This was fucking terrifying.
Seriously.. only psychopaths could be this calm about these sorts of things.
Yeong Siyun had dragged Kim Hyunjin off somewhere in the hall to talk,
..Baek Siyun really hoped that the blank-faced woman wouldn't turn out to be some sort of serial killer..
God.. The damn Inspector was so fucking creepy. And now this skeletal woman.. it all made me sick. Why the hell would I accept anything from someone that damn hideous?
Just what was going to happen next? He'd been lucky thus far surviving this long, those nutcases were completely ridiculous—
"Pardon me… The Train will soon be experiencing some turbulence. Please come with me."
A shiver raked down my spine, i could feel my face curl up in disgust as she leaned in impossibly close, her pinprick pupils a sheen of red, her rancid, hot breath reeked of decomposition.
(Something that shouldn't be familiar. Don't remember that. Stop remembering.)
'She's even more hideous the second time.'
"…do I have to? Wouldn't it be safer to buckle up instead of standing up right before turbulence?" It would be easier to pretend if she weren't breathing in my face—
I'm positive this disgusting woman was trying to lure me somewhere else, I'd be able to ignore if this revolting living skeleton was trying to goad a reaction out of me,
Maybe we'd been relying on the rules too heavily—
No.
Rather we'd been expecting monsters to follow their own rules.
——
Damn everything life had to offer Baek Siyun regardless, from the day he was born he was handed the worst possible deck of cards possible,
"Fuck-"
Things were destined to never work out for him in the first place.
She had her hands around Baek Siyun's neck, gripping it with a relentless vice, pulse thundering underneath white, disgustingly bony hands, her knuckles glowing white with the unnatural strength in which she was trying to snuff out his life, pushing him against the seat,
But that's never stopped him from doing what he wanted.
'I can't breathe.'
He struggled, clawing at her thin arms as she continued pressing his windpipe, trying in vain to get it to shatter like glass, he strained painfully, eyes squeezing shut as they burned, stinging with tears.
'Who gives a damn about things like fate or destiny?'
I'm not some pathetic sorry piece of shit that accepts that kind of bullshit and mopes about not succeeding in life.
Leaving behind a collage of raw and bloody claw marks that mapped the length of the attendant's arms that didn't bleed, but instead leaked a foul-smelling pus,
'I can't scream'
Even the most fortunate of people crumble over time; you can only bury your scandals so far. Who's to say that someone from the dirtiest of filth can't be greater than that?
His body instinctively tried to gasp for air and swallow the saliva that spilled out of his mouth, dripping down the corner, choked gurgles managing to escape with little air that slipped past echoed in his ear.
Whether it's home, school, work, or even my own life, what's the difference now?
The seconds got heavier and heavier the longer the monster squeezed her thin hands around his neck, his strength was starting to slip away,
He was going to succeed damn it. Everyone else with their ethics and morals can go to hell.
'How disgusting this is—'
He raised his hands to the train attendant's face, digging his fingers into her disgusting, bloodshot, jaundiced eyes, a raw, animalistic sound tears from her throat as his nails dig into her eyes but her hands persist,
His nails scratched her eyelids at first, sweaty palms made his hands slip in their desperation as his vision began to spot.
Eventually, the skin surrounding her sockets splits, Hot streaks of rancid-smelling puss splashed down on his face like curdled milk as she shrieked, crushing his windpipe more, he clawed again, harder, desperate—
His veins pulsing desperately, his lips beginning to lose their color as his face continued to burn a bright red.
Squelch—
The sound of his nail puncturing her cornea is wet and nauseating, finally making her release him as she screamed,
The sound is ear-piercing and makes him cover his ears as he coughed up spit and bile, choking, gagging, before he coughs again, throat muscles spasming, a warm, thick wetness drips down his jaw,
His vision is spinning, still spotting, struggling to focus as his heel came in contact with what was probably her ribs by her shriek and the nauseating sound of brittle bone breaking.
Crack!
Baek Siyun struggled to stand up, he stumbled into the aisle, his brain throbbing as his lungs screamed in protest,
The door to the car slid open, revealing an unsurprised Kim Hyunjin and equally blank-faced Yeong Siyun, he felt the faintest of hope for just barely a moment before he tripped forward, the train stewardess clawing at his legs, yellow-white clumpy puss dripping down her face in repulsive clumps.
Hrk—
He tried so badly not to vomit, "Yeong Siyun-ssi! [1]Please help me..!" How humiliating it was to depend on my own meat shield for rescue—
"..no thanks."
Huh.
"Wh..what do you mean..! I- I haven't done anything!"
What the fuck is she talking about?
"I'll seriously die if you don't help me..!"
The train stewardess's body writhed against the floor, her limbs spasming,
"I don't feel like risking myself for someone who's already going to die.."
After everything I did.
You think you can just abandon me you piece of shit?
Her filthy fingernails sank into his leg, tearing through his flesh, and dragging chunks of meat off muscle and splattering onto the floor like a grotesque landslide, stuffing her face like a ravenous beast, the sounds she made no different from a pig.
'That's fucking disgusting—'
The noise that ripped itself from Baek Siyun's throat was nothing short of blood-curdling, the pain was bubbling hot, sharp, and nauseating,
"Fuck!— god damnit just help me you fucking psycho!?"
Stomach acid sizzled in the back of his throat with the sickening spike of nausea, though the contents of his stomach remained empty,
"Are you sure you won't help him?" Kim Hyunjin hummed, staring at the sight with apparent interest,
'Shit this bastard is really not pretending to be scared anymore.. so fucking scary—'
Yeong Siyun tilted her head, unfazed. "You can if you want—"
"Don't misunderstand, i'm only asking because you might be the only one that can, since you used your meal ticket already," The odd man's voice cuts her off, a taut line in the train.
"..ah..", she blinked slowly, "you just want to see how it works."
He nodded
"Yes."
The two nut cases turned their gaze toward the helpless Baek Siyun and the train stewardess sinking her vile teeth into his leg.
She sighed, "Well.. I suppose I can give it a try"
Despite her words, she seemed entirely uninterested in saving him. It was obvious she intended to do the bare minimum
Baek Siyun's face was white and stricken, pale and green with nausea,
But as Yeong Siyun took her first few steps
[Dun~~Da~Dun~~]
[Ehkerm, Mhm, Pardon me, We are arriving at our destination, Low Station, Passengers of Low Station. Please prepare to exit]
Then the artificial lights popped before light flooded the windows, The bony woman screamed, shielding her face from the light as her skin flaked and singed like old wood on a bonfire, retreating into the darkness past the car, ignoring both Kim Hyunjin and Yeong Siyun as she pushed passed them,
"What the hell is wrong with you— I almost died you fucking bitch!"
Baek Siyun gagged before vomiting up a mixture of saliva and stomach acid, leaving a fiery, burning trail scraping up his throat, aggressively wiping his mouth with his sleeve,
He coughed, swaying on his feet while he struggled to stand as the train began to slow, the idle thrum of machinery preparing to meet a stop,
'These damn psychos!'
[We have arrived, we have arrived at our destination. We staff at Dreamful Transpo wish you well, thank you for your patronage!]
The doors slowly opened, but instead of the salvation they would have hoped for, the platform was dark, overgrown, and cracked stone, like the station had been abandoned for much longer than what should be possible,
'What the fuck.. Save me from this hell.'
"Are you sure you want to get off?" Kim Hyunjin swallowed in what Baek Siyun would have initially assumed was nervousness if not for the almost excited look on his face,
"…yes.. they wouldn't make us survive this.. just to kill is at the end.."
They definitely would. Even if they were this lucky, there's only so much luck in the world—
And with unbelievable composure, Yeong Siyun stepped out of the train first onto the dark platform, glancing around for a moment before turning around to face them,
"…It's safe"
Seeing the astonishment on their faces, she tilted her head slightly.
"..what is it?"
"For someone who speaks so well about dying you sure have some unique luck," Kim Hyunjin followed, stepping off the train and onto the platform,
Ha, ha...
"Baek Siyun?"
"..."
Ah fuck..
Damn it all to hell—
[I see that congratulations are in order!]
Party poppers exploded, confetti falling at the Host's exuberantly creepy smile accompanied by the clapping of the mannequin puppets from when they first arrived like a sitcom sound track,
They were back in the auditorium, a large projected screen behind him with big bold text,
{Congratulations on passing the field test and becoming official employee's of the Horror Response Network in Nightmare Guide Inc!}
"Ha..."
Baek Siyun collapsed into the chair, legs giving out, though noticeably his leg was perfectly fine, the only evidence of it happening being a rip on the cuff and a dark bruise where he'd been all but skinned but that disgusting woman.
But most importantly,
'Fuck.. I lived..'
[My oh my! It seems we have a lot of promising candidates on our hands! A whopping 35 employees!]
The host laughed— it wasn't reassuring in the least,
[This absolutely sets a record! We've never had this many fresh employees make it past the field test on the first day!]
The statement itself held a hint of foreboding, it implied that not only had their survival might as well have been luck, but also that there was multiple days of testing.
The host cheerfully continued nonetheless, unbothered by the lack of response,
[it usually takes until our third batch for us to get any mew hires!]
Three days?
Three days of people dying until they got 'employees'
Up to their standards? How fucking sick—
Not a single person was happy despite the continuous clapping of the mannequin-like people behind the host
Amidst the chilling noise, another survivor couldn't handle it and suddenly shouted out,
"I want to quit..! Please—"
But the host remained calm.
[Unfortunately we're unable to do that! You're contracts state that you must stay in employment for atleast 2 years before you may resign!]
[1] ssi; a polite honorific used after a person;s name, similar to "Mr.", "Mrs.", or "Ms." in English. It;s used to show respect when addressing someone you;re not close to or who might be older than you, or when addressing someone with similar social status. It;s a common way to address strangers or colleagues.