Escape The Night

Chapter 4

Carmin looked out the window of the bus, her eyes scanning the outside world for any hint of danger . She inspected the passing grove of trees , but nothing seemed to be moving . She looked at a few bushes that the bus had already passe , but nothing lept out of them . Carmin sighed, slightly disappointed . She looked over her shoulder at all the other kids and teens that were stuffed into the small bus . There was at least two kids in every seat . In some seats there were about five little kids squashed together , some sitting on the floor of the bus . The bus smelled thickly of sweat and worry , never the best combination . 

Carmin gagged and covered her mouth , trying to block the terrible stench . She glanced back out the window . The bus was passing through a small forest , or more precissely , a group of flimsy  trees . Though the trees were sparse and far apart , there still could be something dangerous lurking behind them , so there was a gunman at ever 4th window , their guns trained on the passing trees . Carmin felt like laughing at them ; the last group of creatures they saw were about 5 miles back , and if there were any creatures in the forest , they would have fled when they heard the sound of the buses , which strangely resembled the sound of strangled coughing . 

There was a gunman in the seat behind Carmin , his gun still pointed out the window , but his arms were getting tired and he looked bored out of his mind . Carmin looked at him sympathetically . Their "leader " , Colton , never let them take breaks or switch , so by the end of the day , their arms were like jelly . Carmin sighed and turned her attention back to the bus , wanting to take her mind off the forest and what might (or might not ) be hiding there . 

She could see Blake and all the other tree-dwelling kids at the back of the bus , laughing about some unknown joke . Carmin didn't have the guts to join them . She never did really like hanging around many other people . What's the use of being around people when you can't express your opinion or have a conversation . She shook her head and looked toward the front of the bus looking for Meria or Amya , but she could spot neither . 

With a sad sniff , Carmin turned back to the window , once again . They had passed the grove of trees a little while ago and now all that Carmin could see was a long stretched of pale , sickly grass , that was once green and lush , but had died when the sickness broke out . 

Carmin cringed as she remembered the beginning of it all . She was at school the day the announcement was made . The vice principal , Mr . Dewy , had said stated over the intercom that there was going to be a school gathering in the gym/cafeteria/quit place . At first , Carmin thought that it had something to do with the cafeteria food , or the baseball equipment , or something unimportant like that , but there were whispers that there was some sort disease or flu spreading , and the school had to check the students for it . 

When Carmin's class entered the cafeteria , they were met complete silence . All the other grades were there , freshmen , seniors and juniors . Carmin sat near the back of the cafeteria out of habit . A few other kids sat at her table , but they were all mostly at the front of the cafeteria . Mr. Dewy began in a strained voice ," Students , there have been rumors roming around campus that there is a virus going around .  I assembled you all here so that we could discuss it . Yes , there is a sickness , but no , it will not get to our school . " 

At the precise moment he said the last letter of school , there was a loud crash from somewhere in the school . Mr. Dewy ran down from the stage and sprinted out the cafeteria door . A few of the teachers followed him , but most stayed behind with the students , there faces frightened . They all waited . And waited . And waited . But Mr. Dewy and the teachers didn't return . After waiting for about ten minutes , the students started to get nervous . A rush of aggitated whisper broke out , breaking the earlier silence . The remaining teachers formed a small circle near the cafeteria door , and started whispering about what they should do . 

Eventually , three of the 8 teachers offered to go look for them , but their voices were small and frightened , like a child who had just had a horrific nightmare . The three teachers walked hesintally toward the one entrance and exit , the cafeteria door . Carmin waved at them encouragingly , but none of them seemed to notice . All their attention was focused on the door , oblivious to the rest of the world . 

Once the three teachers were out of the doors , the five remaining teachers closed the door tightly and snapped it shut with the emergency lock . A few minutes later , there came a peculiar sound from outside of the door . It sounded like a scraping , clawing , barking sound , kind of like a rabid dog . The door shook on its hinges : something was throwing itself against the door in an attempt to get in . The teachers stiffened and watched the door jump , their feet frozen in place . 

Carmin stared wide eyed at the door . She sprang up form the table and darted to the teachers lounge , her nerves on end , her sences escalating . She threw open the door and flew in . She shut the door and frantically looked for an escape route . There was a window near the far wall , an unknown door about 6 six feet away on the right wall and a table and coffee machine by the left wall . 

Carmin heard screaming and running from outside the door , but she didn't dare go and look at what was happening . She was at the window when she heard the door open and then slam shut . She spun around expecting to see ....something ....a monster , maybe , or a blood thirsty animal , but she saw that it was a few of her classmates . There were five of them , three boys and two girls . Carmin nodded at them and turned back to the window , which was now almost all the way up . The window seal's wood groaned and creaked , reluctantly opening . Carmin heaved the rest of the window open and looked outside at the grey world . She looked at the ground , measuring how far the distance was between it and the window seal . 

The distance was long , about 15 feet ,  but nothing that could break her leg , if she landed correctly . Carmin glanced over her shoulder and saw that two of the three boys were propping chairs against the door so that nothing could get in . The other boy and two girls were scurrying around the room, looking for something to use as a weapon . Carmin shrugged and put her leg out of the window . She braced herself against the shock she was going to feel when she hit the ground , thanks to gravity . 

Carmin breathed deeply and jumped out of the window . 

Carmin opened her eyes sleepily and watched as the world blurred past . The sickness had been around for about a month , but to Carmin it felt like it had been around for years . She had lost so many people to the disease . Her Mom , her Dad , her two sisters , Emily and Heather , and even her best friend , Terry , had been eaten . Carmin shuddered at the memory . 

Carmin lurched forward as the bus came to a shuddering halt . She heard screams and the sound of guns being loaded . The hair on Carmin's arms stood up on end . Something was wrong . 

(A/N:Duh )