last stop

24

The midnight station was nearly silent, its lights buzzing weakly against the dark. Dogday kicked at the edge of the platform, bored, while CatNap kept his eyes on the tracks. A low rumble grew in the distance, echoing through the tunnel like a warning. Then, without reason, CatNap’s vision snapped—metal tearing apart, fire streaking down the rails, passengers screaming as the train derailed in a storm of sparks. In the wreckage, he saw Dogday reaching out before the darkness swallowed him whole. CatNap blinked, breath ragged, the world returning around him. The train was almost here. He grabbed Dogday’s arm, voice shaking: “We can’t get on.”