The door hissed open, and heat hit them like a physical wall. Their skin burned before they even saw it.
The carriage was ablaze, but not with ordinary fire. The flames were black and red, writhing like living tongues, licking the walls, ceiling, and floor. Smoke twisted into shapes—faces, hands, screaming figures—that reached toward them, clawing with invisible nails.
Sophie stumbled, trying to breathe. "It… it's fire… but it's… alive!"
Alex coughed violently, gasping as the smoke coiled around him, searing his lungs. Every breath tasted like ash and burning flesh. The fire responded to their panic. The more they screamed, the higher the flames climbed, twisting into forms that mocked their fear.
The floor beneath them rippled. Each step sent tongues of flame curling up, searing the skin. Evelyn's lantern flickered violently, struggling to cut through the black-red blaze.
The train whispered, low and cruel:"Fear feeds flame… scream, and burn forever."
Sophie's hands caught fire as she tried to pull them forward. The flames weren't hot like normal fire—they burned with intent, caressing and clawing simultaneously. Her skin blistered, melting slightly, only to reform worse, raw and tender.
Alex turned to help, but the fire wrapped around his legs, lifting him slightly. He kicked and thrashed, screaming as the flames licked his chest, his arms, pulling him toward the ceiling. Every muscle felt like it was being torn apart.
Evelyn forced herself to breathe through the smoke, dragging her friends forward. The walls pulsated, flames stretching like hands to block their path. Whispers of every secret, every guilt, every sin they'd ever committed rode the heat waves, slicing into their minds:"You burned others in life… now burn yourself."
The flames rose higher, forming a living figure—the Conductor's shadow, sculpted entirely from fire. Its eyes glowed molten, and its grin spread impossibly wide. "Every choice… every desire… every fear… becomes fuel for me," it hissed.
Evelyn screamed and slammed the lantern into the ground. Light erupted violently, carving a path through the flames. The fire shrieked, twisting in agony.
Step by step, they pressed forward. Every movement was agony. Skin blistered, muscles strained, lungs burned. The Conductor's flaming shadow reached, claws grazing their backs, teasing, pulling, punishing.
Finally, a faint sigil glowed ahead. Evelyn lunged, dragging Sophie and Alex toward it. With a final cry, she slammed the lantern down again. Light tore through the fire, shrieking flames evaporating into black smoke.
The carriage was still. The heat faded. Their skin stung, blistered, and raw—but they were alive.
Evelyn whispered hoarsely:"We… survived… but this… this is only getting worse."
From the remaining smoke, a voice hissed, cruel and patient:"Flame consumes flesh… but it cannot touch what is already broken. Keep walking… deeper."
The next door yawned open, and beyond it, a smell of iron, decay, and… something else—something alive and waiting—hit them.
And the train waited, eternal and insatiable.