The Ending Reader Chapter 3: Chapter 2: passengers Without Faces

Read chapter 3 of The Ending Reader by Arthur04 on NovelPedia.

The first corpse moved unnaturally fast. Its body slammed against the platform on all fours with a sickening crack of bending joints before twisting upward toward the civilians. Water poured endlessly from its mouth as it smiled too wide for a human face. Then the screaming started. Panic detonated across the station. People ran blindly in every direction while more dead passengers dragged themselves out from the train cars one after another. Their soaked limbs scraped violently against the concrete floor as though their bones were grinding beneath their skin. Vael's instincts screamed at him to move. But his gaze remained fixed on the thing emerging from the nearest train car. The passengers had stepped aside for it. No. They had bowed. Something tall unfolded slowly within the darkness beyond the doors. Vael only caught fragments of it beneath the flickering emergency lights. Long arms. A conductor's hat. A face hidden behind dripping black cloth. Then the lights died again. The silver-haired woman tightened her grip around his wrist. "Don't look directly at it." Her voice had lost all emotion. That terrified him more than the monsters. A corpse lunged toward them. Vael reacted instinctively. He grabbed a fallen metal sign from the ground and swung hard. The impact shattered the creature's jaw sideways with a wet crunch, sending it skidding across the platform. Black water splashed across his sleeve. The thing immediately began standing again. Not dead. Or maybe never alive to begin with. "Move," the woman said sharply. She pulled him toward the nearest open train door. Vael resisted instantly. "Are you insane? That thing is inside!" "It's worse outside." Another corpse slammed against the wall beside them hard enough to crack concrete. Its neck rotated violently until dead white eyes locked onto Vael. Then it smiled wider. Too wide. Like the skin itself was tearing. Vael swore under his breath and followed her into the train. The doors shut behind them immediately. Silence. Not complete silence. The kind unique to deep underwater places. Muted. Heavy. The interior lights flickered dimly overhead. Old subway seats stretched endlessly down the cabin while rust-covered handles swayed gently despite the train remaining motionless. The windows were pitch black now. As if nothing existed outside them anymore. Vael turned sharply. The corpses outside were gone. Only the platform remained. Empty. "That's impossible…" The silver-haired woman ignored him. Instead, she walked down the aisle slowly, scanning the train car with visible tension. Vael noticed something strange immediately. The passengers inside the cabin weren't moving. Dozens of people sat motionless in the seats around them. Heads lowered. Faces obscured by shadows. None of them breathed. A cold pressure settled into Vael's chest. "…Are they dead too?" "No," the woman answered quietly. That somehow sounded worse. The train lurched violently. Then began moving. Metal screamed beneath the wheels as Line 0 disappeared deeper into darkness. Vael steadied himself against a nearby pole. "What exactly are these things?" The woman remained silent for several seconds before finally speaking. "Echoes." "That explains nothing." Her golden eyes shifted toward the motionless passengers. "Dead Scenes are unfinished narratives. Places where reality failed to reach an ending properly." The train lights flickered. For a brief instant, every passenger in the cabin appeared faceless. Then the lights stabilized again. Vael's stomach tightened. "…I really hate this city." A faint sound escaped the woman beside him. He realized a second later She almost laughed. Almost. "You get used to it," she said softly. "No sane person gets used to this." Her expression darkened slightly at the word sane. Before Vael could ask why, the overhead speakers crackled. "Next station: Regret." The passengers simultaneously lifted their heads. Every single one of them. Slowly. Mechanically. Vael froze. They had