Bus Stop 13 ➼hood

The One After Two

|Calum|

❝ i don't like singing in the dark. something tends to sing with me.❞

***

The first thing I check is the driver's face. He's wearing a black snapback and a pair of sunglasses even though it's midnight.

At least he has a face... I'm pretty sure.

Man, this bus is fucking ancient. The double doors creak as it opens and I find myself almost reaching for my phone to call someone, anyone to get me instead.

But I get on it anyway. I choose a seat from one of the middle aisles and sit down...when a girl in a white sundress and long blond hair walks past me.

Whoa, what the fuck? I'm pretty sure no one was waiting there with me.

"Rosalyn, good evening. Been waiting long?" The bus driver suddenly asks as the doors close.

"Yes. Since 11.30."

Okay... Chills, chills...

"Where are you headed to?"

"The usual."

Her voice resonates complete innocence with every word. I turn my head a bit and see her sitting on the last aisle.

"What about you, Calum?"

"Wait, how did you-"

"Where are you headed to?"

This is seriously creeping me out.

"Uh, just the next neighbourhood please. I have a friend there."

"I thought you lived on the other side of town." The driver continues.

"I do. Wait, again, how do you-"

"Why did you go here then?"

"That's none of your business now, is it?" I snap, trying to mask my worry and fear. I whip out my phone and immediately text Luke, making sure to put it on silent mode before that.

Pick me up at Julian's. Please, it's an emergency.

I tear my eyes from my phone before it vibrates in my hand. Wow, that was fast.

Message not sent.

I swear, I must have tapped the resend button a million times.

"Calum Thomas Hood. Age 18. Norwest Christian College, Year 11, 6 feet tall, size 9 shoes, most recent ex-girlfriend was Emma Janice Garment." Rosalyn recites as if my life is a fucking bible to her.

My eyes widen and I stand up, clutching my phone tightly. This is too much. Luke was right, he is always right.

I need to get out of this bus.

"Let me out of here! Now, just open the damn fucking door!" I yell before I even know it, banging my fist against the dirty windows.

It takes me a while and a few peeks to notice that the views outside is unfamiliar, and though I can hear the engines...I can't feel us moving.

This suffocating feeling, the feeling like I'm being forced to travel inside a vacuum.

This is a ghost bus.

"LET ME OUT!"

"Have you not heard about bus stop 13, Calum Thomas Hood? Or bus 99?" Rosalyn asks calmly, one leg over another.

Her smile does not radiate warmth or happiness. It was bitter and sinister. A twisted grin.

I gulp.

"Once you go on bus 99, there is no such thing as out."

If you listen closely right now from wherever you're sitting reading this, you can probably hear my scream from a million miles away.

[dedicated to kinkycashton cause her stories are perf]