The Ending Reader Chapter 4: Chapter 3: The Story Recognizes Him

Read chapter 4 of The Ending Reader by Arthur04 on NovelPedia.

The cabin became silent. Not naturally. Like something had forced silence into existence. The faceless passenger stood motionless in the aisle, its torn mouth hanging open far beyond what flesh should allow. Darkness pulsed inside the split like a living void. Then every other passenger lowered their heads simultaneously. Submission. Vael felt it immediately. The atmosphere inside the train had changed. The Dead Scene was no longer observing randomly. It was focused on him. The silver-haired woman stepped slightly in front of him again. A small movement. Instinctive. Protective. "Don't respond," she said quietly. Vael kept his eyes on the creature. "That thing just called me a Reader." "I know." "You know what that means?" A pause. "…Yes." Before he could press further, the faceless passenger twitched violently. Its neck bent sideways with a sharp crack. Then it moved. The thing crossed half the cabin instantly. Vael barely reacted in time. The creature's hand slammed into the metal pole beside him hard enough to bend steel. Rust exploded across the floor as the impact shook the entire train car. Fast. Far too fast. Vael drove his elbow into its throat reflexively. The moment he touched it pain detonated inside his skull. Visions flashed violently across his mind. Rain falling over ruined skyscrapers. An ocean swallowing the city. The silver-haired woman kneeling beside his corpse. Again. And again. And again. Thousands of endings layered over one another until his vision blurred. Vael staggered backward hard. The creature tilted its head. Its split mouth widened. "You remember." "I don't know what you're talking about," Vael hissed. But the words sounded uncertain even to himself. The train lights exploded overhead. Darkness swallowed the cabin once more. Screaming echoed somewhere distant. Not from the train. From outside it. Something massive moved beyond the windows. Vael could hear it scraping against the exterior of the train as it traveled through the void. Metal shrieked violently. The silver-haired woman's expression changed instantly. "…It noticed us." "That's bad, I'm guessing?" She looked at him directly. For the first time since they met, genuine fear was visible in her eyes. "Yes." The emergency lights flickered back on. Every faceless passenger had vanished. The seats were empty now. Only Vael, the woman, and the sound of scraping metal remained. Then the overhead speaker crackled. "Unauthorized narrative deviation detected." The train slowed suddenly. A horrible grinding sound echoed beneath the cabin. Outside the windows, lights began appearing in the darkness one by one. An underground station. Old. Decaying. Flooded ankle-deep in black water. The station sign barely flickered beneath broken neon. REGRET The train stopped. Silence followed. Then came knocking. Not outside. Inside the train. Knock. Knock. Knock. Vael slowly turned. The sound came from the door connecting to the next cabin. Something was on the other side. The silver-haired woman unsheathed her blade smoothly. The weapon was strange. Black metal covered in thin glowing fractures, as if moonlight had cracked across its surface. "Stay behind me." Vael almost laughed despite the situation. "You say that like I plan on volunteering." Another knock echoed through the cabin. Harder this time. The door handle began turning slowly. Then stopped. A child's voice spoke softly from the other side. "Mom?" The silver-haired woman's face darkened immediately. "It learned." Vael frowned. "Learned what?" The voice changed instantly. Now it sounded like an old man. "Please help me…" Then a crying woman. "Don't leave me alone…" Vael's chest tightened involuntarily. The voices felt wrong. Not fake. Too real. Like the train was pulling fragments from people's memories. The woman beside him spoke coldly toward the door. "You aren't supposed to speak this early." Silence answered her. Then. A low laugh echoed from the other side. Deep. Wet. Inhuman. The door bulged