In the mid twenty-first century, great efforts were made by the central government to unify China's massive homeland through a series of interconnected ultra-modern railway systems. The general idea was that a person who lived in Shanghai should be able to step onto a train and enjoy a pleasant uninterrupted voyage to Urumqi if they so wished. 

There was good food, excellent customer service, clean amenities and comfortable living quarters to stay in. The trains that ran along the tracks and connected the furthest reaches of China were developed by the Amrita Corporation as their most advanced public transportation model ever invented and could cross the sprawling nation in unbelievable times all while maintaining luxurious conditions at an affordable price that made intra-national travel a pleasure for most citizens.

What I wouldn’t give to be on one of those right now. Jisoo thought and wiped the matter from her eyes as the considerably less comfortable freight train rattled and shook endlessly in the cold wintry night. 

Since the development of the improved rail system, there were practically no stowaways on freight trains like this that transported coal and other minerals across great distances. Fortunately, that meant there was also essentially no security and the train was operated remotely from a central station operator. Jisoo crept on board at night while the train was stopped, then snuck her way into one of the mostly empty cars.

She slipped her compass out of her pocket and double-checked that they were still headed further west towards the mountains. Jisoo could feel the climate change throughout the days as she continued to head towards the Himalayas. The place where her sister had told her to go was over sixteen hundred miles away from Beijing. To even make it this far to Sichuan Province without using conventional methods of transportation had been hellish to say the least, even with her superhuman stamina and endurance. 

Sometimes she was fortunate enough to hitch a ride with some nice locals, other times she found a train that would take her further west. Food was surprisingly easy to come by. Most of the people she met believed her story that she was on a spiritual pilgrimage to a Buddhist shrine in the Tibetan region and were happy to feed and house her for a few days in between her travels. She hated to feel like a burden, but the allure of a hot meal and a place to sleep with actual cushions was too good to pass up. 

People were not all bad, she supposed. Even though she was a total stranger with only a few dollars on her person, so many people had cared for her like she was one of their own. It was… unsettling, in a way. Not unpleasant, but Jisoo had come to expect the worst from most people. It felt odd to be well-received.

I’m in the final stretch now. Jisoo thought and tried to stay awake. In around an hour and a half the freight train would take a detour to the north into Qinghai. If she fell asleep and missed her opportunity to hop off the train, then she would be way off course. She reached for her water bottle and brought it to her lips. This was the last of it, she would need to find somewhere to refill it at some point. Perhaps a little town where she could also rest and prepare for the grueling travel on foot towards the rendezvous point near Shigatse.

Right as she was about to pick up the bottle, a small scurrying noise caught her attention from where her hand had been about to touch the metallic cylinder. A mouse? Jisoo glanced to where she had heard the noise come from just in time to see the outline of a tiny person scammer away behind a discarded barrel.

A speck?! Why the hell would a speck be on this train? Jisoo thought and immediately stood up to investigate. She crawled across the floor until she could see behind the barrel, and quickly caught sight of the stranger.

It was a woman, maybe a little younger than herself with dirty matted black hair and her skin was covered in a thick layer of dirt from the coal. She was completely naked and appeared in desperate need of a meal and sleep. When she turned over onto her back and tried to back away from the looming giantess, Jisoo could see her eyes were wide with terror and red from a lack of sleep. 

Jisoo paused and held her hands up innocently. “Hey it’s okay! I’m not going to hurt you or anything.” She said encouragingly. “Are you thirsty? You can have whatever water I have left if you want.” 

“I-I didn’t mean to…” The girl said breathlessly, still clearly terrified. She tried in vain to cover up her chest and kept her legs squeezed together tightly in an attempt to preserve some of her dignity. 

Carefully Jisoo tore off a piece of her sleeve and passed the piece of warm fabric towards the speck, who accepted it gratefully. “It’s okay. You don’t need to apologize or anything. Why don’t you come out from behind there? I have some food if you are hungry.” At the mention of food the girl seemed to light up and she crawled out from behind the crevice. 

She was a dainty little thing, her ribs slightly exposed from her bare torso. Her general appearance was frighteningly reminiscent of how specks in the United States looked in their communes. However she was in a nation that treated specks considerably better, Jisoo was confused as to why she was also stowed away on the train. 

For now she set aside her curiosity and coaxed the girl to step into the light towards her. With each step her new acquaintance clutched the piece of cloth she had given her tightly to her chest, clearly embarrassed to be completely naked. “What’s your name?” Jisoo asked as she poured some of the water in the bottle into the cap for the girl to drink from. “And may I ask what you’re doing here?”

“My name is Song.” The speck replied after a brief pause to drink desperately from the water Jisoo had provided for her. Her gulps were quick and needy, evidently she had not had anything to drink for a long time. When she came up for air and with water dripping down her chin and hair and looked back up to the giantess who sat with her legs crossed across from her. “What’s yours?”

“Yanlin.” The lie rolled off her lips effortlessly and Song began to relax slightly. The speck dropped to her knees, clearly exhausted. “I’m on a pilgrimage to a monastery further west.”

“Buddhist?” Song inquired to which Jisoo nodded. “...Do you know where this train is going? Or when will it stop next?”

“Somewhere in Qinghai.” She responded. Song looked away and sighed then drank a bit more water. She muttered something miserably under her breath and held her head in her palms. 

Something is off about this girl. Jisoo cleared her throat and pulled out a small parcel of food she still had leftover given to her by one of the families she briefly stayed with. “Here. Eat something.” She encouraged and passed a red bean bun to Song. “So… Why are you here exactly?” Jisoo repeated, still curious.

Song remained silent for a few seconds before she sighed. “If I told you, you would probably think I’m insane.” She murmured and hesitated to take a bite of the food. “But I swear that I’m telling the truth.”

(one month earlier)

The photos her friend had sent her took a long time to load. University wireless connection this far away from campus while everybody was online and studying for exams drastically increased the time it took for sixty or eighty pictures to send properly.

Not that Li Song needed to see more than one of the photos to know everything she needed to. She let her arm hang limply at her side and said nothing for several seconds, the other girls at the table were too engrossed in their textbooks to notice her sudden mood change. Finally a final message came in, this time it was text.

‘I’m sorry.’

There was a slight commotion as Song began to angrily return her books and loose papers into her bag, then stuffed her laptop inside as well. A few people stared at her strangely and asked why she was leaving the library so early, but she was too heartbroken to care. The young woman stormed into the bathroom and found the nearest empty stall, sat down on the toilet and promptly burst into tears.

Song could hardly stomach to look at the photos she had received mere minutes ago. Although she had suspected for a while, to see her longtime boyfriend with another woman made her blood boil in a way she could hardly imagine. She and Jun had been steady for years. Their parents were close, Song had tutored his little brother in biology when he had a hard time in school. She was practically a part of their family.

And after all of that the bastard had cheated on her. 

After nearly fifteen minutes of sobbing, heartbreak transformed into anger. She had to know why. Why had the man who she thought would marry her once they finished college do something like this. Immediately she dialed his number, and felt a new rush of anger when it went to voicemail. 

Who the hell is this woman?! Song thought and began to text her friend for more information. She frowned when she realized she knew the name her friend texted back. Chen Zhilan? That fucking rich girl whose mom works for the Amrita Corporation? 

We have a class together later today! I don’t care if I’m expelled, I’m going to fucking tear her apart.

(present)

“I shouldn’t have lost my temper but I was just so angry after Jun cheated on me that I wasn’t thinking straight. I marched across campus and found Zhilan where she was chatting with some of her friends. We started to argue and I… I slapped her.” Song murmured as Jisoo listened silently. “I regretted it right afterwards but was too angry to apologize. She walked away and later the campus security came to my dorm to take me to see the dean.”

“...What happened then?” Jisoo asked but she already had a pretty good guess as to where this tale was going. 

Song rubbed her temple and sighed. “Zhilan and her mother were in the dean’s office. They told me that my father’s company was owned by the Amrita Corporation, and if I didn’t apologize they would have him fired.” She recounted. “So they made me get on my knees and kowtow in front of Zhilan and explain how sorry I was… but that wasn’t enough for her. She demanded that I explain in detail why I was a shitty, unworthy girlfriend and why Jun deserves someone better than me. When I refused they made the dean step outside of the room.”

“I thought they were going to have their bodyguard beat me up or something, but instead Zhilan’s mother just nodded towards him. Then I felt this hot, painful sensation on my neck… They injected me with something and I lost consciousness.” Song explained. 

Jisoo closed her eyes to mask her shame. “When you woke up, you were a speck, weren’t you?” She remarked to which Song nodded.

“Afterwards they gave me to Zhilan… She did all kinds of terrible things to me for the next few weeks until she got bored and asked one of her butlers to get rid of me.” Song said and shivered. “The guy couldn’t bring himself to kill me himself so he just left me at the train station on the tracks. I think he assumed a train would come to run me over. The train was delayed though, so I had enough time to make my way off that track but had to go through a freight car to get to the station where I wanted to find help. But before I could find a way back down the stairs retracted and the train began to move. I haven’t been able to find my way off ever since. This train is operated remotely and all the facilities thus far have been death traps operated entirely by machines… I swear that’s what happened.”

“I believe you.” 

“R-Really?” Song replied, genuinely surprised that someone would believe that she had somehow been transformed into a speck. Anybody other than Jisoo likely would have indeed written her off as delusional. 

Zhilan… She’s from the Southern Chinese Branch based in Guangzhou. Her mother is an internal investigator if I remember correctly. Jisoo recalled and tried to picture her cousin’s face. They had met years prior at one of Grace’s birthday celebrations, but that was when Zhilan was still in high school. 

She certainly did not seem like the kind of person who would do something so terrible to a completely innocent woman like Song. Jisoo remembered how sweet and bubbly Zhilan had been. Surely there had to be something more that Song had not included in her tale that would explain why~!

You are not the only monster in your family. Song isn’t lying and you know that. This is what your kin do to people. These horrible things will be your legacy to humanity if you can’t change for the better. Her subconscious voice whispered into her ear. 

Jisoo opened her mouth to speak then reconsidered what she had initially wanted to explain. “You have no reason to lie… I think you’re telling the truth.” Jisoo murmured. “I’ll help you find somewhere safe.”

“Oh thank you so much!” Song exclaimed and practically began to cry with joy. “We can go to the police and they can tell the public about all of this! Once we inform the authorities-!”

“Song… You can’t tell the police about any of this. As a matter of fact nobody you knew before can ever find out that you are still alive.” Jisoo cut in in a weary voice. Each time she opened her mouth to utter another syllable, she could feel part of her screaming at her to stop. 

I’m an operations specialist… I could take her back to the Amrita Corporation and use my position to leverage a better life for her. I doubt Zhilan would ever treat her very well but I’m sure someone would treat her properly. Jisoo thought, trying to rationalize how she should deal with this. 

The voice in her head that had tormented her for weeks returned once again. If you take her back to the Amrita Corporation, they will have Song killed. Or worse she’ll be returned to Zhilan who will make the rest of her life miserable and it will be all your fault. You are not a goddess. You are not an operations specialist. You don’t have to be the monster these people turned you into! You came all this way to heal and find your sister, didn’t you? For what? To find spiritual enlightenment and then just return to your family as if nothing ever happened?

Jisoo opened her eyes and looked at Song with a concerned look. “...The Amrita Corporation is too strong. They have friends in high places everywhere. That includes the authorities and the media. If you go to anybody and they find out that you are alive, they will find out.” She explained pointedly. “Please just listen to me on this. If you say anything to anybody about this then you will have a massive target on your back.”

“...I can’t do that, Yanlin. My parents probably think I’m dead. I have to see them again.”

“You’ll be putting them at risk if they find out you are alive, and since you are a speck now, that will raise questions that cannot be answered. The Amrita Corporation will come after your parents, your friends, everybody you know and ensure that nobody ever finds out that they have the power to shrink people.” Jisoo stated darkly.

My job for so many years was to track down people like this. To exterminate them in the name of the greater good, for my family. People in the wrong place at the wrong time. Collateral damage. Jisoo thought and felt a chill crawl down her spine. “If you care about your family, then you have to remain silent.” 

Before Song could respond, both women felt the train begin to slow down suddenly. The wheels from outside screeched against the metal and Jisoo felt herself lurch forward as the momentum was not entirely lost on her body just yet. 

Why are we stopping? This train isn’t scheduled for another stop until midday tomorrow. She thought and got up to glance through the narrow aperture in the door. It was still dark outside, and snow billowed past the slit where she could see. 

*thud*

“What was that?” Song asked nervously and glanced up at the roof where particles of dust were shaken free and fell to the ground around them. She had also heard what sounded like something slam down on top of the train car right above them. Jisoo raised her hand to silence the speck and motioned for her to remain still while she crept towards the middle of the freight car.

They were very subtle, but Jisoo could hear footsteps above them. Someone had to be on top of the train walking on top of the roof, but that was impossible. Just moments ago they had been moving at well over one hundred kilometers per hour, then came to a screeching halt out of nowhere. 

After a few moments the footsteps subsided and all that could be heard was the whistling of the wind outside. “Stay here.” Jisoo whispered to Song who was still on the floor behind her. “I’m going to go see what that was.” She murmured. 

Without waiting for a response, Jisoo crept out from the freight car and slipped onto the narrow railing. It was pitch black outside and her eyes took some time to adjust to the darkness which enveloped the snowy landscape and trees around them. Shadows played tricks on her mind and seemed to dance like ghosts illuminated only by the faint fragments of moonlight visible on the cloudy night.

Effortlessly she leapt twelve or so feet into the air and landed on top of the now motionless train, which had become ominously quiet since it stopped. Jisoo glanced around the roof until she caught sight of a familiar dark silhouette across the freight car.

“You’re being followed.” Suji remarked, and pointed up the hill the train tracks were bound for. Jisoo frowned and glanced in the direction of her younger sister’s finger, where the dark outline of a military helicopter loomed in the distance, almost unseen in the night sky. “We need to move. Now.”

“H-How did you even find me?” Jisoo blurted dumbly as Suji strolled towards her purposefully and led her back down into the freight car. And how the hell did you stop this train?

Suji ignored her older sister and swung down into the freight car where Song was. Or rather, where she had been mere moments ago. “The speck you were talking to, where is she?” Her sibling asked and began to check under every barrel and crate she could find in search of the speck. “Goddamnit Jisoo! You let her get away?” 

“What the hell are you talking about? Song was~!”

“You actually fell for it…” Suji muttered and shook her head and realized that the speck was nowhere to be found in the freight car. “Alright look, we don’t have a lot of time before she reports back to the rest of her team and informs them that I’m here. So we need to go. Now.” Suji proclaimed.

Her younger sister’s eyes began to glow bright gold as she spoke, and Jisoo felt herself begin to shrink once again.