Night Bus.

I let out a yawn and leaned my forehead up against the cold glass of the window, listening to the rattle of the bus engine. It had been a long day at work and every muscle in my body aches, especially my feet. Switching to the night shift might have been a bad idea after all. I just wanted to get home and dive into my bed, but I still had a long ride ahead of me. My eyes were growing heavy and I was worried that I might fall asleep.

Besides me, and of course the driver, there was only one other person on the bus. There was a young woman in a waitress uniform who looked just as tired as me. She sat in the seat across from me, but neither of us made any attempts to speak to one another. I'm sure that, like me, she wanted nothing more than to be home and in bed right now.

My eyes were starting to shut. The never ending rows of passing buildings was almost hypnotic. I rubbed my eyes, smudging my makeup in the process. I kept telling myself to hang on for just a bit more, but it was getting harder to fight it. Every blink was getting slower and longer until my eyes were refusing to open again. Rain splashed the window, but the air in the bus was warm. It almost felt cozy. Once more, my eyelids began to shut. I felt my mind start to fade. I almost forgot where I was, when the sound of crying pulled me back.

I opened my eyes just in time to see the face. It wasn't a human face, but it looked like one. It was massive, filling the space between two buildings. The face had no expression, it just stared forward blankly. The bus drove passed it without any hesitation and in that one instant it's eyes turned to meet mine. There was a clear intelligence in its gaze. It sent a shiver through my spine.

I couldn't move. Even after the face was long gone, I kept on staring out the window with wide eyes trying to make sense of what I had seen. At that time, I realized that I could no longer recognize any of the buildings. It looked like a completely different section of the city that I had never seen before. Maybe I had fallen asleep after all. Worried that I missed my stop, I perked up my head and looked around.

The woman in the waitress uniform across from me was crying, she had been the whole time. She hid her face in her palms and shook her head wildly. She seemed to be mumbling something, but I could hardly make it out through the sound of her crying. All I could understand that came out was the word "no" over and over again. I wondered if I should say something to her, if I should see if she's all right. I opened my mouth, but no words came out. I decided that it was best to mind my own business and I reached to pull the cord for the bell to get off.

"No don't!" screamed the woman with her face buried in her palms. "You can't go out there!"

She sounded terrified and if I were to be honest, her reaction only wanted me to get away from her more. I ringed the bell and she let out another scream. The bus driver slammed on the brakes and yelled at me to get off. The woman looked up at me and I saw then that her eyes were gone, just two empty black circles in her face. The tears she cried, were bright red. She kept screaming over and over again that I couldn't go out there. I quickly grabbed my things and rushed out the door of the bus.

I stepped out into darkness. The street was there, but it looked like an image projected onto black cloth. I heard the bus drive off, but when I turned there was nothing there. I could hear the sound of the falling rain, but felt none of its wetness. I could still hear the rumble of the engine as it faded away. Before me, there was only black. Surely, I was dreaming. I had to be. I pinched my arm, knowing that I would soon wake up in my seat on the bus. Only, that didn't happen.

A face emerged the darkness. It was the same one that I had seen before. It was followed by another, and another. I was soon surrounded by them. Nowhere to run. They watched me with their blank stares. It was as though they were looking through me. Into me.