…Year 1990…

Almost every one in the Train was dead, either lying on the floor, bludgeoned, or had suffocated.

Someone was walking around, poking the limp bodies with his feet. He pulled his hood down and  revealed his face to the ambience.

Few of the compartment doors slid open and out came about a dozen headless souls. They were supposed to become Reapers like him but hacking off their heads didn’t allow them to wear the neck chains; he had created his own version of a mindless army.

“Luhan, don’t do this.” One of the bodies still writhing on the ground grabbed onto the hem of his jeans.

He tugged his leg away from Sehun’s grip and kneeled down so that their eyes locked.

“See this?” Luhan took the chains out of pocket. “I used to be tethered by these things. Exactly like you are now.” He lifted the ones around Sehun’s neck.

“We’re partners. Friends.” Sehun even choked up blood trying to process the words but he never broke eye contact. The cut on his stomach was getting deeper for some reason.

“See. And that’s your problem. You think every person you meet is a goody-goody. I bet you still think I am one. Tell me, will you kill me if I gave you the chance.”

Dead silence passed over them.

“Thought so.”

Luhan was still holding onto Sehun’s neck-chains and with one swift movement, he broke them off.

“I did you a favor. I took your leash away, not your head.”

He was about to walk off when Sehun finally pulled himself into a standing/hunching position.

But before he could do anything, before the wind had even moved, he was being pinned face-down on the bloodied floor by the souls.

As he lay there, his head on its side, he had no choice but to look into the emotionless faces not very far of.

“Tsk tsk tsk. You should know when to stay down, senior. I don’t want to kill you but there really is not much holding me back.”

“Why are you doing this?” Sehun asked, now just bidding his time.

“The most clichéd question yet I have the most clichéd answer. I want the power, Sehun. What’s the big deal anyway, Reapers kill all the time.”

“We shut down the body system, we don’t destroy the souls!”

“Oh my!” Luhan put a hand over his heart and made a mocking expression as though he cared. “Why didn’t you tell me, Sehun? If I had known, I would have never have killed them.”

Sehun was now feeling the blood rush to his head.

“They can’t be reincarnated anymore.” He whispered.

“I know that. You know that. Onew here knows that.” Luhan pointed to one of the souls in a seated position against a pole, dead.

“You know, they will probably come around one time or another.” He was now talking more to himself than to the Reapers; headless or helpless.

Luhan was almost to the door when he felt something stir behind him.

“Not going to take your friends, Luhan?”

And with that, all the souls, even the dead ones, were blown away into oblivion.

Sehun ran at Luhan who was at that point too dazed to react.Wind came gushing at them and both fell out of the Train exit. The moment they disappeared into the clouds, the Train started moving at full speed once more.

Two figures appeared at the doorway.

“Guess we’re in charge of this now, right?” Baekhyun said.

“Yup. And they left the place clean for us too. What do think is gonna happen to them?”

“Dunno. Maybe they’ll just lose their memories and become humans.”

“You’re supposed to go to hell if you try to get off.”

“I don’t know, Chanyeol. Now find the headless souls. I bet they still think that they can get off at the station.”