The door ahead swung open with a grinding moan. Evelyn stepped in first, feeling the floor beneath her feet pulse like it had a heartbeat of its own. The carriage was lined with mirrors—hundreds, maybe thousands—warping her reflection into grotesque versions of herself.
"Every mirror… it's watching us," Alex muttered, eyes wide.
Evelyn didn't answer. She could already feel it—the pull of the reflections, each one whispering her fears back at her. She saw herself screaming, twisted, bleeding from eyes that weren't hers. Her heart raced, sweat prickling her skin.
A voice slithered out from the mirrors, soft, coaxing, venomous:
"Look… see… remember… regret…"
Evelyn clenched her fists. "I'm not afraid of you," she said, though her voice shook.
One reflection stepped out from the glass. A pale version of herself, eyes hollow, teeth sharp, a smile that didn't belong. It lunged forward. Evelyn stumbled back, barely catching herself on the railing.
"Evelyn!" Sophie shouted, pulling her back. "What is happening?"
"I… I don't know!" Evelyn gasped. Her shadow, still trembling from the previous carriage, stretched toward the mirror figure. "It's… feeding… on what we hate about ourselves."
Leo stepped forward, trying to swing a hand at a reflection. His own mirrored face grinned, impossibly wide, mocking him. "It's… it's alive!" he choked.
Evelyn's mind raced. The first puzzle had been simple, the second a shadow… this one required more than answers. It required courage. She focused, breathing hard, and forced herself to look directly into the mirror figure's eyes.
"Stop!" she screamed. "I see you. I see everything you are—but I am not you!"
The mirror trembled. A soft cracking sound echoed through the carriage. The twisted reflection recoiled, shrieking silently, until it shattered, glass raining down like icy rain.
The carriage fell silent. Evelyn's chest heaved. She glanced at her friends—Alex, Leo, and Sophie—all pale, all trembling. None spoke.
Then the next door creaked open. This time, the corridor beyond was darker than any night, lit only by flickering lanterns suspended in midair.
Evelyn swallowed the lump in her throat. "The train… it's testing everything about us. Our fears, our regrets… even the parts we hide from ourselves."
A whisper drifted across the empty glass:
"The next puzzle will take more than courage… it will take your soul."