Grand Central Station was louder than Alencia Walker remembered. She stood near the Minerva platform with her phone mounted on a cheap tripod, the camera angled to catch both her face and the armored train behind her."Alright, chat," Alencia said, adjusting her hair. "We're here. Grand Central Station. And behind me is the Minerva, also known as the train that nobody rides unless they have a death wish or really bad judgment."The livestream viewer count sat at forty seven. Most of the chat was quiet. One person typed "cool train" and another asked if she was lost.Alencia kept talking. She had learned months ago that the size of the audience didn't matter. You talked whether forty seven people were watching or forty seven thousand."For those of you who are new, I'm Alencia Walker. Yes, that Walker. Daughter of the man who pretended to be a returnee and went to prison for it." She said it with practiced ease. "I'm boarding this train tomorrow for a cross country trip to Los Angeles.

Eugene Garland was enjoying himself.He stood in the center of the media crowd with the relaxed posture of a man who had been famous for so long that cameras felt like sunlight. Natural. Expected. Something he turned his face toward without thinking.The S rank hunter was tall, broad shouldered, and carried the kind of physical presence that made the people around him seem smaller by comparison. His silver hair was swept back neatly, and his smile had the practiced warmth of someone who knew exactly how good he looked on camera.A reporter pushed a microphone toward him. "Eugene, can you confirm you're part of KDC's new Minerva production?""I can confirm I'm being paid very well to ride a train," Eugene said. The crowd laughed. "Beyond that, you'll have to ask the producers.""Is it true the show will compete directly with Dotflix's Extreme Train?""Competition is good for entertainment. Makes everyone work harder." Eugene adjusted his jacket collar. "I've been out of the public eye

The Minerva cut through the Colorado landscape like a blade made of steel and bad decisions. Inside the third passenger car, Alencia Walker sat by the window with her phone propped against the armrest. The livestream was running to sixty three people."Still on the train," Alencia said to the camera. "Still alive. Still broke. The holy trinity of my existence."Someone in chat asked if she had seen any monsters yet."Not yet. But we're passing through a Red Field zone in two hours, so if I suddenly stop talking, either the signal dropped or something ate me." She tilted her head. "Either way, content."The production assistant waved from across the car. Alencia ended the stream and made her way to the observation deck near the rear of the train. The wind was sharp against her face. Mountains rose on both sides, their peaks dusted with early snow.A voice reached her from the far end of the deck."Hey. You're the Walker girl, right?"Alencia turned. A young man was leaning against the

Alencia didn't sleep that night.She sat on the narrow bed in her shared cabin on the Minerva, staring at the business card resting on the fold out table. The train rocked gently through the mountain pass. Her roommate, one of the camera operators, snored softly in the bunk above.Jason Ward. Manager. Unique Management Agency.She turned the card over in her fingers for the hundredth time.S rank in one month.The words kept circling inside her head like something she had swallowed but couldn't digest.She closed her eyes and the memories came the way they always did. Uninvited.The aptitude test had been two years ago. A grey building on the outskirts of Portland. Fluorescent lights that hummed like dying insects. She remembered standing in a room full of hopeful faces. Teenagers, mostly. Some with parents standing behind them. Some alone.Alencia had been alone.The examiner placed the measurement crystal against her palm. The crystal glowed faintly, and the number appeared on the s

The next morning, Alencia found Jason in the dining car.He was sitting alone at a corner table with a cup of black coffee and a tablet propped against the window. The Minerva's dining car was half empty at this hour. Most of the crew and cast were still sleeping off the previous night's filming.Alencia sat down across from him without asking.Jason looked up from his tablet. His expression didn't change."You're early," he said."I didn't sleep." She placed the business card on the table between them. "I spent all night looking you up. Sophie Quinn. Aria Reeves. You're the real deal.""I am.""So the S rank thing," Alencia said. Her voice was steady, but her fingers were pressing into her knees under the table. "You actually meant it. One month."Jason set his coffee down. "I don't say things I don't mean, Miss Walker. It wastes both our time."The train swayed through a wide curve. Morning light poured across the dining car, catching the dust in the air between them."There's a con