It was a cold Sunday evening when Charlie boarded the train headed to her grandmother’s city. Charlie stood on the platform alone, pulling the strap of her backpack tighter as a cold breeze swept the station. Cicadas were unusually silent this evening, and the lights of the train station were flashing, creating buzzing sounds as the station went from dark to bright, then to dark again.
Suddenly, the lights blacked out together, leaving Charlie confused in the darkness. Without any warning, the train ran into the station at full speed. Bright lights reached out from the windows, giving the dark station a source of brightness. The strange thing is there was no hint that the train was coming. No sound, no light, just suddenly appearing out of what seems to be nowhere. Charlie was already creeped out by the silent darkness, and quickly walked onto the bright train, ignoring the strangeness of the train. What she didn’t know was that the train disappeared from the station the second the doors closed.
Inside the train, Charlie found a comfortable seat to sit on and looked around at the other passengers. There were only three other people on the train, one girl that looked about Charlie’s age who was reading, a boy that looked slightly older turning a Rubik's cube, and a tall person that wore a black mask and long cape who just stood in the dark corner. Charlie was unable to recognize the hooded person’s age or gender.
Charlie was creeped out by what she assumes is a hooded man, and turned to look out the window. The train seemed to enter a dark tunnel, and started to shake rapidly. The lights inside the train started flashing. Charlie tensed, and sat up straight. The girl and the boy were also uncomfortable on the train. Only the weird stranger seemed calm and collected as he was just fine with it. Suddenly, the shaking stopped, and the train drove into an extreme brightness. The sudden light made Charlie squint. The train then stopped. Now everyone was scared, and focused on what was happening.
The hooded man stepped out of the darkness and approached the children. His face was still covered by the hood’s shadow, strangely clouded in the extremely bright passenger car. He slowly turned to Charlie, then to the girl, then to the boy, as if examining their looks and expressions.
He then spoke in a smooth, calm voice, “Children, you have been chosen to take part of a mission that we believe you would succeed in. Due to many causes, we had to call upon you to help us complete the mission. If you succeed in completing the missions, we would offer you a place in the Father’s Temple, and grant you 3 wishes. Anything would be possible with the wishes. However, if you fail to complete the missions, you would be kept in the missions’ realm forever. I’m sorry, you don’t get a choice to quit.”
Charlie was completely shocked for a few moments, but snapped back quickly. “What do we get for being in the Father’s Temple? And what are the missions? Why is it us that’s needed for completing the missions?” Charlie asked quickly.
“I’m afraid I can only answer the second question you asked, curious child. The missions are not difficult, but require you to use your thinking and cooperation skills to the fullest extent. After completing each mission, you will get a puzzle piece from the protagonist of the story. After I go, get to know each other more, and head on to the second cabin.” The band answered as they pointed to a wooden door with a glowing number ”2” labeled on the top. “Goodbye children, and I will see you again.” The man said to the trio, looking into Charlie’s eyes as he said the last few words. He then waved his cape and disappeared.