The Terror Train

Chapter 6: The Trap

The ground， though appearing damp with patches of water grass， held an unexpected secret: a treacherous mud pit. The young man， unaware， stepped onto it and immediately sank into the living mire.

　　Close by stood another man in his thirties. Instinctively， he lunged forward to grab the young man， only to find himself sinking as well. Shocked， he let out a cry.

　　Everyone’s faces turned pale. No one dared approach now; some even took a few steps back.

　　Ajex recognized the older man who had fallen in—the father of the little boy Emily had given a cookie to earlier.

　　Both men struggled， desperate to climb out， but the mud offered no foothold. They continued sinking， helpless.

　　Chris shouted，“Stop struggling! Don’t move! The more you struggle， the deeper you sink.” He scanned the surroundings， hoping for branches or sticks to pull them out.

　　The two trapped men heeded Chris’s advice， ceasing their frantic movements. Their descent slowed， but they still sank.

　　The young man was already half-submerged， mud reaching his waist. The older man’s thighs were nearly swallowed.

　　“Help! I don’t want to die!” cried the young man， his face pale and tearful.

　　The older man， calmer but equally fearful， scanned the area， searching for a way to save themselves.

　　Chris surveyed the vicinity. No nearby branches or vines were within reach. Distant ones existed， but fetching them would take minutes. By then， the mud would have consumed the two.

　　And who knew if other mud pits lay elsewhere? What if they encountered another one while seeking help?

　　The mud pit looked no different from other areas until stepped upon. Its deceptive appearance had caught them off guard.

　　Helpless， everyone watched the sinking pair， paralyzed by fear.

　　“Save me! Please!” The young man’s cries grew desperate. Mud now reached his chest， threatening to engulf him entirely. Yet， no one had a solution.

　　Ajex suddenly shouted，“Take off your belts!”

　　He unfastened his own belt， pulling it free.

　　Simultaneously， the agile young woman in her early twenties exclaimed，“Everyone， remove your jackets!”

　　She shed her own outer layer.

　　Hearing their calls， others followed suit—some removing jackets， others unfastening belts. Chris， too， had a plan: forming a human chain to pull the sinking men out. However， Ajex and the young woman’s hints made him realize their method was safer. He removed his jacket as well.

　　They tied sleeves together， creating a makeshift rope. Ajex and the others connected their belts， forming another rope. Together， they hurled these improvised lifelines toward the two trapped in the mud.

　　“Grab hold—”

　　Chris yelled out.

　　At that moment in the quagmire， only the head and hands of the young man remained visible above the surface， while the man around thirty was submerged up to his chest. Seeing clothes and belts thrown their way， both men hurriedly grabbed onto them.

　　“Everyone， don't exert too much force， be careful—“

　　Watching the rope made from clothes and belts being stretched taut， emitting“creaking“ sounds， Chris feared it wouldn't support the weight of the two men and called out anxiously. Fortunately， after the two in the quicksand grabbed hold， they finally stabilized and stopped sinking further， allowing them to catch their breath.

　　The others took the opportunity to use more clothes and belts to make new ropes. With everyone's combined effort， they eventually dragged both men to safety.

　　Seeing the two mud-covered individuals pulled ashore， everyone else let out a long sigh of relief. The young man who had been scared into tears lay on the ground， covered in mud except for his head. Gasping for air and completely drained， he couldn't muster the strength to get up for a long time， and his short knife was lost in the quicksand.

　　In comparison， the man around thirty， a father， performed much better. Although equally frightened， he didn't cry and managed to keep holding onto his short knife， which he didn't lose even when trapped in the quicksand.

　　“I can't believe this place has quicksand like this，“ Henry said， patting his chubby cheeks， still shaken.

　　“Did you forget this place is called Misty Swamp? Since it's a swamp， having quicksand is normal. It's my fault... I should have realized this earlier，“ Chris said with a wry smile.

　　James asked，“So what do we do? We don't know where the quicksand is around here， and if we accidentally step into it again...“ Although not the sharpest tool in the shed， even he felt a bit scared now.

　　Everyone shared his concern， frowning at the thought that if this were the case， things would be troublesome.

　　The man around thirty who had fallen into the quicksand slowly sat up. Covered in mud but without clean clothes to change into， he could only continue wearing his soiled garments. Despite his recent harrowing experience， he remained relatively calm. Hearing James's words， he suggested，“Now that we know there might be quicksand here， it's not so scary. We can find some sticks or long branches and use them to test the ground ahead. That way， we can clearly identify solid ground from quicksand.“

　　Chris nodded，“That's right. If we encounter quicksand， we can mark it with a stick for future reference. However， this will slow down our progress considerably.“

　　The pretty twenty-something-year-old woman said，“It's unavoidable; being cautious is always the right thing to do.“

　　It was she who had thought of using clothes to form a rope to rescue the two men trapped in the quicksand. As one of the two women in the group， she now attracted everyone's attention. Hearing her speak， all eyes turned to her.

　　“Well， since this method is viable， let's proceed this way. We've delayed here long enough，“ said the man sitting on the ground， who had rested a bit and regained his strength. He stood up as he spoke.

　　Chris said，“Let's go over there and gather some sticks and branches.“ He pointed to the shrubbery about a hundred meters away， behind which grew a row of trees providing plenty of branches to use as sticks.

　　Henry looked at the young man lying on the ground and asked，“Hey， are you okay?“

　　Seeing the young man lying there pale-faced with no intention of getting up， Henry was concerned.

　　The young man had just fallen into the quicksand， thinking he was doomed and had cried in fear. Now rescued， he felt extremely embarrassed and， coupled with the shock， was considering retreating but found it hard to voice his thoughts. Hearing Henry's inquiry， he moved his lips but said nothing.

　　Chris understood his thoughts， frowned slightly， and said，“You rest here for a while longer; we'll go get some branches.“

　　He walked slowly towards the indicated area， testing each step to ensure it was solid before taking the next.

　　The others also began to move towards the same direction， but the hundred meters seemed to take an eternity as everyone tested the ground with each step.

　　Meanwhile， the young man lying on the ground watched everyone ignore him. After a while， he slowly sat up and then slunk back the way he had come.

　　Having lost face， he thought it better to retreat. With so many people around， he hoped they wouldn't pay much attention to him anymore.

　　In fact， falling into the quicksand wasn't just frightening; he had also lost control of his bowels and bladder， which was the main reason he didn't want to continue with the group， fearing someone would notice.

　　His name was Frank Lin， a native of Cansay Key Island and a student at Yale University. During the school holidays， he and his classmate Julia， who also studied at Yale and was from the same island， took the train home together.

　　Julia was not only his classmate but also a fellow islander. She was very beautiful， and Frank had a crush on her.

　　Thinking back to the station， he had volunteered to join the exploration team to show off his courage and manliness in front of Julia， hoping to win her favor. But now， he regretted it.

　　The experience of falling into the quicksand was too terrifying. The thought of being swallowed by the quicksand， with mud filling his mouth， nose， eyes， and ears， and suffocating to death was too horrific， and he trembled at the memory.

　　In the face of such terror， Julia's charm vanished， and he vowed never to risk his life for a girl's favor again.

　　He quietly made his way in the opposite direction of the group and found a relatively secluded spot. Seeing no one around， only a large patch of half-man-tall water plants， he squatted down by the plants and unbuttoned his pants.

　　Having lost control of his bowels earlier， the stench was unbearable， and he planned to remove and discard his soiled underwear.

　　Just as he took off his underwear， he suddenly felt a gust of hot air on his neck， as if something had breathed on him.