Scythe, Sword And Steel

The group walked and walked, until they saw an abandoned building in the forest.

"Hey guys, do you see that?" Lesley said.

"We're here!" Claude shouted.

They immidiately went into the abandoned building, which was actually an old underground train station.

"So what's this thing doing in the middle of nowhere?" Ruby asked.

Layla took out the map once again and pointed out to a location in the north-west corner.

"This forest was once a part of this city." Layla said. "This part was supposed to be a part of the city itself, however unknown foes took over this place. Many workers were killed during that time, as this entire forest was flat, and lots of buildings were under construction. Ever since, they called this "The Wasteland".

"So, how old is this building?" Gusion asked.

"The incident happened over 30 years ago, when all these technologies didn't exist yet, and it was the generation of steampunks. Some say it was an epidemic, some say it was demons responsible, some even said it was an unknown monster wandering in these areas."

"This place looks just like Dark Forest, except there's sun." Ruby said.

"Come on, lets keep moving." Claude said.

The old train station was filled with cobwebs and dust. Chairs and papers were messed up all over the place. One of the wires were producing sparks. An old water dispenser spilled on the ground. The place was dark and scary.

Claude took out three flashlights from his bag. He gave one to Gusion, and the other to Layla, and he kept one for himself.

"Stay close everyone." Claude said. "We don't know if anyone's here in this place.

Lesley held onto Gusion's arm tight, as they walked down the dark hallways. Claude was infront of them, checking every single room with the flashlight. They found a staircase going downwards.

"I'm guessing this is the way to the railway?" Layla asked.

"Yeah. Follow me guys." Claude replied.

As went down the stairs, they started hearing strange noises coming below them. It sounded like dripping water somewhere, and an ambience of a haunted place.

"I'm scared." Ruby said, who was holding Gusion's hand. "What if there are ghosts???"

"Ghosts don't exist." Granger said. "But demons do."

As they reached downstairs, they saw a ticket barrier, which was emitting a red light. Claude and the others jumped over the barrier.

"It looks like this thing still works." Gusion said.

"Well that's strange. Does this place still have working machines?" Layla asked.

"Not unless there's a power source." Claude said. "Let's find the power generator room. There must be one around somewhere."

After minutes of searching around the station, they saw a door saying "KEEP OUT! HIGH VOLTAGE". They entered the room, and they saw an old electric generator. It was rusty and dirty.

"This thing should be work. It's just old." Lesley said.

"Claude, do you have a tazer in your bag.?" Gusion asked.

"No sorry. I guess we wont able to power this thing." he replied

"Not unless we use lightning magic." Layla said.

She opened the door of the generator and put her hand inside. There was an old battery inside. She started chanting a weird spell, as bolts of lightning was coming out of her hand.

"Discharge!"

And the electric generator started working. The wheel started to move rapidly, and the lights started flickering. Sparks came out of some of the wires, and other machines started working. Granger climbed on top of the room to fix the electric circuit breaker. He switched on all of the levers, and the lights started to work properly.

"I didn't know you could do that!" Gusion said.

"You know, I can never forget what I learned back in the Mage Academy. Lightning magic was the key into controlling Malefic energy." Layla replied.

"So, the Malefic energy works like electricity?"

"Not really. It very complex and unstable."

As they went out of the room, they explored more of the train station with ease. They saw a giant map of all the routes of the trains. They found one that would lead them straight to Eruditio, 16 hours away. On top of the wall, they saw a sign saying "Grid 01 Station".

"Wait what?! Grid 01? We're still in Grid 01???" Gusion asked.

"Yes! We found negative!" Layla shouted with a smile on her face. "This is a big discovery!"

"Negative? What do you mean?" Lesley asked.

"The negative numbers represent the Wasteland. This was the old Grid 01, until it was abandoned. This must Grid -16 in the map."

"So there are still lots of zones out here?"

"I guess so. This train track should lead directly to Antoinerei, except it was barriccaded in the original Grid 01."

"Hey guys, look! That must be the train!" Ruby pointed out.

They immediately ran over to the train Runy pointed at. It had the words "Project Eruditio x Antoinerei Railway".

"This is it! It's our way there!" Claude said.

"This train works on gas, so we should fill this to the brim before we leave." Layla said.

Gusion and Claude took out boxes filled with liters of gasoline. Layla then, took it out and started to fill the gas tank. It took over 10 minutes to fill it into the limit.

"H-Hey, so now that we have a train going there, who's gonna drive this thing?" Granger asked.

Everyone looked at each other, and all of them don't know how to drive one. Suddenly Layla stepped forward and raised her hand.

"I'll do it." Layla said.

"Uhm, are you sure you can handle this thing?" Gusion asked.

"Yeah. When I was a kid, I would assist my father in driving steam trains. I have the knowledge, so let me do it."

"Alright."

They went inside of the train, as it's doors automatically opened. Layla sat on the front along with Gusiom, who sat in the chair beside her. The others stayed in the passenger seats.

"Eruditio." Gusion said

"Eruditio it is."