"UNO!" shouted Marie.
I stared at her.
"What?!"
She grinned and threw her last card onto the table.
"You're just so bad at this!"
"Yeah, yeah. Enjoy your victory."
"That's what losers say."
"That's what people who have no life say."
"EXCUSE ME?!"
I laughed.
For a moment, everything felt normal.
Just me, Marie, a deck of UNO cards, and a bunch of Low Wings making enough noise to wake up an entire city.
But then I looked at the empty seat beside us.
Tobisa's seat.
My smile slowly faded.
Marie noticed.
"Hey," she asked quietly. "What's the matter?"
"Nothing."
She looked at me for a moment.
"Tom..."
I sighed.
"I miss him."
Marie lowered her cards.
"Me too."
Neither of us spoke for a while.
UNO without Tobisa was like fish without water. He was the one who always accused everyone of cheating, even when he was the one hiding cards under the table!
I could almost hear him shouting, 'THAT'S NOT A VALID MOVE!' whenever someone played a card he didn't like.
And then he'd somehow win anyway.
But now...
His seat was empty.
Shivansh had promised that he would find Tobisa. I trusted him. He was one of the strongest people in the Wing Corps, and if anyone could track down the demon responsible, it was him.
But there was a problem.
Everyone else believed Tobisa was dead.
They said that no one could survive being taken by a demon like that.
They said we should accept it and move on.
But I refused.
I didn't care what everyone said.
Tobisa was my friend.
And until I saw proof with my own eyes, I wasn't going to believe he was dead.
"He's still out there," I whispered.
Marie looked at me.
"Yeah," she said softly. "I hope so."
She reached over and squeezed my hand.
"We'll find him, Tom."
I nodded.
"We will."
By the way, we were on a train.
And honestly?
It was pretty cool.
There were thirty-eight Low Wings travelling with us, and the whole carriage was filled with conversations, laughter, arguments, and the occasional person shouting about UNO.
Some were discussing their previous missions. Others were comparing weapons.
A few were already asleep.
For once, we weren't running through forests, climbing mountains, or getting chased by demons.
We were just travelling.
Like normal people.
Well, normal people who carried weapons capable of fighting demons.
I eventually got tired of sitting around and walked toward the balcony at the end of the carriage.
The wind hit my face as I stepped outside.
The scenery rushed past us. Trees, fields, the moon, little houses, and distant hills blurred together as the train sped along the tracks.
I rested my arms against the railing.
It was peaceful.
Too peaceful, perhaps.
I thought about the things Tobisa and I had done together.
Our first meeting.
His ridiculous questions.
The training sessions.
The Final Selection.
The times we'd nearly gotten ourselves killed.
I chuckled.
"Idiot..."
I missed him more than I wanted to admit.
A few seconds later, I heard footsteps behind me.
Marie.
She came and stood beside me.
"Still thinking about him?"
"Is it that obvious?"
"Tom, you've been staring into the distance for five minutes."
"Maybe the scenery is interesting."
"Of course. The scenery."
I rolled my eyes.
She smiled, then gently hugged me.
I was surprised at first.
Then I relaxed.
For some reason, having her beside me made everything feel a little less heavy.
"Don't worry," she whispered. "We'll bring him back."
I looked at the passing landscape.
"Yeah."
For a little while, we just stood there together.
The wind blew through our hair.
The train rumbled beneath our feet.
Everything seemed fine.
Until—
I saw them.
Six yellow eyes.
A flash.
Gone.
My smile vanished.
I straightened immediately.
"No..."
Marie pulled away.
"Tom? What is it?"
I stared at the empty landscape behind us.
There was nothing.
No demon.
No movement.
Just the railway stretching into the distance.
Then I heard a voice.
Deep.
Familiar.
Terrifying.
'YOUR TRAIN IS CHOKING TO DEATH!'
My blood ran cold.
I grabbed my watch.
"MARIE!"
She jumped.
"What?!"
I looked toward the front of the train.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
And if my instincts were correct...
We weren't just transporting thirty-eight Low Wings anymore.
We were trapped on a train with a demon.
And it had already begun its attack.