"What's wrong with the bus? I've taken this trip many times. The driver doesn't recognize me, but I remember him. What could be the problem?"
Although many strange things happened today, the bus was full of people and the driver was a familiar face, so James naturally didn't think there was any issue.
"The bus is fine, and the people are fine too, but..."
Little Dog hesitated to speak as if considering how to phrase it in a way that wouldn't anger Jamie while still being credible.
"But what?" James couldn't help but ask.
"Jamie, you trust me about the 'Tom's head' incident, right?" Little Dog asked instead of answering.
James stared at Little Dog and thought for a moment before nodding.
"So, will you believe anything I say?" Little Dog asked again.
"Yes." James patted Little Dog on the head.
"Jamie, the bus is fine, and the people are fine! But...but there's something coiled up on the roof, lots of scary things. Didn't you see them?"
Something coiled on the roof?
James recalled the bus coming from a distance, stopping, and driving away.
The entire scene played several times in his mind. In his memory, the bus was a normal coach with a normal engine sound and tire tracks. Even the sound of friction between the tires and the ground when braking was not unusual. He didn't see anything on the roof either.
"Jamie, you really didn't see it?" Little Dog's voice trembled a bit.
"What did you see? Don't be afraid; tell me slowly."
"Those things don't look like humans or ghosts; they seem transparent and constantly changing shape. They're more agile than monkeys. Some are coiled on the roof, some hanging on rearview mirrors, some sticking to glass windows, and some lying on tires. I found it strange that no one in the bus could see them with all the commotion."
The empty mountain road, the desolate wilderness, the bleak sky, and the gloomy drizzle, along with the dark mountain ranges on all sides, added a sense of eerie desolation to the surroundings.
Furthermore, what Little Dog described was extremely bizarre...
Deep in the mountains and wilderness, there was no sign of human habitation...
The howling mountain wind blew wildly while clouds and mist in the mountains changed rapidly. It seemed as if countless unseen horrors were pressing in from all directions.
"Jamie..."
"Little Dog, don't say anything more; come with me." James was annoyed by this endless mysterious situation.
Returning to Rock Hill was out of the question. James made a courageous decision to go to town.
It was a 30-mile mountain road to town, which would take at least two hours to walk even at a fast pace. Fortunately, it was still early.
Little Dog was reluctant to go to town for fear that his aunt would not allow him to wander around. However, he couldn't resist James' insistence.
Missing the bus to the city was unrealistic since it was over a hundred miles away. Going to town might still offer an opportunity to rent a car back to the city; they would just have to pay a little extra.
The muddy mountain road made walking even more challenging than usual.
On their way, Little Dog kept complaining: "Jamie, why do you always make me drink water? I'm so full that I can't walk fast."
"Drink more! Don't you see Jamie drinking too? The more water you drink, the more you'll urinate."
"What's all that urine for?" Little Dog found urinating frequently quite annoying.
"Hehe, just listen to Jamie; it won't be wrong." James prayed silently that since children's urine is said to ward off evil spirits, maybe their path would be safe.
Perhaps the children's urine did have some effect. Just a few minutes past 5:30, both of them arrived in town, covered in mud. They didn't encounter any significant issues along the way.
His aunt almost didn't recognize them.
"What are you two doing? Are you trying to scare your old aunt by dressing up as ghosts on the Tomb-Sweeping Day?"
Although his aunt had a sharp tongue, she had a good heart. Naturally, she was concerned when she saw her two nephews in such a miserable state.
After they cleaned up, they looked more like themselves again.
When James mentioned renting a car back to the city, his aunt's face changed several times.
"What's wrong?" James was good at reading people's expressions, and it was clear that his aunt was troubled by something.
"You don't know? The people in town are going crazy. Who has the time to rent you a car? Besides..."
"What happened in town?"
"Didn't you hear anything on your way here? A few miles west of Big Golden Mountain, a large part of the mountain collapsed, and the bus from town to Nova City was buried. There were dozens of people on board! They were either locals or somehow related to the town. Even if not directly involved, they were acquaintances. Who would be in the mood to rent a car now? And besides, the roads have been washed away; there's no way through."
"Oh dear! Your aunt has been worried sick since hearing about this incident; I was afraid you two would go to the city and get on that bus... How could your old aunt live then!"
While speaking, his aunt held each of them in her arms and began sobbing loudly.
James and Little Dog exchanged glances, their eyes full of horror. Were they saying that they narrowly escaped disaster by not taking that bus?
His aunt's crying completely dashed their hopes of returning to the city that night.
When a woman's maternal instincts overflow, there needs to be a process of resolution.
The resolution can involve eating a meal, chatting, or listening to her nagging.
Due to the unexpected arrival of her older nephew, James' aunt prepared an exceptionally sumptuous dinner.
His aunt's family lived comfortably in town.
Her husband was hardworking and reliable. He didn't talk much but was honest and kind-hearted. He had never spoken ill of his nephew Little Dog, who lived with them.
"James, eat more; this is your aunt's specialty black pepper ribs."
"Try this braised pork knuckle and see if your aunt's cooking skills have improved."
"And these spicy shrimp; you loved them when you were little."
At the dinner table, his aunt sat on James' right and constantly filled his bowl with food using an irresistible force.
Her sharp gaze indicated that there would be trouble if he didn't finish it all. James had no choice but to comply.
Luckily he was young and growing, so he didn't mind the heavy dishes.
This made Little Dog feel somewhat bitter.
Being treated differently as a nephew, did Little Dog no longer hold a special place in his aunt's heart?
His uncle noticed Little Dog's disappointment and kindly offered him a piece of rib and a piece of pig trotter: "Here, let's have Little Dog eat up and grow strong too."
Little Dog almost cried. How had he never realized before how kind and lovable his uncle was?
Fortunately, the youngest child in his aunt's family was still too young to understand jealousy; otherwise, the dinner table might have turned into a scene from Romance of the Three Kingdoms with everyone vying for attention.
Naturally, the conversation during dinner turned to the bus accident, which created a somber atmosphere. The town would likely be shrouded in sorrow and filled with funerals for some time to come.
Surprisingly, Little Dog was able to keep his composure and didn't mention the bus incident or any of the bizarre experiences they had that day.
James also knew better than to bring up such a topic at a time like this. Some things were better left unsaid, rotting inside one's stomach.
Once the news spread, it could change and cause social panic, leading to dire consequences.
Luckily, the conversation didn't linger on this depressing topic. Instead, his aunt changed the subject and asked about their tomb-sweeping activities.
"James, no matter how successful you two become in the future or where you end up, remember that Rock Hill is your root. Don't be like your father..."
His aunt sighed and lamented when talking about her brothers. She had three brothers; her oldest brother passed away unexpectedly in his twenties before he even got married.
James' father, her second brother, disappeared a few years ago after leaving a letter behind.
Her third brother, Little Dog's father, was still around and in good health. He and his wife worked in a prosperous city but hardly earned any money or took care of their home. Their only child, Little Dog, became a left-behind child.
Sometimes his aunt couldn't help but wonder if there was something wrong with their family's ancestral grave since their situation seemed to worsen every year.
"Aunt, what exactly is 'work'? Why do my parents keep going out to 'fight' it? After so many years, haven't they achieved anything?" Little Dog asked, holding a piece of pork knuckle in his hand with greasy lips and rice grains sticking to the corners of his mouth.
"You don't need to worry about what it is! Just make sure you have a better future and don't end up like your father, who's always busy without knowing what he's doing and can't even take care of his child."
His uncle tried to smooth things over: "Hey, why are you bothering the kid with these things?"
After dinner and cleaning up, James received another anxious phone call from his sister Jasmine. She had just seen the news and was relieved to learn that her brother wasn't on the bus.
After hanging up, Jasmine skimmed through the news.
News about the bus accident was reported by all major media outlets, but only as brief updates.
The shorter the news, the bigger the issue.
The comment section wasn't closed, but most comments were concerned, worried, or offered prayers.
Although there were a few who took advantage of the disaster to make controversial remarks, they were quickly drowned out by critical comments.