[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? 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.