Chapter 25 - The Passenger Manifest
The train accelerated smoothly through the underground tunnel.
Daniel examined the carriage carefully.
"There isn't any driver."
Edward nodded.
"There never has been."
Richard opened a brass cabinet near the entrance.
Inside rested a thick leather-bound register.
Across its cover were embossed words.
Passenger Manifest.
He opened the first page.
Every journey had been recorded by hand.
Date.
Departure.
Destination.
Passenger names.
The earliest entries dated back almost fifty years.
Richard turned several pages.
Many names were unfamiliar.
Some belonged to politicians.
Others to judges.
Scientists.
Business leaders.
Military officers.
Yet every passenger had one thing in common.
They had all disappeared from public life within a few years of traveling this railway.
Daniel looked over Richard's shoulder.
"Where did they go?"
Edward answered quietly.
"Some returned."
"And the others?"
Edward didn't reply.
Richard continued reading.
Eventually he reached the entries from twenty-eight years earlier.
There...
Written in Jonathan's unmistakable handwriting...
was a single line.
Passenger:
Jonathan Morgan.
Destination:
Station Thirteen.
Return Ticket:
Pending.
Richard swallowed hard.
The next page should have contained the following journey.
Instead...
Someone had torn it out completely.
Only jagged edges remained.
Richard carefully examined the torn binding.
"It wasn't removed recently."
Michael nodded.
"It disappeared the same night Jonathan did."
Daniel turned toward the rear of the carriage.
"Has anyone ever restored it?"
Michael smiled faintly.
"That's why you're here."
At that moment, the train lights flickered.
The mechanical voice returned.
"Approaching unauthorized sector."
"Please remain seated."
Richard looked through the front window.
For the first time since boarding...
The tunnel divided into two completely different tracks.
One continued straight.
The other curved sharply into complete darkness.
May you like
Without slowing...
The train chose the hidden track.
