The acrid stench of burning metal and oil clung to the air like a suffocating blanket. Car 6, now resting at a crooked angle, groaned occasionally as the twisted steel settled under its own weight. Glass littered the floor. A single emergency light flickered from the ceiling, casting long, trembling shadows across the chaos.
Asher sat near the broken emergency door, sweat trickling down his temple as he tried to force it open. Every muscle in his body ached. His mind, though, only throbbed with one thought.
Ethan.
Was he safe? Injured? Dead?
"Asher?" Sienna's voice was hoarse, but alive.
He turned and helped her sit up. Her forehead was bleeding slightly, but otherwise, she looked okay. Leo groaned behind her, rubbing his shoulder with a wince.
"We're alive," Asher said, though it felt like a lie.
Around them, the remnants of the group began to stir. The young woman who had been sitting with her boyfriend was unconscious, blood trickling from her arm. The pregnant woman, Lena, leaned into a half-broken seat, holding her belly protectively while Jason's wife, Mia, crouched beside her, checking for signs of pain.
And near the back of the tilted car, the old couple—Mr. and Mrs. Verma—sat huddled together. Their hands were clasped tightly.
They had barely moved.
Jason wasn't with them anymore.
And neither was Ethan.
Asher clenched his jaw, forcing himself to focus. They needed to get out. Now.
Suddenly, the door at the far end creaked.
All eyes turned.
From the twisted wreckage of Car 7, a shadow emerged—slow, dragging steps, accompanied by a wet, sickening snarl.
Asher's breath caught.
"Z-zombie," someone whispered.
There was no mistaking it.
Its face was barely human—jaw dislocated, one eye missing. Torn flesh hung from its shoulder where a bite had torn clean through. It had somehow survived the derailment. Or maybe it had arrived from another car.
The panic was instant.
"RUN!" Asher shouted, grabbing a metal pole from the seat.
But they couldn't run. The car's emergency exit was crushed under the debris.
They were trapped.
The creature lunged, and in a heartbeat, chaos returned.
Asher struck at it with the pole, knocking it back. Leo and Sienna joined, using anything they could grab—seat backs, fire extinguishers, even a piece of the broken window frame.
It kept coming.
And then, behind them, another snarl.
And another.
The moans echoed through the ruined train like a funeral bell. Three more infected stumbled into view through the back door of the car.
"We need to get to the roof!" Sienna shouted.
"There's a hatch—emergency access!" Leo pointed toward the center of the car.
Asher turned, eyes scanning frantically. There—halfway down the car ceiling, an overhead hatch barely visible in the dim light.
But they had no ladder.
"I'll boost you," he told Leo.
Meanwhile, the old couple hadn't moved.
Mrs. Verma held onto her husband, whispering prayers in Hindi under her breath. He gently cupped her cheek.
"It's okay," he told her softly. "We've lived long enough. Let them live now."
Tears spilled down her cheeks. She nodded.
And then they both stood.
"Asher!" Mia shouted. "They're—"
The Vermas had stepped directly into the path of the closest zombie.
"No!" Asher yelled.
But it was too late.
Mr. Verma swung his cane—striking the zombie hard in the jaw. It faltered for a moment, but another grabbed his shoulder, yanking him back.
They were swallowed.
Mrs. Verma didn't scream. She held her husband's hand until the very end.
Sienna sobbed, covering her mouth.
Leo reached the hatch and kicked it open.
"We have to go! Now!"
One by one, they climbed up—Asher helping the pregnant woman, then Mia, then Sienna.
Asher was last. He took one final look at the spot where the old couple had stood.
Their sacrifice had given them just enough time.
He climbed up, the hatch shutting behind him as the screams below faded into silence.
Outside, the wind was sharp and dry, howling over the derailed train like a ghost's cry. Smoke rose from the engine car in the distance.
They were in the middle of nowhere—trees on either side, a steep slope leading into what looked like a dry valley. No signs of houses, towns, or even roads.
"We need to regroup," Asher said, voice steady despite the ache in his chest. "We don't know how many more of those things are left in the train."
"Jason and Ethan," Mia murmured. "They were going over the top too… Maybe they're ahead?"
"If they made it," Leo added grimly.
Sienna touched Asher's shoulder. "He's strong. Ethan will be okay."
Asher said nothing. He could still feel the ghost of Ethan's arms around him. The way his voice had promised, I'll come back for you.
Don't you dare break that promise.
They began to walk carefully across the roof of the train, avoiding broken panels and gaps. The sky was darkening again—storm clouds rolling in fast.
They had to move quickly.
Meanwhile…
Ethan opened his eyes to darkness.
His head throbbed, and his ears rang from the crash. He sat up slowly, realizing he had rolled down the embankment after the jump. Jason was lying nearby, unconscious but breathing.
"Jason!" he crawled over, shaking him. "Hey—wake up!"
Jason groaned. "Where… where are we?"
"Off the track. The train crashed." Ethan looked up. Smoke trailed upward from several of the cars. "We're separated."
Jason's face hardened. "Then we regroup. Find survivors. Send the signal."
Ethan nodded, but his heart wasn't in it.
He wasn't thinking about the signal.
He was thinking about Asher.
He prayed he'd made it.
And if he hadn't…
No. He had to be alive.
He would find him.
Even if he had to fight through hell itself.
Back on the train, the group reached the engine car.
The driver's cabin door was jammed, but they worked together—Leo and Asher forcing it open while Mia kept watch. Inside, the radio flickered—still active, still connected.
Asher grabbed the mic.
"This is… this is Car 1 of Train #289. Multiple infected onboard. Survivors injured. Repeat, survivors injured and trapped. We need rescue!"
Static buzzed back.
Then—a voice.
"Train 289, this is National Emergency Dispatch. You've been tracked. A quarantine perimeter is being established. Stay put. Help is coming."
Everyone stared in disbelief.
"We're not alone," Leo whispered.
But even as hope sparked, another sound rose from the woods nearby.
Moaning.
Dozens of moans.
The infected—no longer just in the train. Now they were outside.
Surrounding the tracks.
Their nightmare wasn't over.
It was just beginning.