Jonas placed his foot on the first step of the train.
The moment his shoe sole touched the metal, a slight tingling ran through him. Not painful, but noticeable. As if he were crossing a boundary he actually couldn’t see.
He paused briefly.
Behind him, the station continued as before. Voices, footsteps, the quiet rolling of suitcases. Everything normal.
In front of him lay the train.
Dark.
Silent.
He turned his head slightly to the side. The man in uniform was still standing next to the door. This time he said nothing. He just watched Jonas.
Then he nodded once.
Jonas took a deep breath.
And stepped in.
Inside it was cooler than outside. The air smelled of metal, but also of something else. Something Jonas couldn’t immediately identify. Maybe old wood. Maybe dust. Maybe… time.
The aisle was narrow. On both sides were compartments, their doors half open. In some sat people. Quiet. Almost motionless.
Jonas walked slowly down the aisle.
He looked more closely at the passengers.
An older man with a hat stared out the window. A woman held a bag tightly as if she didn’t want to let go. A boy, perhaps a little younger than Jonas, sat with crossed arms and looked at the floor.
No one spoke.
No one looked at him.
It was as if he wasn’t there at all.
“Okay…,” Jonas murmured softly. “Completely normal train… sure…”
His voice sounded muffled, almost swallowed.
He kept walking.
At the end of the car hung a small sign on the wall.
Compartment 2 – Staff
Jonas stopped.
His gaze automatically went to the key in his hand.
Track 2.
Maintenance.
Staff only.
“This is no coincidence,” he said quietly.
Slowly he reached for the handle.
The door was locked.
Of course.
Jonas hesitated.
Then he put the key in the lock.
It fit.
A soft click.
The door sprang open.
The room behind was different from the other compartments.
No seat, no row of windows as usual. Instead, an old desk stood in the middle. On it lay several folders, a telephone, and a small lamp that flickered.
The walls were covered with plans and lists.
Jonas stepped in.
The door closed behind him.
He flinched.
“Great,” he murmured. “Stay calm.”
He stepped closer to the desk.
On one of the folders was written:
Trip Log
Jonas opened it carefully.
The pages were full of entries.
Date. Time. Names.
Many names.
Some were crossed out.
Others had a small checkmark.
Jonas flipped through further.
The entries became more recent.
And then he suddenly stopped.
His heart skipped a beat.
There it said:
14:37 – Jonas Weber
His own name.
Freshly written.
The ink wasn’t even completely dry.
“No…,” he whispered.
His hands began to tremble.
“That… that can’t be…”
Slowly he looked around the room further.
Next to the folder lay a small note.
On it was written:
Task open
Below only one sentence:
End trip
Jonas stared at the words.
“What does that even mean?”
At that moment the train started moving.
Very slowly at first.
Then faster.
Jonas almost lost his balance and had to hold onto the desk.
“No, no, no…!”
He ran to the door and tore it open.
The aisle outside was now empty.
The compartments stood open.
But the people…
were gone.
Jonas’ breath quickened.
“Where did they go?”
He ran to the next compartment.
Empty.
To the next.
Also empty.
The whole car was suddenly deserted.
Only the train kept moving.
Faster now.
And outside the windows…
there was nothing left to see.
No station.
No tracks.
Only darkness.
Jonas stopped in the middle of the aisle.
His heart pounded.
Then he heard footsteps behind him.
Slow.
Calm.
He turned around.
The man in uniform was standing there again.
This time directly in front of him.
“You have now boarded,” he said calmly.
Jonas swallowed.
“What is happening here?”
The man looked at him.
And for the first time he seemed… serious.
“Now the journey really begins.”