Halfway through their journey, the drizzle that they've been expecting was granted to them. But the gray sky that was supposed to be their blessing, kept on getting gloomier bit by bit, and it gave them more rain than they could ever want.
It was heavy, heavier than cats and dogs. The crowd who stuck closely to the asphalt road, now shivered as they marched the muddy floor of the pine forest. Fortunately it wasn't dark yet, the sky still showed some light, but they knew that if they didn't make it to the base soon, they'll be in big trouble.
Connor didn't have the time or the energy to think about what might happen to the military base. He was cold, and sore all over. What he needed to do now was to walk faster, and reach that base before they freeze out in the open. Of course, mid-autumn shouldn't be cold enough to kill a man overnight, but with this kind of weather, he wasn't willing to find out.
Everybody else had pale faces and listless eyes, which was a stark contrast to their lively mood when they set off. They found out that this wasn't a picnic, and it wasn't just a 2 hour walk either, it was reality. However, nobody complained or said a word, they just kept on marching.
The river of cars was practically dead, and except for a few headlights, only the heavy drumming of rain against metal roofs sounded out. It seemed that most of the people ahead had a head start in abandoning their cars, and as for those few in between that they encountered along the way, they would just wordlessly merge with the group.
Speaking of the group, Nina had actually left. Connor didn't actually think that she'd just up and leave, but she did. Wasn't she some military agent that needed to protect these people? What happened to that crap?!
'I guess that was a lie.' He gave a silent sneer.
Everything's just been real shady as of late, well, that's an understatement. All hell seems to be breaking loose, and he's trying his absolute best to not get implicated into whatever is happening, but that's just too hard to do, when that something could very well be the end of the freaking world!
'Sigh. Damn.' Connor gave a low breath as he saw his breath fog. Watching it dissipate, he saw something.
It was a school bus.
His eyes lit up, as he rushed out of the forest canopy, and onto the open road. It looked like he didn't give a care about the storming rain, and only had his sights on the bus.
It was rash of him to do so, however, he was dying of worry. His sister Olivia, hasn't been responding to their calls ever since they went on foot, and that was more than an hour ago. Ever since then, they've never seen another school bus until now.
His family reassured him that she was safe, and that she must've just ran out of battery. He wanted to believe it, that she's already in the military base waiting for them, but... but his gut said otherwise.
Approaching the bus, he immediately knew that something was wrong. It wasn't due to how silent or empty it was, it was because of its condition. All the windows were shattered, leaving only the unsatisfying crackle of glass beneath his shoes. His heart went cold, as he could've sworn he saw a red tint from the flowing rain.
A lump formed in his throat as he walked the short distance to the front of the bus. Each step made cracks that echoed in his ears. His heart was pumping as his subconscious mind grabbed a dark bow from thin air. He held it tightly. Then, he was at the entrance. Minding his step, he climbed aboard the bus.
The smell hit him first, it was a mixture of aromatic rust and rotten trash. It was strong and it trumped over the musky smell of the outdoors. Then, the next thing that struck him was the sight. It was red. Very, very red. He couldn't handle it, and he found himself vomiting on the floor. The sour smell unexpectedly calmed him.
It was a nightmare. Blood covered everywhere it could. The ceiling was painted in blood, and it looked like it hadn't finished drying yet, as red rain slowly dripped. The floor was a shallow pool, and he could even see his sickly face on the crimson reflection. But it didn't end there. There was more.
On each and every seat, there sat a pile of ground meat. It looked just like the stuff you'd find in the meat isle of the supermarket, but this was more red... it was more fresh.
Having seen enough, he wiped his mouth, and weakly stood up. He didn't bother stopping the tear in his eyes from falling, as he left the bus silently.
"Son." His dad appeared in front of him.
"Hey dad, there's nothing on the bus." He smiled with trembling lips.
He was always bad at lying, especially to his parents. His dad just pulled him into a tight hug, as Connor silently wept. He didn't like to cry much, so he was thankful of the falling rain. Minutes passed, and he didn't notice his dad leaving his side. He went in.
It was silent in the bus, he didn't hear the sound of vomiting like him, but he did hear a faint and sharp breath. Then, he heard footsteps, and his dad's face appeared from the bus. It was just as stoic as he had entered, but his pale face said it all.
The both of them didn't say a word to one another, as they headed back to the group. Only the rain and the cracking of the glass that stuck to the heel of their shoes echoed in their ears. Both of them had their heads up to the sky, as the rain traced the endless tears that fell from their chins, and onto their bodies. It was as if the sky was grieving as well.
...
Catching up to the group, nobody except their own family bothered to ask about their little trip. However, it didn't make a difference, since the father and son both said that they saw nothing other than an empty bus. Failing to mention the horrid scene that they saw, it was for the best of their family if they kept what they saw a secret. He knew his mother knew something was wrong, but she didn't insist on knowing. He was relieved for that.
If Olivia was on that bus, he didn't have any clue on how to face his mother. But he had hope in his heart, that she was on a different bus. He had to hope, for his own well being. Now, he just needed to keep walking. And maybe try to forget whatever he saw along the way.
'She should be alright. I mean, if it's her, she'd probably find a way to save herself with her crafty words. No, she's already in the base.' Connor shook his head as he stared down at his feet.
It was dark now. He looked at his phone, it was 6:30 PM. The 2 hour walking trip had unexpectedly turned into a 3 hour one- and they still haven't reached their destination. Since they began walking, they only rested three times along the way. Nobody knew when the base would appear in their sights, but the aches in their bodies couldn't be ignored anymore. So they rested.
It was still cold, really cold, and resting on damp ground wasn't a choice. So the able bodied men got to scavenging in the river of cars, while everyone else prepared the camp under some relatively dry tree. Before anyone knew it, several fires were made, and people were huddled together closely.
Connor silently stared into the warm fire, and felt his dad drape a towel over his shoulders. It was warm, but it was still very cold. He had the feeling that the cold feeling was within him, which unfortunately can't be warmed by a mere fire.
His appetite had vanished even though he threw up his lunch earlier. But his mom still forced him to eat. Their dinner was ham sandwich again, but the others weren't so fortunate to have a prepared mother. Having so many people, the bread slices that the teacher had were gone before they knew it, so they could only hope to find anything in the cars.
A few of the cars were open, but a majority of them were locked. The people were shy at first, however, when he heard the first window shatter, countless others began to ring out on the road. It was wrong of them to steal from others, yet nobody could blame them for trying to survive. Others had grim faces, and some had hopeful ones. Connor's was one of indifference.
He stared intently at his flickering shadow-at Umbra. For some time now, his entire being has been entangled into a whirlpool of chaotic mess. He wanted answers. The uncertainty was unbearable... probably even more unbearable than excruciating pain.
'...' He contemplated, but it was a brief one. His choice was absolute.
'Umbra, I want you to locate Olivia, my sister.' Connor echoed in his mind with calmness.
Suddenly, his mind was overwhelmed with dizziness, as he saw his shadow slowly move, and like a river, it flowed out of him, until it vanished with great speeds. He didn't have time to think about where it went, since it was only beginning.
The pain was here. It was just as he remembered, and so much more. The nail wounds on his palms had opened up again as he clenched real hard. He couldn't move, and thankfully, he didn't let out a sound. He only shivered in place.
He shivered for a very long time. To others only several minutes had passed, but to him-to him it felt like he had been trapped in a world governed by nothing but pain for hours and hours! It was indescribable. The only thing that could come close would be being skinned alive. Yet even that would be an understatement.
After 6 minutes, the pain came to an end. And a searing sensation made its way into his mind. All of a sudden, a series of images flashed before his eyes.
The broken bus.
It's bloody insides.
The meat piles.
The 5th seat on the right.
A meat pile.
That was all there was. Nothing else showed.
The last image burned within his mind. And he looked weakly down at his shadow. It was already there.
So why was there still so much pain?