[Welcome to the Jolly Train!]

For the second time in less than a few hours, I found myself on the ground. The floor was hard and cold, the powerful scent of coal filling the entire space. For once there was actual light pouring into the space, or at least what I assumed it was.

There were a total of five people with me in that cabin, and as far as I was concerned, we were in the train operating room. There were far fewer buttons and levers than I would've thought, alongside a wheel.

On top of those, there were three monitors with their screens turned off. I was starting to doubt it was a real train when its whistle echoed loud and clear, its sound shrilling and haunting.

There was a huge window in the front, yet no doors on either side. The only door was the one that gave access to the second cabin, and that appeared to be locked tight. My skin crawled, a sense of doom running over me as I felt a chilling breeze reach my arms and legs, almost as if it was trying to have a grasp on my limbs to drag me out of the train.

There were two women, one of them appearing to be the youngest in the cabin. She could not be older than seventeen, her red hair shining against the light, her face covered with freckles. The other woman was older than me, a few wrinkles showing on her face alongside some gray hair.

As for the other two men, one was shorter than anyone in the cabin: his hair dark and grayish, with a shallow beard, his body more on the sturdy and plump side.

And as for the last companion, he looked like someone who had just walked away from the military: his posture, the buzz cut, his gaze. It took one glance from me to know that, even with no uniforms or badges, he was a soldier. Yet rather he, or anyone else in that space, was ready to kill or fight us depending on the new rules...it was something I could not tell.

I could only assume the answer would be yes and keep my guard up.

[You are on the Top 5!]

[You are an operator]

[The best new Self will be rewarded by the Court]

That was enough to make us exchange glances among ourselves. The soldier stared at me the longest, while the teenager spent most time staring at her feet. Yet apart from the stares, the message made me wonder what, or who, this Court was.

And if this Court was responsible for getting us all in that game.

[As an operator, you control the Jolly Train. On the control panel, you can:]

1- Control Jolly's speed

2- Control Jolly's direction

3- Control Jolly's maneuvers

[You gain points according to your choices and your maneuvers]

Maneuvers? What the fuck did that mean—were we able to make drifts with the train? Did that even make sense?

[sAcRIfiC-]

[Passengers will be chosen based on lowest ranks]

Did I see it right? I knew I couldn't be that insane; it had been a glitch, right there. The system changed the word.

[If a Self wishes to be chosen, they can jump out of Jolly Train to be moved.]

[Passengers will vote and gain points based on the morality determined by the Operators.]

[Jolly Train's final destination is Île de Bâton. Pass on all stations without harming Jolly Train to win the final stage.]

[You have Seven minutes.]

I had to message my temples in order to process all those new rules—someone got excited with that last stage.

I tried to organize my thoughts. There were likely two groups inside Jolly Train: operators and passengers. I was an operator, which meant I could control the speed and direction of the train.

I had no idea what maneuvers meant, so I would leave this information on the side until I could make an actual use of it.

Passengers were chosen based on their lowest ranks and could only receive points through voting, yet the amount of their points was based on the morality determined by operators. What did this mean exactly I was still uncertain. Surely it didn't mean what I thought it did…

Right?

"So…should we start the train?"

I was surprised by that shy voice. The teenager spoke while looking straight at the panel, her hands grasping her arms as if that was the only comfortable position for her.

"The rules didn't say anything about that. I think we will be able to control the train once it starts moving." The other woman spoke, her voice rough and raspier than I had assumed.

The train's whistle blew once more and the entire structure trembled and shook. Before any of us could do anything, the smaller man walked towards the panel and pulled the lever all the way up, and in a matter of seconds, the train was moving forward.

The man turned to us then, shrugging with a faint smile touching his lips.

"Guess it worked." We said nothing in reply. "So, we are the five best competitors in this place, right?"

The older woman eyed him with a cold gaze, her arms crossed. "This appears to be the case, yes."

The man laughed, exchanging glances with all of us. "I'm Giorgio. What about you lot?"

The red-haired teen put her hair behind the ear, her voice low and weak. "I'm Grace."

"Dunya."

"I would rather not share my name with people I don't know."

I was not even surprised by the soldier's reply, to be honest, I was inclined to say the same. Yet before I could open my mouth, the three screens got lit.

The screen in the middle showed the estimated time of arrival, a little over five minutes, while the other two showed empty tracks. We all heard a scream coming from the other cabin, the sounds muffled by the closed door.

Grace walked toward the door, her steps reluctant, gasping and covering her mouth while pure horror filled her eyes.

We didn't even need to ask what was going on.

The two screens flickered, and suddenly they were people emerging from within the tracks with iron constraining their legs and wrists. On the right track, there were three men, three women, and one older woman. On the left one, two boys that were not older than twelve.

[Time Left: 6:11 / ETA: 5:02]

[MAKE YOUR CHOICE]

The middle screen's letters changed color, from a bright white to red, blinking a few times as if to call our attention. As if it needed to go that far.

"Should we save the children?" Dunya was the one who asked, her voice a bit shaken yet carrying enough strength to make her sound confident. However, the others didn't seem so certain.

There was one thing bugging me, yet I was not sure what that was.

"Well, the children would be the 'best' option, right? So let's go with them." Giorgio pressed a button on the left, and from the window, I could see and hear the tracks changing, the Jolly Train swiftly turning to the right, towards the men and women.

It did not take long—maybe less than ten seconds—for the train to reach its first destination. I kept looking at the screen, unsure if I wanted to see the scene from the huge window in front of us. For a moment it seemed like something shone beneath the people, right before the train hit them.

It was not their screams that made me flinch but the crushing and squishing sound as I felt the train's wheels run over them, some blood splattering on the window. Beside me, the soldier had his eyes closed as if he was in a silent prayer, both fists clenched at his sides.

[Congratulations! You earned 700 points.]

I furrowed my brows. The system had never mentioned how many points we got before.

"They are taking more people…" Grace's shaking voice reached us from behind, although I did not need her to know that. I could already see the screen changing, more people appearing in the tracks. On the left side, there were three women. On the right, two men.

Maybe…just maybe...

The reason for telling us the points…

"Let's save the women." Nobody contradicted me as I walked over to the panel, seeing all those buttons and levers up close for the first time. There were four buttons and two levers.

The buttons were; Save Left Track, Save Right Track, Activate Sensors, and Emergency Stop. I pressed the button, watching the screen without even blinking. I had to check something. If I was right…

It took a bit more than fifteen seconds, and once again I saw something shining below the tracks, right before the train hit them. And almost like "magic"…

[Congratulations! You earned 200 points.]

Even though I was smiling, a dry laugh stuck up in my throat, I felt sick. We didn't have to choose the most righteous choice—

We were being rewarded by our kill count.

I didn't know if should curse out loud or laugh.

The bloody system was really rewarding us for how many people we ran over with a train.

And apparently, I was not the only one who had noticed. Giorgio was looking sideways in my direction, a smirk on his lips.

"Ah—People are pushing each other off the train!" Grace shouted, her face still glued to the small window on the back door. It was almost as if she was too shocked to walk away, too indecisive to join us in the front, too afraid to dare to make a choice.

And of course… Passengers who "jumped" out of the train would "be chosen". From the looks of it, that choice could be made for them.

Giorgio leaned into the panel, watching the landscape through the window. "They can only blame themselves; it was pretty obvious what we had to do to get the points."

Dunya opened her mouth, turning toward the man with a raging gaze, yet no sound came from her mouth.

"What? Are you going to say I'm wrong? The rules were clear—they made their choice and we made ours. That's why we are here."

Dunya said nothing to reply to the shorter man, she only looked away. Yet I could notice, the way the soldier glared at Giorgio, a silent anger boiling from within his eyes. Somehow, knowing this brought some comfort to me.

"Wait! I think it's stopping…the passengers are not fighting anymore, maybe the system is done choosing them?"

I glanced towards the screens. It didn't take much for new people to appear. However, the moment the new passengers appeared on the tracks, I lost my breath.

I could also hear Grace gasp and see how Dunya and the soldier clenched their fists, the older woman cursing under her breath. The new problem was—

They were all children. The difference was there were five on one side and two on the other. And at that moment…

[A new rule has been added.]

I expected nothing less...

[Operators can vote on their preferred choice.]

[The results do not need to match the final decision.]

"There is no need for a vote. We—we have to save the most we can." Dunya almost choked on her words, as if she was about to get sick and throw up.

On the middle screen, one vote was counted to save the right track.

"Yes, I say the same."

The soldier's vote went for the same side. Grace was speechless, tears frozen in her eyes as if they were unable to fall.

"Same…" My voice trailed off, my gaze following Giorgio. In that brief time, he had practically closed the distance between the panel. "What about you, Giorgio? You agree with us, right?"

The man smiled, turning his back to the panel. "Yes, sure. Of course, I do."

I exchanged glances with the soldier, and we didn't need to say anything else.

"I want to press the button this time. You don't have any complaints about that, right?" The soldier's voice was as assertive and sharp as lightning, enough to make the other man stop in his tracks.

"No, I don't see a problem with that."

I should have known from the first moment he opened his mouth. From when he introduced himself to the way he did not waste two seconds pressing a button that condemned the lives of three people.

I should've known because I had spent years in my previous life dealing with rats like Giorgio, despicable in every angle.

I was the closest to him and, still, I was not fast enough. The moment I grabbed his hands, the tracks were already changing and shifting, the train going for the right track.

Toward the five children.

"What have you done?! We don't even know what these points are for—they could be useless!" I grabbed Giorgio by the collar, shouting right at his face without being able to control my anger. I could feel the blood rushing through my veins and if someone told me it had turned into poison, I would've believed them.

I would cut my skin and force that man to drink it all.

His voice was enough to turn my stomach upside down. "Not taking any chances, and you should follow my example."

I did not even bother to argue with that rat again; I pushed him to the side and stared at the panel. There had to be something I could do, something I was missing.

My eyes ran through the buttons and levers as I recalled every single rule. ETA. Control speed. Sensors. Maneuvers. Wheel.

There was a huge chance I was wrong…

...yet just in case I was right...

I turned towards the soldier, relieved to know I didn't have to tell him to hold Giorgio. He had already pinned the smaller man to the ground. "Don't let him move from that spot."

The soldier didn't answer me, only twisted Giorgio's arm enough to make him grunt. I pressed one button and pulled down the speed lever, moving towards the wheel. The train speed went down, almost stopping.

"Are you even thinking straight?! We have a time limit, the train is already on the right track—if you stop it we will all die, you fucking bastard!"

I ignored Giorgio's shouts, barely noticing as Dunya came by my side.

"Do you have any idea of what you are doing?" Her whisper was rough yet desperate.

Well, what I had was certainly an idea.

"When I give you the signal, pull that lever all the way up."

"What does it do?"

"Trust me, when I give you the signal—"

"But what. Does. It. Do?" Dunya's voice could almost match the growl of a bear.

"Just trust me! Can you see them?" From where I was, I could not see the screens.

It took a while until I could hear her voice again. "I see them…"

"Keep your eyes on that screen and your hand on that lever. When I tell you to, pull the lever. Okay?"

I turned just so I could see Dunya nodding once, closing her fingers around the lever. I kept my eyes on the tracks, watching through the window with sweat running down my face.

Deep down, I wished it had taken longer to reach them, to hear their screams and loud cries. My fingers curled around the wheel, my grasp on it so tight it hurt my hands.

"Almost there…"

"What are you—"

"Now!"

Dunya didn't have time to finish her sentence. I turned the wheel all the way to the left and from my right, I heard as Dunya pulled the lever, my heart beating so fast I thought it would jump out of my chest and explode. For a desperate moment, nothing happened. And then…

The entire train began to tilt to the left. I had no way of knowing how that was even possible, and as the cabins tilted to the side I felt gravity pulling me down, the rest of my body fighting my feet and legs as they slid over to the left.

"Hold on to something!"

To me, it felt like forever. Only when I heard Dunya shouting over Grace and Giorgio's screams did I turn the wheel all the way back, the cabins returning to their normal angle. I took a few steps back, staring at the screens.

The ETA had increased by almost an entire minute, yet the children were safe.

All of them.

I let out a shaken breath, resting my hands on the panel. It had worked.

I could not believe it had worked.

"How did you even know…?" Dunya's question was lost in the air between us as new messages from the system appeared in front of me.

[Congratulations! You gained 250 points of maneuver.]

[The Sensors were activated!]

[A new rule will be added.]

[Beware of your speed! You can't let the Mole get the Jolly Train.]

Before I could even wonder what that meant, the screen on the right blinked and started to show the back of the train. I felt and heard the rumblings before I could see them on the screen.

Behind the Jolly Train, a giant mole appeared from the ground. It was taller and bigger than the train itself, its claws so big they could slice the cabins like they were made of leaves.

And it was not only eating and destroying the tracks, it was rushing in a straight line toward the train.

Toward all of us.