Spider of Demons

Mugen Train Pt 3: Dreams and Demons

The conductor rushed sluggishly towards the front cart. Every step was like torture to him, every moment that he was awake and away from his family was like he'll, but it was going to be worth it. He was so tired, but he would be back with them soon.

He eventually reached his destination, a cart that was almost completely empty. He dropped to his knees and started weeping, "I did as I was told! I punched their tickets and put them to sleep! Please, put me to sleep too! Please let me be reunited with my dead wife and daughter!"

In the midst of his crying, a pale severed hand dropped from the ceiling. Alone, that would've been disturbing, but the hand had some unique traits.

It had a mouth and eyes that read, 'Lowerrank 1' Its blood vessels were as clear as pebbles on a wooden floor. It picked itself up and walked on its fingers as if they were legs.

It looked at the crying conductor and said, "Sure thing. You did a good job. Now, sleep forever."

With those words, the conductor dropped to the floor as if he was dead.

"Have a nice dream where you can be with your family."

"Excuse me. What do you want us to do?" a young woman behind Enmu asked. Three other passengers that looked equally tired as her sat behind her, awaiting their orders.

"Their slumber will grow deeper in a little while. Wait here until then. Perceptive Demon Slayers sometimes wake up when they sense the presence of a bloodthirsty demon. So when you tie the ropes, be careful not to touch their bodies. I will have to stay in the first car for a while. Hang on until everything is ready to go... so that you can have peaceful dreams as well." Enmu explained.

"Okay." The four servants responded.

"Oh, and before I forget. There are five demon slayers, that's one more than there are of you. I want you to target the Hashira and the kid in the red haori. You'll know who they are when you see them."

Back with the slayers, they were all experiencing their own dreams. Tanjiro and Rengoku dreamt of their families, Zenitsu dreamed that he was on a date with Nezuko, and Inosuke... it's for the best that his dream isn't mentioned.

Peter's dream, was something else.

Peter's eyes shot open and he immediately unsheathed his sword. He spun around in small circles, analysing his surroundings. Something was wrong. He was supposed to be on a train but was all that he knew. Everything felt unnatural.

Peter was in a village. It looked old and cheaply built. He recognised it, but it was like trying to look at your reflection in a lake while surrounded by fog.

"What is this?" Peter questioned.

"Hurry up, bro!" The voice of a young girl sounded through the neighbourhood, and like everything else, it didn't feel natural yet still familiar.

"I going as fast as I can, Teresa."

Colour disappeared from Peter's face, running in the direction that the voices were seemingly coming from. Peter eventually reached a rather large wooden house. It also appeared much clearer than the other houses. Sharper. It was like comparing a photo to the real thing.

The house had a porch where two recognizable couples were sitting together, they were laughing amongst each other as they watched two kids chase each other on the empty dirt street. A 9 year old boy with brown hair and glasses and a 7 year old girl with ginger hair.

"Careful Teresa. You know how Peter can be when you challenge him." The younger of the two women on the porch said.

"Mom?"