See?
After 56 separate cases, there appeared to be no connection between the success of the escape and the station name.
And yet, people were on the verge of pouring out at Ecstasy Station.
[The doors on your left will open.]
The platform was open and brightly lit.
'Damn it.'
The station was bright and shiny, like a newly built stop in a new city, and Soleum could feel the mood tilt.
"Ah…!"
"Sh-should we get off here and look for people? This place looks completely normal…."
Excited, people began to hover near the doors.
No!
'Her companions!'
And her mental state if she had to witness that!
'Damn it.'
At the end Soleum ran forward, and blocked the doors again.
"…!"
"What, what are you doing?"
"Please wait."
[The screen doors are opening.]
"Are you certain?"
"Pardon…?"
"Certain."
"About this place being safe. Or at least a hypothesis."
Soleum deliberately looked away.
"I think most of us would agree this situation feels like a creepypasta."
Go Yeongeun flinched when Soleum said the words she said before but she did not take them back.
[The doors are about to close in 30 seconds. No going back.]
"In creepypastas or horror films, have you ever seen anyone come out okay by choosing based on luck or vibes?"
"Well, I mean, "
"Are you really willing to bet your lives without any reasoning or inference?"
The crowd hesitated, then they broke.
"Then what, you've got some amazing deduction or something?"
"This person's been saying frustrating stuff for a while now…."
"Move already! What deductions? This isn't a quiz show - did anyone give you hints or what?
"Yes."
"…?"
"They are giving us hints."
Soleum steadied her breath.
She then raised her hand and pointed up.
At the subway display with the speakers.
"For your comfortable journey to the final destination, please pay attention to the announcements."
The train had been making it very clear since the start.
"They keep telling us to focus on and follow the announcements. Blatantly."
And with that,
Soleum heard the next line and asked:
[Passengers intending to go to Ecstasy Station must get off at this station.]
"Is there anyone here whose final destination is Ecstasy Station?"
"...."
"...."
Everyone froze.
"Well… ecstasy is good, right?"
"Living ecstatically, happily, that's life's purpose, "
"So," Soleum interrupted, "is Ecstasy Station your final destination?"
"...."
"...."
Everyone could feel how bizarre it was.
Still, one or two people turned their anger toward her.
"Do we even have a destination right now? You don't know either, why are you interfering?"
"If we fail to escape because of you, are you going to take responsibility? Are you?!"
Responsibility?
"Yes."
"…!"
"Huh…?"
"I'll take responsibility."
That was an easy question.
'She was planning to escape together anyway.'
Getting off here would be wrong, and there was no more wrong answer than that.
But they had not expected it, and were frozen like a deer with its mouth open.
"...Seeing how strongly she came out, it seemed her resolve wavered; the conflict was visible.
[The screen doors are closing.]
In the meantime, the doors closed.
"Ah…."
Soleum had gotten out of the way. A few of them pressed against the doors, staring.
No one was angry about the fact that they were not allowed off.
'This should be… enough.'
She felt a small measure of pleasure.
Then there was an urgent shout from the car.
"Hey! Everyone in the front car got off!"
"…!"
They all got off?
Immediately, Soleum looked out the train window.
I mean, not everybody, but it really seemed like five or six people had gotten off at once.
"...."
Sigh.
She immediately did not want to see what was about to happen next.
But now, she had to watch it, so she could argue it rationally later. Damn it.
Rochelle clamped her jaw to keep from cursing, squinting through the blurry image outside the window.
"Huh? They're running!"
The people who did get off looked like they were on some sort of a mission. I saw five or six people running for the platform exit and the stairs.
But it was too late.
"Ah!"
The platform floor began to boil a golden yellow. The feet of the runners seemed to melt into the ground beneath them as they ran.
"G-gold…?"
Their legs seemed to turn to gold and stick to the floor; such should be the sight.
People screamed, but they started to slow and stop moving.
In due course, they all collapsed, only their upper bodies in front of the steps.
Even that turned glittering gold.
The easiest way to be ecstatically beautiful.
"Hiiik."
"Ugh."
[The train departs from Ecstasy Station.]
All that could be heard, in the departing train car, was swallowing or muffled sobs.
One of the passengers, Soleum, was grabbed urgently.
"Y-you said you'd take responsibility. Can you really guarantee finding a safe place? Yes?"
"Yes."
Soleum answered firmly.
It was ridiculous that logic had jumped to the conclusion that she would provide the correct answer at that moment, but she had to answer.
'I'm going to die, really.'
Her legs were shaking and she seemed about to collapse!
It was as if, in her head, she was reliving the image of the people's legs dissolving.
One thing was certain: even if she survived this, sleep would not come.
Meanwhile, Baek Saheon also stood up and spoke.
"Ma'am, you're amazing."
"…Ma'am?"
"Ah, I tend to call people that when I meet them."
Then, with an awkward laugh, he added:
"People like you are rare these days. Most can't simply say yes or no, and end up saying things like 'I think ~ maybe.'"
"...."
"I hope it turns out as well as you guarantee."
Um... thanks for the encouragement, but now was definitely not the time for polite, detached phrasing.
'If it doesn't turn out well here, he's going to die too...'.
Wait.
No, she had missed it while whining in fear.
'If there are records of Baek Saheon as an employee in
So then, once the station that Baek Saheon wanted to get off at was reached, that would be good enough?
But if Soleum was able to persuade Go Yeongeun to leave with her, then it would have made three people. If there were other people who were trying to leave with them, then there was a possibility that more people would leave.
'This easy method?'
"Baek Saheon."
"Yes?"
"Do you have a station you'd like to get off at? I mean… is there a word or name that makes you think, 'If this comes up, we should get off'?"
"…Uh, suddenly?"
"I want to hear various thoughts."
"Oh."
Baek Saheon paused momentarily, then shrugged his shoulders.
"Not really. I'm not familiar with this kind of thing."
"I see."
So he didn't have any particular intuition yet.
Soleum gave a slightly curt nod, finding it a reasonable course of action, and simply continued watching.
Ding-dong.
[Passengers, attention please. This is Abyss Transportation Corporation wishing you a smooth ride.]
"…!"
The announcement started again.
Everyone fell silent and looked up.
[Our train will now pass through a curved section. Please expect some noise and shaking.]
[Please remain seated to prevent accidents.]
Damn it, seriously.
"Everyone, sit down."
No one objected, and they went back to their seats.
Even the people who had thrown a tantrum about getting off earlier shut their mouths and sat first.
Not everyone acted in this manner.
"Hey! Front car!"
"Those people…."
People were standing in the front car having an argument with each other.
And then, after a while, due to the noise it was hard to hear what was said.
They had seen those people, who had been with them moments before, die in the most impossible ways, and panicked.
"Shouldn't we say something?"
"Hey! Can you hear me?!"
"Sit down!"
The workers nearest the front car shouted. None of the people in front of car 2 looked. One who had done this turned and came to them.
"Sit down!"
"No, don't come closer, sit…."
Too late.
[Entering curved section….]
The lights went out.
"…!"
There was a horrible roar, and the train began shaking violently, in darkness.
A scream cut above the roar of the wind.
Screams.
Aaaah!!
Aaah, ah, aaah….
The sound of something wet bursting.
Like squeezing a ripe grape tightly.
A dull, resonant sound.
…As if separated by a single door.
"...."
"...."
The people in Soleum's car gasped and inhaled with difficulty.
Then the lights came back on.
....
The action in the front car was visible through the narrow glass window of the front door.
They were covered in blood and filth.
It looked as though living beings had been thrown into a grinder; there was no trace of humans left.
Everyone was dead.
[You may now leave your seats safely. Thank you for your cooperation.]
While the announcement was calm, the voices within the train were panicked and full of fear.
"Let us out! Let us out!"
"Huuaaa, huuaaa… what is this. What is this… mom…"
Even in that state, the new recruits tried to keep quiet and listen to the announcement down the line.
It had been proven to be a lifeline!
'Damn it.'
This is certainly an advantage to her survival, and seeing it in person is so terrible that beads of sweat form on her forehead.
She clenched her teeth and ignored the tremors in her hand as she wiped.
No more looking at the front car doors.
'Persuasion, persuasion only….'
At a few of the stations, the right one would arrive, and surely people would get off.
[Passengers, this is the Abyss Transportation Corporation welcoming you aboard. Please remain seated.]
The announcement began again.
"Again?!"
"Ughhh…."
Amid the terrified wailing, the voice was clean, mechanical.
A completely random announcement.
[There is a lost item.]
Wait.
Soleum's head snapped up.
[If you find the lost item, please leave the train at the next station and report it to station staff.]
She recognized the pattern.
'…Other escape cases!'
Darkness Exploration Records / Creepypasta /
Welcome to Abyss Transportation Corporation
3.4 Other Records (Escape)
It includes irregular survivals who managed to escape other than by disembarking at a station.
The most frequent notices are "Temporary stop to maintain train interval" and "Lost item announcement".
An unconditional escape ticket.
It could be exited safely with the lost item!
However…
'Only one person can escape.'
…In her case, being alone meant any survival ticket was invalid from the start.
She clenched her fists tightly.
'Then… who exactly should be sent out?'
No, was sending someone out even the right choice?
And…
It is described as "the left eyeball of a male adult in his 20s, blood type A."
Another unimaginable lost object had appeared.
."