The platform was quiet.
Too quiet.
The figures outside the train were now only a few steps away. Their boots echoed against the cracked concrete of the abandoned station.
Inside the carriage, the passengers sat frozen.
No one dared to move.
The man the boy had insulted was still staring at him, anger burning in his eyes. For a moment, it looked like he might lash out.
But then—
"Stop wasting time."
The leader's voice cut through the tension.
"Bring them out."
Two of the men immediately moved toward the passengers.
"Everyone up!" one of them shouted. "Move!"
Fear spread across the carriage as people slowly stood up. Some clutched their bags tightly, others held onto their children.
One by one, they were pushed toward the train doors.
The familiar traveler leaned toward the boy.
"Well… looks like we're getting off."
The boy stood up calmly and picked up his bag.
Outside, the station looked even more deserted up close.
Rust covered the railings.
Weeds grew through cracks in the platform.
The broken station sign swung gently in the wind.
Passengers were lined up under the watch of the armed men.
The group that had been waiting outside finally reached the train.
There were four of them.
One stepped forward, clearly their leader.
"So," he said with a slow smile, "everything went smoothly?"
The man from the train nodded.
"Of course."
But his eyes briefly glanced toward the boy.
The leader noticed.
"…Problem?"
The man hesitated for a second.
"Just a kid with a big mouth."
The leader chuckled slightly and scanned the line of passengers.
His eyes stopped when they reached the boy.
Calm.
Unbothered.
Observing everything.
The leader tilted his head slightly.
"…Interesting."
The familiar traveler whispered quietly beside him,
"Why do I have a feeling things are about to get worse?"
The boy adjusted the strap of his bag.
Because standing there on that abandoned platform…
He realized something.
His journey had barely begun.
And somehow—
He had already arrived exactly where the trouble was.