It had become nighttime by the time I woke up. Hastily, I removed the stopwatch from my coat, and counted the time passed. Three hours since I arrived here. No one had come to greet me from the lord’s manor. The night was cold, and bleak, but I could not return empty-handed.

“Another tough day today. It seems you must return again with nothing to your keeping. The gates must close now.”

There was a dark-robed figure that stood besides me, as I could tell from my side gaze. I did not face him, in case he recognized my face, and would keep me out of his lord’s manor.

I remembered it was similar the last time I had come here. At that time, I had come for a different reason. He had joined the military, being forced by his parents. I had come to cheer him up, but he did not entertain it that time as well. It felt strange to me now that he was an honest man once.

The figure locked the gates, and left for his own. Now, I felt cold, but my spite did not sit well with me. The fact is, he stole something valuable. A chain of quite great expenses, given to me by my father. I knew he lived here, and that he was the lord of this region. I could’ve done nothing to him. The train will soon reach the station, and if I must hurry, I will reach by the 8th hour.

I started to walk towards the tram which frequented here, and noticed the empty streets. The lamps were the only company, and roads were worse from the main town with no proper footing possible. It was already half past the 7th hour, and it had become already quite desolate nearby. 

Many spirits come out at night, after all. Especially in these lands, people are advised against the hour of dusk. The train leaves for the central province near the same time. Slowly, the air started to become dry, oddly so, when I arrived at the train station.

Unlike the regular gist, it did not have food stalls nearby. The Kingdom’s flag was put at the entrance, along with the flag of the Eastern military house. The gates were put open, with no guards stationed outside. I noticed a few card decks on the tables, as the people rushed towards their respective trains. They were clothed in almost no resemblance to Central. Around their neck, there was a scarf, with a regular cap on top of their heads. Amongst them, most wore a coat on their shirt, while some came in what seemed to be their night outfits.

The train awaited its departure by the time I reached. I was the only passenger that boarded from this station. This train, I believed, would leave early. It became delayed two hours hence, and the people on board started to feel sickly at this. I too felt nothing but annoyed by the delay, and it was soon that an announcement was made.

“Passenger no. 21, please arrive at the deck.”

I checked my seat no. and they were calling for me. I glanced at my belongings first, and remembered to check it later on. I could not trust anyone, especially considering how they looked at my attire with suspicion. However, this was the usual look that they wore. Quite possibly from the regular suspicion that they harbored for everyone poor. 

I started to smell a strange odour, which could perfectly be the rich perfume they wore, or it could be the spirits that the locals talk about, or It may as well be the rotten odour spreading from the corpses, from the graveyard nearby.

Now, I started to feel a certain oddness at their gaze. Their whispers reached my ear, and I could sense that they talked in mockery. This odd feeling became more apparent as I moved across the train, and each cart became more empty than the previous one.

When I arrived at the deck, there was no one. I could hear my breathing, and my footsteps echoed. The windows were shut close as well, and it was completely dark. Then, a voice came through it.

“You must sleep now. You must first accomplish what you came here for.”

I started to feel drowsy again, and felt a headache come striking. I felt the air shriek, and I saw blood on my hands. A gun was placed near me, and then a door with a feeling of nostalgia flashed.

Sooner or later, I could not tell the time had passed. It felt almost like a dream, with time fading into a surreal tick-tock.

I woke up, and found myself outside the gate of my friend’s house again. I feigned the entire sequence as a dream. After all, what sane man would not!

Now, there was an odd feeling about the house which I failed to shake off. It felt ominous at first, but that feeling slowly turned into suspicion. I gazed at its structure, and soon I realized that it was different from before. There were pillars on each of the four sides, with a silver embroidery inscribed on it. I did not dare go near it, as I felt a strange sense of fear. A fading memory kept me in limbo: the house started to remind me of an emblem or sigil of some sorts. Nonetheless, it became apparent that there was a deeper meaning to it.

“Attention! It is almost the hour of dusk. Folks, retreat inside!”

I heard the voice come from the loudspeaker, placed above the tower. A few men ran past me in haste. They seemed to rush to the left of the house, although I failed to see any structures nearby. 

Suddenly, my head started to ache. I thought that it must be the spirits, and the usual sense of urgency that they spread when in multitude. I leaned on the gate, and heard a creaking sound from it. This time, the gates were open. The headache started to become worse, and I started to go across the land to take shelter. This place should be enough against spirits.

I felt the air shrieking again, and then a humming came from within my ear.

“Like a lullaby come by.”

All I could get was that it resembled a part of a tune. I looked around to expect someone, but I could not find a single soul. I rushed inside the house, and the ache slowly started to disappear. The dizziness faded. I let out deep gasps, and put my left hand on the wall for support. My head felt it might explode from the thumping. I was not able to relax however, due to the eeriness that I was feeling. I reached for my lighter, and lit the lamp nearby. I checked my stopwatch. It was still not the 10th hour.

I lowered my face when I noticed a slight foul odour. Near the slightly raised floor, there was a red hue on the ground. I put the lamp near it, and the blood-ridden knife came into view.

There, my friend lied in blood.