Chapter One: After Midnight

The main lights returned at that instant, painfully white. The driver's broken announcement crackled overhead. “Temporary stop ahead. Passengers should… remain…” In the instant of blindness, Jianyue ducked and struck the emergency cabinet with her shoulder. She took out the window hammer, but instead of attacking, smashed the illuminated advertisement beside her camera. Glass burst outward. Every reflection in the carriage shattered. The faceless creature shrieked. The sound came from no throat. It scraped out from behind every shard of glass at once. The lights began strobing, and the passengers instinctively flinched from the broken mirrors. Jianyue pulled the emergency release.