>>8608510"Ticket, sir?"
I blinked awake. My head swam and mouth felt dry, the taste of copper on the back of my tongue. I shook my head out, and sniffed the cold, wet air. A thick fog had taken up as I had waited for the train.
"Hm? Oh, ticket?"
"You need a ticket to ride the train, sir." I looked up at the pale man, standing in a black suit that was crisp, even in the cold damp weather. I patted my own down, searching. Ticket? I must have a ticket, if I was here.
"Uh..."
"You cannot ride without a ticket, sir." The pale man looked up, his dark hair pulled under his cap, and his hands resting in his jacket. He did not seem to notice the bitter chill, as I did, shivering there. His eyes, blue, stared on me.
I looked down, and pulled at my luggage. Ticket? How was I going to ride without a ticket? I reached for the brass snaps, and clicked them open. The fog thickened, as he stood in front of the rails. I was having trouble seeing the ten feet between us.
"What station is this, anyway? How long was I out?"
"You just arrived at Excessum station just a few minutes ago, sir. Are you alright?" He lifted his lantern, the pale light shining red through the glass bulb.
"I think so." I opened my luggage, and looked within. I had packed very little, shockingly little. I shivered, having forgotten my jacket. "Just, my head is a bit, er, foggy."
"Everyone is when they get here, Sir. Ticket?"
"I don't have one." I whispered. My headache deepened.
"Then please clear the way before it gets crowded." There was no one else here, I noted. I looked up at the skeletal man, his thin cheeks drawn across his skull. I stood, and looked to the fog, where shadows moved.
"If you are here by mistake, take the road out. Avoid stepping off the path, we are not responsible for your leaving the road."