It takes a lot of strength and courage to board a train you know is full of monsters. Most people would be nervous about being eaten alive or dying in various painful ways, but not Ivy. Fortunately, Ivy was both strong and brave, and that meant I didn't have to be at the front when we crossed the barrier that separated us from the dubious safety of Cavalry Station and the horrific journey of the Monster Express.
The interior of the train was surprisingly elegant. The walls were paneled in dark wood, like those in Mr. Garland's mansion, crystal chandeliers hung gently from the ceiling, and wide windows revealed the tunnel lit by green and red lights. There was no dust or dirt: it looked more like a luxury carriage than a transport for monstrous creatures.
Still, I wasn't fooled by appearances. You can't afford that luxury in the labyrinth, much less in a place with such a dense population of monsters. So far, we'd only encountered harmless monsters: a crazy snowman, a haunted sleigh, and a talking Santa Claus.
But I didn't trust my luck. I knew full well there were many worse monsters waiting for us on the train, ready to destroy us at any moment. My friends may think I'm a fool, but I wasn't naive; I'm not fooled by what I see. The labyrinth guaranteed death, and this had long since ceased to be a game.
"Well... not bad at all," Juniper commented, amazed by the place. "I almost forgot this train is supposed to belong to 'monsters.'"
We made our way through the central compartment and found ourselves in a small foyer. There were light decorations of garlands and wreaths on the doors and the walls. The wood gave it a strange, cozy feel that didn't seem quite right. Against the back wall was a reception desk. On either side were two doors that I assumed led to the other compartments.
Above the reception desk, there was this sign. The letters carved in wood seemed to smile at us. "NO HUMANS ALLOWED"
When we saw it, a silence fell over the train.
"Ivy, tell me you have a plan," Rex murmured, crossing his arms.
She nervously bit the edge of her nail. "A quick, improvised plan with zero margin of error… will that work?"
"It's fine," I replied immediately, "Because I don't have anything."
Just then, a stone giant wearing a stone hat walked past us and handed a shiny document to the supervisor. She was, surprisingly, a human. She had brown hair in a ponytail and looked no older than 30. Why was he stuck here and not in the real world? He didn't know, but right now we had more important matters to deal with.
Each passenger seemed to stop there, hand over their ID, and select their destination on a panel.
"Great," June said sarcastically. "And what are we supposed to say when they ask for our ID? That we're cultural exchange students?"
I smirked. "No, June. We're going to do what always works in movies: dress up."
Rex looked at me incredulously. "With what? Your reindeer scarf?"
But Ivy was already rummaging through her backpack. She pulled out a ridiculous hat with elf ears she'd taken from Garland's mansion. June, meanwhile, was still wearing a glitter-covered vest from the decorations room.
"Wait... this might work," Ivy said, blushing. "If we blend in a little, they'll just have to get a quick look at us."
I put on a pointy-eared hat, smiling theatrically, "I played an elf in a school play, so I think I'll do well."
"Sure," Rex rolled his eyes, putting on enormous gloves.
When we arrived at the counter, the human receptionist looked us up and down. Her brown eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Good day, travelers, how can I help you?
"We're going to reserve a ticket, lady," I said.
"Well, in that case, IDs please," she growled.
Ivy gulped and pulled a crumpled piece of paper from her backpack, pretending it was a document. June tried to distract her with an exaggerated smile and a "Happy Winter Solstice!"
"So you guys claim to be…" The supervisor spoke.
"Exchange students," Rex yelled, "We're on a confidential mission."
A silence spread through the cabin for a few seconds, and the supervisor seemed to share a staredown with Rex. A few seconds later, to our relief, she smiled at us.
"I guess that's why you look so human," she said, "It must be a disguise! We usually receive this kind of person. Anyway, where do you wanna go?"
I looked up. On the board attached to the wall were written different destinations: Florida—Paris, Florida—England, Florida—Venice, Florida—Buenos Aires, Florida… Well, you get it. I was surprised that the Cavalry Station was just below Florida, but thinking it better, it really makes sense. The distances in the maze were so different…
At least we were not under the Atlantic Ocean. I found our destination a few rows below: Between Florida—Munich and Florida—Milan, there was Florida—Bavaria.
"To Bavaria, Germany, please," Ivy said.
"Alright," the lady said, "The trip will take 6 hours, so I recommend you get some sleep. In about three hours, a Gwaldi will pass by with a dessert cart, in case you're hungry. Your compartment is C26. My name is Hesta, if you have any questions, you can call my landline."
After our nods, she said goodbye.
"Good journey, travelers!" She yelled. We crossed the door clumsily, and the only thing we heard before closing it was the impatient growl of some creature.
"Well, cheer up! We're safe," June cheered.
"For now," I reminded them, "Only for now."
We found Compartment C26 very quickly. We only had to go through twelve rooms before finding ours, which had a gold badge reading C26 affixed to the wooden door. As was now common, there was a wreath hanging from it. Fortunately, we didn't encounter any monsters on our way.
Or more accurately, none of them discovered us. There was a hooded individual who stared at us closely for a few moments before entering his own compartment. Other than that, we were fine.
Our compartment was a not-too-small room made of dark-wood walls with golden reliefs. There were sofas on either side of the wall, accompanied by a table in the center and a small recreational area on one side. To one side of the Christmas-themed sofas, a large window offered an incredible view of the station, which was slowly transforming into a green landscape as we left the labyrinth.
"This isn't bad at all!" Rex exclaimed.
"This surprisingly seems…" Ivy was doubtful about "good"
Obviously, it wasn't going to last longer. It was too good to be true. When we were finally resting and I was about to take a nap, the door swung open. Ivy instantly tensed, and June almost fell out of her seat in fright, her elf hat almost slipping off her head. The metallic whistle of the train suddenly died away as a voice boomed over the loudspeakers
"Identity check. All passengers, please remain in your compartments. All passengers must present themselves for immediate verification."
The air thickened. What came in wasn't a supervisor nor a lost passenger. Immediately, a group of figures in white and gray armor advanced down the corridor. Their helmets gleamed in the lantern light, and each step resonated like the blow of a hammer.
"What?" I snorted, still half asleep. "Can't they take a break, even to enjoy the view?"
Ivy didn't look for hiding places; she knew it would be useless. Instead, her gaze fell on the trunk of Christmas props in the corner of the compartment, probably part of the train's decorations. More decorations? This was starting to get ridiculous.
The metal boots were getting closer, accompanied by the low hum of ready weapons. Imagine human guards, wearing imposing futuristic military-style armor and weapons at the ready. It's not something you'd see every day, and honestly, it wasn't something you would like either.
The car burst open. Two guards entered, scanners in hand, blue lights sweeping the compartment.
"Identifications" order the first one, his voice distorted by the helmet.
Ivy took a deep breath, changed her tone, and spoke in a low growl, "We're taking the train to Bavaria on behalf of the Labyrinth Market. Do you doubt the Winter Council's servants?"
The guard pointed the scanner at her. The light flickered on the poor imitation of the reindeer mask… and, to her surprise, went off with a green beep.
"Valid Registration"
I could hardly believe it. How did that work? I didn't have time to celebrate, as the other guard was already moving. But the other guard stopped in front of Rex, who looked more like a clumsy knight than a monster. The scanner flashed red.
"Anomaly detected."
My heart leaped. Rex clenched his fists, ready to fight. I was sure the guards already had menacing looks under their helmets, and raised their black weapons. Before everything could explode, June intervened, waving her hands as if indignant. "Anomaly? You dare call the grandson of the Black Ice troll smith an 'anomaly'? Look at that helmet—it's a legitimate Stormforge Clan!"
The guards looked at each other, hesitant. One slowly lowered his scanner. "The Stormforge clan... doesn't usually let their descendants travel unescorted."
"And you see any escort?" June retorted brazenly. "Precisely because no one dares to touch us!"
There was a long silence. Finally, the guards turned around. "Passengers verified." Just when it all seemed to be over, the second soldier turned around. "To guarantee your safety, we'll assign some guards outside the door. But don't worry, they're trustworthy."
As they left the compartment, we heard the second guard grunt before the door slammed shut. "Too many rumors about human intruders lately. If we find them…" He banged his rifle against the doorframe. "…they'd better not resist."
A silence spread through the room as we stared at each other. Although there wasn't a direct fight, the adrenaline from the argument was finally leaving our bodies.
"Well, that was the most brilliant thing we've ever done," I smiled, taking out the disguise.
However, Ivy's voice was tense. "It wasn't a coincidence that they searched for this car. They're looking for someone, and it's probably us."
The next half hour was peaceful, without any incidents. A Gwaldi drove by with a dessert cart. I knew the creature was a Gwaldi because Hesta, the receptionist, had specifically warned us about them when we bought the tickets. So when it asked in its startlingly cheerful voice, "Do you want something to eat?" The effect was terrifying.
That single word was enough to set off a chain of events that ended with us stuffed with all sorts of strange sweets, our hands full of chocolate, and who knows what else. After all, if you were already there, it was better to enjoy the moment. Who knew when I'd get to taste something like that again?
"Let me see what this is," Rex murmured, unwrapping a Ristables chocolate bar. As soon as she opened the light blue wrapping, the package exploded in her hands. "Wow, I guess they don't have any more of this."
"This is definitely good," Ivy whispered, taking a bite of a strange, self-popping bread, don't ask me. "I wish I could get more of this. Do any of you know where the baking room is?"
I shook my head, and just as I did, the door unlocked. Luckily, we had our disguises on, though this offered us no comfort. I wasn't getting my hopes up. Despite having thrown the guards off, they were, after all, human. But the people, if you could call them that, they'd found weren't human, and I know firsthand that monsters often have a better sense of smell than our own kind.
The two enormous figures sat in the seats in front of us. They were built like boulders wrapped in faded, heavy fabric, their posture utterly motionless. They stared at us. For too long.
"They smell weird," the … grunted, inhaling deeply, "Sweet, like freshly baked human cookies."
I choked on my own saliva. Ivy, however, straightened her back. "Of course you smell something sweet," she said, smiling nervously. "We're coming from the pastry car. Didn't you smell the nougat trays at the end of the aisle?"
The first one blinked naively, visibly confused. The second one didn't. He was still looking at us, as if he knew something. I wonder if he'd called the guards? If so, our short stay at Monster Express would tragically come to an end.
"It didn't see any pastry car," he said in a raspy voice.
June interview without hesitation, "Because it's enchanted. It only appears to those with a good heart."
"Then we know why you didn't see it," I added. The … glared at me. Rex elbowed me in the ribs, as if to say, "DO YOU WANT US TO BE KILLED ALREADY?"
The silence grew heavy. We four shared a quick look, a very nervous look. This seemed to reinforce the doubts of the other passengers. "Sweet... so sweet. Like young human flesh."
My hands were sweating. Ivy was desperately searching for another lie without success, and June looked ready to shout, "Surprise, we're human!" Rex, on the other hand, clenched his fist as if he wanted to settle things with fists.
And then Ivy stood up, took a bar of Swiss chocolate out of her backpack— yes, the one left over from her first day in the cottage—and placed it on the table.
"What you smell is this," she said calmly, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Inside, she's probably as mortified as we are.
The ogre sniffed it, bit off half a bar, and nodded satisfied.
"Mmm. Sweet. Yes. That's it."
I saw how the ogre took my chocolate and devoured it mercilessly.