid a contract across the table.
[1:48] Speaker 1: You'll receive a list of instructions, he said, voice flat.
[1:53] Speaker 1: Read them on your job site. They are non negotiable. Ah,
[1:59] Speaker 1: all right, what kind of instructions? A pause? Then I
[2:05] Speaker 1: tried again. I looked up at the recruiter. What kind
[2:11] Speaker 1: of train is this? His expression didn't change. Just follow
[2:18] Speaker 1: the instructions. Everything else is self explanatory. Then he pointed
[2:24] Speaker 1: to something in the middle of the contract, a single
[2:28] Speaker 1: bolded line. If you break any instructions, press the red
[2:33] Speaker 1: button on the center console immediately. Someone will tell you
[2:38] Speaker 1: what to do. I almost laughed. And if they don't,
[2:45] Speaker 1: the recruiter didn't blink or say a word, just stared.
[2:51] Speaker 1: After a long silence, he tapped the contract again. Sign
[3:00] Speaker 1: The private station was nothing like I expected. It was
[3:04] Speaker 1: tucked away in a dead end road beyond an industrial lot,
[3:08] Speaker 1: surrounded by rusted fences and half collapsed buildings, no signs
[3:13] Speaker 1: or employees, just the set of old but pristine tracks
[3:17] Speaker 1: and a sleek, immaculate train waiting for me in the dark.
[3:23] Speaker 1: The train looked like it belonged in a billionaire's collection.
[3:27] Speaker 1: Long streamlined gleaming under the dim platform lights. The exterior
[3:33] Speaker 1: was spotless, not a single scratch or sign of wear.
[3:38] Speaker 1: I boarded the conductor's entrance and stepped into the control cabin.
[3:44] Speaker 1: The cabin smell like fresh polish. Every dial, switch and
[3:48] Speaker 1: lever was perfectly placed, modern yet oddly unfamiliar. There was
[3:55] Speaker 1: no dust, not a single clue to indicate this train
[3:58] Speaker 1: had ever actually been used. The chair was stiff and
[4:02] Speaker 1: the seat belt untouched, and the passenger cars were almost
[4:07] Speaker 1: completely empty. No boarding crew or a bit of luggage
[4:12] Speaker 1: here and there. No clients were anywhere to be seen.
[4:17] Speaker 1: I had no idea where I was going, who owned
[4:20] Speaker 1: this train, or what I was transporting, if anything. I
[4:26] Speaker 1: sat down on the chair and picked up a laminated
[4:29] Speaker 1: sheet sitting on top of the control panel. The instructions
[4:36] Speaker 1: the train must never stop, no matter what happens. Keep moving.
[4:42] Speaker 1: Do not open any passenger doors. No one should be
[4:46] Speaker 1: on board. If you hear knocking from inside an empty car,
[4:51] Speaker 1: ignore it. If someone appears on the tracks, do not
[4:55] Speaker 1: slow down. Do not look at them in the rear
[4:58] Speaker 1: view mirror. At exactly two thirteen a m. Turn off
[5:03] Speaker 1: all cabin lights for three minutes. Do as instructed thereafter.
[5:09] Speaker 1: If the intercom comes on but no one speaks, respond
[5:12] Speaker 1: by saying we are on schedule. Then do not speak
[5:16] Speaker 1: again for exactly five minutes. One of the train cars
[5:21] Speaker 1: will be filled with passengers. Do not acknowledge them, do
[5:25] Speaker 1: not look at them. Do not enter the car. If
[5:29] Speaker 1: you see someone sitting on the conductor's seat when you
[5:32] Speaker 1: return from a break, leave the train immediately. You will
[5:36] Speaker 1: not be able to board again. You may see another
[5:40] Speaker 1: train running parallel to yours. If this happens, do not
[5:44] Speaker 1: look at it for longer than ten seconds. If you
[5:48] Speaker 1: break an instruction, press the red button immediately. Some one
[5:52] Speaker 1: will call you with further instructions. I read them once,
[5:58] Speaker 1: then again. My first thought was, what kind of sick
[6:04] Speaker 1: joke is this? I glanced around the cabin, expecting cameras,
[6:09] Speaker 1: some hidden speaker system ready to blare out a voice
[6:12] Speaker 1: laughing at my reaction, But I was only met with
[6:16] Speaker 1: ornate and beautiful decorations that adorn the corners and walls
[6:21] Speaker 1: of the control cabin. I scoffed, shaking my head. I'd
[6:27] Speaker 1: heard of companies testing new hires to see how much
[6:30] Speaker 1: crab they'd put up with, but I wasn't sure a
[6:35] Speaker 1: scare tactic, maybe some over the top way to keep
[6:38] Speaker 1: conductors focused on the job. But why the hell where
[6:42] Speaker 1: they need to It's a train. You follow the schedule,
[6:48] Speaker 1: watch the tracks, and keep things moving. What was all
[6:52] Speaker 1: this about knocking doors and not looking at passengers? I
[6:58] Speaker 1: rubbed my temples. Whatever, if they wanted me to play along,
[7:04] Speaker 1: I'd play along. As long as the paycheck cleared. They
[7:08] Speaker 1: could put all the weird rules they wanted. The train
[7:15] Speaker 1: pulled out of the station, smoothly, gliding over the tracks
[7:19] Speaker 1: with barely a tremor. The engine was quieter than anything
[7:23] Speaker 1: I'd operated before, smooth to the point I couldn't even
[7:27] Speaker 1: tell when I was moving when I closed my eyes,
[7:31] Speaker 1: I barely had to touch the controls. For the first hour,
[7:36] Speaker 1: not much to note happened, just endless stretches of empty
[7:41] Speaker 1: fields and dense forests rolling past under the dim glow
[7:45] Speaker 1: of the moon. The rails were calming. For a moment,
[7:51] Speaker 1: I actually thought this might be the easiest job I'd
[7:54] Speaker 1: ever had. Then the intercom crackled. A burst of static,
[8:02] Speaker 1: sharp and sudden filled the cabin. I turned instinctively, waiting
[8:07] Speaker 1: for an announcement. For some kind of instruction. I frowned,
[8:13] Speaker 1: tapping the panel, flipping a few switches to clear the channel.
[8:19] Speaker 1: Still nothing. My eyes wandered to the list of rules
[8:25] Speaker 1: sitting next to me. Number six. If the intercom comes
[8:30] Speaker 1: on but no one speaks, respond by saying we are
[8:34] Speaker 1: on schedule, then do not speak again for exactly five minutes.
[8:41] Speaker 1: I almost hesitated. It was stupid, right, just a dumb
[8:46] Speaker 1: corporate rule, a test to see if I would comply.
[8:50] Speaker 1: I was sure of it. I cleared my throat. We er,
[8:57] Speaker 1: we are on schedule. Something had changed, but I couldn't
[9:03] Speaker 1: tell what it was. Immediately, some sort of pressure started
[9:08] Speaker 1: rubbing against my skin. The hum of the engine felt
[9:12] Speaker 1: further away, like I was sinking underwater while everything else
[9:16] Speaker 1: drifted above me. I stared straight ahead, forcing myself to
[9:21] Speaker 1: focus on the tracks. Four minutes. The longer I sat there,
[9:28] Speaker 1: the worse it got. My head started ringing and I
[9:32] Speaker 1: couldn't keep my eyes focused. Three minutes, the hairs on
[9:38] Speaker 1: my arms stood up. The air smelled different, now charged
[9:43] Speaker 1: like the moment before a thunderstorm. Two minutes I was
[9:50] Speaker 1: entirely hitched in place. One minute the feeling passed, just
[10:00] Speaker 1: like that. The weight lifted. The engine sounded normal again.
[10:05] Speaker 1: I checked the clock, five minutes exactly. I exhaled slowly.
[10:13] Speaker 1: What the hell was that? My mind started wondering with
[10:18] Speaker 1: ideas from conspiracy theory documentaries. I've been watching brainwashing people
[10:23] Speaker 1: into specific radio waves and such. But I brushed it
[10:27] Speaker 1: aside and kept moving. The train sped forward, the night
[10:33] Speaker 1: stretched out ahead of me. A blur of movement flashed
[10:39] Speaker 1: just ahead. Right as I was starting to relax and
[10:43] Speaker 1: put the strange feeling aside. I concentrated as the shape
[10:48] Speaker 1: moved out of the trees to the left and right
[10:51] Speaker 1: onto the tracks, fast enough that I couldn't properly register it.
[10:57] Speaker 1: The headlights cut across the rails, and my stomach lurched.
[11:04] Speaker 1: Some one was standing right on the tracks, a man.
[11:10] Speaker 1: His clothes were loose, billowing in the wind, even though
[11:13] Speaker 1: the night was clear. His outline was blurry, but I
[11:18] Speaker 1: was closing in on him quickly. He didn't move. My
[11:24] Speaker 1: fingers twitched toward the brakes. I had to stop. I
[11:30] Speaker 1: remembered number four. If some one appears in the tracks,
[11:36] Speaker 1: do not slow down, do not look at them in
[11:39] Speaker 1: the rear view mirror. Every muscle in my body screamed
[11:45] Speaker 1: at me to hit the brakes, but I willed myself
[11:47] Speaker 1: to stop. I don't know what made me think hitting
[11:52] Speaker 1: a man with a train was going to be justified
[11:54] Speaker 1: by any instruction or rule, but I had no time
[11:57] Speaker 1: for second thoughts. The train plowed through him, no impact
[12:05] Speaker 1: or thud. I looked around, panicking. I couldn't believe what
[12:10] Speaker 1: I'd just done. My heart hammered, and I snapped my
[12:14] Speaker 1: gaze to the rear view camera, then stopped myself. I
[12:20] Speaker 1: couldn't look. I forced my eyes back to the controls,
[12:25] Speaker 1: gripping the levers tightly. The train rattled slightly as it
[12:29] Speaker 1: shot forward, speeding into the black. I let go of
[12:34] Speaker 1: the levers, pulse raising. It was fine, just the trick
[12:39] Speaker 1: of the light, a stray thaw getting tangled with the night.
[12:44] Speaker 1: If I had actually hid something, the results would have
[12:47] Speaker 1: been catastrophic. I was going ninety five miles per hour.
[12:52] Speaker 1: A train this size going at that speed would make
[12:55] Speaker 1: some sort of noise, hitting even a leaf. I lad
[13:00] Speaker 1: out a slow breath, trying to shake the tension off,
[13:04] Speaker 1: reminding myself of the money waiting for me at the
[13:07] Speaker 1: end of it. These rules were making me forget that
[13:11] Speaker 1: I'd been doing this exact job for years. This was
[13:14] Speaker 1: going to be no different. I was just nervous and
[13:18] Speaker 1: over analyzed everything, so I guess the rules worked. My
[13:25] Speaker 1: mind started to wonder. There was a much to do
[13:29] Speaker 1: While the train ran, just miles of dark, empty landscape
[13:33] Speaker 1: stretching out ahead. My mind drifted, skimming over the rows
[13:38] Speaker 1: of dials and switches, then settling almost absent mindedly and
[13:43] Speaker 1: the passenger monitors. Some one was sitting in one of
[13:48] Speaker 1: the previously empty chairs, same loose, billowing clothes, same blurred,
[13:54] Speaker 1: indistinct face, the same man I had seen on the tracks.
[14:01] Speaker 1: I blinked hard. What I had checked the entire train
[14:06] Speaker 1: before departing. Every car was empty. I would have seen him.
[14:12] Speaker 1: There was no way I missed some one, had he
[14:15] Speaker 1: been here the whole time. There had to be a
[14:18] Speaker 1: logical explanation. Maybe I'd just been too focused on the
[14:22] Speaker 1: start up sequence, going through the motions without really seeing
[14:26] Speaker 1: the empty cars. It wouldn't have been the first time.
[14:30] Speaker 1: Or maybe I'd just spaced out. Long haul conductors do
[14:34] Speaker 1: it all the time. You get used to the routine,
[14:37] Speaker 1: Your mind drifts and things blur together. Yeah, that was
[14:44] Speaker 1: It didn't matter chances were this was some rich, big
[14:51] Speaker 1: shot I was transporting, and he wanted a train all
[14:54] Speaker 1: to himself, maybe even hid from me somehow, on purpose.
[15:00] Speaker 1: I shook the tension from my hands and calmed down.
[15:04] Speaker 1: The train was moving, everything was running, and I even
[15:08] Speaker 1: had a passenger. Now I knew what I was transporting.
[15:13] Speaker 1: As long as I followed the schedule, I'd be fine.
[15:19] Speaker 1: Outside the world slipped by in streaks of dark green
[15:22] Speaker 1: and silver, thick forest, stretching endlessly into the night. The
[15:28] Speaker 1: hum of the engine filled the cabin, steady, and even
[15:32] Speaker 1: a rhythmic pulse beneath my finger tips miles of emptiness ahead,
[15:38] Speaker 1: miles of emptiness behind. Then out of nowhere, a slow,
[15:46] Speaker 1: steady tap, tap tap against one of the cabin doors.
[15:53] Speaker 1: I straightened in my seat, eyes flicking toward the control panel.
[15:58] Speaker 1: The passenger cars were still empty. Apart from the man.
[16:03] Speaker 1: Nothing had changed, and yet the knocking persisted. I reread
[16:11] Speaker 1: the rules, rule three. If you hear knocking from inside
[16:16] Speaker 1: an empty car, ignore it. I did my best, the
[16:22] Speaker 1: focus forward, pretending it wasn't happening, but the knocking grew louder,
[16:29] Speaker 1: bam bam bam, like someone was hammering their fists against
[16:33] Speaker 1: the metal, trying to break through. Desperate, I felt a
[16:38] Speaker 1: sensation in my chest, a deep frustration. I was tired,
[16:44] Speaker 1: I was irritated, and I was done playing along with
[16:47] Speaker 1: these stupid rules. They had driven me to such delusion
[16:52] Speaker 1: that I thought I'd hit someone. I stood up. My
[16:57] Speaker 1: boots thudded against the floor as I strode back into
[17:00] Speaker 1: the passenger cabins, heart pounding as I followed. The sound
[17:06] Speaker 1: the knocking led me to cast six. I hesitated. The
[17:12] Speaker 1: rule says to ignore it. I inhaled, sharply, my hand
[17:18] Speaker 1: hovering over the latch. What was I expecting a prank,
[17:23] Speaker 1: a malfunctioning door. If it was any of those, I
[17:28] Speaker 1: was entirely ready for the consequences. These rules were taking
[17:32] Speaker 1: a toll on me, making me imagine things that weren't
[17:35] Speaker 1: even there. I'd just break this one rule, prove myself right,
[17:41] Speaker 1: and get on with my shift. I unlatched the lock
[17:45] Speaker 1: and swung the door open. The cabin was completely empty.
[17:53] Speaker 1: No people, no luggage, no sign of life at all,
[17:59] Speaker 1: except for the footprints. They stretched across the floor in
[18:05] Speaker 1: a perfect trail, starting right in front of me and
[18:09] Speaker 1: disappearing into the next car. The footprints were dirty, muddy,
[18:15] Speaker 1: like someone had just stepped inside. A shiver crawled up
[18:20] Speaker 1: my spine, A feeling deep inside me, screaming that I
[18:25] Speaker 1: had just made a mistake. Before that thought could fully manifest,
[18:30] Speaker 1: I was thrown off balance. The train started slowing down.
[18:39] Speaker 1: The air around me lurched, and I grabbed the door
[18:41] Speaker 1: frame to steady myself. The train was losing speed, but
[18:46] Speaker 1: I hadn't touched anything. I spun, rushing back to the
[18:51] Speaker 1: control cabin, my breath coming faster now. My eyes flicked
[18:56] Speaker 1: the dashboard. Every system was still active. The speed should
[19:01] Speaker 1: have been constant, but the train was steadily slowing down.
[19:07] Speaker 1: The radio crackled again, a burst of static, followed by
[19:11] Speaker 1: a voice warped and distorted, like it was dragging itself
[19:15] Speaker 1: through the speakers. Why did you stop? My pulls hammered
[19:22] Speaker 1: against my ribs. I I didn't. The brakes when engaged.
[19:29] Speaker 1: The emergency systems weren't triggered. The train was stopping on
[19:33] Speaker 1: its own. I grabbed the controls, yanking the throttle, trying
[19:39] Speaker 1: to force it back to speed. It wouldn't respond. Outside
[19:45] Speaker 1: the front window, the landscape crawled by, slower and slower,
[19:50] Speaker 1: until the train finally completely halted silence. Shortly after movement.
[20:05] Speaker 1: Beyond the trees, just at the edge of the dim
[20:08] Speaker 1: platform lights, figures were emerging from the darkness, dozens of them,
[20:15] Speaker 1: tall and thin, the limbs stretching at unnatural angles as
[20:20] Speaker 1: they moved toward the train in slow, balanced steps, not rushing,
[20:26] Speaker 1: just walking. A mechanical hiss cut through everything. I snapped
[20:32] Speaker 1: my head toward the monitors, a cold pit forming in
[20:35] Speaker 1: my stomach. The train doors were opening once again. I
[20:43] Speaker 1: hadn't touched the controls. My hands were still clenched around
[20:47] Speaker 1: the throttle, my knuckles white. The system hadn't even indicated
[20:52] Speaker 1: a stop. We weren't supposed to stop, and yet the
[20:57] Speaker 1: door slid open smoothly. Outside the figures stepped forward. One
[21:05] Speaker 1: by one. They emerged from the trees, their shapes flickering
[21:09] Speaker 1: against the dim glow of the train's lights. They moved
[21:13] Speaker 1: like they had all the time in the world. The
[21:17] Speaker 1: first one stepped inside, then another, and another, filling the
[21:23] Speaker 1: empty cars. I could see them on the monitors, standing
[21:28] Speaker 1: in the aisles, in the seats, occupying every available space,
[21:33] Speaker 1: yet never moving. I swore quietly, my fingers flying over
[21:39] Speaker 1: the dashboard searching for anything, some kind of override, an
[21:43] Speaker 1: emergency restart that failsafe. Nothing worked. I tried the radio.
[21:50] Speaker 1: I flipped the breakers, I jammed the throttle forward, no results.
[21:57] Speaker 1: Outside the figures had started boarding. The doors remained open.
[22:03] Speaker 1: None of the figures did anything but stare blankly forward.
[22:08] Speaker 1: I felt panic rise up in my chest, real panic.
[22:12] Speaker 1: My pulse roared in my ears. Why is the train
[22:17] Speaker 1: not moving? My eyes darted to the red button. I
[22:22] Speaker 1: slammed my palm against it. The radio crackled a life instantly, Hello.
[22:31] Speaker 1: My voice came out sharp, panicked. I didn't do anything.
[22:36] Speaker 1: The train stopped on its own. You broke a rule.
[22:42] Speaker 1: My throat tightened, but before I could say anything, the
[22:46] Speaker 1: voice continued, Do not acknowledge them, they are the passengers.
[22:52] Speaker 1: Now keep driving until the last stop, and do not
[22:57] Speaker 1: break any more rules. Stay vigilant. A low clunk echoed
[23:04] Speaker 1: through the cabin. The door slid shut. I tried moving
[23:09] Speaker 1: the train again, and as smoothly as the first time,
[23:13] Speaker 1: it started moving forward. I press my lips together, keeping
[23:19] Speaker 1: my gaze locked forward. The intercom stayed silent, and the
[23:24] Speaker 1: train sped back into the night. The tension never left
[23:31] Speaker 1: my body My fingers remained locked around the controls, stiff
[23:36] Speaker 1: and aching, my forearms hurting from the strain. I refused
[23:41] Speaker 1: to lock back, not even a glance. There was an
[23:45] Speaker 1: overwhelming sense that if I did, if I so much
[23:48] Speaker 1: as acknowledged their existence again, I would not be in
[23:52] Speaker 1: for a good time. After a while of total stillness, monotony,
[23:58] Speaker 1: and paranoia from my end, something shifted at the very
[24:03] Speaker 1: edge of my vision. Moving alongside the train keeping perfect pace,
[24:09] Speaker 1: another flicker, a break in the darkness. A second train
[24:15] Speaker 1: was running parallel to mine. The sight of it made
[24:20] Speaker 1: no sense. There had been no crossings or signals that
[24:24] Speaker 1: another set of tracks even existed beside my own. Yet
[24:29] Speaker 1: there it was, keeping speed effortlessly, its steel body gleaming
[24:34] Speaker 1: under the faint moonlight, and through the windows I saw figures.
[24:41] Speaker 1: They appeared dark, the interiors shrouded in shadow. But as
[24:47] Speaker 1: I looked closer, I realized there were dozens of them,
[24:51] Speaker 1: maybe more, pressed harshly against the glass, each one wearing
[24:56] Speaker 1: the same wide grin. Their faces were frozen and their
[25:00] Speaker 1: eyes locked directly at mine. They looked just like the
[25:04] Speaker 1: passengers that had just joined my own train number nine.
[25:11] Speaker 1: If you see another train running parallel to yours. Do
[25:15] Speaker 1: not look at it for longer than ten seconds. I
[25:21] Speaker 1: wouldn't make the same mistake again. The presence of the
[25:24] Speaker 1: other train lingered in my periphery, but I didn't acknowledge
[25:28] Speaker 1: it again. I just kept driving. The intercom shot to life.
[25:36] Speaker 1: A sudden burst of static made my shoulders jump, the
[25:40] Speaker 1: tension in my body snapping tight. For a moment, there
[25:45] Speaker 1: was only empty noise, the same cold emptiness that had
[25:49] Speaker 1: filled the radio the last time I pressed the red button.
[25:54] Speaker 1: Look at the time. Slowly, I glanced at the digital
[25:59] Speaker 1: clock on the control panel. Two twelve a M number five.
[26:07] Speaker 1: At exactly two thirteen a M. Turn off all cabin
[26:11] Speaker 1: lights for three minutes. Do as instructed. Thereafter, I paused
[26:17] Speaker 1: and reached for the switch. My fingers trembled slightly as
[26:22] Speaker 1: I flipped it down. The cabin was plunged into absolute darkness.
[26:29] Speaker 1: I blinked, trying to adjust, but there wasn't anything to
[26:33] Speaker 1: adjust to. It was so dark that everything was swallowed whole.
[26:39] Speaker 1: No outlines, no faint glimmers of control lights, no reflection
[26:43] Speaker 1: of the window. Just avoid The intercom came through again.
[26:50] Speaker 1: This time, there was no prelude to it just a clear,
[26:54] Speaker 1: short sentence, do not move. A new sound filled the air.
[27:06] Speaker 1: I heard it before I felt it, A slow, painful
[27:10] Speaker 1: movement against the metal floor. Not footsteps, but something dragging
[27:16] Speaker 1: itself forward, joints popping, a strange slithering scrape beneath the
[27:22] Speaker 1: clatter of the train. Whatever was making that noise, it
[27:28] Speaker 1: was in the cabin with me. Then came the wheezing.
[27:37] Speaker 1: It was deep and uneven like. Whatever it was had
[27:40] Speaker 1: several lungs that were inhaling, in staggered burst. Each breath
[27:45] Speaker 1: pulled at the air, filling the cabin with a thick,
[27:49] Speaker 1: humid heat that stuck to my skin like mucus. The
[27:54] Speaker 1: smell followed her second later. It wasn't like anything I'd
[27:59] Speaker 1: ever encounter before. It was sharp, medicinal foremost, but undercut
[28:05] Speaker 1: with a sticky sour scent, like burnt plastic mixed with
[28:10] Speaker 1: harsh chemicals. The stench made me want to throw up,
[28:15] Speaker 1: but I kept perfectly motionless. It crawled closer, still shifting
[28:22] Speaker 1: near the control panel, sniffing its breath, rasping against the levers.
[28:29] Speaker 1: A single clawed scrape against the console made my entire
[28:32] Speaker 1: body lock up. It circled me the warmth of its breath,
[28:38] Speaker 1: shifting from one side to the other. Something brushing against
[28:42] Speaker 1: my shoulder but not quite touching my chest burst, but
[28:48] Speaker 1: I didn't dare do so much as exhale. Three minutes
[28:55] Speaker 1: I counted in my head, trying not to let panic
[28:58] Speaker 1: take hold. I couldn't move, I couldn't react. I could
[29:03] Speaker 1: only sit there, locked in place, as whatever was inside
[29:07] Speaker 1: the cabin decided whether or not I was worth noticing.
[29:14] Speaker 1: In a split second, with no sound at all, it
[29:19] Speaker 1: was gone. The heat in the air lifted, the smell faded,
[29:26] Speaker 1: a low click, the cabin lights flickered back on. I
[29:33] Speaker 1: was still too terrified to move, unwilling to take any chances.
[29:39] Speaker 1: After a while, I was confident enough to adjust myself
[29:43] Speaker 1: and my chair. I shoved down the lingering nausea and
[29:47] Speaker 1: pressed my hands against my lap, trying to stop them
[29:50] Speaker 1: from shaking. The digital clock blinked two sixteen a m.
[29:58] Speaker 1: I saw the words appear in the main day display
[30:01] Speaker 1: final stop, arrival imminent. The station lights emerged from the
[30:07] Speaker 1: darkness ahead, cold and unwelcoming, but still the most welcoming
[30:13] Speaker 1: thing possible to me. The train didn't slow as it approached.
[30:18] Speaker 1: I calmly pulled the brake, but it wouldn't budge. We
[30:24] Speaker 1: were getting closer. I pulled the lever until my arms
[30:27] Speaker 1: felt like they'd rip off my body. I fumbled with
[30:31] Speaker 1: the controls, smashing the red button until my palm throbbed,
[30:35] Speaker 1: but nothing gave. We rushed toward the platform at a
[30:39] Speaker 1: great speed. I didn't know what to do. Adrenaline searched
[30:44] Speaker 1: through my body as my legs started shaking, and before
[30:48] Speaker 1: I could even take precaution impact the first jolt sent
[30:56] Speaker 1: me flying forward, slamming my chest into the console. A
[31:00] Speaker 1: crunch from inside me followed. It hurts so badly I
[31:04] Speaker 1: thought I'd die then and there. The windshields shattered as
[31:08] Speaker 1: steel and concrete collided, the deafening snap of metal ripping
[31:13] Speaker 1: through the cabin. The sound was unbearable, screeching, tearing, the
[31:19] Speaker 1: agonized wail of the train collapsing in on itself. Sparks
[31:24] Speaker 1: exploded across my vision as the front cars crumpled like
[31:27] Speaker 1: a soda can, the force of the impact buckling the
[31:30] Speaker 1: walls inward. The entire world turned sideways. I was thrown backward,
[31:39] Speaker 1: hitting the wall before rolling onto the floor. My ears rang,
[31:44] Speaker 1: my ribs ached. The air was thick with smoke and dust,
[31:48] Speaker 1: filling my lungs with every ragged breath. Somewhere beyond the
[31:53] Speaker 1: ringing in my skull, I could hear the train's last
[31:56] Speaker 1: desperate groans, the final shuddering low as it came to
[32:01] Speaker 1: a violent grinding hold. I lay there, stunned, my hands
[32:07] Speaker 1: trembling against the cold floor. I was still alive, somehow,
[32:16] Speaker 1: despite the crash, despite the sheer destruction I'd just experienced,
[32:22] Speaker 1: I was fine. Slowly, painfully, I pushed myself up. The
[32:29] Speaker 1: cabin was intact, no shattered glass, no twisted wreckage, no
[32:37] Speaker 1: clapsed walls. The train sat perfectly parked at the station,
[32:42] Speaker 1: as if it never even moved at all. The console
[32:46] Speaker 1: was unscathed, the windshield unbroken. Even the faint hum of
[32:50] Speaker 1: the engine had returned steady, like it had been running
[32:54] Speaker 1: this whole time. But I knew what I felt, the
[32:59] Speaker 1: bruising forming on my arms I had been in that crash.
[33:05] Speaker 1: My injuries weren't as fatal as I was sure they
[33:08] Speaker 1: were just moments ago. But the train had collided with
[33:12] Speaker 1: the station, had collapsed around me, that I was sure of.
[33:19] Speaker 1: Yet here I was unharmed. I turned toward the passenger
[33:25] Speaker 1: monitors to see empty rows of seats, the train finally
[33:29] Speaker 1: rid of its impossible travelers. My stomach tightened the moment
[33:35] Speaker 1: my eyes landed on him. The figures from earlier had
[33:39] Speaker 1: all disappeared, but the men remained. His clothes waved around
[33:45] Speaker 1: as he walked. There was a fluid grace to him.
[33:48] Speaker 1: As he rose from his seat and began walking forward.
[33:52] Speaker 1: His movements were so smooth they were hypnotizing. My body tensed.
[33:58] Speaker 1: My instincts screamed at me to move, to run, to
[34:02] Speaker 1: get out before something happened that I couldn't undo. I
[34:06] Speaker 1: staggered toward the door, but it was locked. No matter
[34:11] Speaker 1: how much I pulled or pushed, I couldn't open it.
[34:16] Speaker 1: The weight of the moment was suffocating, and for the
[34:19] Speaker 1: first time since this nightmare began, I finally had a
[34:24] Speaker 1: moment of clarity, and I realized just how wrong everything
[34:29] Speaker 1: had gone. I snapped out of my days and slammed
[34:34] Speaker 1: my hand against the red button. The radio remained silent.
[34:39] Speaker 1: I hit it again, harder, this time, my palms sweating
[34:43] Speaker 1: against the plastic. No response. The man kept walking. I
[34:50] Speaker 1: pressed the button again harder. Desperation crawled up my throat
[34:54] Speaker 1: like bile. The doors behind me opened. A deep mechanical
[35:02] Speaker 1: noise filled the cabin as the last remaining entrance slid
[35:06] Speaker 1: open with agonizing slowness, revealing an empty, black void beyond it,
[35:14] Speaker 1: he stepped into the conductor's cabin. I was trapped, my
[35:20] Speaker 1: back pressed against the console, every muscle in my body
[35:23] Speaker 1: locked in place as he stopped just a few feet
[35:27] Speaker 1: from me. Up close, his shape was even more wrong,
[35:32] Speaker 1: his proportions slightly off, his arms too long, his posture
[35:37] Speaker 1: just a fraction too rigid. It was like someone had
[35:41] Speaker 1: built the idea of a man without ever having seen one,
[35:45] Speaker 1: a close approximation that almost fit, but missed something fundamental.
[35:52] Speaker 1: For the first time, he turned his head slightly, as
[35:56] Speaker 1: if acknowledging me directly. Voice there was neither deep nor high,
[36:02] Speaker 1: neither young nor old, neither kind nor cruel. He spoke,
[36:10] Speaker 1: thank you for the ride. He looked at me a
[36:16] Speaker 1: moment longer, his featureless face betraying no emotion. Then without
[36:23] Speaker 1: another word, he turned and opened the conductor room door,
[36:27] Speaker 1: the one that I couldn't open no matter how hard
[36:30] Speaker 1: I tried, then stepped out. A new sound pulled my
[36:37] Speaker 1: attention away footsteps. I turned toward the platform the recruiter
[36:45] Speaker 1: was waiting. His hands were clasped neatly in front of him.
[36:50] Speaker 1: I practically jumped out of my seat and straight toward
[36:53] Speaker 1: the man. Who What the hell was that? What the
[36:58] Speaker 1: hell was I transporting? What just happened? The recruiter didn't
[37:05] Speaker 1: answer immediately. Instead, he glanced past me toward the train,
[37:11] Speaker 1: his gaze lingering on the now empty cars. He exhaled
[37:16] Speaker 1: and barely their sound before finally speaking, what did you
[37:22] Speaker 1: think of the job. There's another Riode schedule for tomorrow night.
[37:27] Speaker 1: You did a splendid job, bringing the train all the
[37:30] Speaker 1: way to the last stop. I quit, I rasped my voice, raw.
[37:36] Speaker 1: I don't care about the money, I don't care about
[37:39] Speaker 1: whatever this is. I'm done. The recruiter smiled, not smugly, though,
[37:48] Speaker 1: just the warm and welcoming smile. Then he gave me
[37:53] Speaker 1: a slow nod. You were transporting the dead. I didn't
[38:02] Speaker 1: ask any more questions, as absurd as what he had
[38:05] Speaker 1: said just sounded. I was too tired to care or
[38:10] Speaker 1: rationalize anything else. I walked away from the train, from
[38:14] Speaker 1: the recruiter, from the nightmare I had barely survived. I
[38:20] Speaker 1: just knew one thing for certain. I would never set
[38:25] Speaker 1: foot on a train again.

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