Ștefania-Irina Mușat is participating in the International Literary Creation Competition, 7th Edition, from Bucharest, Romania and is 16 years old. We thank her for her participation and wish her success.

One way ticket 

They froze into a quiet surprise as the train pulled into the empty station and stopped with a noisy screech. Faye, Michael and Evelyn stepped out the moment the doors slid open, immediately sensing that something wasn’t right. The place looked lifeless and eerily silent, not a single movement could be spotted.

Then, without warning, the heavy doors slammed shut behind them, frightening the three of them. The train fled the station as if chased by time itself, leaving behind a rushing gale that stirred the air into a wild whirlwind with dust rising long after it had vanished.

A noise that sounded like metal scraping echoed in the distance making them turn toward it suddenly. Then another piercing noise came from somewhere closer. Faye felt her heart skip a bit and, with a tremor in her voice, whispered to Michael “What was that?”. Evelyn, noticing the fear in Faye’s words, quickly responded: “I don’t know and I don’t think I want to find out”. Michael ignored them both and took a few steps forward, intending to look around. “Follow me”, he said with a hint of mystery in his voice. They began to walk hesitantly around the station searching for any sign of human life, with small footsteps echoing too loudly in the tense atmosphere.

“This place is strangely empty. I don’t like it… And how did the train vanish so fast?” Evelyn muttered, looking around, unsettled. “I don’t know, but something is definitely wrong here. If we stay here for too long, something bad might happen… I think we should find a way to leave as soon as possible” replied Faye. The two of them stopped and watched Michael walk away from them, toward a set of stairs they didn’t remember being there before. “Michael! Are you out of your mind?!” Faye hissed, her whisper cutting through the silence. He turned his head around as he kept walking, glancing back at them with questioning eyes. “What? I need to find out where this sound…” A noise cut him off before he could even finish his words. Faye turned sharply at the sound, realizing it came from behind them. She grabbed Evelyn’s trembling hand and looked toward the train tracks. A sudden flicker of movement caught her attention, and Faye locked her eyes on a pillar where it had just disappeared.

“I think we should go check on Michael. It’s better if we stay together rather than split up.” said Evelyn, a suggestion her friend silently agreed with. They started heading toward him but Faye couldn’t help but look back at the wide pillar as if something might still be hiding behind it. They quickened their pace, and within moments, they were beside him. Michael stood at the foot of the stairs, staring up toward the top, where a plain door stood with an exit sign hanging crookedly from its doorknob, the daylight barely creeping through. “Let’s go! It’s the only way we might actually find out something about this place. What could go wrong, anyway?” said Michael with an ounce of excitement in his voice, meant to hide his fear. “That must be one of your best ideas so far, Michael…” Evelyn replied ironically. “Eves, he’s right. No one’s here to help us so maybe we can figure out where we are by looking around upstairs.” Faye said, trying to ease the tension between the two of them.

Just as they agreed to Michael’s suggestion, a loud, shrill noise tore through the station, frightening the three teenagers and forcing their decision. Faye nudged Evelyn up the stairs, realizing as she looked into her terrified eyes, that her friend was too afraid to move. Michael rushed back and offered his hand to help her, but his gaze darted into the distance as he searched for whatever was making that sound. When they arrived in front of the door, Faye reached for the handle but it wouldn’t budge. After several failed attempts, she looked behind her, down the stairs, and saw a sudden movement between the pillars, a tall, sharp-angled figure now in sight, at a distance from the stairs, its stillness making the silence feel even heavier.

Faye began tugging and pushing more frantically until Michael stepped forward and shoved her aside. He took one step back and then slammed with force into the door until it broke open. “There!” Michael shouted victoriously, and they dashed through. Faye glanced back, took a better look and noticed its body seemed almost carved from shadow, with joints bending in strange unnatural ways. Its skin was dark and shiny, stretched tightly over its muscles like it had been molded around them. Its long arms dragged along the floor, slowly heading towards the stairs, scraping with a metallic sound. The creature’s face was smooth and empty, with no eyes or expressions but somehow radiated pure aggression. All of the sudden, it sprinted up the stairs. Faye lunged and slammed the door shut just in time.

            On the other side of the door, the being’s long arms scraped against the stairs as it moved away, the metallic sound slowly fading into the distance. When the three of them turned around, the lifeless train station was waiting for them. Faye, instinctively stumbled back reaching for where she thought the doorknob would be, turning toward it too quickly. She let out a scream as panic took over, her vision blurring for a second as Michael and Evelyn grabbed her just in time, preventing her from falling onto the tracks. They pulled her back, and Faye pressed a hand against her chest in shock, trying to catch her breath. ”Faye are you all right?” Evelyn asked, worried. ”Yeah… I think so. Thank you, Eves.” Faye answered, still shaken by how badly it could have ended. “Please be more careful!” Michael added. “That could’ve gone really wrong. I don’t want you to get hurt, especially not now.”. “Hey, Michael, can you hand me the train tickets? We didn’t think of checking them.” Faye said. “How did we not think of that before?” Evelyn asked.

            Michael took the tickets out of his jacket and handed them to Faye. She inspected them quietly for a few seconds and then gasped. “No, no, no… This can’t be! It says it’s a one way ticket.”. “So we cannot leave this place?” Evelyn asked, her voice tight with distress. “Perhaps there is another way, right? Maybe we can find a phone somewhere and call home.” Michael added. “I have a feeling we are going to have to face that thing and deal with it if we want to survive” Faye said quietly. “But we don’t even know what that thing is. And how did we get back here? We were over there… the stairs are gone…” Evelyn said with an unsteady voice. “I see them! But now they’re over there…” Michael said as he pointed far away.

            When they arrived at the stairs, the same door stood waiting at the top, quiet and unsettling. The three of them paused, unsure of what to do next. Before they could decide_, the silence of the station was torn apart by the same scraping noise, reminding them how little time they had to think. Faye’s heart pounded as she asked “Should we try again?”. “What could go wrong anyway…” Michael replied. He stepped back and slammed into the door powerfully until it burst open, and they dashed inside.

A second after Faye slammed the door shut, they realized they were standing, once again, on the edge of the platform, right by the tracks. In front of them, only a short distance away, the figure stood waiting, watching their every move. “On three… run!” Faye whispered just loud enough for her friends to hear, but there was nowhere left to run.