The clock above the board ticked loudly.
Every second sounded like a strike.
Jonas stared at the test in front of him.
The tasks seemed complicated. Numbers, formulas, all mixed up. Exactly what he had avoided.
His hand lay on the pen.
He could let it go at any time.
Just get up.
Just leave.
Just like back then.
The door was still there.
Completely normal.
Only a few steps away.
“You have to decide,” Mr. Becker said calmly.
Jonas looked up.
“And if I don’t make it?”
The teacher shrugged slightly.
“Then at least you tried.”
The answer hit Jonas more than he had expected.
He looked back at the sheet.
His head was empty.
No solution.
No idea.
Just this unpleasant feeling.
The voices of his classmates became faintly audible again.
“He can’t do it anyway…”
“Another excuse…”
“He’s going to leave anyway…”
Jonas clenched his hand.
“Stop it…”
But this time his voice sounded firmer.
He looked at the door.
Then back at the test.
Then he grabbed the pen properly.
“Whatever,” he muttered. “Then I’ll just do it wrong.”
And he began to write.
Slowly.
Uncertainly.
But he wrote.
The first task.
A calculation method that might not have been entirely correct.
The second task.
He had to think. Try twice. Cross out once.
But he stayed seated.
The clock kept ticking.
But now it sounded different.
Less threatening.
More… normal.
The voices in the room grew quieter.
Quieter and quieter.
Until they fell completely silent.
Jonas hardly noticed.
He was too focused on the sheet.
Suddenly everything felt… calmer.
He didn’t understand the tasks perfectly.
But enough to keep going.
Step by step.
When he reached the last task, he paused briefly.
His heart was still beating fast.
But no longer out of fear.
But out of tension.
He put the pen down.
And wrote.
Then he slowly laid it aside.
Silence.
The clock stopped ticking.
Jonas looked up.
The room had changed.
His classmates were gone.
The desks empty.
Only Mr. Becker was still standing there.
He looked at Jonas.
And nodded.
“That’s enough,” he said calmly.
Jonas swallowed.
“Even if it’s wrong?”
The teacher answered:
“That was never the point.”
Jonas understood.
Slowly he stood up.
The door at the end of the room opened by itself.
Bright light poured in.
This time Jonas didn’t hesitate.
He walked toward it.
And stepped through.
In the next moment he was back on the train.
In the aisle.
The air was different.
Lighter.
Warmer.
Jonas took a deep breath.
The man in uniform stood a few steps away.
He looked at Jonas.
And this time his gaze was clearly… more satisfied.
“You stayed,” he said.
Jonas nodded.
“Wasn’t a good idea, but…”
“It was,” the man interrupted calmly.
“It was.”
Jonas frowned.
“And now?”
The man gestured back to the staff compartment.
“Check.”
Jonas went inside.
The folder was still there.
He opened it.
His entry had changed.
14:37 – Jonas Weber – continued
Below it now said:
Skipped station 1
Passed station 2
Jonas stared at it.
A small feeling of… relief spread.
Then his eyes fell on the note next to it.
It had changed again.
Next station active
Below it this time said:
Difficulty increased
Jonas sighed quietly.
“Figures…”
At that moment the train began to vibrate again.
Stronger than before.
The light flickered again.
This time longer.
The temperature dropped noticeably.
Jonas looked at the door.
“I have a feeling…”
The man nodded.
“Yes.”
Jonas swallowed.
“This isn’t going to get any better, is it?”
The man looked at him calmly.
“No.”
At the end of the aisle another door appeared.
This time…
it was already slightly open.
And behind it was no bright light.
But shadows.
And voices.
Several.
Louder than before.
Jonas’s grip on the key tightened.
And this time he already knew beforehand:
This… will get worse.