The Inevitable

Chapter 3

I spend the rest of the morning coming up with creative ideas on how to torture Paul. Staking him, setting him on fire, running him over with a car – twice. I cannot believe I used to date that prick! And to think that I was actually in love with him. I caught him making out with some bimbo on my own bed. We had been dating for two months before that happened. There were all sorts of cheesy promises that were made during that time. 'I will love you for eternity.' 'My heart belongs only to you.' And my personal favorite, 'You are the only one for me.' Apparently, he has cheated on me with three different girls while we were dating. I still feel an ache in my heart every time I think about it. An ache I will never admit to anyone. The first time I open my heart to someone, and allow them to see the darkest parts of me, he turns around and steps all over me. I haven't been able to let anyone in ever since. And I have already promised myself never to let anyone in again. Ever.

I try to take Paul and his stupidity off my mind and text my dad instead. I tell him that I am going shopping with Debs. He usually replies back within a few minutes. It has been two hours and I still haven't heard of him. I hope he is okay. I know he has been feeling extra sick these days, but he's tough. I guess I know where I get my toughness from. So, I know that he will pull through. Everyone is telling me that he will be leaving this world soon, but I don't listen to them. They don't know him like I do. They don't know that he is the most willful fighter that I have ever seen in my life. He will beat the cancer. He will get through. I know he will. He has to.

The last bell of the day finally goes off and I meet Debs at our shared locker. She gives me one of her warm smiles.

"So, you ready to go?" She says, cheerfully.

I shrug. "Yeah, I guess so. I'm just worried about my dad. He hasn't replied back to me yet." I say, feeling uneasy.

Debs comforts me by assuring me that he is alright. She knows my dad as well as I do; she tells me that he is a fighter, and that he probably misplaced his phone. I nod in agreement and we make our way towards the bus.

We walk and wait for the bus in silence. There are a bunch of students waiting for the bus with us. Some are laughing, others are shouting. It's a Friday, I guess their excitement for the weekend is understandable, but God how I wish they could all shut up. There is an upsetting feeling at the pit of my stomach, and it just won't go away. I brush it off as worried nerves for my dad's absence. But the uneasiness keeps growing stronger and stronger. I guess my face has gone pale because Debs is looking at me with complete shock on her face.

"Sweety, are you okay?" she says, her voice filled with concern.

"Yeah. Fine, don't worry." I reply, faintly.

I try my best to stand up straight. I look up to the sky and turn my back at her. If I puke, I'd rather she isn't on the other side of it. As I bring my head to look straight ahead, I suddenly see the black figure walking away in the bushes again.

I quickly turn towards Debs and say with urgency, "Hey! Did you see that?"

She turns to where I am pointing and squints, "What exactly am I looking for?"

"A black shadow. Just there, in the bushes. I saw the same thing this morning as I was coming to school." I say, short of breath.

"There is nothing there. Are you sure you're okay? We can just go to your house and chill there, if you want." She says.

I shake my head, "Forget it. I'm probably just anxious because of my dad." I say, trying to relax.

A few seconds later, we see the bus arriving. The feeling in my stomach has slightly dulled. I take the seat beside the window, Debs sitting beside me. I look out into the bushes, and I see nothing there. I probably was imagining it. The bus starts moving and the noise in the bus is louder than ever. I don't remember the noise ever being this loud before. And gosh, the stench of sweat mixed with perfume and cologne has highly intensified. I can feel a headache coming along. Actually, scratch that. It is definitely a migraine that I will be getting. I look at Debs and she's playing with her long blonde hair. Braiding it, then unbraiding it.

With great struggle, I open my mouth and begin to say, "Debs, is it too late to turn around? I don't think I can..." The uneasiness in my stomach and the pounding in my head had just multiplied by a hundred. I fall off the chair to my knees, my hands pinned to my exploding head, screaming at the top of my lungs.

I don't stop, even when I feel a shake as strong as an earthquake hit the bus. I don't stop, even when I see the bus passengers around me are screaming just as loud as I am. I close my eyes, and hold my breath. I felt the impact on the bus a few seconds after my head began to explode. I keep my eyes tightly shut, not wanting to see what had just happened. This will all be over soon. Five seconds. This will all be over soon. Ten seconds. Just a little bit longer. Fifteen seconds. Debs! My eyes fly open thinking about my fragile, sweet friend and what an impact of such force could have done to her. I look at the seat to where she was sitting, but I don't see her. I blink several times trying to get my eyes to adjust to the situation at hand. Blood. All I can see is blood; so much of it, everywhere. I can't hear a single thing due to the loud ringing in my ears. After what felt like a lifetime, my eyes were finally able to acknowledge the situation at hand. And now, I can't think of anything else other than finding Debs, and getting us both the hell out of here. Since I am still on my knees, I start to crawl and make my way though... the bodies?... the assumption of everyone on this bus presumably dead, makes me want to vomit. But a strange voice in my head keeps screaming out at me telling me to keep it together. I can do this, I need to find Debs, I have to find her. I can do this.

I proceed with my crawling, my hands and knees digging into the glass. I can feel the glass piercing into my skin, but I am completely numb all over that I don't feel a thing. I cannot bring myself to look at what the damage has done to me. As far as I can tell, I do not think I have broken anything, yet.

"Debs..." I try to say, but only a low, faint noise comes out.

I have to keep going. She needs my help. And just when I was starting to lose hope, I see her purse at the end of the bus. I blink a few times and look around only to find Debs lying a few feet away from it. Her hair has changed from blond, to red in a matter of seconds and I think my heart has just stopped beating.

The shock of her body laying motionless on this tilted bus is by far the most prevalent fright I have ever received in my life. I slowly make my way towards her, my face soaked with tears. I finally reach her cut and bloodied body and carry her in my arms.

"Debs? Debs open your eyes. Please, please open your eyes." I am wailing and crying and holding her limb body close to mine. My energy quickly draining. "Don't do this to me. You can't leave me." And that is when I finally hear it. Even though I feel partially deaf due to the ringing in my ears, I can hear the sirens approaching.

"They're coming. Don't you worry. Hang on. Please. Please." I whisper through heavy sobs.

I am rocking Debs body back and forth when I feel two hands trying to carry me out of the bus. The paramedics, they are finally here. They can save Debs now. And maybe I can finally take a nap. I am so tired. I have never felt this tired before. I surrender to the person carrying me because I know they are taking me to safety. I don't know how it happened, but I am out of the bus, and we are walking towards a black van. Now I know my eyes are hazy, but isn't the ambulance supposed to be white and red? I try to force my eyes open and take a peek at the person carrying me. My legs stop moving when I realize that it is the black figure from the bushes dragging me to the inside of this big black van.

"No. Stop, get away from me." I try to say. But my voice is weak, and my body is even weaker. "No...no." I continue

"Get into the van, Lexi." The black figure says sternly. "Stop trying to fight it. Get in the van, or I will have to use force."

I look into the driver's window and see another black figure. But this one has red stripes on his or her jacket. Where are they taking me? I need to get out of here.

"Help. Someone, please." I try to shout.

And everything goes dark.