The man's glow in his hand slowly faded. Clare slowly opened her eyes and scanned the area. Her brows furrowed in confusion. Then she saw another man in black suit walking towards her.
He was wearing black shades, and have this blonde hair. "Take her" the man behind her said. The other man gestured her to follow him so she did.
While walking, she was thinking of the scene awhile ago. She was expecting for some game-changing moment but there's none. There wasn't any pain caused by that man.
Nothing really happened to her. Her memories are still intact in her mind. Is this a joke? she asked herself inwardly. She looked at the man as he brought her inside the black train.
As soon as she went inside, gloomy people were around her. Guilt and sadness were in their eyes. Some were looking through the window with tears on their cheeks. Some were bowing their heads and some were sobbing in their seats.
"W-What happened here?" Clare stuttered. The man glanced at me with his brow raised, "Who gave you a permission to speak?" he said with a dangerous tone.
Clare's forehead creased when she heard that, "H-Huh?" Clare started to shiver when the man in black approached her and his hand started to glow. "Seems like that fool's power didn't take an effect on you" he mumbled, loud enough for Clare to hear.
Then he placed his hand on Clare's head that made her closed her eyes tight, expecting for pain. "Any memoir of you on Earth shall be removed permanently and you are to follow the orders of the Guardians" the man chanted.
After a few minutes, he removed his hand on her head and stared at her for awhile. Clare remained silent because of fear. The man then turned around and continued to walked.
"You are to sit here until we arrived the world where you are destined" the blonde man in suit said and handed a black ticket with letters and numbers in it. Clare accepted the ticket and stared at it. "Don't lose that" he said before he left Clare. Clare slowly sat down, still her eyes scanning the train.
There were four of them in the area. She was hesitating to ask them since they were sobbing in the corner. She needs to feed her curiousity before she goes insane, "H-Hey..." she called the three woman who were sobbing. They stopped and looked at her with puffy eyes.
Clare gulped before she spoke, "I-I'm sorry to disturb your crying session but I'm going to ask you something" the three looked at her with confusion. "U-Uhmm... Do you know where we're going?" she asked. The three looked at each other before they shook their head.
"Who are you?" the woman with a shoulder length black hair asked. "D-Do you know your name?" the braided-haired woman beside her asked. She was startled when the two of them asked her questions with desperation.
"H-Huh?" she stuttered with confusion. "Shut up, girls. Of course she wouldn't know like us" the woman with a short curly hair said as she wiped her tears. Clare looked at her,
"What do you mean?" she asked. "Sadness" she started. "Guilt, pain, and suffering. This is what we are all feeling and we couldn't stop it. We don't know why. We can't remember a single thing even our names" she sobbed again.
Clare was shocked to see them crying again.
They can't remember? How is that possible? I can remember everything! Clare thought. "Are you serious?" she asked the three of them. The woman beside her replied, "We are! Do you think we'll bawl like this if we aren't?!"
This has to be a dream Clare thought as she but her nails. Her mind couldn't process the whole situation. She couldn't understand why does the magic didn't took an effect. Sarah... she thought.
Rhen she remembered that meaningful smile her new friend gave her before she rode the red train. "Does that mean the magic didn't work on her?" she mumbled.
"What are you mumbling, lost soul?" she was startled when deep and threatening voice spoke. She looked up and saw the woman with a caramel-colored hair standing beside her. It was Petra.
She shook her head, trying to hide her fear. Petra glared at her, more like observing her expression, trying to figure out what Clare was hiding. "Sit up straight. We'll be departing soon" Petra said before she turned her back.
Clare didn't know how long she held her breath. What she realized that the moment Petra turned her back, she sighed in relief. Her heart couldn't stop pounding from nervousness.
It was a nerve-wracking moment. She was sitting on the edge of chair and glanced at the window. She couldn't see everything because of the bawling woman beside her but it is enough to satisfy her curiousity.
Everything was pure white. She can even see the shadows of people wandering the area like they were lost-like zombies looking for brains. "Or more like lost souls" she mumbled. She looked at the ticket in her hands, "Eternal World Express to Purgatory World Express" she mumbled what's written in the ticket.
She scoffed, 'Purgatory?' she thought. It sounded ridiculous for her. Who would want to believe this shit? She mocked inwardly.
"We're leaving soon. Half of you, come with me in the office" a familiar voice of a woman said nearby. Clare couldn't stopped herself but eavesdropped. "Yes, Miss Petra" a man said.
Clare straightened up when she felt a presence approaching her and it was a bunch of men walking pass through her. She was observing them as they went out of the railroad car and transferred to the other.
Her brows furrowed, Half of them went with Petra. That means few men are left here? This is my chance! she thought and grinned. She looked at the three crying women and said, "You three can't stop crying, do you?".
The three looked at her with teary eyes. They shook their head and said in unison, "We can't". "It's too sad..." the braided woman said and cried again.
Clare couldn't help but rolled her eyes. She was thinking of asking for their help to escape from this car and transferred to the other to look for Sarah but looks like she can't fully trust the three of them. She brought her fingers to her chin and thought of a way to escape.
"All aboard! We are ready to depart the Eternal World Express!" the crying stopped when they heard the man speaking through the speaker.
"Buckle up, Lads! Sit comfortably and-- hey! Car number 3, stop the trouble!" the man from the other line faked a cough and continued, "I apologize. As I was saying, the train will now depart in three..."
"No..." Clare mumbled when the countdown started. She panicked and stood up, looking for an escape.
"Two..."
"No!" she screamed across the car that made everyone looked at her. There she realized that she made a wrong move.
She was expecting for the guardians to barge in but there was none so she slowly sat back to her seat uncomfortably. She panicked more when she heard the continuous chugging sound of the train.
"One..."