The door opened again to a view of the wasteland, and you weren’t so keen to stick around this time. Especially not with someone actually guiding you on ahead (and a larger, fluffier someone pulling up the rear). Though Neko-Neko still couldn’t open the next door themselves, they still proudly led you inside once you turned the handle.
While this newest world wasn’t so cold temperature-wise as the last, it still felt cold in its own way. The inside of a bright big top mixed with bleached-out greys, off-kilter arcade games dimmed with no one to play them. Empty posters that plastered the walls stirred in a draft carrying the faintest tinge of Melvin’s signature scent.
Neko-Neko didn’t seem to mind the odd air of the place, though. They strutted ahead proudly before pouncing onto an air hockey table, where you could all more easily see them.
“Attentionnnn, Passengers!”
“Welcome aboard my train! It may look a little small at the moment, but there’s nothing but adventure ahead! As promised, we’ll happily cough up the details for you now.”
They nodded to themselves.
“First, I should probably explain what a few of you have already noticed: your numbers.”
“We’re not in charge of those, unfortunately. They’re just between you and the Infinity Train itself.”
“All of the numbers on your palms are a little different. Think of ’em as a sorta, what, level indicator? We don’t play video games, don’t ask us. They’ll change as you change, throughout your grand stay here!”
“The bad news is, they can also go down. And if your number hits zero? You’re finished. Game over.”
“But, but!! The Train getting to decide when you’re no longer worthy of living here seems awfully mean to me, so I’ve put together something better for you all! I can find a way home for each of you.”
“All you need to do is play a little game.”
Something felt wrong, but you weren’t sure what. Maybe it was just the way the decorations twisted in the air at that moment. Maybe it wasn’t.
“Let’s cut straight to the chase!”
“It’s a killing game. If you wanna see whatever you call home again, you’re gonna have to kill another of the Passengers right here to do it.”
“I-I wish there was an easier way to get you home, but it’s hard to go against the Train, nya…”
“So we’re putting the dirty work on your shoulders, since it is your problem—sorry not sorry!”
“But just… um… Killing each other. Right, just that wouldn’t be any good as a game, right? So I’m at least adding a few extra rules! I wouldn’t want some kind of terrible slaughter…”
“Yeah, we’d hate for it to be over so soon! Nyaha! So, long story short, you’ll need to kill another Passenger in the game—And you’re all in the game! I wouldn’t leave anyone out!—and get away with it. If the surviving Passengers figure out it was you, then it’s game over. You’re dead, too. Way more exciting this way, right?”
“Some other Denizens will help me out with that part, but…! As your stationmaster, I’ll ensure you all make it home!”
“In a box, possibly. But if you do get away with murder, we’ll be able to send you back where you wanna be, no problem. Aren’t we just the nicest?”
“In fact!”
They pushed open an arcade cabinet door with some difficulty and gestured to the small area inside. Fourteen notepads, it looked like, and presumably the same number of right-handed long gloves.
“I’ve prepared a special notepad for each of you to use! By ‘special,’ we mean… absolutely nothing, honestly. Your names aren’t even on them.”
“But they do have a little guide on the inside cover you can reference! And you’ll probably want a way to keep track of things, right?”
“Especially when we get to the murder investigation! Or just the murdering, if you’re that bad at planning inside your head.”
“So please, take a notepad and pencil, and a glove if you don’t wanna declare every little change in your number to the world, and then you can enjoy your time in this car!”
“It could be very short, after all. Nyahaha!”
—
[Car Reference Post]
