Psychopath

Chapter 4

At that moment, Kyle didn't know what to think.

He only knew what he was looking at: empty seats in the corner of his frightened eyes and the empty driver seat in front of him. He knew what this meant: no one was controlling this vehicle and he appeared to be the only passenger.

All of these didn't freak him out the most, though. The most terrifying thing was that........the steering wheel was turning on its own and the bus was still moving.

At this point, Kyle was hyperventilating. All of the color was drained from his face and his lips trembled.

He reached quickly for the wheel. He tried turning it: it didn't budge. Kyle panicked at an alarming rate. The wheel didn't synchronise with his hands' maneuvers. It seemed possessed. No. The whole BUS seemed possessed. A million thoughts entered Kyle's mind, but he tried to dismiss them as he attempted to regained control of the bus in vain. However, a few things still remained to be seen: even if the bus DID stop moving on it own, Kyle wouldn't be able to drive it.  It couldn't possibly be that hard, though.....right?

Just then, the wheel turned abruptly to the left, indicating a sharp turn. The vehicle turned left at an impossible speed. The force of the sudden movement ripped Kyle away from the wheel and threw him to the right-sided windows of the bus. He tumbled on top of the seats, grabbing his aching back. Kyle was in utter shock: the force had taken him by surprise. His head ached as well, and he couldn't concentrate very well, but he thought at that moment that he heard faint, overlapping voices. These voices began to affect him greatly, and with the accelerated movement of the bus, Kyle started feeling nauseous. He clutched his forehead in pain, seeing double of what was in front of him and dizziness overcoming him. The bus, ignoring Kyle's curent condition, then turned sharply to the right, in which Kyle was thrown over to the left side while hitting the seats, then pushed down to the floor, passing out instantly. 

The ride seemed to have gone for several hours. The sky outside had already begun to darken. The sun still emitted its now slightly dimmed light. In short, the whole outside area was beautiful.....despite the driver-less bus zooming around with a dark aura.

Kyle had been asleep for a long time. He still felt the pain all over his body. Regardless of his unconsciousness, he kept wishing he were someplace else. The school courtyard, the ice cream shop next to his house,.....his house. The comfort of his own room. The unexpected tidiness of the kitchen. The mystery of his attic. The safe, loving arms of his parents. The parents who cherished him....the parents who were always there for him....the parents who made sure that he was well, that he was healthy. 

The same parents whom Kyle abandoned in order to go on a field trip that took an unexpected turn.

He felt a sudden pang of guilt in his chest. In a way, this was all his fault. If he hadn't started failing in school, if he had only worked a bit harder, then his parents wouldn't have been obliged to set up tutoring in the first place, he wouldn't have been angry at them to the point where he wanted to run away from home. And enter a hellish situation in which he wasn't even sure whether he'd be able to get out. Only so little has happened, and yet Kyle already longed for his parents, for their forgiveness. A tear rolled down his left cheek and he knew that he was extremely frightened and upset. 

Then, the bus came to a sudden stop. This jolted Kyle and brought him back from his forced rest. He slowly opened his eyes and tried to get up. But the pain had reminded him of its presence, and he was forced down again. He took a deep breath and tried again, ignoring it. He finally managed to stand up inside the bus. He excruciatingly threw his fist in the air in victory. 

He continued celebrating, until his eyes met the window, more specifically outside it. It was already dark, probably passed his curfew. There were numerous trees in the area. The ground lacked plants; it didn't seem fertile. The whole place looked like an empty desert, save a couple of trees. 

Kyle's expression then changed. He was suddenly nervous, and he didn't feel like getting out of the bus. He slowly made his way to the cockpit, where the once sentient steering wheel now grew still. He stared at it, trembling. Just then, one of the mirror dice fell on the wheel and made it turn left with a small creak. Kyle yelped in shock and fear. At this point, anything could tip him off. He then noticed that the die indicated a certain side. He turned to look at the left side with fright. 

There, in the midst of the "desert", stood a ginormous building. It looked at least 20 meters high and had opaque windows. It seemed to be constructed of pure white marble, and appeared run-down and abandoned. The vibe bouncing off of the building wasn't at all pleasant: Kyle had the impression of staring at a haunted house. He lost all the color from his face just looking at it. He eyed every aspect of the building with fear. 

He then caught a glimpse of what looked like a ruined sign with big letters on it. 

It read: "Torn Ark Mental Hospital and Asylum".