Tick Tock

I awoke with a jerk as the bus bumped over an enormous pothole. Six of my friends were at the front, singing and laughing. I sat alone at the back, exhausted from the day's outing. We were the only ones in the bus apart from the driver and the conductor.

"Hey Mandy," Prescilla called. "Come and join the fun."

"You guys carry on," I answered sleepily.

Stifling a yawn, I stared sleepily outside at the silhouetted trees whirring past in the dark. It was twilight. Chilly wind blew in through the open window. Reaching out, I closed the window and settled in for another nap, cursing the bumpy road. My friends' laughs and the low droning of the engine were the last things I heard before I fell asleep- before the nightmare.

I don't know how long I'd been sleeping but when I woke up, I discovered three disturbing facts. First, I noticed that the darkness was trying to engulf me. I couldn't see a thing. It was the same if I opened my eyes or not. The second thing I felt was coldness. It made my skin ache with numbness. The third thing was that the bus was unusually quiet, save from the rattling and droning. I suddenly felt hair rising from the back of my neck. At the same time, my heartbeat raced with uneasiness.

Timidly, I called to my friends. No answer. There was no light except for the faint moonlight occasionally streaming in through the tall trees.

Groping in the darkness, i made my way up front and saw no one. The first emotion that I came across at finding the empty seats was anger. How could they get off, leaving me behind? But the next thing I discovered was so shocking and impossible that it brought me down to my knees.

I walked further up and asked the driver what was going on. But I never completed my sentence. My voice was caught in mid air as I realized I was talking to thin air. There was no driver. No conductor.  No one but me. I suddenly felt a presence in the bus with me. Not a comforting presence but something sinister. I shuddered.

As I made this discovery, the bus picked up speed. The bumpy ride I had been cursing before was nothing compared to the ride that took place next. The bus would climb up a crescendo and go hurtling down steep slopes and go spiraling. Everything became a blur of black and blue. I was literally flying about in the bus and getting hit by random objects. I couldn't even hear my own screams amid the tumultuous roar from the bus. I grabbed one of the seat's leg and held on for dear life, all the while wishing it was all over.

Even as I was wishing for things and thinking it was the end of the world, the bus came to an abrupt halt, the impact sending me flying to the front. I heard a sickening crack as my head made contact with metal. And before I could process into thought what happened, I was thrown unceremoniously out of the bus. I landed on the hard ground on my face and groaned in pain as I watched the black and yellow ghost bus rampaging away. And then I passed out.

I thought I died. But when I came around, I realized with bitter understanding that I was still lying on the ground where the bus had thrown me. It was obvious that it was no dream. Hugging myself miserably, I wandered aimlessly in the unfamiliar wood. Every step I took was accompanied by an agonizing pain in my head. I checked to find a huge bump on my crown. Fortunately or unfortunately, I came across a small town in the middle of the wood. Feeling weak with relief, I stumbled toward it in hope of finding help.

But as I went closer, I suddenly became uneasy. Something didn't seem quite right about the town. It was old and deserted. The few street lamps flickered on and off, giving it a more forbidding look. It was a dead town. Abandoned. Forgotten. My feet crunched on the dead leaves and layers of dust as I walked to the heart of the town. The whole scene made me nervous; made me want to take to my heels and run away as far as possible but somehow I couldn't turn around. I felt I came for a reason, although I couldn't quite figure out what or why.

The paints on the walls were old and peeling off. Windows were either shattered or broken. Cobwebs everywhere. The wind howled and blew pieces of papers about. I felt as though something would loom out of the shadows and grabbed me anytime. My instincts screamed in my head, begging me to turn around and walk away. But I couldn't. The deeper I got into the town, the clearer my purpose seemed to get. Something needed me. I had to find it.

My eyes darted about. My whole body was rigid and alert and braced for anything ugly. I felt terrified but the quest seemed very important. I passed the dark alley, which felt colder than the rest of the town. Without being aware, I found myself turning around and standing still at the end of the alleyway. I couldn't see anything but blackness up ahead. I stood there undecided, feeling chilled to the bone from the cold and that was when I heard it.

A low inhuman groan came from the far end of the alley. Goosebumps covered my flesh. I listened again but I heard only silence. Again, I found my body dragging itself a step into the darkened alleyway much against my mind. It almost felt I was being possessed by some unknown spirit. My mind said no but my body was all for it.

I heard it again. Louder this time. I found myself creeping stealthily towards the sound, squinting into the darkness. The closer I went, the louder the sound got, more desperate as though it was begging. Suddenly, the vision became clear. I needed to find the creature who was groaning.

When my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I could make out a small backdoor from where the sound was coming from. With trembling fingers, I turned the knob. It didn't budge. The groaning became louder. Damn it! I turned it again. Louder, almost like it was dying. I became desperate. I needed to get in there. That thing needed me. I shook and turned and slammed the knob and at last, I heard a click of the lock.

Before I could push it open, I froze from where I stood. I felt a presence behind me, breathing cold air down my back. So close. I gulped and suddenly I was sweating despite the cold. Slowly, I turned around and saw a dark form. A form of a man. A man who looked like death. He had a face as pale as the moon and was shrouded in a black cape. Something about him terrified me. He lifted his dead pale hand, swinging an old clock. It was rusted brown and no one will even believe its working unless they see the second hand moving.

"Tick tock," he rasped in an icy voice and vanished in thin air.

It took me a while to gather my senses about what just happened. Tick tock? Tick tock!? What was that supposed to mean? Who was he? What's going on? All of a sudden, the image of the grim reaper just flashed in my mind. Tick tock. Was it a warning? Was my time running out?

Even before I could finish assuming, a sudden gust of strong wind wrecked havoc in the alley. It looked like a small cyclone, tearing apart everything that came its way. Everything became a pandemonium of chaos. Panic stricken, I stumbled back against the door. It gave way and I screamed as I fell backward into the room I had opened.

No sooner than I got into the room, my nose picked up a smell. It was an overpowering stench of decay, of rotten meat or carcass of dead animals. My head hurt from sensory overload and I gagged. And then I saw it. The thing I was after. I knew I'd never forget that horrifying sight as I let out a bloodcurdling scream and tottered backward. I tripped on the doorway and fell, screaming. There was no bottom to where I fell. Down and down I fell.

I awoke in the bus, gasping as the bus jerked heavily. I felt wet and sticky from sweating. I tried to remember where I was and saw my friends piling out of the bus.

"Come on sleepyhead," Julie called. "We've reached."

Shaken badly from the nightmare, I tottered out in a daze. It was all a dream? I gave a nervous chuckle. It was a dream. Just a dream. I'm safe. Safe and sound. I wanted to jump for joy and scream with delight. How good normal life felt!

In my excitement, as I jumped out of the bus, I bumped into a late night stranger as he was getting into the bus. His things fell from his hands. I bent down to help him pick his stuff.

"I'm sorry sir, I -

My mouth suddenly went dry as I spotted an object. An old brownish clock, dead except for the moving second hand. Dreading, I looked up. The stranger had no face beneath his hood.

"Tick tock," he said.