Psychopath

Chapter 3

Kyle solemnly woke up the next morning. The events of the night before devastated him. It was as if the moment was a nightmare that kept repeating itself over and over again. The thought reminded Kyle of a lyric from a song he enjoyed. He somehow couldn't put his finger on it...

He remembered that today was field trip day. Their class will visit an asylum and learn about how patients would cope with the living conditions. Afterwards, they will stay at a nice hotel where they could cool off by the pool and sip on pineapple smoothies. This was considered to be every 6th-grader's dream: the thought of that temporary paradise excited Kyle.

Yet, he still felt troubled. If anything, he felt ashamed of wanting to leave his parents for awhile. All he really wanted was a break. Kyle didn't entirely lie to his mother: this field trip would help him. 'This is for the best....for now....' he thought. He left the bed to get ready.

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(Time skip: 7:46 A.M.)

Kyle had finished his breakfast. He opened his bag to check one more time if he had everything. Reassured, he closed it, picked it up and threw it on his back. He turned around to walk out the front door when all of a sudden he heard footsteps coming down the stairs. He turned to the direction of the noise.

His parents stood before him. They were both still dressed in their pyjamas. Mrs. Landen's hair was put in a messy bun, and her face looked as if life had been sucked out of it. Mr. Landen's emerald eyes were long and tired, and he was sharing the same groggy expression as his wife. The three of them stared in silence, and words seemed forbidden. Just then, Kyle's parents walked over to him and hugged him deeply. Their expressions changed from solemn to sad.

"Goodbye, honey." His mother whispered.

There was a long pause. Then, Mr. and Mrs. Landen pulled away from their son. Kyle nodded in response and turned around to exit the house. As he proceeded out the door, he overheard his father saying:

"Just know that we love you."

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(Time skip: around 8:30 A.M. The field trip bus)

"Let me see! Let me see!"

"NO! I got it FIRST!"

"Come on, Ronnie!"

The bus continued to roll on as the 6th-graders shouted and fooled around. Kyle, however, didn't participate in the ruckus. He simply looked out the window. He observed the rather gloomy sky, the scene before him, the evergreen trees speeding by. He concluded that this was quite fun to watch. He didn't want it to end.

Suddenly, his best friend, Ronnie, stood up to announce something.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" he began. "What we're going to be experiencing would be something of a simple moment. It'll be trees and paradise....and pineapple smoothies! We're the 6th grade. We have a rough year, including the big exams coming up. Which is why we should cherish this moment as much as possible!

It's time we finally had a break for once!" he continued as he raised a invisible cup in the air. "To prosperity! To health! To.......the 6th grade!"

"To the 6th grade!" everyone else chimed in, raising their invisible cups. Even Kyle couldn't resist joing in.

"Mr. Cloring!" the teacher exclaimed abruptly, whipping around to face Ronnie. "I expect better from you! Refrain from influencing your classmates at once!"

Ronnie let out a big hmpf! and slumped in his seat. He then turned to Kyle.

"So, dude....what are you thinking about?"

"Stuff..." Kyle replied. "Mostly this field trip. I wonder if those mental patients creep around the asylum and go at the end of hallways staring in the camera with a scary face."

"You don't say...." Ronnie implied. "What's next? Aliens held captive in the asylum and we have to save them from their torturers?"

"Don't even joke about that, Ronnie." Kyle threatened, smiling. "Aliens do exist! They just don't reveal themselves yet."

"Whatever you say, man." Ronnie laughed, patting his friend on the back.

Just then the bus entered a long, dark tunnel. No trace of light was present, and it made Kyle slightly uncomfortable, not that he had a deep fear of the dark. He didn't dwell so much in it, but he felt as though there was a foreign presence as the bus was rolling. What was even more strange, was that all the noises around him started to grow quieter.

"Hey, Ronnie?" Kyle asked, the anxiety evident in his voice. "Don't you feel that something's.....off?" He began to shake in his seat. He received no response. This only terrified him even more.

"Ronnie, answer me." He demanded. Still no response. "Ronnie?" He was now shivering like a leaf. "It's n-not funny, man. Kn-knock it off." He reached across the seat in order to grab his friend's arm. He only made contact with air. Kyle was baffled by this. He then touched Ronnie's seat anxiously and ran his hand across it. It was empty: it was as if his friend vanished into thin air.

Kyle was now trembling greatly. He didn't have the slightest clue as to what was going on.

"Guys??" he yelled. "Anyone?!" He was only met with silence. An uncomfortable, terrifying silence. All of a sudden, that very silence was replaced by heavy, raspy breathing. Kyle listened attentively. He wondered who or what was present in front of the bus. 'Is it one of the other students?', he thought. It was less likely, though. That breathing...that didn't sound human. That sounded like a foreign being. 'An alien.....', he thought. He hesitated before taking a peek toward the front of the bus. He couldn't make out exactly what he witnessed, but he believed that he saw two bloodshot pupils staring back at him, and what appeared to be a ghost of a smile.

The two dots suddenly disappeared: out the front window, a small peck of light from a distance grew closer and closer. Soon enough, the bus left the tunnel. If only everyone else had appeared; Kyle would have been more relieved. He looked around him with a petrified look. All of the other seats were empty, there was silence once again.

"D-driver?" he mumbled. "Mr. b-bus driver, s-sir...." Using all the courage he could muster, he stood up. "S-sir...." He slowly made his way toward the front of the bus. "Ever-ryone e-else......disappeared......They're all g-gone......" He went next to the driver seat so he could face him.

The seat was also vacant.