Chapter 12: The Silent Train [4]

Years before the young man swore his most valued oath, he had been bred a fighter of incredibly talented abilities. Abilities that would have him labeled a remarkable prodigy.

He was already quite familiar with the very act of committing the 'sin' of violence.

Though he promised never to break his vow, that was no longer a given, considering the excruciating pain that his family was now undergoing. And the oath was only made afloat after he had already moved on from that once 'violent' life.

But violence was something he was most capable of indeed, and it had been his best-kept secret from when he was only just a young boy. Unbeknownst to most, he was a mercenary who mostly sought after targeted folks for a living.

Before the younglings from the town made fun of him for being a foreigner and had considered him an utter disgrace to the town and its people, he was secretly feared for something much more... discrete.

True to his identity, the young man was once known as The Gentle Shadow. He had a penchant for getting rid of targets without resorting to the very act of murder, all without accidentally leaving a trace of his real identity to the many persons he had incarcerated.

As a result, he was named for his refusal to kill anyone. He would only willingly choose targets that he didn't have to terminate. But it wasn't just out of his lack of kills or his apprehension over the act. Instead, it was the fact that he didn't want to be considered a murderer for the rest of his life.

Choosing to work as an assassin did not exempt him from the rules, and because he wasn't on board with the idea of killing others, he could only accept working as a mercenary. It was a job that was much more than just shedding the blood of other people.

There was no overly complicated reason for choosing not to kill other people. No matter how much he may have hated them, taking a life would only spell trouble or, in his case, cause bad luck for the rest of eternity. It was his belief, instilled in him by his family, that killing others was a sign of a bad omen.

So during his time working as a mercenary, he never took a single life. The young man did not train himself so relentlessly to become a cold-blooded murderer. It just wasn't in his heart. And neither was it in his heart to work as a lone warrior from before he even became a full-fledged adult, but life taught him that it wasn't fair to anyone in this world. Wasting one's talents... wasting what one was born for was against the rules of nature.

Working as a mercenary, or more specifically, working for a guild as a mercenary, was, at first, very challenging.

He was unfamiliar with seeing other people getting killed, and he could do nothing but sometimes vomit at all the corpses and heinous acts of his other guild members. Rather than being deterred from such actions, however, he chose to tolerate all of their bloodshed in silence. He knew that sooner or later, they would all die and live harshly in their next lives.

Time passed, and the young boy eventually adopted his famous nickname. He would later climb up the guild's ranks, eventually becoming their best and most acclaimed mercenary and gaining the leader's favor without killing a single soul.

Polishing his skills for the act of violence had been his destiny, and he had no choice but to find a job for what he was best at. And while there were other well-paying jobs at the time, in the end, he chose what paid him the most money and what he was best at. It was perhaps the only thing that could genuinely help his family flourish.

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end.

On a particular day, something went wrong. One thing led to another; from there, things were never the same.

He accepted a job, or more accurately, a contract, which proved to be very important, for it was his biggest one yet. It wasn't like most of his other contracts, though, as it didn't involve him having to incapacitate and incarcerate a specific individual. In this one, he was to escort and guard a young and famous denizen to their land's most revered town, the King's Tower.

Because of the young man's uprising reputation, he was swiftly chosen for the job, especially since the young denizen had previously hired other nearby mercenaries in the past. Such an act wasn't beneath the denizen, and he hadn't been accompanied by any of the kingdom's guards. He was already a few days away from his kingdom to use such services.

But the young man did not bother with such details. He could only relish over how easy his new job was. He would be paid handsomely if he could protect this famous resident for a few days. It was said that the amount he would be paid was equivalent to a stash worth half the king's least prized possession.

In other words, enough money to last him and his family another decade, and the young man was lucky enough to have been tasked with such a job. So for the next few days, he escorted the denizen without much trouble, only needing to knock out a few lowly bandits and thieves.

Things had been going very well on his escort, and he even got to make a good acquaintance out of him.

***

The old man paused his story while I stared at my phone to check the time.

[6:20 P.M.]

'Shit, it's getting late. I've been sitting here for almost half an hour now. It doesn't sound like the old shit's gonna be finished with his story any time soon.'

An audible sigh could be heard from the person sitting opposite me. "I knew I said this was gon' be the second half of the story, but we ain't even all that close yet. I thought you'd be paying full attention by now. My bad," the old man said.

Before responding to him, I turned my head to my right to see the young boy from before, who was sleeping like a baby, with his head resting on top of his folded arms. He had already finished his ice cream ages ago, and I still had yet to go and get my share.

But feeding myself was the least of my worries.

We both shared a look as I thought about what I would say to the old man. Our stares were devoid of any shred of awkwardness despite lasting what felt like an eternity. Compared to Irene's terrifying glare, it was nothing I couldn't handle.

I then said my following words carefully.

"Old man. Tell me. Are you just wasting my time? What the hell does this young man have to do with 'The Silent Train'? You've been going on and on about him, but if he's that important to this Silent Train thing, then why should you even mention anything about his useless backstory? Look, I'm not doubting you or anything. I'm just curious, is all. Did you come to save me for something other than a story?"

"Hehehe. Ya forgot the part about giving ya ice cream as well, hehehehe."

Not wanting to raise my voice to wake the young boy to my side and cause a whole scene in front of everyone still inside the parlor, I started to get incomparably serious.

"This isn't a joke, old man," I solemnly said.

"Ay. I'm here to tell ya the complete story after all."

"But you make it sound as though you had a different motive by doing so. Are you trying to--"

"Woah, Woah, relax. I ain't tryin' a do anything bad to ya, boy. Like I said, I'm here to tell ya everything I know about The Silent Train. Did ya miss the part where I said everything?"

"So you're telling me that you do this to everyone who you also try to save? Do you tell all of them the story of this... oh so great one as well?"

"Great one, you say? Hahaha. Ta answer your first question, no. Not everyone," he responded with a smile still planted on his face.

"So, am I more important to you than most of them? Is that it? Is that why it takes you hours to finish what you want to say?" I spat.

"And I here was thinking ya didn't doubt meh. Ya even said so yourself," the old man said.

A look of surprise flashed on my face upon hearing his words. I really had been doubting him. I took a short moment to calm down before speaking.

"You're right. I'm... I apologize. It's just... something about not trusting other people..."

"Hehehehe. You almost sound like the young man I've been talking about in my story. He also had trust issues. Hahaha."

I raised a brow at his remark, but I nevertheless relented and lowered my head with a frown attached to my face.

"It seem as though ya got a long way to go. From what I can tell, you don't look very patient," the old man said.

"It's just that I was taught never to be trustworthy of other people in general. I got it from my best friend."

"He's right, ya know. I'd continue heeding your friend's advice carefully if I were you," the old man added.

"Yeah, my friend said it was because I was too naive or something. But in all honesty, I guess it may have had to do with how I was interpreting the way you were acting in how you told me your story and what you were doing for a stranger like me."

"Ahh... I know whatchu mean," the old man said before closing his eyes for a brief moment.

"In that case, I'll tell ya the truth. You see, I'm a little... obligated."

"Obligated? In what way, exactly?" I curiously asked the old man.

"I once worked as a police officer before I decided I wanted to own an ice cream store like the one we're in now. I even chose this place cause it was the closest to where I could go and save those people. And as I did, I made sure ta never forget the legend of The Silent Train. I heard about it when I was still in service as an officer, but it was only a few years before I retired. And let me tell ya. I made plenty of mistakes at first."

"Mistakes?" I asked him again.

"Ye. When I first went and tried saving people, I couldn't save them all. It was very troubling, and I nearly gave up at first. No matter how much I tried to bother them, some of those people would never wake up from their trance, and they'd... walk right into their deaths."

I stared at the old man with a grave expression.

"But I learned it would be better to go there myself instead of communicating with them over the radio. Ahh, I did forget to say that in my first attempts, I tried ta install some radios near that specific spot, and I had hoped it would be loud enough to disturb people from their trances."

"Specific spot?" I asked.

"Ye, that spot that I saved ya from. It just so happens to be the same spot where The Silent Train can be seen. It's why I've always been able to try and save those poor souls for all these years. From my knowledge, the spot ain't ever changed," he answered.

"Old man, have you ever seen The Silent Train yourself? And if you have, how were you able to save yourself from its trance?"

"Good question, boy. The answer is simple. I never had to save myself 'cause I ain't ever been in one," he proudly stated.

"R-really? But how come? Does The Silent Train work on only a select group of people? Or are you just somehow an exception?"

"Nah. That train don't be killing folks unless they're young men before the age of 20. Not women, either. Took me a while to figure it out, unfortunately," he frowned, his smile disappearing.

"I see... that does sound scary, to be honest," I said.

"But it's just you saving those people, right? You never asked anyone old enough to help you save the ones inside the tracks? Or did they just not give a damn?"

"Nah, it's too risky. I don't think you even realize what that would entail. From my understanding, everyone who died just happened to be no older than 19, but it is strange that I ain't seen anyone older than that comin' through here, aside from the people who worked to block this place off. That damn train sure is picky with its victims, hahaha," the old man chuckled for a small while before closing his mouth with a nearly expresionless face.

Noticing that something was wrong, I asked "Hmm? Is something the matter?"

"And that's exactly why I couldn't save everyone," his tone changed almost instantly.

"W-what do you mean by that?"

"All those other young men I could've saved... *Sigh* At least the ones that survived would heed my advice and warn other people about the train. It hasn't actually done much to stop the train at all, mind you, but I have noticed a few less youngins' finding their way to a premature... demise."

Silence ensued for a bit, but my interest was already piqued at this point, so I just continued asking.

"I guess that sounds rather harsh, but there's just one thing I don't get, though. You said something about people closing the place off, but how come that hasn't happened yet? How is it that people can still be allowed to somehow walk in there at all?" I asked.

"And that's exactly why it's cursed, young man," he said more quietly. "Hell, I was skeptical about this legend of The Silent Train at first when one of my buddies told me about it."

"But the police have already long given up trying to shield this place from other people, which is why I made it my duty to protect anyone unfortunate enough to get themselves tangled up in that little area," the old man added.

"Do you mind telling me what the police have done to try and stop other young men from meeting their death?" I asked the old man, solemnity returning to my words.

"Any and all attempts have failed. If ya tried to build anything around it at all, nature would quickly find its own way around it and destroy whatever you was making before ya could even finish it, no matter what material you was using to make it. Stationing guards here was out of the question 'cause that would require constant inspection for something they probably didn't believe in and didn't want ta believe in. And installing cameras around the area would result in the cameras randomly ceasing. The police abandoned the train tracks long ago as a last resort and put out warning signs detailing these tracks as having minefields, haha. But the only thing that's resulted in is constant vandalism," he said.

"But if the curse is somehow stopping the tracks from being covered with anything, then how have you succeeded in saving them so far?" I continued to ask the old man, being even more curious about everything relating to this Silent Train thing.

"That's the thing ya see. I don't stop the train from doing its job. I just help the people who are already in their trance. It's why I haven't stopped trying to save them and likely never will," the old man said.

"That makes sense. And is that why you also tell them about the young man's story? Are you perhaps trying to maintain your legacy of saving more people from meeting their death via a train?"

"Hahaha. You figured it out. So far, no one's been able to help me directly since I did end up talking all of them out of it. I didn't want to burden anyone, and no one aside from a few were even daring enough to help me save those people. And you know, it's good to ask questions and be curious, but remember what I said about not prying too much?"

"Oh, right. Shit, guess that was my fault. Well, then. I think I'll stop asking for now, just for my sake. I don't disagree with you."

"Hahahaha. Nah, it's aight young man. I was just partially joking. Feel free to keep asking either way," he said with a smile. I actually wasn't able to tell if he was genuinely annoyed with me or not, but that still didn't change the fact that he was right. It's not at all wise to be stick your nose into everything by asking too many questions, though knowing myself, it was also best to not let my curiosity go to waste. I wasn't even done asking him yet, anyway. I just needed to be a little more selective this time.

"Do the young men you save ever end up falling into a trance again? You mentioned that they warn other people not to go near the train like they once did, yeah?" I asked, seconds after he had finished talking.

"Oh, that. I ain't got an answer for that one. I may be old and a 'lil wise, but even I have to admit that I don't know everything, haha. I mean, I never saw them going near that thing ever again once they experienced it. None of them was brave enough to risk it," he answered, his pride sounding a bit hurt.

I already told myself not to ask too many questions, yet here I was. About to bombard the man in front of me for no apparent reason other than to satisfy my unyielding curiosity. "Old man, tell me. Do you happen to know who or what is operating the train? If you do, then do you also know when it decides to come here? Where does it even disappear off to, and why does it keep coming back to the same spot? Is that the only spot where it kills other young men? How does this stuff even happen?"

"Slow down there, boy!" the old man chuckled. "Them's good questions, I tell ya. But like I said, I ain't got the answer to everything. I ain't never been told how the train works. Nobody does. So fer now, ya could say it's a phenomenon, and I reckon it's got something to do with the supernatural!"

"Supernatural phenomenon, huh? Interesting... And do the other people you've shared this to know it to be like this?" I asked curiously.

"You could say that, boy. But I believe it's better if ya don't get too curious fer now. That's just my two cents. I was only telling you the details 'cause it's become a tradition at this point, hehe."

"Alright, fine. Then I won't pry anymore," I promised, respecting his advice. Then again, it was Irene that taught me not to pry too much when asking someone about something that interested me, so in a way, I respected someone else's advice instead.

"Good. Glad to hear that, boy," he smiled again.

As we continued to stare at each other for the next three or so seconds, I suddenly remembered how hungry I had been. "Shit. I need to eat some ice cream. I'll be back with more Cookies N' Cream. Thanks again, geezer."

"I'll tell ya everything when you're done," the old man said.

"Yeah, I think it's fine if I knew everything, or in this case, a lot about this Silent Train thing, as you said. Well, aside from the supernatural or whatever."

***

The old man stared at the young one ahead of him, who was currently asking one of his employees for some extra ice cream. As he shifted his gaze from the adolescent man to the young boy who had been sleeping, he couldn't help but think, 'It's a real shame I won't be there to accompany you for the rest of your life.'

Seeing the young man arriving next to him with Cookies N' Cream ice cream in his hand, the old man grinned again.

'Soon, I'll tell you the final piece of the story. Hopefully, you have a fulfilling path ahead of you.'

"Damn, you know what... this is actually really fucking good! You seriously weren't kidding when you said that this was the best ice cream place in town! Looks like you were right when you called your ice cream divine," he snickered. "I have no idea why I didn't come to this place already. Thanks a lot, old fart."

The young man before him was a tad fat. He wasn't there yet, but he was well on his way to becoming overweight, or even worse, obese...

"Old fart? Haha. Your naming sense is terrible, boy."

"Old fart. Old man. Old geezer. I think I'll stick to naming you whatever sounds best," Rae snorted.

"Do yer worst."

And so, for the next hour, the two continued to converse, with almost all of the time spent on the old man talking about his story and Rae listening more intently than ever.