At the near deserted train station in Romania, the wind whispered through cracked windows and rusted rails. A girl stood alone at the ticket counter, wearing hood drawn low and mask hiding half her face. Only her eyes moved, quiet and watchful, like someone used to being unseen.
She slid a few bills across the counter.
"One ticket to Bucharest."
The old man behind the glass stared at her, brows creased in something that wasn't quite suspicion… but close enough.
"Ticket to capital... Have you ever heard about the famous train incident? If you haven't then it's better that way. I'm not stopping you. I'm just saying don't go blind."
The girl didn't flinch. Her expression didn't twist. She stared at him and smirks.
"Don't worry about me," she said softly.
"I know exactly what I'm stepping into. But… thanks for the warning."
The man narrowed his eyes.
"You don't sound Romanian. You don't look it either."
He paused, then sighed. "Not that it's my business. Anyway… the train comes at six. Might be late. Might not come at all."
She took the ticket without another word, turned and walked off , her foot steps echoing down the hollow station floor. Outside, the sky was already turning a strange shade of grey, as if the evening knew something no one dared to say.
As she walked away, the ticket seller leaned back in his creaky chair, watching her disappear into the cold light of the station.
Ticket seller;
"Poor soul… she doesn't know. Her destination isn't Bucharest. It's her last destination."
He glanced toward the tracks, then look up at the clock, which hadn't ticked in years.
"Of all places…" he whispered, shaking his head.
"She chooses The capital. The city where Vlad was born. No light stays long there after dark. You don't walk those streets at night unless you're a ghost… or you want to meet one."
At the time of 4 p.m., the station began to hollow out slowly.
One by one, the few scattered people gathered their bags and slipped away, like shadows peeling off the walls.
No rush, no noise just silent goodbyes and fading footsteps.
An hour passed.
By 5 p.m., the place was become completely empty. The atmosphere become thick and heavy with silence.
And in the middle of that quiet ruin stood one figure. A girl in a hoodie with mask covering her face. The only soul left behind, waiting for the train.
The sun slipped beneath the edge of the world, its last light swallowed by a thick, creeping fog.
The air turned colder quiet, breathless
and above, the moon began to claw its way through the mist.
Then… a sound.
Faint. Old.
Like rusted gears grinding against time itself.
An old train, long forgotten, crawled into the station.
Its metal groaned like something waking from the grave.
It stopped-
not with urgency, but as if it had always known it was supposed to arrive.
No one was there to greet it.
No conductor in sight.
No passengers were inside.
But the girl still stepped forward without hesitation. No fear. No pause.
She boarded, and the doors shut behind her.
A face appeared in the window with upside down face and smiling.
Moments later, the train began to move.
Slowly… as if pulled by ghosts toward a place that shouldn't exist.
From the ticket booth, the old man stared, eyes wide with disbelief.
"That train… it looks familiar, wait isn't that train in the stories, the train vanished 50 years ago…" he whispered to himself.
"Am I dreaming? Or is it hallucination..!"
He tried to stop the train but it was too late, the train had already gone.
At the train-
The inside of the train was old and worn out. The metal creaked with every slight movement, and the air smelled like rust and dust. Still, the seats looked strangely well-kept soft,red cushions like luxurious.
The footsteps of the girl echoed faintly in the empty carriage.
She walked straight to her seat and sat by the window. Her hoodie was still up, the mask covering half her face. Outside the view was filled with tall dead trees, empty fields, and rows of old graveyards. It was too quiet.
She didn't react. Just reached into her pocket and pulled out a folded newspaper.
The front page had a bold headline:
"Vlad's Terror Grows. Capital Still Unsafe After Dark."
She read through the article: attacks at night, strange disappearances, bodies found with no blood. People were still afraid to speak Vlad's name openly. The city was tense, waiting for something worse to happen.
The girl leaned back in her seat, eyes still on the paper. She wasn't surprised. It was exactly what she expected.
Outside, the fog was getting thicker. The train kept moving forward, heading straight for Bucharest, the heart of the danger.
After some time, another footsteps echoed through the train.
A strange man wearing a long coat, his face was hidden in shadow. Without a word, he walked up to the girl and slid a folded note across the table.
He speaks quietly. "Your true destination is written in that note. This time the matter is serious, Be careful… the Elder doesn't forgive carelessness. Farewell."
Before she could respond, the man stepped back and disappeared into the shadows, as if he was never there.
"What an asshole, This note in the table looks different from others.."
She stared at the note. Her fingers just about to unfold it, then
DONG.
The train screeched to a halt and stopped. Only one door opened to the exit. She glanced out, then slipped the note back into her pocket, unread. No rush. There would be more time. She walked toward the open door, and stepped outside.
The station was quiet as always, the people were already gone home. She turned to look behind but the train was already gone. Vanished without a sound.
A breeze blew through the cracked concrete platform. She adjusted her hoodie and looked ahead into the dark.
Hoodie girl:
"This place would be fun,"