Nightmare Apostle

Chapter 1888: Chapter 1072: Train Ticket (2)

After checking inside and finding no issues, the two of them agreed on the order of keeping watch: Mimura Kaori would take the first shift, and Watanabe Gou the second.

Yet, having just arrived in this world, Watanabe Gou dared not be careless, so he squinted his eyes, resting while paying attention to the surroundings. He originally planned to stay up all night and catch up on sleep after dawn.

This very decision, in some sense, saved his life.

Time ticked away minute by minute, and just as he was about to drift off to sleep, he suddenly noticed that it seemed unusually dark outside the window.

It was nighttime then, so darkness was expected, but staring out the window, he felt that this darkness was abnormal, like an unfading ink stain, growing more profound.

Although they lived in a relatively secluded area, there were still many residential houses around, and streetlights by the roadside, it shouldn’t be this dark.

At the same time, Watanabe Gou realized another critical point, since when did the surrounding environment become extraordinarily quiet? No, it was a dead silence.

"Something’s wrong..." Realizing the seriousness of the situation, Watanabe Gou immediately got up, his first reaction was to call out to Mimura Kaori who was keeping watch.

But at this moment, Mimura Kaori appeared strange; she sat in a chair with her back to Watanabe Gou, her head slightly lowered as if she were asleep, her body motionless.

Watanabe Gou softly called her name, but there was no response.

Watanabe Gou, being an experienced player, suddenly felt a chill in his heart, realizing something had indeed gone awry.

Without acting recklessly, Watanabe Gou stealthily circled to Mimura Kaori’s side, only then did he see clearly that she was not asleep. Her eyes were open, staring intensely at the table, where something resembling a small card was placed.

Mimura Kaori seemed to be under a spell, fixated on this card, completely ignoring the abnormalities around her.

Cautiously, Watanabe Gou approached the table and saw an old train ticket, somewhat damaged, with only a few discernible words on it.

Just as Watanabe Gou was about to lean in for a closer look, suddenly Mimura Kaori awoke as if startled from a nightmare, screamed weirdly, and this very scream gave the highly focused Watanabe Gou a fright.

Mimura Kaori quickly returned to normal after waking, similarly realizing the night’s oddities. She had no recollection of Watanabe Gou’s description, as if... as if she had fallen asleep and taken a nap.

But the nightmare was far from over. Just after Mimura Kaori was awakened, Watanabe Gou suddenly discovered the old train ticket on the table was gone.

They searched all around the table and nearby ground but couldn’t find it. This eerily appearing train ticket had vanished into thin air.

Watanabe Gou asked Mimura Kaori where she found the ticket, but Mimura Kaori seemed to have amnesia, clueless and unaware of the ticket’s existence.

There was no time to ponder this further as a more pressing matter arose: the outside was no longer filled with complete darkness, but instead there appeared a faint dark green glow.

Knowing it might be dangerous, Watanabe Gou and Mimura Kaori couldn’t suppress their curiosity and approached the window to look outside.

What they saw shocked them completely: all the buildings’ lights were off, leaving just vague outlines, and not far from their place, parked on the street, was a rusty tram.

The tram was surrounded by a dark green mist, with most of its body shrouded in fog, sometimes visible and sometimes not.

Even eerier, there was no one on board, yet the tram was lit inside, with an old railway track laid out on the street, disappearing into the mist at both ends, seemingly endless.

This tram had appeared out of nowhere, as the originally designated tram stop was at a bus station by the street, with the bus stop’s shelter still displaying an ad for a local izakaya, which Watanabe Gou remembered well.

But now, these things that used to exist had disappeared, as if erased by an invisible force.

Just as Watanabe Gou was pondering what might happen next, events unfolded quicker than he anticipated. The television in the room suddenly turned on, but there was no image, only static snow and buzzing noise.

The sight almost suffocated Watanabe Gou, because right after they’d moved into the room, he had unplugged the television. With no power, how the TV turned on was beyond him. freёwebnovel.com

But soon, the television image began to change, though still blurry, it vaguely revealed a street scene, with a two-story house appearing in the frame.

The house was quite old, its exterior wooden walls showing signs of stains and damage, with a faint light glowing from the second-floor window, which stood out in the surrounding darkness.

This was unmistakably the very house Watanabe Gou was currently residing in, and the light from the second-floor window was indeed from their room.

The light emitted was none other than from the spontaneously turned on television.

The camera continued to zoom in, arriving at the front of the house, and then the door slowly opened as if pushed by someone.

Yet, throughout this sequence, no sound emerged, like watching a low-budget silent film.

This scene sent chills down Watanabe Gou’s spine, he vividly remembered locking the door, yet everything had spiraled out of control. freёwebnoѵel.com

All he wanted now was to flee, to escape desperately, to run as far as possible. He couldn’t delude himself any longer, indeed... a ghostly presence had infiltrated.

He suddenly recalled that one of the tram’s doors was open, something... something had come down from the tram!

The camera continued progressing, reaching a narrow staircase, the handrail part worn out severely, evidently aged, characteristic of a very old house.

With the image now shaking, that entity began climbing the stairs.

"It’s coming, it’s coming for me!" This scene seemed to completely shatter Mimura Kaori’s psychological defenses, she wasn’t listening to Watanabe Gou’s dissuasion, directly opened the bedroom door, and dashed out without looking back.

With the ghost lurking outside, Watanabe Gou dared not go to her aid, nor did he dare turn off the television. Instead, he immediately crawled under the bed, hoping this would help him survive.

As the entity approached, the atmosphere in the room began to shift. Since he was hidden under the bed, Watanabe Gou couldn’t see the television, unaware of what was displayed, terrified, he could only curl up under the bed, shut his eyes, and cover his ears — his only hope for survival.

After all, it seemed the ghost was targeting Mimura Kaori, and typically, ghosts rarely massacre multiple people at once.

He didn’t know how long had passed, maybe a few minutes, perhaps longer, but Watanabe Gou noticed the flickering light in the room had vanished. He gathered his courage, glanced out, and found the television screen had gone off.

Concerned about Mimura Kaori’s safety, Watanabe Gou crawled out from under the bed, listened intently, and found the entire building shrouded in silence.

Quietly he moved to the window to look outside, and he saw Mimura Kaori. At that moment, Mimura Kaori looked as if she had lost her senses, facing away from him, taking steps towards the tram parked by the street.

Watanabe Gou’s brief observation revealed a terrifying truth: Mimura Kaori wasn’t walking on her own. Her feet merely swung back and forth, not touching the ground, suspended in the air.

At that moment, Mimura Kaori seemed like a puppet without consciousness, with something behind her, an invisible hand controlling her, directing her toward the tram.

Watanabe Gou could only watch helplessly as Mimura Kaori was led onto the tram.

Just as the tram doors closed, Watanabe Gou’s fear peaked, for he saw the previously empty compartment now filled with people, faces pallid and pressed against the windows, staring hauntingly at his window, their movements rigid and creepy.