Hey there, everyone, sorry for the lack of updates. After what happened on day six, I just needed a few days to get myself together and to get some well-needed rest.

Things got out of hand, more so than any other day before, and I’m more than lucky to even write this. But more about that later.

Let me start day six by telling about my encounter with a familiar face. It was the old man who I’d met on day two.

This time, he wasted no time and sat down next to me right away.

“Guess you’re still on here,” he said.

“Same as you. Guess we both enjoy riding the tram,” I brought out half-jokingly.

“It’s not all fun and games, young man, but I’m sure you know that by now, given how long you’ve been on.”

“Sure do,” I said, laughing.

The old man didn’t join in, but gave me an expectant stare. And so, I told him about my experiences over the course of the past days.

When I told him about the strange undescriptive people and the station I’d encountered on day four, his expression changed. It became one of sadness, of longing, but said anything.

Eventually, I told him what had happened the day prior, about my encounter with the waving man and what the homeless guy had told me.

“That man’s right indeed. You’ve stayed on for far too long. As I told you, certain things might notice you, and now they have.”

Once more, I felt a shiver running down my spine. I was in for it now, was I?

“You better stop this madness now and get off. It’s not worth it, young man.”

“Well, to be honest, I want to, but this is day six, and I told myself I’m going to set this out. There’s no way I can give up now.”

When the old man heard this, he just shook his head.

“Let me repeat myself, it’s not worth it, but I guess your mind’s set. I hope you don’t find to regret your choice.”

With that, he got up from his seat, walked off, and settled down in the tram car ahead of me. For a few more minutes, he sat there, but the moment I took a glance outside, he was gone.

The next couple of hours were rather quiet. It was Saturday afternoon and only a few people here and there entered the tram on their way to the inner city area.

The moment we left it behind, I soon found myself all alone again.

We’d just made it to the outskirts of the city when the tram doors opened behind me, and I was greeted by loud yelling and laughter. A second later, a group of six kids rushed past me. They were so fast, they seemed like nothing but colorful blurs.

They began causing a ruckus in the tram car, then rushed back past me, giggling. I began rubbing my temples and was about to yell at them to knock it off when one of them slapped me on the shoulder.

“You’re it!” he called out before he and his friends rushed past me once more.

I watched as they hurried to tram car ahead, and how they tried their best to hide themselves. I thought nothing of it and couldn’t help but sigh a little when I saw one of them crawling below a set of seats and another trying to hiding himself behind the ticket machine.

Others, however, were doing… strange things, impossible things, and I felt myself shivering in my seat. I watched as one kid almost folded into himself, becoming smaller and smaller while another one seemed to melt between two seats, vanishing.

I sat there, closed my eyes, and then opened them again. By then, all six kids were gone. Yet every once in a while, I could still hear muffled giggling.

I just sat there, trying my best to ignore it. This is just happening because I’m all alone on the tram. All those things, they only ever happen when I’m completely alone. Just wait till other people get back on, then it will be over.

My thoughts were interrupted when I felt a hand on my shoulder.

“The kids are waiting,” the hand’s owner cackled from behind me.

I froze. Without moving, I took a glance at the hand resting on my shoulder. It was old and wrinkly, but its fingers were too long, much too long.

A moment later, when the sun pushed itself out from behind the clouds, I saw the shadow of whatever was standing behind me. It was a giant, monstrous shadow that seemed to spread over the entire tram car, stretching further and further.

“Well, why aren’t you going?”

“No-no. I’m-“

I didn’t get to finish my excuse. The creature’s hand closed around my shoulder and I felt its nails dig into my skin.

I cringed in pain, but kept my mouth shut. Don’t scream. Don’t move. Yet with each passing moment, the creature squeezed harder, and I felt its nails dig deeper into my flesh.

Finally, I saw the tram approaching the next station, and I could see a group of people waiting for it. When the tram came to a rest, I was released.

“Let’s go kids,” the thing behind me screeched and right away all six kids reappeared, jumping out from behind seats, and from place they couldn’t possibly have been.

For the first time, I could make out their faces. I wish I hadn’t. They were nothing but mockeries, estimations of children’s faces that were only half-right. What made it even worse, however, was that I somehow recognized them. In the deepest corners of my mind, I knew I’d see them before.

I couldn’t help but shiver again as they raced past me.

Then they were gone. When the tram moved again, driven by a strange sense of curiosity, I turned around.

What I saw outside was a group of kids, standing around an old lady who seemed to smile down at them. A second later, she turned towards me and her eyes found mine. In an instant, her face changed. What had been a kind, smiling face before became nothing but an angry, twisted visage.

My breath caught in my throat and I jerked back around, more than happy to leave these ghastly children and their guardian behind.

This, however, wasn’t the only scary thing that happened during the day. As always, the same recurring passengers entered the tram. By now, they’d long become an almost normal part of the Long Ride. Just another strange thing amongst a plethora of them.

Yet when my eyes followed one of them, an older woman, I noticed the change right away. She wasn’t minding her own business like she usually did. That day, I found her frowning slightly, measuring me up, almost as if she was probing me.

I remembered what that homeless dude had said:

“He’s marked you, and now others know as well!”

I took a deep breath and averted my eyes, trying my best to ignore her, but I could feel her continuing to stare at me until she got off the tram.

Only a few stations later, she got on again, and once more she stared at me. I didn’t look at her directly, only took a single, side-way glance, but I could’ve sworn her frown was getting deeper.

This behavior was true for every single one of them, and like her, they too became angrier with each iteration.

It made me feel restless, and not a tad big anxious. I felt trapped, haunted by multiple pairs of eyes staring at me and only me.

When it became evening, the bustle of partygoers started again, and for the first time in hours, I felt myself slightly relaxing. Under the constant bustle of people entering and leaving the tram, I felt hidden.

And yet, I knew they were still there. I could still feel their glances even amongst the general chaos that ruled over the tram.

Finally, though, as the tram grew emptier once more, I found almost a dozen of them staring at me. It also seemed that under the cover of the partygoers, they’d gotten closer. By now, they were all in the same tram car as me, seemed to have encircled me.

At that point, I couldn’t take it anymore and finally spoke up.

“The hell do you want from me!?” I called out.

Yet nothing changed. I got no answer. They just continued to stare at me.

Before long, however, they reminded me of the guy in dark clothes I’d encountered on day three. They didn’t just sit in their seats anymore, didn’t just stare at me, but were leaning forward, their faces distorted by unadulterated rage. Their hands were on their seats, their feet shuffled over the floor as if in anticipation of… something. The worst, however, was that with each station, more of them entered.

If it’s just one set of eyes staring at you, you can ignore it, you can handle it, but when it’s more than a dozen, you just… can’t.

With everything I’d heard, with all the warnings I’d received, I knew something was going to happen. It just seemed they were… waiting for something.

In that instant, fear washed over me, raw and hot, fear that soon turned into panic, and I finally decided that was it. I wouldn’t just stay on here until god knows what would happen to me! Fuck the Long Ride, fuck the tram, this is over.

I closed my hand around my backpack, was about to get up, but at that moment, their angry glances changed. They turned to smiles, hungry smiles. The same feeling I’d had when I tried to feel the guy in black clothes came over me. If I’d get up now, they’d come for me, wouldn’t they? That’s what they were waiting for, wasn’t it?

I just stood there, at my seat, my hand closed around my backpack’s strap, unable to move. Then the tram turned a corner, a bend that shouldn’t be there, and we encountered another un-location.

Half-defeated, and knowing I was trapped either way, I plopped down on my seat again, and stared outside with a feeling of miserable wonder.

The entire area outside was covered in nothing but small buildings, shanties comprising nothing but rubble and trash. They seemed to have been put up without rhyme or reason, were almost growing from the ground like mushrooms. Between them, I saw things moving, twisted things I could tell weren’t human.

Yet it wasn’t merely this shantytown we’d arrived at. No, they were all part of another location, were built around it as if they were part of an infection that spread further and further.

The dim red light that flooded the tram was enough, and one glance ahead told me that were once more approaching Club Red.

No, I thought, not this place again. I hoped the tram would pass it by, that we’d return to reality, that other people would enter the tram again, and I’d be able to flee.

Instead, the tram approached a wide, arching opening and then drove forward and straight into Club Red itself.

What I saw in there was utterly surreal. All I’d seen on night four was the building’s exterior, and it was nothing but a taste of the insanity the place contained.

It was nothing but a cesspool, an amalgamation of sin.

All around us, the same strange psychedelic non-music was blaring. I saw stalls everywhere. They were offering drinks, food, but also… other things. In some of them, I thought I saw bound humans or things that might have once been human.

Here and there, people were having sex, copulating with creatures that weren’t human. In other places, I saw orgies, strange rituals, people praying to disgusting, twisted idols and so much more.

Even here, even inside, the place defied the laws of physics. The walls were covered in doorways, all connected by a mad network of stairs, but stairs that shouldn’t work. And yet, they did. It was as if the works of M. C. Escher had become reality.

Then the strange, fascinated trance that had come over me broken, and I jerked back as I remembered where I was and what was happening to me.

While I’d been staring outside, and I’d not given them any attention, it seemed all the reoccurring passengers had inched closer towards me, were now surrounding me.

I opened my mouth to throw them another set of insults, to tell them to stay the fuck away, when the tram’s doors opened.

Instantly, the air filled with a disgustingly sweet odor, a stench so oppressive it almost made me cough. It smelled of strange spices, of body fluids, but also… blood.

Yet this wasn’t the worst. I noticed something approaching the tram, and before I could even react, the creature had entered it.

Its limbs were bent at strange angles as if they had too many joints with them, limbs that sprouted from places they shouldn’t.

I watched as its head pushed itself forward, its neck stretching further and further as it scanned the interior of the tram.

And then, one step at a time, the monstrosity made its way through the tram on its spidery limbs, slowly getting closer towards me.

I just sat there, mouth open in shock, not able to do anything but stare ahead. No, it couldn’t be. Why was this thing here? Why the hell was it back!?

Cold sweat broke out all over my body, and I just sat there, my hands holding onto the seat in front of me. Then I began to shake uncontrollably. Oh god, I thought, as I watched it getting closer. It’s coming for me. This time it’s actually coming for me!

By now, the people around me were all grinning. I understood now. This was what they’d been waiting for. It seemed almost as if they weren’t able to do anything to me, weren’t able to hurt me, but this… this thing could!

As I watched the twisted creature take another step, as it stalked forward in my direction on its spidery limbs, I just… freaked out. I screamed in terror, jumped off my seat, and dashed for the tram doors. I didn’t want to go out there. Hell, I shouldn’t, but I wasn’t in control of my body. It was nothing but pure, primal fear that drove me on, but then the doors closed right in front of me. For a mad second, I clawed at them, tried to pry them open with sheer force, but before I could, the tram started to move again, trapping me inside.

Fuck! What the fuck do I do!?

Then, with no other option, I rushed to the back of the tram, praying we’d return to reality, to my city, to another station that would allow me to get away.

Outside, we left Club Red behind, but then continued on through the ever-extending shantytown. Fuck! Why aren’t we back yet!?

I sat in the back, huddled together behind a seat, trying to keep the panic at bay, but one glance forward made it impossible.

By now, the disgusting creature had almost reached the last tram car and, for a moment, its eyes focused on me. Its jaw fell open, unhinged like that of a snake, and a distorted bout of guffawing laughter escaped from it.

At that moment, I couldn’t fight the panic anymore. I jumped up, my hand closing around one of the glass breakers. And then, with all the force I could muster, I swung it against the window. It crashed against the glass again and again before the window shattered.

A moment later, I threw myself outside.

I landed hard on the asphalt. My hands and knees exploded with pain. I felt the skin of my hands being scraped away and felt my knees crunch hard against the asphalt.

Then I felt myself being propelled forward, rolling over the street.

I heard a horn, heard brakes screeching, but I somehow avoided the oncoming car by a hair’s breath.

As I lay there on the ground, I was panting and in terrible pain. When I finally looked up, all was normal. There was no hint of any un-location. Instead, I was on an entirely normal street in my city.

By now the driver of the car had jumped out, his face a mixture of anger and worry, and a moment later, the tram driver followed.

While the car driver asked if I was okay, the tram driver began laying into me. He called me crazy for destroying the window and for jumping off. He spat at me, accusing me of being drunk, on drugs, or insane.

Instead of reacting to any of these words, I stared back at the tram. It was empty. No one was inside. None of the reoccurring passengers, no twisted, spidery monsters. I could only listen as the tram driver explained to the other man what had happened. I’d apparently jumped off my seat, screaming and freaking out before I’d broken a window and jumped off. Even though I’d been entirely alone on the tram.

I opened my mouth to tell them what had happened, but then closed it again. What could I even tell them?

In the end, all I could do was to drag my battered body to the sidewalk and sit down. By now, the tram driver had called the police and informed them about what I’d done.

To be honest, I could’ve tried to run, to get away, but in the state I was in, it seemed impossible.

As I sat there, I thought back to the old man, to the vision of his torn apart and broken body.

If that car had hit me, something similar would’ve most likely happened to me.

Was this what this had all been about? Had all those people, and this creature, been nothing but visions to drive me over the edge, to get me to go crazy and end up being run over?

When the police arrived, they were quick to take the statements of both drivers before they spoke to me as well. Then they took me to the station and questioned me for almost an hour.

In the end, I told them I’d had a panic attack, that I couldn’t breathe and thought I’d die of a heart attack unless I get off the tram.

They were skeptical to say the least, and subjected me to not only an alcohol, but also a drug test. When both came out negative, I essentially let off the hook, but not scot free. They charged me with vandalism and I’d have to pay for the tram window I’d destroyed, which would come down to almost a thousand Euros.

They also told me I should consult professional help and see myself checked in.

I mumbled a thanks and could eventually leave.

And so, the Long Ride ended on day six, in the earlier hours of the morning.

What I’m now left with is nothing but a tale, a tale I can share only here because you guys are the only people willing to believe any of the things I’ve seen.

Thank you all for staying with me, for your thoughts on what happened, and for following me along on this crazy adventure.

I’d have never thought things would get out of hand like this, and there are still so many questions I’ll probably never find answers for.

Yet I’d also like to give you guys a word of warning, or reiterate those given to me multiple times. Don’t do it.

There are things out there who wait for people who linger, who stay in the same place for too long. They are dangerous things, things that will find you and will come for you.

And maybe, just maybe, you won’t be as lucky as me and get away.

Hey there, everyone. I officially made it through day five of the Long Ride. Quite a few things happened today, but while some of them were strange and terrifying, I also had a rather interesting conversation with a fellow passenger. Still trying to figure out what to make of it, though…

The morning started fantastic right off the bat. After I’d typed out the events of the previous night, I felt like utter shit. I was hungover; the tram was overcrowded, and the collective noise of all those people cut through my brain like a searing knife.

Eventually, I just didn’t care anymore. I pulled out one of the remaining two cans of beer my friend had gotten me and decided to down them, hoping they’d somehow be able to ease my hungover and allow me to sleep. Needless to say, people weren’t too happy about it.

As I said, no one cares to enforce the ‘no drinking on the tram’ rule, but that didn’t mean people were happy to see you drinking in the early morning hours.

I opened my can of ‘hungover cure beer,’ took a deep sip and could already feel the pain in my brain receding. I leaned back, took a deep breath, and then another sip. This behavior didn’t go unnoticed, of course. I saw the stares, and I could almost hear the whispers, but really, I couldn’t care less. I was just too damn exhausted.

It wasn’t long before I felt someone’s hand resting on my shoulder. When I turned, I saw an older man. His attire screamed blue collar. He was staring me down, waiting for me to take out my headphones.

The moment I did, he spoke up.

“Drinking first thing in the early morning, eh, but not even moving the damned backpack to make room for other people?”

I just looked at him and was about to give him a ‘fuck you,’ but he wasn’t the only one laying into me.

“There’re children here, you know? Can’t you at least think about what an example you’re setting for them?” an older woman chimed in.

“How about you just move the damned backpack and get up? Maybe standing for a bit might sober up,” Mr. Blue Collar spat at me.

Without waiting for an answer, he got a hold of my backpack and was about to pull it off the seat. I was quick to hold it in place with my free hand.

This time, I said it out loud.

“Fuck off, okay?”

He didn’t like me mouthing off one bit, and this time, he pulled on the backpack with all the force he could muster. The backpack slid off the seat, and I was promptly pulled after it. In the process, I spilt a good part of the beer all over myself.

I cursed, only to be greeted by snickering and more whispers all around me.

“Already drunk at this time of the day,” I heard a middle-aged lady say.

“Probably homeless, and slept on the tram,” someone else added.

“Should just kick him off,” I heard a teenager say to his friends, who enthusiastically agreed with his idea.

“Fucking hell, all right,” I finally said, and got up from my seat.

Then I got a hold of my backpack and pushed myself through the more than annoyed crowd of passengers to find myself some room.

As I did, it felt like the entire tram staring at me. Occasionally, people moved out of my way, their disgust at my drunken self visible on their faces, while others weren’t shy to elbow me or push me aside, trying to provoke yet another scene.

Eventually, I made to a spot near the tram doors and pushed myself against the side of the tram and began massaging my temples.

I still heard people whisper and still felt the glances. Yeah, you can all go fuck yourselves, I thought.

Yet some weren’t just satisfied by mere whispers and glances. When the group of teenagers from before got off the tram, they all bumped into me, one of them so hard, I almost lost my footing. In an instant, I jerked around and pushed the fucker. He tumbled off the tram and promptly crashed to the floor.

He got up a second later, was about to throw a punch, but then froze. His eyes grew wide, fear distorted his face, and he cringed back, just staring at me. He opened his mouth, but then closed it again. His friends asked him why he didn’t ‘punch the fucker,’ but he wasn’t able to say anything.

Now, I’m sure I look like shit, probably like a homeless person, but that reaction, that fear… It wasn’t normal. I don’t know what he saw. Maybe it was me or maybe it was something else, but it made me more than anxious.

I just stood there as the tram doors closed again. Could it be that whatever otherworldly influences I’d been subjected to had done something to me?

Before I could think about it any longer, the same man from before was yelling at me again, telling me he’d no problem to kick my drunk ass off the tram if I’d ever do anything like that again.

Eventually, more and more people left the tram, Mr. Blue Collar amongst them. He gave me one last angry stare before he got off. As he did, I heard him mumble to himself about ‘worthless scum.’

Soon enough, only a handful of people remained, and I could finally return to my trusty row of seats. I considered opening the last can of beer I’d left, but I could tell the driver had it out for me because of the earlier commotion. Unless I didn’t want to get kicked off for real, I’d better lie low for a bit. So instead, I decided to just settle down, close my eyes, and catch some sleep.

I was awoken in the late afternoon by the sound of someone knocking against the tram window. I jerked up, turned, but saw no one. Great, I thought, probably a bunch of kids who’d fucked with me.

Then I saw him. There was a guy who stood a couple of meters away, on the other side of the street. He was staring at me. His face showed a slight, cheeky smile, as if he’d just played a trick on me. And as if to make it even clearer, he made a little knocking motion. So it had been him, but… how? How’d he be able to knock against the glass from over there? I mean, there was no way he’d been fast enough to knock and cross the street.

My eyes continued to rest on him until the tram drove off. The moment it did, his smile grew a tad bit wider, and he slowly raised his hand to wave at me.

I don’t know why, but he instantly crept me out. The hell was wrong with that guy?

I shook my head. No, don’t think about it. It’s probably just some idiot who saw me jerking up and decided to fuck with me.

At least, that’s what I told myself until we arrived at the next station. I’d just been sitting there, staring outside, but the moment we pulled in, I noticed a person waving.

At first, I thought it was someone waving at a friend or one of the other passengers, but then I recognized him. It was the same guy, the same freaking guy from the last station. How he’d gotten here was anyone’s guess.

He was still smiling happily, but now he seemed to have gotten a tad bit closer to the tram.

By now, I should’ve gotten used to these strange events, and I should’ve just ignored it. Hell, seen it as a normal part of my day, but I just… couldn’t. I don’t know why, but him looking entirely normal, his smile nonthreatening, was so much worse than any of the ghastly grins I’d seen so far. I told myself once more to look away, to ignore him, to focus on my music, but I found myself staring at him.

Finally, we drove off again, and once more, he waved at me, his eyes trailing after me.

When we pulled into the next station, I somehow knew he’d be there. We were still a good hundred meters away, but I could already see him waiting for me. And as the tram pulled in, he waved at me again. Once more, he seemed to have gotten closer.

I couldn’t help but squirm in my seat. This freaking smile!

Every time the tram pulled into a new station, that guy was there, and every time he was doing the same thing, happily smiling and waving at me.

I’d seen lots of weird shit, but this was just too damned bizarre.

And then, I did it. After more than a dozen stations, I just couldn’t take it anymore. I raised my hand, and waved back at him, just to see if anything would happen, if anything would change.

The moment I did, there was indeed a change. His hand went down, his eyes grew wide, his smile grew bigger, and then… after staring at me for another few seconds, he just left.

A wave of fear like no other washed over me, and I started shivering. I don’t know what I’d just done, but I knew I’d made a mistake, a huge fucking mistake!

As I sat there, shaking in my seat, I couldn’t help but stare outside, stare at the internal departure schedule to see when we’d pull into the next station. What if that guy was there again? What if he was waiting for me, or, hell, he’d get on the tram to come for me? Just because I… reacted to him.

Then the announcement of the next station was broadcast over the internal speaker by a friendly, yet monotonous, voice.

I froze. There he was. At least I thought so at first, but then I realized I was wrong. It was another person, another man, just waiting for the tram.

That waving guy wasn’t there. Yet as I sat in my seat, I knew this wasn’t over. I knew he’d be back, eventually.

Slowly, ever so slowly, afternoon turned to evening, Friday evening. Which meant the tram would be packed the entire evening.

I watched as teenagers and older people alike flooded into the tram. I saw guys dressed in suits, girls in short skits and knee highs, older ladies in classy dresses and even a group of guys in sweatpants, carrying two caskets of beer.

Almost the entire city was out to party tonight.

The later it got, and the more alcohol people seemed to have consumed, the more excitable they became. Here was a group of drunks bellowing a raunchy song through half the tram. Over there was a couple making out and further ahead I saw a group of girls so scarcely clad, you might think it was the middle of summer. I even saw two older gentleman, costly dressed who shared a bottle of disgustingly strong herb liquor between themselves.

For hours, I watched the going-ons, and the various people out tonight. To be honest, it was extremely interesting, and for the first time, I found myself ignoring the outside of the tram, not looking for weird locations, but instead, just watching people.

It was at about two in the morning when the tram grew emptier that she entered.

She was the most gorgeous woman I’d ever seen, and my eyes grew wide. Her hazel eyes wandered over the tram in search of a seat, and I watched as she brushed aside a rebellious strand of brown hair that dangled in front of her face.

For a second, all the noise in the tram die down, and everyone seemed to stare at her.

Then, slowly, normalcy returned, or at least, a sense of normalcy, for she was still the center of attention.

The strangest thing, however, was how plainly she was dressed. Instead of a fancy evening dress, she wore a pair of roughed up jeans and a white tank top, but this made her even hotter.

As her well-measured steps led her through the tram, I couldn’t help but stare at her. I told myself to look away, to stop being a freaking creep, but I couldn’t. This girl, whoever she was, was exactly my type; a fantasy become flesh.

Then she noticed me. In an instant, I averted my eyes. Shit, you’re acting way too freaking creepy.

I did my best to just turn away and stare out the window, but then, only a few moments later, she was right there, standing next to my row of seats.

“Hey there, is this seat available, or is it reserved for your backpack?” she asked, giving me a hint of a smile.

Oh Jesus fucking Christ, I can die happy.

“Oh yeah, it is, I mean, it’s reserved… not reserved, available, I mean. Just let me get this out of the way.”

With that, I heaved the heavy backpack over to my side, and then, with all the force I could muster, pushed it between my legs. It barely fit, and I was damned sure I’d just ruined a fair bit of the food still inside, but I didn’t care. I’d have thrown the damned thing out of the tram if it meant having a short with this girl.

She watched my efforts, slightly giggling, before she sat down next to me.

“So, are you out to party?” she asked.

Her voice was pure seduction and the smile she gave made my blood rush through my veins.

“Ah, no, I’m…”

Shit, what the hell do I tell her? If I told her what I was really doing, she’d probably think I was the biggest freaking idiot on planet Earth. Which, honestly, wasn’t too far from the truth.

“No, I’m going somewhere,” I eventually brought out.

“Hmmm,” she mused. “Why don’t the two of us go somewhere together? To be honest, I’m really bored tonight, and am looking for a bit of fun, you know?”

After she’d said this, she gave me a little wink.

Believe me, I wanted to, I fucking wanted to, but I couldn’t just give up like that, could I? Not on day fucking five!

Then she put her hand on my leg, caressing it slightly.

“Why not take a chance for once?”

At that moment, I was done. Fuck the Long Ride, fuck the tram, and fuck my friends who’d most likely call me out for giving up. I didn’t care anymore.

The tram rumbled on, and then came to a stop. At that moment, she got off her seat, and held out her hand toward me. Without even thinking, I took it and got up myself. Yet before I could leave my rows of seats behind, something unexpected happened.

Some idiot who must’ve sat behind us and was on his way towards the tram doors as well bumped right into her. Her hand was torn from mine and she stumbled a few steps forward. I was about to yell at the fucker, but at that moment, something changed. She changed.

For the shortest of moments, the beautiful girl in front of me… wavered, for lack of a better word.

In an instant, her brown hair and hazel eyes vanished, and something not human replaced her face and comprising nothing but bone and scare tissue. I cringed back, almost toppled over my seat, and crashed hard against the tram’s side.

“Sorry ‘bout that,” I heard from behind me and when I turned, I saw a scruffy-looking older dude.

When I turned back towards the girl, she was all hazel eyes and brown hair again.

“Are you okay? Are you still coming?” she asked, but this time, the illusion wasn’t complete.

For a moment, her face was replaced by what I know recognized as some sort of beak, and the hand she held out to me was nothing but a twisted set of claws.

Once more, I pushed myself against the side of the tram. When she saw my reaction, her entire act fell apart. Her smile was gone, her eyes had turned hard, and an expression of pure and utter anger came over her face.

For a second, I thought the thing might throw itself at me, but then she just walked off.

I couldn’t help but stare after her, after… it.

“Wouldn’t look for too long, or you fall for it again,” the scruffy guy said. “Care if I take a seat?”

I measured him up for a moment, wondering if this was another trick, another ploy by some strange thing to get close to me, but when I saw no sign of ill will on his face, I nodded.

“Thanks, I guess,” I eventually brought out.

The dude gave me a shrug. When he did, a rain of dandruffs descended from his head, and I couldn’t help but inch a tad bit away from him. Now that I had time to get a better look at him, I saw he wasn’t just scruffy. He was dirty, his clothes nothing but rags and smelled way worse than I did after five days on the goddamn tram.

He had to be a freaking hobo, I reasoned. Probably on the tram for the night to catch some sleep in a warm place.

“How did you know about this… thing?”

The guy chuckled, but then started to talk. When he did, I could smell disgustingly heavy liquor on his breath.

“When you live where I do, you catch on to a thing or two. Seen it before. Almost fell for it myself once.”

“What is it?”

“Haven’t gotten the slightest clue. But sure is nothing good. I can tell you that!”

As I stared ahead, I saw that the woman had already found another guy, and was seductively talking to him. A moment later, I watched as she pressed her mouth against his and couldn’t help but shudder.

“What’s it you see?” the guy next to me asked.

“What do you mean?”

“The thing, what’s it look like to you?”

“Brown hair, hazel eyes, wearing jeans and a tank top.”

The guy next to laughed.

“See, that’s how it gets you. Knows what type of woman we like, then shows it to us!”

“What’s she looking like to you, then?” I asked, giving him a slight grin.

“A blond with a pair of killer knockers!”

I burst out laughing when I heard this.

Then I watched as the woman got off her seat, the guy she’d sat with trailing after her. I was about to get up, to do something, but for just a second, she shot me a threatening glance. That made me freeze.

A moment later, she’d dragged the guy from the tram.

My eyes wandered towards the station, towards the two of them. The guy was still grinning like an idiot, enamored by what he assumed to be the girl of his dreams.

As they went on their way, I could see their shadows, cast by a nearby street light. His was normal, but hers was entirely different. It was a giant, lurking thing, something akin to a sort of bird, a bird of prey. The image of a vulture appeared in my mind, a lurking, preying vulture read to devour its prey. Then the tram drove off, leaving the two of them behind, and the guy to whatever terrible fate the creature had in mind for him.

“So, what’s your deal?” the guy ended the silence.

“What do you-?”

“Been sitting here with no intention of getting out, carrying that damned thing with you. You sure don’t look like party people to me.”

Guess I really stuck out. In a few words, I told him about the Long Ride, and that I was already on day five.

When he heard this, his face grew dark.

“Doing a stupid thing like that,” he mumbled, shaking his head. “Staying on here for so long, even overnight.”

“Aren’t you doing the same thing? I mean, aren’t you on here to catch some sleep?”

“God no! I might live on the streets, but I ain’t stupid! I’m just on to get away from those damned party people. Can’t sleep with all that shouting and what not. Stayed on here once, but it’s not worth it. Not with all the crazy shit happening.”

“What do you mean?”

He stared at me for a moment, probing me.

“Sure you must’ve noticed them by now. Them people who just up and vanish, strange creatures like that thing before and those places who shouldn’t be there but somehow are. Like this one!”

With that, he pointed outside, and I saw we were just passing another un-location. This time, it was a scrapyard. It was a huge, constricted place, looking almost labyrinthine. As I focused on it more, I saw its giant heaps comprised nothing but old, rusty toys, all stacked upon one another.

I shuddered when I saw strange figures shuffling around between these heaps, figures that seemed as mechanical as the rest of the place.

Eventually, I gave the guy a nod and began telling him what I’d seen over the past days. When I told him about the waving man, he cut me off.

“You did what?” he asked in shock.

“Like I said, I waved back? Why?”

“Goddamnit! Tell you what,” he started, leaning over towards me, staring me deep into the eyes. “You better get off this damned thing right here, right now!”

“Why? What’s going to happen? What’s he going to do?”

“Ain’t going to do a damn thing, but now he knows you’re on, and that you’ve seen him. He’s marked you and, now, others know as well?”

“What others?”

“God knows what they are. Might be ghosts, might be demons, but they sure are trouble. As I said, best to call it quits about your damned game and get off!”

“Wish I could do that, but to tell you the truth, I’m prepared to sit this one out.”

Once more, the guy shook his head.

“Wouldn’t do it if I were you, but I guess you’ve made up your mind.”

After he’d said this, he got off his seat.

“Well, time to get going. I sure don’t like taking my chances.”

I gave him a nod.

“Well, thanks for the warning! Ah, hold on. Here for saving me!”

With that, I handed him my last can of beer.

The guy’s face lit up the moment he saw it. He almost tore it from my hands and it vanished in one of the many pockets of his jacket.

“Tell you again. Get off while you still can.”

Then he made his way toward the tram doors and once the tram came to a halt, he left it behind.

Outside, I found him looking at me, giving me a well-meaning nod before he walked off.

For the next hour, I sat in my seat, thinking. He’d said I’d been marked, but… what exactly did that mean? I’d thought he was just some crazy hobo, but it was clear he knew what was going on here, and he knew more than I did. I cursed to myself for not having asked him to stay on longer and to share more information.

Well, nothing I can do about it now. So instead, I typed out my experiences of day five. It’s close to five in the morning now, and I’m getting tired, but I don’t think it’s a good idea to go to sleep, at least not until the sun is up.

That’s it for now. See you all tomorrow. At least, I hope so.

Hello there, everyone. Day four is officially over, and it was a strange one to say the last. It was, however, similarly terrifying as the prior day, for… various reasons.

As I said, I hadn’t slept and even after I’d typed out the day’s events; I wasn’t able to. Before long, the first people on their way to work entered the tram, and I damn well knew I wouldn’t get the chance to catch some sleep for the next hour or two.

And so, before things grew too crowded, I set out for another toilet break, and also to change my clothes. I might be a bit of a weirdo, or hell, an idiot for doing this Long Ride, but I’d try to at least not look and smell like a freaking hobo.

It didn’t take long and once I’d pushed my used clothes to the bottom of my backpack; I set out for the tram again. Needless to say, it was packed by this point, but I knew it wouldn’t last forever. Once the tram approached the city’s outskirts, I could finally return to my trusty row of seats.

Once there, I put in my headphones, turned on some low-fi chill mix and settled down for some sleep. I guess I really was exhausted because I promptly slept through the rest of the morning and almost the entire early afternoon. When I woke up, I had a stiff neck and a painfully twisted back. Those damned tram seats really weren’t comfortable. I cursed at myself for not investing in a travel pillow.

It was around four in the morning, after another one of my short, hourly updates, when my friend Derek hit me up.

He asked if I was fucking with them by posting old videos, or if was I still at it.

I assured him I was. After all, I told him; I set out to do this for an entire week. I mentioned, however, I’d see how it goes, given certain things that had happened.

When he asked me what I meant, I thought about telling him about what I’d seen last night, but there was no way he’d believe me.

He said he was out in the city right now, and asked when I’d pass our city’s central mall. After a quick check, I told him I’d be there in about an hour. He was quick to tell me he’d join me for a couple of stations and see how I was holding up.

The moment he said this, I got an idea. Sure, I still had some sandwiches left, but, to be honest, I was sick and tired of the same ham and cheese ones by now. So I asked Derek if he could get me a few supplies.

He told me to just get off the damned tram and get them myself, but I told him that would be breaking the rules. Then I offered to pay him double for anything he’d bring me.

We ended up exchanging a few more messages before he yielded and said he’d do it.

I thanked him profusely before I gave https://www.reddit.com/r/nosleep/comments/11udmre/i_challenged_myself_to_ride_the_tram_for_an/him the time my tram would arrive at the mall station.

And wouldn’t you know it, there he was, holding two shopping bags in his hands. He noticed me the moment the tram arrived and sat down in the row in front of me.

“You know you’re a freaking idiot, right?” Derek said, laughing. “You’re really set on doing this an entire week? Why?”

I shrugged.

“Made it half-way already, so I can’t call it quits now.”

“This really is the dumbest thing you’ve ever done. Also, you look like shit, dude.”

“Can’t sleep for shit on a tram, you know?”

“Well, duh, idiot,” he said, shaking his head before he handed me the grocery bags.

The first bag contained an assortment of snacks, some canned food, and even a few vegetables. When he handed me the second one, my eyes grew wide. It was full of cans too, but the best kind: beer!

When I stared at him, he gave me a shrug.

“Thought you’d want to have a drink every once in a while.”

“Sure do man, sure do. After the shit I’ve seen…”

He raised his eyebrows, but I gave him a dismissive gesture.

“It’s nothing.”

“Well, I got to go. Still got a ton of things to do, and not everyone can keep doing stupid shit all day. You know, some of us got jobs and all,” he said, giving me a wink.

“Yeah, whatever, man,” I said, laughing, and gave him the finger.

He left and the next station and I was on my own again. Got to say, it felt damned good to actually talk to someone. Most of the Long Ride was pretty damned boring.

I guess today would be slightly different, though, I thought as I pulled out the first of the many beer cans.

It was late in the afternoon anyway, so I might as well have some fun.

Now there’s a rule against getting plastered on the tram, and technically against drinking at all, but no one really cares to enforce it.

So, cheers, and bottoms up!

I did my best to be as inconspicuous as possible, but I still noticed a few glances from people here and there. Especially the hardworking, productive members of society on their way home from work couldn’t help but frown at the idiot happily drinking his beer at five in the afternoon. Yeah, I felt guilty.

As the evening progressed, and I got drunker, I noticed strange things again. Same as the day before, I noticed the same people getting on and off the tram at various stations. Some I’d seen before, others I hadn’t. They all crept me out, even in my drunken state.

The tram also passed weird places again. It felt almost as if the longer I was on, the more consecutive hours I spent huddled in the same place, the more my reality wavered, and the more surreal it became.

The first one was a giant playground, one much bigger than any other I’d seen before. The tram rose past it for almost an entire minute. I saw a giant steel climbing frame that rose into the sky, and I saw an entire small town comprising nothing but wooden forts, ladders, and slides. It was nothing short of surreal. Even stranger, though, even now, in the dark of the night, the place was still populated by a multitude of kids. A shiver went down my spine as I watched the going-ons out there, and I was more than relieved when we finally left the place behind.

I saw the next unreal location, or un-location, as I came to call them about an hour later.

The tram made its way through the alternative part of town and rode past bars and clubs before it eventually approached a building I’d never seen before.

The tram rode towards it before it began sneaking around the place. Holding my can of beer, I stared at it in fascination.

The place was exclusively lit by red lights, and covered in an assortment of signs proclaiming it to be the ‘Destination of Dreams,’ ‘The Place to be for the Night,” and above it all, the name ‘Club Red’ sprouted from the wall in giant, neon letters.

The entire building was filled to the brim with people, even on a Thursday evening.

As we drove past it, I could hear music, but not just any music. It was a strangely warped, droning type of music, one you might call psychedelic, but it felt almost too random for that. It was nothing but an assortment of sounds, something trying to have a melody, but somehow, wasn’t able to get it right.

As I continued staring at the building, my eyes hurt. At first, I thought it was the red light, but the longer I focused on it, I realized it was the building itself. Things just… didn’t add up.

I don’t know how to explain it, but the layout just didn’t make sense. I stared at windows, one after another, but there were too many, too many to fit the front of the building. It was the strangest sensation.

Imagine a building whose ground floor comprises nothing but four giant windows. Now imagine the floor above has seven, seven windows of exactly the same size and equally spaced as the ones below. It shouldn’t work, be impossible. Yet there they were.

It was the strangest optical illusion I’d ever come upon, and while I saw it, my brain couldn’t handle it, couldn’t understand this warping of the laws of physics.

In all these windows, I saw people. They were pushing and shoving against each other. Some were dancing, others leaning outward, and here and there, I even saw some sitting on the window sills.

The building’s size, too, made no sense. It wasn’t big, nothing more than a handful of floors. At least, I thought so at first. The moment we were closer, and I stared upward, I could always find yet another floor above the one I was looking at. Each one of them became more and more surreal, bigger and covered in more details, sprouting more windows. I even saw balconies, bridges connecting different parts of the building, and staircases that snaked around the building’s outer walls and let up and down, in and out. It was an amalgamation of architectural impossibilities.

The people too, as well as what they were doing, became stranger the longer I watched. At first it seemed to be normal people, partying, but then… I saw strange figures doing it right there in front of windows or on balconies, their forms as twisted as the building they were in. At one point, I even saw what I assumed to be some sort of ghastly ritual or sacrifice.

Finally, I came upon rows and rows of seats, chiseled in the building’s front, reminding me of a concert hall or a stadium. It was packed to the brim with people, distorted people. They were all watching the street below, the tram, and maybe… even me. They seemed to go crazy about it, applauding, laughing and pointing as we rode by.

Each time we rounded a corner, I thought we’d be done, and would finally leave this impossibility of a building behind, but we didn’t. At first I thought we were circling it, but each corner greeted me with yet another part of it. Each one stranger than the last, and in each one more twisted and deprived things were happening.

Eventually, I just couldn’t handle it anymore. My head was hurting too much. I turned and watched the other side of the street. All the while, the building’s dim, red light still flooded the tram.

And then, in the blink of an eye, it was over. The red light was gone, so was the music, and the tram continued on its normal course. I turned around and stared back, but all I saw was a long, straight road, one that led through the city’s alternative area. All I saw were the same well-known clubs and bars.

I know I should’ve been unsettled, should’ve been freaking out, but somehow, I was almost used to the strangeness of these un-locations by now.

Or, I might have been too drunk.

A few minutes later, I took out my phone, and looked for a place called ‘Club Red,’ but I already knew what I’d find: nothing. There was no sign of any such club ever having existed in my city, and to be honest, I was more than happy about it.

Finally, I settled down in my seat, turned up my music, continued on my beer, before I drifted off to sleep.

When I woke up, I felt slightly hungover, but still pleasantly buzzed. My neck was in terrible pain yet again. I cursed, and rubbed it for a good minute before I shrugged, and decided to have another beer. Who knows, maybe it would help me go to sleep again.

It was only when I opened the can that I realized the tram wasn’t empty anymore. No, it was packed.

As if this wasn’t strange enough, the tram was entirely quiet. No one was speaking. No one was moving. Everyone was just sitting in their seats, unmoving and staring straight ahead.

I knew instantly that something was wrong. Even though I felt cold, sweat broke out all over my body. For a moment, I just sat there, trying to hide my presence, but then drunken curiosity won over fear.

I turned my head to see the person sitting in the row next to mine.

What I saw made me freeze. Not normal. This was not a normal person.

What I saw was a face that was undescriptive. It looked almost like a… blank slate, as if someone had forgotten to add all the characteristics and details that made someone a human being.

Even though the person was only about a meter away from me, I couldn’t tell if they were a man or a woman, or… if they were human at all.

My drunken eyes wandered over the rest of the passengers near me, and I realized they were all the same. All of them were… empty, for lack of a better word.

Even in my drunken state, even though I’d downed nine beers over the course of the night, fear washed over me. Seeing these weird things outside was one thing. You felt strangely safe inside the tram, protected by its mighty steel chassis, but now, now it was happening inside as well! I felt very, very vulnerable, and very afraid.

I began shuddering, and had to will myself to be quiet, to not move.

What the fuck even were those things and why were they here?

Once more, my eyes darted around, but then I told myself to stop. Do nothing. Just sit here and wait till they are all gone or get off the tram. Don’t let them notice you. If they do, if they realize you are here, they might…

No, stop. Calm down. I put one of my hands on my knees to stop the leg from shaking. With the other one, I clutched onto the beer like a safety anchor, and continued drinking, or tried the best I could.

Then I turned to look outside, to watch my city pass by.

To be honest, I expected to find another un-location outside, and that I’d ended up at yet another different place, the place these things belonged to. This time, however, the outside was just… empty.

There was no city at all. All I saw was undescriptive ground. It was as empty as all the people around me. Another undescriptive blank slate.

Where the hell was I? How’d I ended up in a place like this?

When I saw the tram approaching a tunnel, I started shaking again. At this point, I almost lost it, and freaked the hell out.

This didn’t feel like the other un-locations before. This felt different. So far, there was one thing that had never changed. The tram was always outdoors, no matter how much its surroundings had changed.

But now, now… I wondered if this was the end. If this tunnel would just swallow me up, to never return.

I cursed at myself to stop once more. Just go back to sleep or wait till its morning. And yet, I couldn’t. All I could do was to watch as the tunnel’s dark, dilapidated walls passed by me.

Then, after long minutes, the tram left the tunnel behind and we arrived at a station, if you can even call it that.

It was a quiet, unrefined place. There were no lights, no details, no maps or departure schedule. It was nothing but a single, undescriptive platform.

Yet the moment the tram stopped and opened its doors, all the strange, undescriptive people got to their feet, and in unison filled out of the tram.

After only a minute, I was alone. I stared outside and watched as they walked away and vanished in the dark of the night.

It wasn’t long before the tram’s driver, a different one than the one I’d spoken to before, approached me. He hurried through the tram’s cars, his face distorted by a mixture of fear and confusion.

“We’ve made it, sir,” he brought out in a shaken voice. This is the end. You’ve got to get off. You’ve reached your destination.

For a moment, I just stared at him, then towards the tram doors and the dark, undescriptive plane outside and shivered.

“N-no, I can’t! I’ve got to get back to the city. Whatever this place is, I don’t belong here!” I almost screamed at him in my drunken state.

When he heard my voice, the man stumbled back. Then he measured me up and down, saw my backpack and the can of beer I was holding.

A few seconds later, he just nodded, and without another word, he headed back to the driver’s cabin.

We stayed at this strange station for a while longer, and I could feel the driver watching me via the tram’s security camera the entire time. I don’t know what this place was. I don’t know how I ended up here, but I knew I shouldn’t have. It was a place not on any map, a place that couldn’t be reached, yet it was still there. It was a place even further detached from reality than all those other un-locations I’d come upon before.

Or, maybe, I was just too goddamn drunk.

With that, I opened up beer number ten, settled back in my seat, and like clockwork, the tram’s doors closed and we drove on.

After only ten minutes, we were back in the regular city. It was an instantaneous change, one I missed entirely. At one moment I was staring at the same undescriptive plane outside, and then, suddenly, I stared at buildings cone more.

I breathed a sigh of relief, and finally, I began to drunkenly type this all out. It took way longer than usual, almost two hours, and by now, the morning’s bustle has already begun.

My head hurt, both from drinking and the noise of the people around me, but also from trying to understand what I’d seen tonight.

Either way, that’s it for today. See you all tomorrow. I know there’s more weird shit to come. The Long Ride continues, and I’m sure the weirdness does as well.

Trying to catch some sleep now. Wish me luck guys!