The tunnel went completely dark.
No lights.
No alarms.
No voices from the platform above.
Just silence.
Heavy, suffocating silence.
Liya couldn't see anything.
Her hand instinctively reached forward until her fingers found Ethan's jacket sleeve.
"Ethan?"
"I'm here," he whispered.
His voice was calm… but tighter than before.
"What just happened?"
"I don't know."
A faint metallic sound echoed somewhere deeper inside the tunnel.
Clank.
Then another.
Clank.
Something heavy was moving.
Liya felt the vibration through the concrete floor.
Her pulse spiked.
"That doesn't sound good."
Ethan slowly pulled out his phone.
The screen lit up faintly in the darkness.
A weak beam from the flashlight illuminated the narrow tunnel corridor ahead.
Concrete walls.
Steel pipes running along the ceiling.
Train tracks disappearing into the dark.
Nothing else.
But the sound came again.
Closer now.
CLANK.
SCREEECH.
Liya swallowed.
"What is that?"
Ethan narrowed his eyes.
"…Maintenance equipment maybe."
But even he didn't sound convinced.
The ground trembled slightly again.
Then suddenly—
A distant rumble rolled through the tunnel.
Low.
Deep.
Like something massive was shifting.
Liya's grip tightened on his sleeve.
"Tell me that's not another train."
Ethan quickly checked his phone.
"There shouldn't be one."
"Shouldn't?"
"After that crash, the tracks should be shut down."
The rumble grew louder.
Wind suddenly rushed through the tunnel.
A powerful gust blasted past them.
Liya's hair whipped across her face.
Ethan's eyes widened.
"Oh no."
"What?!"
He turned the flashlight toward the tracks.
Far down the tunnel…
Two bright lights appeared.
Rapidly approaching.
A train.
A second train.
Moving fast.
Too fast.
"ETHAN!"
He grabbed her hand instantly.
"RUN."
They sprinted down the maintenance walkway beside the tracks.
The roar of the incoming train grew louder behind them.
Metal wheels thundered against the rails.
The tunnel walls shook.
Liya's lungs burned as she ran.
"Why is there another train?!"
"I don't know!"
The headlights behind them grew blindingly bright.
The horn screamed through the tunnel.
They were still inside the narrow passage.
No side exits.
No doors.
Nowhere to go.
Liya's mind raced wildly.
"This isn't an accident!"
Ethan shouted back over the noise.
"Yeah, fate's not even pretending anymore!"
The train thundered closer.
Wind blasted through the tunnel like a storm.
Then Ethan suddenly spotted something.
"There!"
He pointed ahead.
A small maintenance alcove built into the tunnel wall.
Barely large enough for two people.
They sprinted toward it.
The train roared closer.
Closer.
Closer.
Ethan shoved Liya into the alcove just as the train blasted past them.
The force of the air nearly knocked them over.
The deafening roar filled the tunnel.
Metal screamed.
Wind howled.
For several terrifying seconds…
It felt like the entire world was shaking.
Then the train vanished into the darkness ahead.
Silence returned slowly.
Liya leaned against the wall, gasping for breath.
Her heart pounded violently.
Ethan lowered his phone flashlight.
"…Okay."
"That one definitely tried to kill me."
She stared at him.
"You think?!"
He laughed weakly.
"That was way more aggressive."
Liya's mind raced.
"This is getting worse."
"Yeah."
"The universe is escalating."
"Also yes."
Ethan checked the time again.
11:11 PM.
His expression slowly changed.
"What?"
He turned the phone toward her.
"Look."
She read the screen.
11:11 PM.
Still nearly an hour until midnight.
Liya's stomach dropped.
"That means…"
"…fate has way more time to try again," Ethan finished.
They both looked down the dark tunnel ahead.
And for the first time since the loop began…
The silence didn't feel safe.
It felt like the pause between attacks.
And somewhere out in the city…
The clock tower continued counting down.
Second by second.
Closer to midnight. ⏳