Chapter 2B — The Ride
Empty car • Flickering lights • Ghosts between stops
The doors shut behind him. The car lurches forward, fluorescent bulbs humming like a swarm. The girl in white doesn’t look up. Her reflection, though, smiles faintly.
Dio slides onto the opposite seat. His heart matches the rhythm of the train: metal, thunder, guilt. An ad above the window peels away, revealing a photograph beneath — black-and-white, faces blurred, eyes open. He recognizes one. Then another. Then all of them.
“You’ve been here before,” says the girl. Her voice is the same one that’s been whispering through his dreams. “Every time you ride, you remember a little more.”
The lights strobe. Across from him, the glass shows flashes: his hands red to the wrist; a stairwell; an alley; a woman’s eyes wide open. The train screeches to a stop between stations. The girl stands and turns toward him.
“Last stop,” she says, though the doors remain closed. “You wanted to know what you’ve done. This is where you see it.”