The group of Skyfeller students with the tour guide finally arrived at the nature center. It was a white building with some windows and a flat roof. Trees were planted near and far from the building, and behind it Stella could see some sort of fence. An aviary, she assumed.
To Stella, the building could definitely use some potential. To the other students, however, it was an adequate resting place. Stella felt bad for the students around her; this was probably one of the few field trips they offered in Skyfeller. Otherwise, the dank, guarded academy was where all the students resided.
Back to the nature center, the guide pulled out a big box from the inside of the building, catching the attention of the group. The teachers with them growl at the students who try to go inside as well.
"Alright everyone," the guide says, "Here in the nature preserve, nature is in the heart of each and every one of our staff. We'd do anything to preserve it, and most of all conserve it. However, sometimes people - especially poachers - don't regard such values. I'll show you some of the stuff seized from these poachers aiming to make money over these unethical practices."
Opening the top lid of the box, she grabbed a purse out of crocodile skin, a box made from the corals in the Florida Keys, a hat of fox fur, and a jewelry box made out of a turtle shell.
"All of them," the guide continues, "had been seized, the criminals carrying them arrested."
A silence falls over the group.
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It wasn't the most exciting inside the nature center itself, but it snapped Stella out of the boredom that the guide had given over the items in the box.
Inside, there were terrariums and aquariums on shelves and tables, teeming with local wildlife. Samples of trees and different photographs of the forest also were in a mess around these tables.
The guys huddled around the insect section of the place, fascinated by the huge tarantula inside the terrarium on the table. The freshman started to sing "The Tarantula Song", which the others started to get annoyed with, but eventually even the seniors decided to go along with it anyway.
"Look at that huge bug there Dex; maybe we could stick that in your sister's room and see what she thinks." said Tony with a mischievous grin.
"Yeah, she'd definitely appreciate that." Dex laughed.
The others wandered around the center in mild curiosity at the different exhibits. Erin and her group teased some crayfish in the tank, tapping at the glass to watch them flinch.
Eventually, it was time to go back to the bus. Each student filed in and took a seat, Stella once again taking her spot near Ms. Honey. Where else was there to sit anyway?
However, Ms. Honey did not take her place. So did many other teachers. They stayed at the front of the bus, chatting with the driver about who knows what. Many students didn't mind, but after 10 minutes they grew restless.
"What are they talking about?" a girl with long dark hair asked.
"You just spoke my mind, Tara," said another girl with long brown hair in a ponytail. "It can't take this long to talk about something with the bus driver. He's as dull as a brick!"
"Haleigh has a point," Reyna pointed out. "There's probably something wrong with the bus. This thing breaks down almost all the time."
Students gradually started to notice and grow bored, many of them murmuring about why the bus hadn't left yet. Some teachers eventually did sit down, but some stayed up talking to the bus driver, one of them being Ms. Honey.
"Anyone know why we aren't moving yet? I'm so bored!" Tony complained.
"We would've heard something by now, Tony," Dex replied. "And the bus driver was driving, it's just you were so busy being bored you didn't even notice!"
"But it been at least 10 minutes of all of us sitting in this stuffy bus!" Tony said in a louder voice.
"Quiet down before people start to hear you! You know how the bus is in bad shape!" Dex snapped. Heads started to turn in their direction.
"Bad shape? Understatement of the year, Leonardi!" a senior boy sitting behind them scoffed.
"Stay out of this, Neil!" Dex replied.
"You three, drop it." Reyna said in a cautious tone. "We don't want to cause any worry. We're now too far away from the nature center to do anything about it."
"Then how come the teachers never sat down when we were moving?" Tara asked.
"They just didn't. Now shut that trap of yours, it's interrupting my story." Erin snarled from behind.
"Your story can wait, you know. You didn't have to go and lash out your temper on a freshman. I knew you were shallow, but not at times like this!" Reyna retorted.
"Anyone notice we're in the middle of nowhere!?" Tony called.
"For heaven's sakes shut up about it Tony!" Dex said. "We don't need to cause unnecessary trouble."
Suddenly, the bus jolted and tilted to the left, as if it was a plane hit with turbulence. Many were shaken, the girls shrieking in fright. Two of the teachers fell, and the mirror in the front showed the driver's face in shock.
"What was that!?" Haleigh became alarmed, taking out her phone hidden in her pocket and ducked down in her seat.
"Say nothing about this on social media, it's not the time!" Reyna snapped, "and about the bus, I have no idea. We haven't even gotten out of these woods!"
"Then what is going on!? Someone has to know!" Tara exclaimed.
"Listen kid, if someone knew they'd probably speak up! Isn't that right?!" Tony yelled.
"Well, they haven't." Dex pointed out.
In one swift motion, the bus door gets yanked open by one of the teachers, screws popping out from one of the hinges.
"We have a problem," the teacher says between gasping breaths. He sounded like he had just ran a marathon. "We need all of the students-"
Scuffling and shouting could be heard from the outside. Some of the students started to whimper, while some quietly ducked down in their seats.
Stella ducked too and looked out the window. Being in the very front certainly had its advantages this time around. People dressed in black surrounded the broken-down bus in the middle of the forest, but one robust man stood out from the rest.
The click of the gun loading is unmistakable as he roughly presses it against the teacher.
A hostage situation!?
These strange people were taking the bus hostage.
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Heyo everyone! *awkwardly waves* It's Nightwing...and yes it's been 3 months! I'M SORRY!
I got very busy and couldn't really get on Wattpad much. I was slowly working on it...
Then, the stupid app glitched on me during New Year's and deleted THIS WHOLE CHAPTER! I'M SORRY! I'm now going to stick with always writing stories on my laptop...never really liked the app anyway hahaa~!
Again, Critique is greatly appreciated!
I'm going to start making the chapters shorter from now on after Chapter 10 and the 2nd Author's Take is finished. Writing is so much fun though, but I feel as if it's boring you few readers too much. And, it'll help me update more.
I promise this won't end up like Phantom Story! I'm going to quickly finish Phantom Story (hopefully) and get it over with. Phantom's Story has been there since 2012. 2012!! I'm horrible, and plus Writer's Block is hard to cure anyway.
Nightwing is a horrible writer with a busy schedule...again, sorry this took too long.
YOU ARE READING
Edge Of Danger
Teen Fiction"We're now on the edge of danger; I wasn't sure if it was really there or maybe I was imagining things, but from what had been witnessed and done today, I know we have come ever so closer to the edge." Stella Galante is an incoming high school fresh...
