The woods thickened as Daniel followed the path beyond the cabin. Lena's journal clutched in his hand, the conductor's last words echoed in his mind:
"Some are about facing the truth."
Who had been watching her?
The fog coiled tighter now, like fingers drawing him in. The train was gone - no tracks, no whistle. Only forest, memory, and dread.
Then he saw it: a rusted mailbox half-swallowed by ivy. D. Hale.
His family's old summer house.
He hadn't been there in years.
Inside, the house was silent - but not empty. Photographs of him and Lena had been arranged on the mantle in patterns. Symbols. Circles. Runes. In the center was one he didn't remember taking - Lena alone, looking over her shoulder at the woods. Behind her: a tall, dark figure.
Daniel's blood ran cold.
He took the journal out and flipped to the last page:
"He comes when the train leaves. He waits in the in-between. Daniel... I think he made you forget."
Suddenly, the room darkened. A chill swept through, carrying a whisper not in Lena's voice, but in his own:
"You promised to come back."
A shadow stretched across the floor.
Daniel turned - and saw him.
The Watcher.
Faceless, but wearing a conductor's cap. The same one from the train. Except this wasn't the kindly guide. This… thing radiated emptiness. It had worn the conductor like a mask.
"You feed me regret," the Watcher rasped. "You wanted time again. You gave me the door."
Daniel backed away. "Where's Lena?"
"She never left. She's still aboard. Like the others. Passengers of memory."
Then Daniel saw the truth: the train didn't just travel through time. It trapped those bound by guilt, looping them in their worst moments. The child, the man with the briefcase - they were prisoners of the Watcher's feast.
And Lena… she never got off.
"I want her back!" Daniel shouted.
The Watcher tilted its head. "Then trade places. One soul for another. That's the cost of a second chance."
The journal in Daniel's hand trembled. On the inside cover, new words had appeared:
"Don't save me. Break the train." - L.
Daniel's choice lay before him:
Board the train again, take her place, and free Lena.
Or destroy the Watcher's loop - and risk losing her forever.
The woods rumbled.
A distant train whistle screamed through the mist.
To Be Continued......