The Rule Series Episode 14: "At Midnight, You Must Not Keep Looking at the Timetable at an Unmanned Station"
The Rule Series
Episode 14: "At Midnight, You Must Not Keep Looking at the Timetable at an Unmanned Station"
The station was located along a local line running through the mountains.
A few people got off during the day, but no one at night.
It was an old wooden station building.
There were no automatic ticket gates.
And at this unmanned station with no staff, one rule had remained since long ago.
―― After midnight, you must not keep looking at the timetable.
No one knows the reason why.
However, the locals do not go near the station late at night.
Katase, a reporter for a railway magazine, had come to cover the story.
Recently, strange testimonies have been increasing around this station.
"I saw a train that doesn't exist."
"The person who returned had lost their sense of time."
As rumors go, it was too perfect.
11:50 PM.
Katase was the only one at the station.
The fluorescent lights on the platform were attracting insects in the white light.
The wind was cold.
In the distance, only the sound of the river could be heard.
Katase took a picture of the timetable.
The last train was at 11:40 PM.
No more trains would come.
But the moment it turned midnight.
The characters on the timetable began to slowly increase.
Katase held his breath.
New times were emerging on the paper.
[00:13]
[Destination: Before the Boundary]
Katase couldn't believe his eyes.
The characters were appearing as if the ink was bleeding.
Continuing.
[00:27]
[Destination: Under the Sea]
[00:41]
[Destination: Never Returned]
A chill ran down Katase's spine.
Across the platform, the railroad crossing began to ring.
Clang...
Clang...
Slowly.
An unnaturally slow warning sound.
Deep in the tracks, he saw a light.
It was a train.
But the speed was strange.
Even though it was approaching, the sense of distance didn't change.
It was as if the tracks themselves were stretching.
Eventually.
The black train slid into the platform without a sound.
The windows were dark.
He couldn't see inside the train.
Only the destination display next to the door was glowing.
[Before the Boundary]
Pshhh...
The doors opened.
At that moment.
A damp wind blew from inside the train.
The smell of the sea.
The smell of soil.
The smell of medicine from an old hospital.
It was a stench as if all the previous rules had been mixed together.
Katase backed away.
But before he knew it, people were sitting on the bench on the platform.
An old man.
A woman.
A child.
Everyone was soaking wet.
And everyone was looking up at the timetable.
The woman said softly,
"I can still go home."
The old man said,
"If you keep looking, you can read the destination."
The child laughed.
"Next is my station."
New characters appeared on the timetable.
[01:02]
[Destination: Katase]
At that moment.
Countless faces appeared in the train windows.
All of them were looking at him.
Among them was Katase's own face.
The "Katase" in the window quietly beckoned him.
"You're already on board."
The platform lights went out all at once.
Darkness.
But only inside the train was it dimly glowing.
Inside that train, countless passengers were quietly reading the timetable.
The next morning.
Only Katase's recorder was found at the station.
The final audio contained the sound of pages slowly turning and a small announcement.
"Next is--"
"Before the Boundary, Before the Boundary"
"Please be careful not to leave anything behind if you are getting off."