Shadowveil - The Forgotten

Chapter 1: Trains, Tears and Snowfall

"Attention all passengers; we are now arriving at Roseville Station. The platform is located to the right in the train's direction. Have a good day and thank you for traveling with Landline," the voice on the loudspeaker abruptly woke Patrick Grant up from his sleep. He looked out the frostbitten window to his left and tried to determine where he was.

The forlorn landscape beyond the train platform was covered by snow as far as the eye could see. Expansive fields and quaint yet rundown houses dotted the hilly countryside. Just like most of the time during the last few weeks, flakes of gently falling snow tumbled down from above, creating a surreal kingdom of mesmerizing white. After the departing passengers had gathered their belongings, they started to flood the corridor of the backmost train car. Patrick looked behind and to the right and noticed his dark blue shoulder bag and the book he'd been reading unexpectedly lying on the train floor.

"Crap," he whispered to himself. They had probably slid off his lap when he fell asleep earlier. Before the arriving passengers stormed the busy train car from the station outside, Patrick quickly squatted to retrieve his belongings. He just barely grasped the bag's strap and pulled it towards him, returning to his seat just in the nick of time. He wasn't able to pick up the book before the stressful people passed by his seat, accidentally kicking it farther down the aisle.

"Stupid idiots," he cursed beneath his breath. Putting on a stilted smile, he met some of their faces to convey his annoyance over their carelessness. As soon as the number of rushing people found their seats, he left his own and crouched down to reach for the book. He clutched its bindings and pulled it towards him when a woman in a blue dress suddenly emerged from out of nowhere and bumped into him with force. "Hey, watch where you're going!" he exclaimed as the book flew from his hand. The woman didn't dignify his outburst with an answer and instead stopped and turned around. Judging by the first impression and her figure, she was somewhere in her thirties. Patrick's anger quickly changed into shock as their faces met. He almost threw up as he beheld her haunting, pale-white countenance. She had no mouth, no nose and no ears. The only thing he saw were two deep-black eyes, overflowing with a substance that looked like black tears.

*

A tense feeling welled up from within, and Patrick's chest started to ache with a burning sensation unlike anything he'd ever felt before. His body started convulsing and he keeled over with involuntary spasms. The disturbing sensation wasn't isolated to physical issues either. As he rubbed his eyes he felt a great emotional weight overwhelm him, and he noticed that he'd started crying. Patrick blinked and dried the tears with the sleeve of his sweater even though they immediately watered up again. Between his shuddering he briefly caught a glimpse of the frightening woman; her empty gaze seemingly staring right through him. He wiped his eyes again and as the tears suddenly stopped and his vision returned to normal, the mysterious woman had disappeared as fast as she had come.

None of the others seemed to have noticed her and Patrick was thinking he'd lost his mind. The passengers in the car looked at him with a combination of fear and surprise. All of them except those that were asleep awkwardly got up from their seats and moved to the cars in front while whispering and looking at Patrick with judgemental eyes. Patrick himself remained on his knees on the floor. With bloodshot eyes and heavy breathing, he gazed absent-mindedly through the window at the back of the train's last car into the white nothingness beyond. "Who the hell was that woman?" he thought to himself. "Because of work, it's been quite a while since I got a good night's sleep. I've heard hallucinations can manifest for less reason than that." Despite such nervous thoughts swirling around in his head, he made an effort to get his act together after the chest pain and the convulsions had subsided. He got up with the help of a train seat armrest, shambling over to the book and slowly picked it up. After plodding back to his seat, he slumped down and put the book into the bag before closing it with the zipper. With a heavy sigh, he closed his eyes and rested his head against the pillow.

"Attention all passengers; we are now leaving Roseville. Our next stop is Clairvaux. Estimated time of arrival is approximately four hours. From there, our special Landline cabs or buses can provide you with transport to any of Clairvaux's neighboring locations, including Cordale City and Newhaven Village. We wish you a safe and happy journey as we head south towards our final destination."

The train slowly picked up pace and Patrick was happy to be on his way again. A thick fog had by then taken hold of the snow-filled countryside outside the frosty train windows. The eerie sheets of fog were of the kind that usually forms during the morning. Seeing it now boggled his mind, since it was in the middle of the afternoon. He wasn't able to shake the haunting vision of the pale woman who had appeared before him and whom no one else seemed to have noticed. He couldn't bring himself to calm down. He resumed reading the book from where he'd left off, but in his current state he just kept on reading the same lines over and over. "Screw this," he thought and restlessly got up from the seat and headed for the bathroom at the end of the car.

After taking a leak, he pushed the button on the automatic water faucet. He splashed some cold water on his face trying to wash off the uneasy feeling that still lingered in his mind. With a sigh, he left the bathroom and walked back to his seat. Coming out into the aisle, his heart skipped a beat when he noticed that everyone was suddenly gone. The sleeping passengers had disappeared without a trace and there were no people in the now empty train car in front.

"Wh-where the hell is everyone?" he stuttered as his heart started to beat faster. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead and an utter feeling of isolation chilled him to the bone. An immense sense of dread welled up from within as he scrambled to pick up his bag from the seat. He was shocked but thought that there must be some explanation. He took off for the door leading into the train car in front to search for the mysteriously vanished passengers.

As he pulled open the sliding door to cross the section between the chugging train cars, an indescribable stinging pain pulsated from his fingertips through the veins up along his arm. Before he knew it, he completely lost control of himself and heedlessly tumbled through the open door into a sea of infinite white on the other side of the train car...