{ Chapter 002: Railroads}

 

I feel my body surge with oxygen just as soon as I had lost the last bit of air inside myself. The darkness was replaced with a bright light shortly after I had out. My eyes fluttered open much to my own disbelief. I reacted like many people had and thought I had arrived in Heaven or Hell, either of which I was not located in. I found myself on the other side of grand, closed doors. Instinctively, I look around frantically for Luhan; he wasn’t anywhere to be found. But then again, I’m in an empty room. Standing up, I take an aching breath and I can still taste the salt in my mouth. It was evidence of my death, or at least I was pretty sure it was my death. Staring forward, I look at the door quizzically. I didn’t know what was on the other side, did I want to know what was on the other side? I didn’t know at the time. I held up my hand to push open the door without any thought, and I noticed that a watch placed on a fine leather strip was bounded onto my wrist. I raised an eyebrow seeing that the digits decreased as each second went by instead of advancing. I carelessly pushed the thought aside and walked through the ornate doors. I had decided it was only a dream, why else would this watch move backwards?

 

A flash made it’s way into my vision and I cursed while shielding my eyes. I had watched it in movies before with Luhan, when a character finally enters the place above. But the thing was that the scene unfolding before me seemed nothing like what I had expected. Several gates were stationed a distance away, people crowding around it with the same confused expression as mine. Whistles were being blown constantly, and I could hear the train tracks that rumbled underneath my feet. I didn’t understand what was going on, but it didn’t seem like anyone else did either. No one carried bags or luggages, only the clothes on their backs.

 

There wasn’t any use in idly standing, so I move my feet towards to one of the shortest lines by the gates. I watch as everyone had their hand stamped before being handed a blinding white ticket. Abnormally, everyone wears the same watch as mine except their digits all displayed different times. But, is it even time that is displayed on on the watch? I began to question it myself before I raised my wrist to be stamped. The worker was adorned in a white uniform with a unique logo embroidered into the hems of the shirt. His eyes which contained dark bags underneath remained indifferent upon the sight of me slowly turn concerned as he takes a look at my watch. Was there something peculiar about mine? I watch as he turned toward a worker ushering people towards the other side of the gate and whispered in his ear.

 

“He only has three digits.” His voice is quiet, but not silent enough to be concealed to my ears.

 

 

“Really? He looks young, he should have at least four.” I discreetly look over to the other worker who has thick eyebrows, as if I wasn’t eavesdropping into their conversation.

 

 

“Kris, that’s why I was telling you.”

 

 

“Tao, should we send-”

 

 

“Yeah, just do it. Poor guy, let’s give him a chance.” His angry looking but soft spoken co worker with bushy eyebrows looked at me one last time with a pitiful sight before he directed a little girl towards the trains. I drew back my head in offense, I wondered if I had done anything wrong. What were they talking about chances? I had all these questions whirling around my cluttered brain, I couldn’t think properly.

 

 

“Hey, sorry for the delay.” The boy with under eye bags smiled especially brightly at me, but I can see that it’s not genuine. As if he feels the need to smile so I can feel better, his smile isn’t as bright as Luhan’s though.

 

 

“It’s fine.” I said, not knowing why he was sorry. I wasn’t in any rush, I mean, I didn’t think I was. I didn’t know anything, I felt so vulnerable and helpless. He stamped my hand and handed me a silver ticket, I raised my eyebrows. Everyone else had received a white one, was I a special case? But even so, a special case for what?

 

 

Outside the gate line ups were people with beacons, pointing to the directions I assumed we were supposed to walk in. I held onto the ticket tightly as I tightly walk in the cluster of assorted people. I notice that there are more elderly people in our crowd, and there are only a handful of small children wandering about alone. At the end of the mass of people laid a train station. But as soon as I strayed from the crowd, I bump into a sturdy body.

 

 

“Ah, sorry.” I murmur and bow to the person before I look at the person. He had slightly tanned skin and full lips. His hooded eyes gleamed with something like recognition as he looked at me, but as soon as I noticed, the feeling left.

 

 

“It’s fine.” He flashes his teeth sincerely so I politely curve my lips as well. I look over to his wrist, he doesn’t have a watch.

 

 

“You… don’t have a watch?” I quietly wonder out loud, not thinking before the words slip away carelessly. He shakes his head, denying it openly. I thought only workers didn’t wear the watches, but Kai didn’t seem like one and he lacked the gadget. The stranger wasn't dressed in the white uniform, but he was still adorned in pristine, white clothing. Did he drown too? What is going on? All of these thought filled my mind, I was slowly breaking down for my own fate.

 

 

“Really? I haven’t noticed.” He said smoothly through a sad sounding voice as he glanced at his wrist. He held out his hand and told me his name was Kai. I thought it was unusual, it sounded foreign, but I didn’t want to be rude so I just gave him my name as well before we shook hands.

 

 

“Do you have the time?” He nods over to my watch so I hold it up for him to see.

 

 

“I have a watch, but I don’t think it gives the correct time.” I tap it as if it’s broken, but he examines it with a shred of panic flitting around his iris mixed with pity.

 

 

“I see, it does seem broken.” He drew back and tapped his foot as if he’s contemplating on something. I would normally excuse myself from strangers, but I had no clue what to do with myself while Kai appeared out of nowhere but with a purpose. Or, it seemed like he had some sort of agenda. So, I stayed instead of wandering off myself. What would be the point of that?

 

 

“I’ve noticed that everyone else-”

 

 

“Has the watches?” He finished off my sentence as if he goes through the same one every single day. I nodded slowly as he chewed his lip as he looked around at the platform signs. He looked like he was in a rush, I didn’t understand why he was staying with me if he was. “I know. I’ve been here for a while.”

 

 

“Do you know how to leave?” I asked mindlessly, but Kai flinched at my words.

 

 

“Yeah, do you want me to show you?”

 

 

“Well, where am I right now?” I ask firstly, still puzzled as to where I was. I saw Kai was nervously biting his lip again, as if he was unsure as to how he should answer. “I mean, do I want to leave?”

 

 

“Trust me, you don’t want to be stuck here.” He finally said, as he grabbed my wrist in an attempt to drag me away.

 

 

“Then why do you stay?” I tugged my wrist away from his wrist in suspicion. Kai stopped in his tracks with a frustrated sigh in my

stubborness.

 

 

“Because, I’m stuck here.” Kai snatched up my wrist before he began to weave be around the strings of blurred faces and noises of confusion around the station.

 

 

“Why are you stuck here if you know the way out?” I inquired while still walking, this guy kept on getting more and more strange and unreliable.

 

 

“Look, why are you asking so much questions? Why I’m stuck here is irrelevant to your situation.”

 

 

“Okay, then what’s my situation?” I crossed my arms, ripping off Kai’s grasp in an irritated attempt to get his attention. I stared into Kai’s pure black orbs, as if nothing was contained behind them excluding remorse. No dancing liveliness were in the specks of brown that were supposed to be there, but it was colorless.

 

 

“Listen up, Sehun.” Kai stared at me with a mixture of regret and madness. “You don’t have much time left.”

 

 

“What’s that supposed to me-”

 

 

“A while back, I hit my head on a rock while cliff diving. I don’t know, I think I was twenty then.” He crossed his arms at me a pierced my soul with his eyes. “I’m currently in a coma. I’m probably laying in a hospital bed somewhere, hooked up to life support. Just waiting to wither away.” He tilted his head back at an angle, as if he was looking down at me. “I was supposed to marry Kyungsoo, graduate medical school and become a doctor. But look where we are now, stuck in the middle.” He trained his eyes upon me. “And how did you get here?”

 

 

I looked at him as if he was insane, perhaps he was. I didn’t know what he meant until I processed what he said several times through my head. “I drowned?”

 

 

“You drowned.” Kai nodded confirming my insecure answer.

 

 

“So, I really drowned. So why the hell am I in a train station?!”  I yelled, yet no one bothered to turn their heads. “You make no sense at all!”

 

 

“You drowned, and you found yourself standing in front of a door, right?” He quirked his eyebrow up and slowly nodded, my chest heaving up and down in frustration. “Everyone that almost dies ends up there. When you opened that door, you had a predetermined time to make it to the train.”

 

 

“The train?” I scrunched my face up in confusion, I had no idea why this guy spoke in peculiar terms. “What about the trains?”

 

 

“Those trains are your way out.” Kai finished although I failed to hear his answer as I heard the shouting of my name as arms were thrown around my torso.

 

 

“Sehun! Thank goodness I found you!” I felt Luhan cry into my chest as he slammed his fist against my chest in some kind of stress relief. He panted with teary eyes as a stunned Kai stood on stand by.

 

 

“Luhan! It’s okay, why are you crying?” I ruffled his hair before embracing him in my own happiness. I thought he would get lost in the maze of a station as well.

 

 

“I thought that I would lose you!”

 

 

“Why would you lose me?” I didn’t understand what was everyone’s deal, it was only a train station, nothing more.

 

“I-” He bit his lip in hesitation, for what I had no idea. “Nevermind.”