For Evelyn and Leo, there was only silence. The door was gone, erased like it had never been. The void shuddered, the heart pulsing in mocking triumph.
But Alex—
Alex opened his eyes to light.
Sunlight. Real sunlight, warm on his skin. He stood in a quiet field, golden grass swaying in the wind. A house waited in the distance, smoke curling from the chimney. His brother's laughter rang out, pure and alive.
Alex fell to his knees, sobbing. "It's over… it's finally over…" His brother ran to him, arms wrapping around his waist, warm and solid and real. "I missed you," the boy said, smiling. "You're home now."
Alex clung to him, burying his face in his hair. For the first time since boarding the train, he felt whole. Safe.
But then—he noticed it.
The grass wasn't grass. It shifted when he touched it, sticky, pulsating, more like veins than blades. The house's walls breathed faintly, expanding and contracting. His brother's skin was warm, yes—but beneath it, something crawled.
Alex's breath caught. He pushed back, staring into the boy's eyes. And for just a moment, the smile flickered. His brother's face rippled like liquid. His eyes went black. His voice deepened.
"You're home now. Forever."
The field pulsed. The house moaned. The sky cracked, bleeding red. The embrace of family twisted into chains of flesh wrapping around Alex's body. He screamed, thrashing as the perfect illusion shattered, revealing the truth—
He hadn't escaped.He had been swallowed whole.
Back in the void, Evelyn collapsed, sobbing, clutching the cold lantern. Leo stared at her, eyes hollow. "He's gone," he rasped. "The train took him."
But somewhere in the walls around them… Alex screamed.
And the train screamed with him.