Story 998: The Engine of Echoes

The scream of steel and shadow echoed behind them as Draven, Mira, and Elias burst into the next train car. The walls here were mirrors—warped, endless, and whispering. Every reflection moved just a beat too slow, replaying every moment of fear the trio had ever experienced.

Mira’s breath hitched. She saw herself again—kneeling beside her first failed reanimation, the one that begged her to die. Elias stared into a mirror where his own hollow-eyed corpse slung drinks to the damned. Draven’s reflection bled from his eyes as he saw a young girl, her face pale, mouthing words he couldn’t hear. His daughter.

“Don’t look,” he growled, smashing a mirror with the butt of his blade. It cracked—but bled instead of shattered.

“The Engine’s close,” Elias murmured, hands shaking. “This car’s where time folds in on itself.”