Narrator: WILLIAM
It was a dull black Saturday night when I ride a train in the subway to travel along my way home. The trip is smooth and we are not in a crowded haggard situation. I sat in a seat nearby the door with five passengers across me. Passengers with different personalities, beliefs, and attitudes. Three were guys may be between 16 to 25 yrs old just like the women beside them. It was almost midnight and I assumed that we are all tired and sleepy but I tried to greet them though it's not easy at first because rejection comes in. As for my assumption, she looks like a gorgeous Californian woman I simply knew the difference between the color and style of the hair, the accent, and her behavior. There was a trademark that is always remembered. She stared at me blankly and I assumed that half of my genuine smile she measures my whole personality and then she looked away as such nothing happened. She's making her way through typing in her laptop without caring for the presence of someone. I saw her name from the template of her dress "Belinda Cooper" sounds like an elegant flamboyant woman. While the bulky good-looking smirked greeted me with full of gloats as he is sketching a blueprint of a building and I saw from his sketchpad his first name " Paris Smith" sounds rich kid. On the other hand, I felt a little at ease when the young guy approached me. He looks like a dork but I guess he is kind. "Hi!! I'm Travis Scott" and then he offered me his hands.
He is friendly and I saw from his face that he really meant it.
He widely smiled and showed me how generous he is.
"Hello, I'm William Moore, nice to meet you." I tap his shoulder like I'm accepted a completely made pack of brotherhood. Afterward, he goes back to his seat and for a few minutes, the teenage pale girl smiled back at him and then in my direction and tells me her name. "Stefanie Adam" and I nodded. From that, I'm pretty sure she's sick with her unhealthy complexion and sad eyes. But she forced a bright smile, while on the other seat, the man in a polo shirt greeted me and nodded coldly with no expression coming from his eyes. He tells me his name "Professor Brendan Harley and He looks away like he avoids us, and he is afraid to get near to somebody. I feel a sense of déjà vu like meeting strangers from the past but I'm not sure about it. Anyway, I finished my impression; so that's how it ended and they mind their own business while waiting for their stopover until something weird happened.
As I shifted my position to try to get a better sense of how beautiful the city outside. The light keeps on flashing as someone switches it on and off. We stared up at the lights and something chilled in my spine, an eerie feeling that said "Get out from the train RIGHT NOW!!!!" I shook off the feeling and stay calm in my seat but the woman nearby shakes her hands and the tears flooded in her eyes while the three guys keep on staring at the lights and in the door. I hope everything will be fine but I guess there is more to it when suddenly the train started the engine at a very fast pace. We stumbled from our seats and we hold to the steel bars to control our movements from rolling.
The huge train keeps on a fast track like we were on a rollercoaster where the uncontrollable spinning of every ride consumed our soul. I kept my eyes closed by pretending to be okay.
My breath slowed down. I was struck with fear and wanted to tell my fellow passengers we need to get out but I was too afraid. I peeked open my eyes just the slightest bit and I heard the raspy breathing of some of the passengers. I think Stefanie is sick or maybe having a nervous breakdown. I approached her and touched her shoulder.
"Are you ok?"
"Yeah! Nothing to worry about." The girl gave me an awful smile.
I moved near the door until I saw a reflection of a figure standing inside the train while the lights went on in a crazy state of on and off.
I walked up to the window and looked out. At first, it was hard to see. As I neared the front door, I saw in my peripheral vision two small red lights moving inside the train. They looked like the eyes of some strange animal. I turned around watching someone until the figure started to move. A few feet away, I recognize it looked something like a man, and yet it didn't. He walked to reach us and as he got nearer his physical appearance change.
I smell something.
The ghastly smell of decayed body, slight smell of rotten eggs and it was the stench that I first associated with farts: thick, phosphorus. I imagined I could almost see the swamp green of it like the grief had a way of making the smell worse.
I smell death but I couldn't bring myself to tell a soul.
So, I keep quiet.
I looked at each of the passengers and they are looked anxious and puzzled and seemed to be in confused about something.
And then I got something in my mind.
"We need to get out of here now!!" I told them but I'm pretty much confused.
"I don't understand well enough. What's going on?" The tall guy said.
"There is something bad to happen. I saw someone and it's weird but we have to do something to escape." I answered him.
I initiated them to follow me near the door to get a chance to open it and plan to escape but something stops us.
We stared silently around the train.
The overall part of the train became cold surrounded by unexplainable fog that came out from nowhere like the ghosts are welcomed and the train turned to a halt followed by total darkness. Fear creeps deep inside our whole body ready to burst. I gasped, my heart dropped. This was different and I didn't dare to make a move nor speak. Although it's getting cold inside and dark I could barely see his eyes now, wild and furious. Something burned from his eyes, his skin is pale like a zombie and I could see there was definitely something inhuman about his eyes. I examined it carefully. It seemed to me that he wore a black coat and black boots everything was black except his skin. There was something very odd about those hands…. claws from a monster and big wings like an angel. My heart started to rumble in my chest I can't explain the fear I felt and my whole body tightened as the sweat comes out from my shirt.
"Are we going to die here?" my conscious mind dares to ask but I shook off my head. "This isn't the right place to die." I force myself to remain calm.
I thought there was a sickle and he cut each of our throats and torn it into pieces.
My heart pounding and to my stupidity, I stormed toward the front door to get out but it's impossible to escape.
I want to close my eyes but he started to talk.
"Good evening ladies and gentlemen. Enjoy your first ride on my train." He said in a hollow and baritone voice likewise came out from a pit.
"Good evening!" simultaneous replies.
Even though our voices are shaking with cold and fear we tried to talk to him to know what exactly his intention and who is he.
"I am a Shinigami or what do you call in folklore? A god of death. I am your driver from this ride."
"Whoa!!! Like in death note? Amazing man!!!! Haha," one of the two guys, Travis the taller man said while happily amazed by the thought.
The man stood and he opens his mouth and chuckled. It vibrates from our ear when we heard a loud laugh of a devil. Roaring like in horror films. He is teasing us to believe in him but of course, I am not so sure about this idea because in a few minutes I'll be in the grave where my family remorse for my death.
"What do you want from us?" said the woman with a rattled voice.
We tried to get far away as much as we can but he approaches us.
His burning eyes stared and focus his attention on the direction of the woman.
"Bright Idea."
"Well, I have an offer if you wish to go home. I will give each of you four different rings to wear and you will go to a place where you can face your fear." He smiled.
"What???? It's insane and why do we need to do this.... One of the two guys, the petite one said in a mocking and angry voice.
"This is your choice to stay alive or else you want to keep your sanity. Right?"
I speak. "What if we do not agree to it and just walk home?"
"You don't have any choice, nowhere to run. Your choice is to go to that place and stay alive living with your deepest fear." said the Shinigami.
"That's it? After we live with our deepest fear now what?????????" said the woman.
"If you can survive and overcome your fear then you win and I lose. You can defeat me and walk away. But if your fear defeats you...…
"What happened????????" Stefanie asks.
"I feed in you and I'll collect your soul. Your mind will be paralyzed just like you are dead and you can't go back." His voice became the rules.
Silence echoed the whole room.
The fear creeps up in my head down in my body. This is the final verdict of our lives and we have a choice to live with it.
So far no one had ever backed out of a dare. I didn't want to be the first one to do so.
"So will you take it or leave it?" the Shinigami open up his hand and he showed us different rings. Six golden rings with different styles, each of us got different animals with a beautiful design engrave like snake, wolf, crocodile, vulture, crow, and bat. I don't know which one represents my personality but I choose crocodile without any further reason. Stefanie, the pale girl chooses the snake, Travis, the taller and handsome guy chooses the wolf, Belinda, the blonde woman chooses vulture, Professor Brendan, the hammer face Spanish looking guy chooses the crow and I guess with his physical attribute he looks like a teacher and Paris, the petite good-looking guy with a large spec chooses the bat.
When we wear those rings the Shinigami didn't say anything, he flips his finger in a blink of an eye and everything went dark again. For a few seconds, I open my eyes and I was alone. I am traveling along in a different kind of destination followed the path through a single light. I felt a little dizzy, I almost spit.
I wish I could turn back time but it's too late, we need to face our different kinds of fear to get out of this nightmare. No one can save us except ourselves.