Chapter 23 - The Station With No Exit
The train gradually slowed.
No announcement sounded.
No destination appeared.
It simply stopped.
Outside waited another underground station.
Unlike the previous one, this platform looked untouched by time.
The clocks still worked.
The lights glowed steadily.
Fresh flowers stood beside an information desk.
It looked as though employees had left only moments earlier.
Thomas cautiously stepped onto the platform.
"No dust."
"No rust."
"No footprints."
Margaret looked uneasy.
"This station was sealed before I retired."
David surveyed the area.
"It shouldn't exist anymore."
Emily followed with the letter hidden inside her coat.
The wooden box remained in her hands.
At the far end of the platform stood a large bronze clock.
Its hands pointed to exactly 8:15.
Yet the second hand moved backward.
Tick.
Tick.
Tick.
Daniel noticed first.
"The clock isn't broken."
Everyone looked toward him.
"What do you mean?"
"It isn't counting time."
"It's counting arrivals."
As if responding to his words, the clock suddenly struck once.
A concealed doorway opened beneath it.
Soft footsteps echoed from within.
A young woman wearing a dark blue uniform emerged carrying a leather folder.
She appeared no older than twenty-five.
She smiled warmly.
"Welcome."
"My name is Evelyn."
She looked directly at Emily.
"I've been instructed to escort the next Director."
Emily frowned.
"There must be a mistake."
Evelyn gently shook her head.
"There isn't."
She slowly opened the leather folder.
Inside rested a document bearing an official seal older than any government agency currently in existence.
Across the top, in bold lettering, were the words:
SUCCESSION PROTOCOL
May you like
And beside the title...
Emily Carter's name had already been signed.
