"Only Rumors"?

Chapter 13-Mysterious Men and Bandages

My heart stopped as I stared at him, mouth agape. What did this mean? How had they opened the door? Had one of their friends gotten stolen too? How many of them were there?

As these thoughts rolled through my head, I noticed a tiny form standing beside him. I think everyone else noticed too, as their gazes were all fixated on her. The man noticed, and frowned, looking down at Isabel.

Ella screamed, pointing at Isabel. The man looked offended. “Why is she with you?!” She yelled at him, and his friendly face turned to a hard stare as he took in Ella; looking her up and down with distaste.

“We found this little girl here, abandoned, on this train.” He stated. Then his face turned to one of discomfort. “Well, we found her before all this craziness started.” He said, looking out at the blur of plants and trees outside.

Ella scoffed. “This girl is the cause of all this so called craziness!” She said, and that was when everyone turned to stare at her.

“Uh...what do you mean, Ella?” Carter asked, frowning. I started to think about it in my head, as Ella’s face was frozen in shock and annoyance.

“Uh...I mean...you’d think that, right? I mean...this craziness started...she starts to act like a demon…it makes sense,” she paused at that as Carter thought about it.

“That could be true.” He stated, looking at Isabel with disgust. “I mean, I’ve heard of hauntings and stuff. What if that is all this was? A haunting?” He asked.

I frowned. “How could that be? I mean, look outside; we’re obviously moving. What type of hauntings move train? That’s ridiculous.” I said.

“How do you know?” Carter shot back. “This could all be an illusion. Maybe we’re still back at home, just trapped inside somehow. I mean...poltergiests and other things can cause illusions...right?” He said.

I gestured to the man. “How about he tell us? He could prove that the train is or isn’t moving, based on where he got on from.” I turned to him. “Where were you guys when you found the train?” I asked him. He just sort of frowned, shrugging.

“We’re from Michigan,” he said, and we all froze. “Why?” He asked, seeming to get even more confused the longer we stayed still. “Where are you all from?” He asked.

I ignored him, thinking of how it could be possible; we’d only been on here, what, less than a day? When they first came on here. There was no possible way to have reached Michigan in that short of time…

I vaguely heard Pepper tell him we were from Arizona, when I glanced at Isabel. She was so confusing; most of the time she looked like this innocent little girl. But then there was this time when she was just this horrible...demon thing. Was it possible she was possessed? That poor little girl. But what had Ella said; ‘she’s the cause of it all’. What was this?

What if it was like Carter said, a haunting, but...well..a little different? At the very beginning, Isabel had said “Let the games begin.” What was that to mean? What if she was like...a succubus, but in little girl form? Meant to lure people in with her ‘innocent’ looks? Did that mean this was all an act?

But if it was all an act, why did she seem to go back to normal? You’d think that if she showed her true colors, she’d just stay that way. Maybe she wanted the element of surprise? ‘Oh no, Isabel turned into a demon again today! I never know when she is going to do this, goodness, it’s so unexpected.’?

This was too confusing.

I zoned back into the conversation just as Pepper was explaining everything that happened. “And then our friend Mason disappeared. Kaput. Gone. We don’t know what happened to him. He just...disappeared,” she said, frowning. I stole a glance over at Ella, looking for a sign of...I don’t know, recognition? Guilt?