Everything after the first icy landscape they woke up in up to this point had felt so trivial to Atsuko. The conversation, the people, the glorified scavenger hunt… It had all felt like such a waste. She really had no need to board this train from the start, huh? Nothing had changed, nothing was learned, and she ultimately gained nothing but a new nightmare of the cold.
So when the pieces of the so-called ‘stationmaster’ came together, Atsuko honestly, truthfully, and genuinely didn’t care. What was it to her? She just wanted to find out how to get off of this train. And as they trekked out of the quaint station and back onto the platform, her attention was more absorbed by the white, fluffy creature that had suddenly started following them. It looked so soft and warm… and somehow cute. Perhaps Atsuko would be able to make a friend, after all.
But it appeared as though that wouldn’t be happening after all.
First of all… What numbers on their palms? She hadn’t noticed anything of the sort. Tuning out the rest of the conversation, she tugged off her right glove and found that, yes, there was a glowing green number here.
“…”
She shielded her hand to ensure nobody else would be able to see hers. Everyone else had one, apparently. And it would seem that the number hitting zero was a bad thing, according to the stationmaster’s explanation. If that was the case, she had little to worry about in that regard, as it was quite far from zero. She placed her glove back on, questions still lingering in her mind.
So then how were they meant to escape?
Ah. Kill one another. And get away with it.
…
Just what was all of this? She agreed with Abel, there was clearly no shortage of business owners on this train. She didn’t know how truly important everyone else was, but the idea of ransom wasn’t an impossibility. If that were the case, then perhaps she didn’t need to worry. So honestly, the idea didn’t bother her that much.
But then…
“…!”
There was a swipe of robotic, metal claws, and Abel was bleeding on the ground. She didn’t want that to happen to her. She didn’t want to be attacked, didn’t want to be killed. Of course something like that would have happened to him for doing something so stupid. Some people were too sheltered to recognize when they were being truly threatened, it seemed.
Once the momentary fear had passed, at least, her pulse slowed back to its usual pace, and her typical icy glare returned to her face.
As for Abel on the ground, there wasn’t much she could do about it. She slung her bag over her shoulder, making sure to keep a closer eye on her belongings.
This had become a waiting game for Atsuko. Wait to leave, wait to die, wait to kill, wait to be killed… She didn’t like it. She should have never set foot on the train.
How lonesome.
