PHOTOGRAPH

Chapter 34

The bus ride was extremely quiet. Not like before when excited chatter about the zoo filled the bus. Everyone was exhausted from their trip.

One bus had already loaded and left while the others were still looking for a missing Virgil.

Tim sat next to Chance with his head laying on his lover's shoulder as he thumbed through the pictures on his camera. Austin quietly scolded Virgil for wandering off. Avi had dozed off with his head leaning back on the seat. Adam happily ate his snow cone. Daryl and Jenika whispered softly to one another as they held hands. Tina was reading a book that she had brought, thankful that all was peace and quiet.

A sudden hard bump causes Tina to look up from her book. "OH, MY GOD!! MR. WRIGHT??!!" She screams as she sees the unconscious bus driver slumped over the steering wheel.

The bus takes a sudden turn to the right and crashes through a guard rail. Screams are heard as the bus rolls over several times down a steep embankment, tossing the ones inside around like clothes in a dryer.

The bus comes to rest on its side, blocking the door.

Amongst the broken glass, broken seats and twisted metal, whimpers and cries were the only sounds.

Tim coughs from the settling dust as he slowly opens his eyes. His body ached from being slammed around. What in the hell happened? Why was he laying on the side of the bus? Everything happened so fast. One minute, he was scrolling through his photographs, the next minute, he's lying on the side of the bus covered in broken glass.

Slowly turning his head, he looks at the person lying next to him. The patient's eyes were opened and fixed. Blood ran from her mouth and nose.

Tim whimpers as he tries to scoot away from the deceased girl, cutting his hand on a piece of glass.

Hearing a groan beside him, he quickly jumps and looks around to see Adam rubbing his head.

"Adam! Adam!" Tim loudly whispers as he gets to his knees and gently shakes the blonde.

"Oh, my head." Adam groans. He opens his eyes to see the brunette beside him. "Photograph? Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I think so." Tim nods, looking at his bleeding hand.

"What the hell happen?" Adam asks as Tim helps him sit up. He looks around to see the bus littered with bodies. "Why is everyone sleeping on the side of the bus? Is that blood or is it my snowcone?"

Tim could only shake his head as he scans the bus looking for his boyfriend and his other friends.

"Oh, my God." He whispers as he sees Chance laying nearby. He prayed as he crawled across the broken glass to his lover.

Others were beginning to stir. Jenika was crying holding her arm that definitely looked broken. Daryl seemed to be unharmed as he held her close.

Adam had come across Avi and Austin. Besides Austin having a pretty bad cut on his arm, they looked okay, just shaken.

"Chance?" Tim calls softly as he shakes the unconscious man. "CHANCE!! PLEASE, WAKE UP!!" He shouts as he begins to cry. "Oh, dear God." He whispers as he sees blood coming from his lover's head.

"Timmy?"

Tim looks around as he hears Tina's weak voice. Blood coming from a huge cut on her face. She was only laying a couple of feet away.

"Tina!" Tim sobs as he grabs her by the hand. "Is...Is he dead?"

Tina manages to crawl closer and lays her fingers on Chance's neck to feel for a pulse. A smile grows on her face as she does, indeed, find a pulse.