Chapter 10 · The Last Train Knows Her Name

The screen didn't just display something. It bled.

Elara jerked back as red light spilled across the platform, pooling at her feet like liquid. The black token in her hand went ice cold. Then hot. Then it started to hum.

"What the hell did you do?" Kane grabbed her wrist, but the light was already crawling up her arm, tracing veins she didn't know could glow.

Nora stepped back from the edge. "That's not a normal activation sequence."

"You think?" Elara tried to drop the token. It stayed stuck to her palm.

The rails shrieked. Not the sound of metal on metal. The sound of something waking up.

A train pulled into the station.

It shouldn't exist. The line had been dead for six years. Nora had said so herself. But here it was, sleek and black and humming with the same frequency as the token. No dust. No rust. The windows reflected nothing.

"Nobody get on that thing," Kane said. He already had his blade out.

The doors slid open anyway.

Cold air poured out, sharp enough to sting. Elara's breath misted. The platform temperature had been fine two seconds ago.