In Their Eyes

-37-

"You got a problem with me?", Barnes says. Alex can feel the creature is near. He can sense him and smell him.
"No, you got one with me?", Scott asks. "Do i what?", Barnes asks. "You heard me.", Scott says.

"We dont have time for bullshit scotty, go sit down-", Barnes says but got cut off at the end.

Hes cut off by something grabbing him, jolting him violently.

Hes hit with such force, his hands grip the steel bannisters of the steps.

He looks down. Eyes as wide as they can go.

Great gray talons are sunk deep into his shoulders.

Before he could even scream, he is ripped off of his feet. He grapples the bannisters for dear life.
Scott reaches out, just catching Barnes by the lower legs. Bucky, Double D, Kimball, and Izzy jump onto Scott.

Barnes screams as a terrible tug of war begins.

The talons pull him higher. His head comes up into the night air between two boots somehow anchored to the roof of the bus.

The boys are no match. Whatever has Barnes, it is strong enough to move all of them.

"What the fuck?!", Double D hisses.

Betty screams towards the bus from the field. Her flashlight flickering on the commotion going on.

She sees it all. Barnes flailing madly in the clutches of something dark and ragged.
Its impossibly perched on the roof of the bus with massive wings flapping on its back.
Barnes is dragged further up. Out of view now except his legs. Scott and the others hanging on get yanked up too.

Barnes catching a quick flash of a horrible mouth. Rows of small razor-edged teeth.

Barnes screams as his legs are yanked out of scott's grasps.

Boys and girls falling down the bus steps and back down the aisle.

Breathless Betty arrives just in time to see Barnes dragged into the sky.

Kids diving for windows, crowding them. Cramming them. They all try to see where the coach is going.

They can only hear him scream all the way up into oblivion.

Betty looks down at Scott at the bottom of the steps. Thinking fast, she helps him up.

She practically throws him back on the bus and dives for the handle to the bus doors.

Betty pulls the bus doors closed.

She catches her breath and turns to look down the shadowy bus. The whole team staring back at her in shock.

She moves quickly into the driver's seat and turns the engine over.
"Betty...", Scott calls out for her. She looks back. Scott in the middle of the aisle.
    "Go sit down.", Betty says with a soft voice. Her voice down to almost a whisper.

    "What was it?", Scott asks. "How do i know what the hell it was?", Betty says.

   "You were two feet away.", Scott starts to argue. "You see how fast it happened?", Betty asks.

    Betty glares at him. No answer in her face. The engine turns over this time. She revs it, not looking back.

    "It had wings. Big fucking wings...", Alex says. They all look at Alex. Bucky now next to Alex.

   Minxie and Alex hear it first. She rises slowly out of her seat her eyes fixed above her.

    An inky black smear flies past the right side of the bus. Its big enough to blot out the moonlight in each window as it speeds by.