10 Minute Tales, Part 2

Oct 24 - Spirit Bus

David sighed as he sat down, looking around at the empty bus around him. It had already set off, the driver seemingly in a rush. He wasn't surprised, it was already ten minutes late. He shuffled as he stared out the window. It was approaching sunset, a brilliant orange painting the fields beside the long road. He sighed and reclined a little, bringing a book out and reading it. It took nearly half an hour to get to his village. Half an hour with which to do nothing. He sighed and looked around again. Usually, there were some people on with him, but this time there was nobody else. He got a brief sense of unease as a shadow brushed past him. His mind wandered, making him grin.

"Sorry if I'm disturbing you, ghosts." he chuckled softly. "I'll be gone soon."

"There, you see?" a voice replied. A woman's voice, one he hadn't heard before. He sat up and looked around, startled. "He doesn't mean to do anything."

"He's twitching." another voice replied. This one was deep, deeper than he recognised as human, a deep rumble that echoed in his body. "He heard you."

"Nonsense." the woman's voice replied, clearly smiling by now. "Humans twitch like that, don't they?"

"Only when startled."

"What the hell's going on?" he asked, looking around. He still couldn't see anybody, not even the driver. "Who's here?"

"See? He's getting scared."

"Oh, you can't tell that."

"I literally sense human emotions." the deep voice sighed. "He's nervous alright. He has to hear us."

"Oh, um..." the female voice hesitated. "Uh... oh! Oh, goodness..."

"Well?"

"He... yes, he does have a hint of the ancient blood. It's okay, everyone!" the voice paused for a moment. "You can come out!" Voices and figures faded into his perception. The figures were far from human; yes, they had a humanoid shape, but there was no denying their monstrous nature. One was even sat next to him, a feminine figure with large curved horns and feathered wings. She waved innocently with a self-conscious smile. He was panicking, he wanted to scream, he wanted to stop the bus and get off, but all he did was wave back gently. "Well, he hasn't panicked just yet." the first female commented. She reminded him of an angel in every sense, graceful and elegant. She was sat beside a demon, muscular and powerful but bearing purple skin and a spaded tail. He was looking out of the window, but those glimmering eyes betrayed his interest in the out-of-place human. David glanced out of the window, terrified but staying quiet. This was insane!