Chapter 3: Aftermath

Vanna's head throbbed painfully when she came to, and her mouth was full of sand and pebbles. She blinked, her vision blurry. Drops of water slid off her eyelashes, and then noticed her hair and clothes were wet. Had she been submerged somewhere? Her memories were a jumbled mess. She quickly sat up, still a little dizzy, and surveyed her surroundings. By her side was her teacup, seemingly unscathed. Once her eyes moved past her immediate vicinity, things became much more complicated.

Bodies.

There were countless bodies strewn along the shore of the river. As far as she could tell, none of them were alive. Her chest throbbed at the sight. Dead? All of them? It was a scene straight from a horror movie, so revolting that it made her stomach do flips, and heartbreaking enough to bring tears to her eyes.

When she made eye contact with one of the mutilated corpses, the tea she drank on the ride threatened to resurface and spill all over the sand. A few lifeless forms floated on the water's surface, beside metal shrapnel that appeared to have come from the train.

Oh, right… the train.

"What happened… Did it explode? For real?" Vanna muttered under her breath, thinking back to the last moments that lingered in her mind. "Holy shit."

When she cast her gaze upward, she realized that the bridge the bullet train had been on was completely destroyed. The rails were bent out of shape, and a massive portion of it was missing entirely. There were pieces of the track that appeared to have melted, and several of the surrounding trees were still aflame.

Her hand subconsciously moved to the teacup at her side and grabbed it by the handle. Vanna brought it close and looked at it carefully, turning it in every direction just to see if it had become scratched or broken… but, it was as she had thought. It was completely intact – perhaps even shinier than before – after being rinsed by the river water.

Her phone was nowhere to be found, though. She checked all of her pockets and investigated around the place where she had washed ashore, but it was to no avail. Vanna had no means of communication with anyone.

At least she had her teacup, she supposed – but a teacup was not enough to survive in the wilderness.

Where the hell was she, anyway?

It was a large river surrounded by forest on either side, and the track that they had been on was far too high above the river to reach on foot. Vanna had never been particularly outdoorsy or knowledgeable about nature landmarks in the first place, but to make things worse, the train had covered hundreds of miles from the time she had boarded…

So, basically, there was no way for her to figure out where she was.

Vanna rose to her feet, careful not to hurt herself…

Wait.

Once she was up, she realized that her body didn't really hurt at all. There were a few muscle aches here and there, but those pains were comparable to being tired the day after a hard workout.

No matter how she looked at it, her condition was most definitely not appropriate for someone who had just survived an explosion. One look at the other passengers that were sprawled all over the shore, some of them even hanging from trees, was enough to understand that something was very wrong with the situation.

Vanna could not think of a single logical explanation. She sat herself at the bottom of a tree and hugged her knees to her chest. Guilt started to settle in the back of her mind, eventually even making her heart feel tight. Why did she live when no one else did? It wasn't fair. They were all people living their lives; people that had families and ambitions just like Vanna did.

So why?

What could she have possibly done in her past life to be lucky, or maybe unlucky, enough to walk away unscathed from a catastrophic accident like that?

Fortunately, she wasn't able to pursue that train of thought for very long.

As if on cue, the sound of a helicopter flying through the air interrupted the dismal pipeline her mind had started to take. It reached her ears long before her eyes. She turned in a slow circle, scanning the open sky to try and catch a glimpse of the rotorcraft. Finally, after some scrutinizing, a small black dot came into view.

Vanna started to panic, wondering how she would explain what happened to the train. Surely, they were coming to the rescue after such an awful train accident, right? Would it be the authorities, or would it be the private corporation that owned the rail and train? She knew that her questions would be answered shortly, but she couldn't help but worry.

She sat and waited as the black dot grew larger and the rhythm of the propellers got louder. Finally, after some time, relief washed over her as she watched it begin to lower itself by the riverside. It seemed that there were a few more rescue helicopters approaching in the distance as well, which was good news.

One of the first individuals to step out into Vanna's view once it landed was a very graceful woman with black hair styled in a bun. She was wearing a tailored suit and had a sophisticated and strong aura that, if Vanna were being completely honest, was a little frightening.

"Search for survivors and take the proper precautions," the woman commanded with an authoritative tone. Several men dressed in red rescue suits gave a single nod and rushed to search the wreckage.

Vanna felt a nervous chill down her spine when the woman turned and stared directly into her eyes. Then, she began to approach.

"Girl," the woman said, peering down at her through her rounded glasses, "are you alright?"

"…Um," Vanna felt uncomfortable with the question, considering she was just standing there whilst the rest of the train's occupants lay all over the site of the wreck. "I'm… I'm alright?"

"You sound unsure," she responded. "I'm glad you're well. I'm here to collect you."

Vanna blinked. "…Me in particular?"

"Yes," was the blunt response. Fortunately, the woman elaborated, "I'm Miss Shizuka, Chief Secretary of Golden Enterprises, the corporation that owns this train. What happened here today was a very unfortunate accident. You're a… special individual, if that wasn't clear after being the lone survivor."

"I- how did y—"

"Time is of the essence," Shizuka cut her off. "From my understanding, you were on your way to our educational facility, so it works out. It's vital that you come with me. The CEO demands to meet you."