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Before we decide whether or not we take this deal, I’ve been allowed to post what had happened ever since Matt died. He? It? Doesn’t exactly understand what I’m doing right now, being more so curious than anything.
The group had kept to its nomadic way, never settling in any one cart for more than a day or two at a time. Ever vigilant to the Conductor, we marched on and on for God knows how long. I swear, it felt like years, the odd light flicker being the only thing that broke up the monotony of the carts. We still had each other, but who knew for how long? How long until another one of us had to “go for extra supplies?”. Gertrude was gaining in on age, her face deeply wrinkled and hair white as the snow. John and Emily were wrought with worries for their kids, him being especially quiet after giving Matt a final helping hand. I haven’t seen him ever so solemn. No jokes, no laughter, his strictness to his children was ever escalating. Helen didn’t fair much better either, even if she was putting in a brave face for Nick. Those two formed a really close friendship, Helen almost thinking of him as younger brother, despite Nick being older than her. Only Michael and Gabriel weren’t particularly affected, if only because they didn’t understand what it means to be truly gone.
Beyond that, we had other worries as well. The tickets were becoming sparser and sparser. When before we managed to find enough tickets in a day to last us at least a week, now we have to live day by day. We knew that if this kept up, one of us would have to remain ticket less. We didn’t like it, but all of us began thinking of who will remain behind first. Not who we will choose, mind you, but who will be the first to sacrifice themselves. The entirety of the group was willing to be the first, but at that point, we were still lucky enough to find tickets each day. Nick offered himself to be the first, him still thinking he owes us after what Jaques has done, but he got slapped by Helen almost immediately. Another issue were the two black mists that kept following us. I was worried initially that being together might make them hostile, but they were just there, as if they were watching us. If anything, they looked like they were growing.
Lastly, I’ve had the same recurring dream over and over, walking in that jungle maze for what felt like days. Sometimes, I managed to reach the figure at the end while other times, I’ve been woken up just before being noticed by one of the countless animals. I was fairly confident at the time, based on the description’s from Ramirez’s Journal, that I was in the Garden, but I couldn’t tell you why I was there. When I told everyone else about it, they were curious, but didn’t really care that much.
We were tired. Barely any food to spare, the rats getting fewer. Water was also a problem, rarely finding a pipe that dripped enough to refill our bottles. Yet, despite all of that, we managed, barely.
Until that day. We looked for hours upon hours, no tickets in sight. Each new cart brought us hope, only for it to be crushed as we scoured it and found absolutely nothing. And suddenly…
The whistling started. That damned whistling that kept repeating day after day. The Conductor was nearby.
Knowing we couldn’t pay the price, we ran. Helen was carrying Gertrude while John and Emily were dragging Michael and Gabriel. The rest of us were capable of running by ourselves. This, however, was unsustainable. We had to stop at some point to rest and gather ourselves, but it was as if the Conductor was always a cart or two behind us. Just as soon as we thought we lost it, it became visible again. We must’ve ran for at least an hour to no avail. To make matters worse for us, we were being chased by the black clouds as well. I could’ve swore that with each passing second, they became larger.
“I can’t keep up much longer!” yelled Helen, visibly exhausted yet still running.
“Put me down, dear.” said Gertrude, with a smile on her face “I’ve lived long enough… Please, go on…”
“No can do! I’ll be darned if I leave anyone behind!”
“Give her to me!” said Nick, as he turned to reach for Helen.
But just at that moment, Nick lost his balance, falling and hitting his head on one of the chairs, rendering him unconscious.
“Guys! Help!”
Helen’s cry was heard by all of us, stopping us in our tracks.
“WE DON’T HAVE TIME! WE HAVE TO GO!” yelled John.
“PLEASE!”
Me and Marie ran back to help her. Nick was hard to carry, barely managing to take a few steps at a time. Too slow.
“What do we do now?!” asked Marie, frantically.
“I… I don’t know…” I answered.
The Conductor was in the next cart, reaching for the door handle.
“Is-is it just me,” asked Marie, “or is everything getting… darker?”
Sure enough, as the Conductor was squeezing his way through the now opened door at the other side of the cart, everything looked blacker, as if a thin veil of night was spread all throughout. Closer and closer, the Conductor was coming towards us. The dark veil was also getting thicker, almost covering the creature.
I thought that was it. Even if we outran that monster, we had no idea what was going on. I took one last look at Marie and hold her hand.
“I love you.”
“I love you too.”
“Tickets plea-“
Everything went black. I was alone in a sea of darkness, unable to move, drifting into nothing. My body became nothing. I couldn’t feel my arms… my legs… I didn’t feel my breath nor the beating of my heart My mind was the only thing that was still there, able to still reason. I wondered where everyone was.
Suddenly. I was there. We all were, the familiar purples being a dead giveaway. I pinched my arm to make sure that this time I wasn’t just dreaming again.
“Where the hell are we?!!” yelled John, as he reached for Emily and the twins. Everyone else sat in complete silence.
“Are we…?” Marie asked, pulling onto my clothes.
“In the Garden…” I replied.
I did not expect anyone… To join me today… And in such numbers too…
A voice began echoing in my head. Even in thousands of lifetimes, using billions of words written across history in collective knowledge of humankind, I couldn’t begin to describe what I was hearing. Haunting, yet soothing. Loud, yet quiet. Stern and harsh like an angered father, yet melodious and enchanting like a comforting mother. Your worst enemy and the love of your life. Your deepest dreams and your worst nightmares. It was beyond comprehension.
We collectively turned to face the creature, the same man I’ve seen in my dreams. The cloak was covering his body, living only his head visible. Where the cloak began and where it ended, I couldn’t tell. All that was visible when looking at his body was his white beard, unaffected by the blackness behind it as it gently waved on the floor. His face was pale, with deep, star-like eyes were staring at us, like to golden orbs sitting in the arctic. It was almost blinding.
We were all too scared to say anything. I was hugging Marie tightly, sitting paralyzed among our friends. All we could do was just stare at whoever that was.
He began moving towards was, his eyes fixated on me. The way he walked was reminiscing of the waves in an ocean, his figure never static. He bent down in front of me, analyzing me carefully. My mind was racing with all kinds of possibilities. What did he want? Was he gonna attack me? Eat me? Eat everyone else? Vaporize us? I was too terrified to think straight. Suddenly, as if finally arriving at his desired conclusion, he began smiling.
Aaah… I remember you… You are one of the visitors… It seems, however… That you’ve become a guest… My first guest… In the past millennium… How curious…
“Wh-What?”
Quite fascinating… So many people… Why?…
“Who the hell are you??” yelled Nick, who suddenly woke up, pointing his gun at the man out of a defensive reflex. The man’s smile disappeared.
Manners… You will be mannered… While you are my guests… Otherwise…
With a quick motion of his hand, who peered from under the cloak like an iceberg in the ocean, Nick’s gun, along with his hand, vanished. It wasn’t cut, because no blood came out of the stump. It was as if he never had a hand there in the first place. We were all frozen still, worrying that if we screamed, we might have be next.
Good… You learned manners… Wonderful… Now… Satisfy my curiosity… Only him will talk… The visitor…
He was still staring at me.
“What do you want to know?” I asked, trying to not show scared I was.
How?… How did you get here?… You are not like the rest… Not like you were… You are… Corporeal…
I explained to him everything, from how I got in the subway, how I meet Matt, how I managed to find the group, dealing with the Conductor, the Janitor, Jaques and his group, the Sleep-watchers, how we found Ramirez, how Matt died and the final moments before being enveloped in the mists and ending up here. He was listening intently, never blinking once. When I was done, he finally straightened his back again.
I understand now… The Suflete… Mistlings as you called them… Souls of the passengers who have died here…
“What about them?”
The passengers… They form a connection to my domain… Once they die… Their souls wander permanently… Their bodies however… Seeking memories… Reminders of what they were…
“Why are you telling us all of this?”
You are my guests… For now… And you have satisfied my curiosity… We are… Exchanging information… Stories… I have always been… Fascinated… With your kind…
” “Your kind”? What are you then?”
I am… What I am… I have taken… Many forms… Many names… You may call me… Operator…
You have asked me… Half… You may ask me… Three more questions… Before the information given… Is of equal value… To what I received…
Not letting this opportunity slide, we gathered round, thinking of what more can we get out of him. Slowly, all of us stood up from the floor and sat on the bark-like chairs as we continued to listen to the man.
“Alright, Operator, tell us, where are we?” I asked “This isn’t our world, yet it is very familiar in a lot of aspects.”
You are… In my world… I have been here… Since the beginning… Watching… Ever curious… I shape my domain… Based on what I am curious… At the time…
“Now, we would like to know what are those creatures, the Conductor and the Janitor? Tell us why they’re like that.”
I see… What you are trying to do… You’re asking… More than a question… At a time… I admire… The cleverness… The attempt… So I will let this slide… But… Do not tempt me… One more trickery… And you will no longer… Be guests…
“We… understand… Please, continue.”
Very well… Since I have… Modeled my domain… Based on curiosity… I thought appropriate… To have staff… Maintaining it… The Conductor… Makes sure… No one stays here… Unaccounted for… The tickets… Temporary symbols of passage… The Janitor… Cleans up… after the Conductor… I want… Order… In my world…
“Finally, the most important question we have is: How do we get out of here?”
The Operator, for the first time since we met him, had to pause and think. His somewhat human features made it so we understood he was confused, as if he never thought of anyone wanting to leave.
My world and yours… Are connected… That is why… You found yourselves here… But going back… Is impossible… Even I… Can only catch glimpses… Moments of history…
Somehow, I knew he’d answer that. We all knew. It was foolish to think otherwise. Why would we be so lucky to think we finally found a way out of this hell. I looked back, and I saw the same look on everyone’s face. Some were trying to not show it, John and Helen especially, but they also felt the same crushing feeling of hopelessness. The Operator, however did not care for one second, as he kept on talking.
Now… Guests… We will do another… Exchange… Each one of you… Will tell me… Their fondest memory… It will be… Part of the exchange…
“What will we receive?”
Patience… If I enjoy… Your memories… I will offer you something…
“And what if we refuse to tell you anything at all?”
Then… I will no longer… Consider you… Guests… Such rudeness… I do not tolerate… You will be… Intruders… Invaders… Of my home…
Terrified at the thought of what the Operator might do to people he considered intruders, we looked at each other and all agreed to his deal. Thus, each of us began sharing. John and Emily the birth of their children, despite the circumstances they were brought onto this world. The twins, Michael and Gabriel, talked about the stories they heard from their parents, their friends, us. Helen talked about her girlfriend and how she was a well-known chef, even winning some competitions while Nick talked about his wife and children. Gertrude talked about her long departed husband and how much she missed him. As for me and Marie… We both agreed that it was the day we met each other. One by one, the Operator looked intently while we spoke, and once we were done, he smiled once more.
Wonderful… This batch of experiences… Unique… New… Good… I am pleased… With your answers… Now… For the deal itself…
Everyone’s eyes were fixed on the Operator as he said the following:
You have told me… About the Life-time Subscription… It does… Exist… Safety from my staff… Access to your human needs… I can create them… For people who… Satisfy me… The rest… I do not care for… However… Each one… Is made… For a single person… And… They are not free…
Based on how he has acted up until now, I had a feeling what the price was, and the thought shook me to the core.
Your memories… Your fondest memories… Mementos of your life… Give them to me… To fully experience… And the Subscription… Is yours…
I stood up and, stuttering, I asked him to clarify.
You will… Forget them… You will… Receive the Pass… If you refuse… You will be granted… Safe passage… But… You will be… Sent back… Somewhere inside here… You will become… Passengers again…
“How much time are we allowed to think about it?”
I will give you… One day… If… You do not tell me… Within this time… I will consider… That you refused… Now… Feel free to think… I will… Be observing…
And with that, the Operator stopped talking and started treating us as if we weren’t there. He began maintaining the his “home”. We once again gathered in a circle to discuss what just happened.
“What are we going to do?” asked Emily.
“You’re not seriously considering accepting that monster’s deal?” said Nick, more angry than I’ve ever seen him before.
“He did say that everything would be taken care of,” said Helen. “Think about it. No more running. Constant access to food and water. We’d be finally be at peace, Nick!”
“In exchange for our lives. Our fondest memories! I don’t want to forget my wife and children!”
“Neither do we about our children!” said John and Emily in unison.
“It’s understandable,” said Helen, “but they can be safe now! You can be safe now! Maybe… Maybe there is another way…”
“How?” asked Emily.
“Maybe we can offer him something of equal value. What exactly, I can’t tell.”
“Perhaps… I will have to talk with my wife.”
“I do not want to forget my dear husband,” finally spoke Gertrude, trying to contain her tears. “I am old anyway… Sooner or later… I won’t be around anymore… I’d like to die remembering him…”
“That goes for me as well.” added Nick. “I will be damned if I live here, dying an old man, not knowing of what I’ve had.”
“What about us?” asked Marie.
“I don’t know.” I answered. “I don’t want to forget you and what we’ve had…”
“Neither do I…”
Suddenly, I remembered something. I had my phone, and something else…
“I think I might know of a way to get the best deal for both of us.”
“How?” she wondered, looking confused at what I just said. “You’ve heard him. If we try to trick him, who knows what will happen!”
“It’s not a trick if he doesn’t consider it one.”
“What do you mean?”
“If I can convince him this is just an exchange, he might let us do it.”
“Do what?”
“You’ll see. I’ll go ask him first.”
With that, I went to the back of the cart, where the Operator was. I told him of what I wanted to do, and, surprisingly, he agreed. I went back to the group and looked down at Marie.
“What did you ask him for?”
“I realized he operates on one thing: equal value, and what he values the most is information and feelings. With that, he let me do something in exchange of him being a witness.”
“A witness of what?”
Then, I sat down on one knee, taking the ring that John gave me.
“Of our wedding.”
Everyone was surprised, Marie most of all. She jumped and kissed me.
“I will take that as a yes?” I said, jokingly.
“Of course it’s a yes.” she said as she began to cry while I put the ring on her finger. “But why now?? Why here??”
“We did not have time previously. Here, surprisingly, is the safest place in this entire God forsaken subway, and, if everything goes according to plan, we might just make it.”
Everyone began congratulating us, saying how long they’ve been waiting for me to finally ask. We asked Nick to officiate the wedding and sure enough, he said yes. It might not have been the fanciest wedding, with out tattered, sweaty clothes, observed by an inexplicable being, but we didn’t care. To us, it was the best moment of our lives. What could possibly be our final night knowing each other, we celebrated as if there were no tomorrow. The Operator, wanting to see how a human wedding was like, he allowed us to go all out, as he considered the wedding of equal value to the short time it would’ve taken him to fix the cart we were in. With that, the 24 hours have passed.
Now… Guests… Each of you… Will tell me… What have you decided…
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