Chapter 105 The Ghost Train
The maintenance hatch to the subway system was a rusted iron circle set into the floor of the Spire’s sub-basement.
It took me five minutes to crank the wheel. The metal groaned in protest, frozen by years of disuse and the encroaching damp of the Rot. When the seal finally broke, a puff of stale, dead air rushed out to meet me.
The area smelled like an old electrical room mixed with wet earth from a grave.
I spoke into my radio, saying "Comm check" while I adjusted the rebreather mask that Kael made for me.
Kael's voice came through my earpiece, saying "Loud and clear". "Ryker, the signal remains strong at this moment but the Rot will create more interference when you travel deeper into the area. Your only option will be to rely on yourself once you lose contact with me."
I told myself "I’m always on my own".
Elara’s voice interrupted me with soft strength. "I’m watching your vitals. I’m right here."
"Keep the light on, Elara," I said as I stopped on the ladder top. "If I get lost down there, I’m looking for the Spire."
"Just come back," she said.
I dropped a chemical flare down the shaft. The flare tumbled end over end, painting the rusted walls in stark white light until it hit the bottom fifty feet down with a distant clack.
I began to climb the structure.
The ladder rungs had moisture on them which made them slippery. The darkness pressed against my back, heavy and suffocating. The hatch above me created safe space while the city below me existed as its major thoroughfare.
I drew my Star-Metal sword after my boots touched the concrete station floor. I kept the blade dull because I wanted to delay its activation until later. I had to conserve air because down here, every breath I took counted as valuable resource.
I was in the old "Central Hub" station. This station served as the main transit hub for the Iron Sovereignty before the introduction of hover-cars. Massive vaulted ceilings arched overhead, tiled in cracked ceramic.
The area had transformed into a burial ground.
The Rot had been active in its operations.
The black veins weren't just on the walls here; they were the walls. The tiles became covered in a thick layer of black slime which had a sticky resinous texture. The ceiling's stalactites dropped down from the ceiling. The station platforms were covered in a carpet of grey fuzz—spores.
Kael, I whispered. The spore density down here is off the charts. It looks like snow.
"Keep your mask tight," Kael warned. "Those spores are psychoactive. If you breathe them in, they cross the blood-brain barrier. You’ll start seeing things that aren't there."
"Understood."
I walked to the edge of the platform. The rust-colored tracks disappeared into the dark tunnel which led to Sector 2.
And there it was. The train.
The old mag-lev hauler was a giant machine which transported heavy industrial cargo through its iron and rivet construction. The vehicle remained motionless on the tracks, which were completely coated in dust.
I found the transport, I reported. It appears to be complete with no evident structural problems to assess.
I jumped down onto the tracks and vaulted onto the engine deck. The door to the conductor’s cab was jammed. I forced the door open with my sword after I inserted it into the space between the door's edges.
The driver’s seat I entered was cramped with mildew odor. I wiped the dust off the control console.
The system showed no signs of activity. The system remained inactive without any visual indications or operational sounds.
"I’m at the console," Vane said. "Walk me through the hotwire."
"Okay, boss," Vane spoke through the static-filled transmission. "Look for the emergency induction panel under the dash. The primary coil needs to be connected to the battery backup by using the red wire and blue wire. The yellow wire should not be touched because it will cause electrocution.
I ripped the panel off. I found the wires. I drew my combat knife and stripped the insulation.
I muttered "Here goes nothing".
I connected the red wire with blue.
SPARK.
Electricity surged through my body, causing my fingers to feel numb.
The dashboard began to show a flickering display. Amber lights strobed to life. A low, grinding hum started deep in the engine block. The magnetic levitation coils made a whirring sound while they struggled to elevate the heavy train from its position on the rusted tracks.
THUD-THUMP-HISSS.
The train rose above the ground. It maintained a two-inch hover above the tracks while moving slightly from side to side like a boat in water.
"We have power," I said as I exhaled. "Good job, Vane."
"I’m a genius," Vane said. "Now get moving. The train is too loud. Your actions just activated the dinner bell."
I pushed the throttle forward. The train lurched.
We entered the tunnel.
The station lights behind me disappeared into darkness. The train’s headlight produced the only light which created a yellow cone that illuminated the dark surroundings.
The tunnel walls moved past us at high speed. Black roots. Rusted pipes. Graffiti from a hundred years ago.
The static began to play.
Bzzt... Ryker... bzzt...
"Say again, Elara? I tapped my ear piece. "You’re breaking up."
...turn back...
The voice belonged to someone else. It sounded more masculine and rougher than Elara's voice.
I stood still because I recognized that voice.
The passenger seat showed me nothing.
My father was sitting there. The Wolf King.
He wore his old military uniform which displayed all his medals on his chest. His face had turned grey while his body started rotting to the point of revealing his skull.
"The hallucination said, "You’re going the wrong way, boy. The voice spoke inside my mind without moving his mouth.
"I killed you dead," I said while holding the throttle. "You’re dead."
"Did You? The rotting King turned his head. His eyes were black holes filled with worms. "You killed the man. But you didn't kill the legacy. You’re just like me, Ryker. A killer. A tyrant.
"I am a Guardian," I gritted out.
"Are you? The King laughed. "The people in Sector 1 should be asked about you. "Did you guard them? The ones you burned on the bridge.
I closed my eyes tightly. "Get out of my head."
"You sacrificed them," the King whispered. "Efficiency. Calculation. "You’re still the Hollow Man. You just wear a different suit.
I opened my eyes. The seat was empty.
Just dust motes floating in the air.
"Kael," I gasped. "The mask isn't working perfectly. I’m getting leakage.
"Focus, Ryker!" Kael shouted. "It’s the spores! Your brain is creating stress-response avatars. It’s not real! Focus on the mission!
I shook my head trying to remove the fog from my mind.
I looked through the front window. The headlight discovered something on the tracks ahead.
Movement.
"Contact," I whispered while reducing the train speed.
But it wasn't a spider. It wasn't a mud monster.
It was a shadow.
The human silhouette appeared to be 2D because it peeled itself off the tunnel wall.
It stood on the tracks. It had no face. No features. Just a void in the shape of a man.
And it was completely silent.
The train created a thrumming sound while air hissed through the train. The thing made no noise and it didn't move the air around it.
"What are you?" I whispered.
The Shadow raised a hand.
The train headlight flickered. The light bent around the creature, sucked into its body.
The train lurched forward while the magnetic coils emitted a loud scream.
The creature drank energy from the engine which it had done from thirty feet away.
"Vane!" I yelled. "I’m losing power! Something is draining the mag-levs!
"Run it over!" Vane shouted.
I slammed the throttle to maximum speed.
The train advanced forward. The heavy iron cow-catcher aimed straight for the Shadow.
The creature stayed in place without making any attempt to avoid danger.
WHAM.
The train hit it.
No sound of meat hitting metal reached my ears.
The Shadow passed through the train.
I felt a wave of freezing cold wash over me as it passed through the cabin. The dashboard lights turned off instantly. The engine stopped working.
The train fell down onto the rails. Metal screamed against metal. We skidded to a halt during the dark while grinding our way to a stop.
Silence.
Total silence which created heavy silence.
"Kael?" I whispered.
Static. My radio was dead. The creature had drained the battery in my comms unit.
I was all by myself.
I sat in the dark cab, listening. My own heartbeat sounded like a drum.
I saw movement in the rearview mirror.
The Shadow was inside the cab. Behind me.
It moved without a sound. No footsteps. No breathing. The area appeared to be a patch of darkness which was darker than the surrounding area.
I drew my sword. "Stay back.
I swung. The Shadow was cut through by the Star-Metal blade.
The creature reached toward me. Its hand touched my shoulder.
Cold.
The temperature reached zero because it eliminated all existing body heat. The warm blood inside me turned cold. My arm went numb instantly. Frost crystallized on my tactical gear.
It was trying to stop my heart.
I scrabbled back while kicking the door open. Then I fell out of the train and onto the tracks. I landed hard on the rusted rails, rolling to my feet.
The Shadow floated out of the train. Then another peeled off the wall. And another.
Three silent and hungry shadows circled me.
The beings circling me were pure Void energy instead of being biological entities. They represented the ghosts of all magical powers which I had destroyed.
"You want energy? I rasped, my breath steaming in the air.
I had no access to fire. I had no access to electricity.
But I had the Star-Metal.
Star-Metal absorbed energy. Star-Metal could release energy if someone struck it forcefully.
I grabbed a heavy iron spike lying on the tracks—a railroad tie.
I held my sword up.
"Come on," I taunted them.
The first Shadow lunged.
I didn't swing at it. I struck my sword blade with the iron spike.
CLANG.
I struck the flat of the blade with all my strength.
The impact sent vibrations through the metal. The Star-Metal rang like a bell—a high-pitched, resonant frequency.
The sound wave hit the Shadows.
They shrieked.
The sound was not a vocal scream because it arrived as a visual distortion. The visual distortion made their forms ripple and tore apart. The sound disrupted their cohesion.
I realized "Sound" is the reason you hate the noise.
I hit the sword again.
CLANG.
The Shadows retreated while they pressed their bodies against the walls.
I kept going until I established a rhythm. I hit the sword with the iron spike as if I were a blacksmith hammering on an anvil.
CLANG. CLANG. CLANG.
The tunnel produced a loud sound which created an overwhelming sound that sounded like chaos while it sounded like life.
The Shadows couldn't take it. They dissolved, scattering into wisps of harmless smoke.
I stood there while panting. I rang my sword until all echoes had died away.
I was safe. But the train was dead. And I was miles from the chemical plant.
I looked down the dark tunnel.
"Walking it is," I muttered.
I sheathed my sword, gripped the iron spike, and started to march.