Then the train stopped. The doors opened. Nora looked around once more and got on.

Inside, the train was almost completely empty. The lights above her flickered as she walked through the carriage. Dust covered the seats. She passed several compartments before choosing one by the window and sat down. Outside, there was nothing to see. Just darkness.

The train began to move. Nora watched her own reflection in the glass. For a while, that was all she had for company.

Then the compartment door opened. A man stood there. He wore a dark coat and an old-fashioned hat. In one hand he carried a worn leather briefcase.

“May I?”

Nora moved her coat from the seat opposite. “Sure.”

He sat down. The briefcase stayed on his lap. Neither of them spoke for a while. The train rocked gently from side to side.

“Strange night for a train ride,” the man said.

Nora gave a small laugh. “Yeah. I didn’t even see anyone at the station.”

The man looked at her. “Most people don’t see what they’re not meant to see.”

Nora wasn’t sure what that meant. Her eyes went to the briefcase. It was old. The leather had cracked around the edges. There were a few strange marks scratched into the surface. She looked away. A few seconds later, she looked again.

“What’s in there?”

The man glanced down at the case. “Nothing you need to worry about.”

Nora smiled. “That’s not really an answer.”

“No.” He looked out the window. “It’s the answer you’re getting.”

She laughed again, but the man didn’t. The briefcase sat quietly on his lap. Nora stared at it. There was something about it. Not the markings. Not the leather. She simply wanted to know.

“What’s in it?”

This time the man looked directly at her. “You really don’t want to know.”

Nora leaned back. “Why?”

He didn’t answer. The train went into a tunnel. The lights flickered. Nora looked down at the briefcase again.

“Can I see?”

The man sighed. “You’ve already been warned.”

He placed the briefcase on the seat between them. For a moment, neither of them moved. Then he opened the latches. The lid lifted.

Nora looked inside. Nothing. Just an empty case. She frowned. “That’s it?”

The man said nothing.

Nora leaned closer. Something was wrong. The inside of the case wasn’t dark. It was empty. Not empty in the ordinary sense. There was no bottom. No lining. No shadow. Just black.

Nora stared at it. The blackness seemed to move. She leaned closer.

“Nora.”

The man’s voice sounded very far away. She didn’t answer. Something pulled at her. Not her body. Something deeper. The compartment disappeared. The train disappeared. The man disappeared. Then everything went black.

Nora woke up on the platform. She sat up slowly. The train was gone. For a moment she couldn’t remember how she had got there. Then she saw the briefcase, lying beside her. Closed.

She stared at it. She should leave it. That was the sensible thing to do. Nora reached for it anyway. It was heavier than she expected. She stood up and looked down the tracks. Nothing.

She walked away from the station with the briefcase in her hand. Every few steps she looked back. Nobody followed her.

The road into town was quiet. The mist had begun to thin. She was almost at the first row of houses when she saw someone standing beneath a streetlight. A woman. Long coat. Scarf wrapped around her neck.

She looked at the briefcase. “You shouldn’t have taken that.”

Nora stopped. “Who are you?”

The woman didn’t answer.

“Where did it come from?”

“Leave it.”

Nora held the case closer. “What’s inside?”

The woman looked at her for a long moment. “It’s not about what’s inside.”

Nora waited.

“It’s about what it does.”

Then she walked away. Nora watched her disappear around the corner. She looked down at the briefcase. For a moment, she considered putting it down. She didn’t.

Her apartment was small and quiet. Nora locked the door behind her and put the briefcase on the kitchen table. She stood there looking at it. The warning came back to her. Leave it.

She went to the sink. Made herself a glass of water. Came back. The briefcase was still there. She sat down. Nothing happened.

Nora opened her laptop. She tried to search for the markings on the case. Nothing useful came up. She closed the laptop. Looked at the case again. She reached out and touched it.

The briefcase gave a small click. Nora pulled her hand back.

Silence.

Then — knock.

She looked towards the front door. Another knock. She stood up. “Hello?”

Nothing.

She walked to the door and looked through the peephole. The hallway was empty. She waited. Nothing.

Then she heard another knock. Behind her.

Nora turned. The sound had come from the kitchen. The briefcase was moving. Just slightly at first. Then again.

Knock.

The case shook. Nora backed away. A thin black line appeared around the edge of the lid. Something was leaking out. It spread across the table. Slowly. Like ink.

Nora couldn’t move. The blackness reached the edge of the table and dropped onto the floor. It kept coming. She turned towards the door. The handle wouldn’t move. She pulled harder. Nothing.

Behind her, the briefcase opened. Nora turned. There was no leather lining anymore. No bottom. Only darkness. She tried to scream. The room went quiet. Something wrapped around her ankle. She looked down.

Then she was pulled backwards.

The last thing she saw was the briefcase lying open on the table. Waiting.

The next morning, Nora’s apartment was empty. The door was still locked. Nothing appeared to be missing. Nothing appeared to be disturbed.

Except for the briefcase. It was sitting on the kitchen table. Closed. Waiting for someone else to open it.