Spirit Train By AEVOAEVO

Was it a myth or a legend, she wondered this incessantly.
Moen had difficulty believing Death was a train conductor with no eyes. She had a hard time believing The Conductor was a soul collector for passing spirits, who would hitch a ride to their afterlife. Moen had an especially hard time believing any version of her tribe's story.

Despite this, Moen never had trouble believing she was orphaned in an instant and met someone that day who reeked of coal. Moen never had trouble believing after her orphaning she was viewed as a pure omen for the tribe and thus secluded to live on the top of a hill like a monster. She never had trouble believing she lived with a tribal board member named Petra until she was 19.

And then, despite even all of this, the one thing Moen neither believed nor disbelieved was the instantaneous mass fatality she witnessed one morning. Hundreds of the tribespeople looking healthy one second then dropping dead another.

She scoured the town swiftly searching for Petra, who was already limp. In her arms, she suddenly became lighter. Moen looked up and saw two mechanical doors wide open... Petra was sitting inside already yet the doors stayed awake, beckoning her entry.