Curse of the Possessed Bus

by Shannon Cook

  Robin and Burke decided that it would be better for Robin to drive that long distance. Burke was nearing eighty and had a difficult time handling long drives. They got into Robin's car and took off down the road.

  III

  Meanwhile, back at the accident scene, the wrecked bus was finally back on the road! The entire rescue team was exhausted! They ended up having to call in a couple more tow trucks to assist in the effort. They got one of the flatbed trucks lined up to the bus and dropped it down, so they could load up the bus while a few officers gathered up the debris that was scattered around the mountainside.

  One of the tow truck drivers, Lewis, climbed on board the bus to help guide the bus onto a flatbed by steering the steering wheel as it was being pulled up onto Garth's flatbed truck by a chain. It was difficult and Lewis had a difficult time gaining up the nerve to place his hand on the blood-drenched steering wheel.

  It took a good forty-five minutes to get the bus loaded onto Garth's truck. Once it was loaded, the officers loaded up all the debris onto Lewis's flatbed truck. They covered the debris and the bus up as best as they could with a tarp, and Garth lead the way as Lewis followed. They proceeded to a local junkyard that was at the base of the mountain.

  While traveling down the mountain, Lewis noticed something was off about the bus. He knew all the victims were removed from the wreckage! He watched as the paramedics placed them into the ambulances! However, he could have sworn he saw someone look out the rear exit door of the bus at him!

  When the trucks arrived at the junkyard, which was also an auto repair and used cars sales lot, Lewis rushed over to Garth's driver's window. “There's someone still on there!” He panicked!

  Garth looked at Lewis with a strange look in his eyes. This man has lost his marbles! He thought. “I promise you, nobody is on that bus," he reassured Lewis as he climbed out of his truck.

  “Someone looked out the rear door at me!” Lewis insisted! “I swear!”

  Inside, the owner of the auto shop and junkyard, Dick, could hear the two men arguing outside and rushed out to see what was going on. Dick, was not pleased by the unannounced delivery. “What the fuck is this?” he asked.

  Garth reached into his truck and grabbed the accident report papers in his hand. “This bus was involved in a gruesome accident just a few miles away. Here,” he said as he handed over the accident report, the bus's registration, and insurance. “I was informed that I need to instruct you to keep this bus in your garage along with all the parts on that other truck.”

  Dick was appalled! “I can't give up one of my stalls!” he snapped. “I have a business to run here!”

  Garth nodded in agreement. “I understand sir, but this bus needs to remain in the garage while the crash gets investigated.”

  “Were there any fatalities?” Dick asked.

  Lewis nodded. “Seven,”

  “How many people were on the bus?”

  “Seven,” Lewis responded, his voice showing no emotion.

  Dick walked over to the back of the tow truck and stared at the bus. “Why wasn't it taken to the police lot?” he asked.

  “It's not big enough,” Garth informed Dick.

  Dick rolled his eyes. “Fine!” he snapped. “But I'll only give a stall up for a day!”

  Garth got in Dick's face. “This is why you only have a one-star review!” He snapped back. “You're an ass-hole!”

  Lewis could tell things were about to get ugly, so he stepped between Dick and Garth to break up the argument. “Okay! Break it up!” He snapped. He looked at Dick with anger. “Trying to pick fights with us tow truck drivers again?” he asked.

  “He's making me give up one of my repair stalls!” Dick replied.

  The tow truck drivers busted out laughing. “Not like you use them!” Garth replied sarcastically.

  Dick had a reputation in town. Not a good one. People would take their vehicles to his shop to get repaired. Their vehicles would sit in the garage for months, nothing being done to them. Dick would ignore vehicles that needed repairs and would give his full attention to his used car sales instead. He was a very shady man to do business with.

  Dick crossed his arms over his chest, “If you don't like me, why did you bring that piece of shit to me?” he asked with a smirk.

  “We were instructed by the police to bring it here! Now, you shut up and open that damn garage door!” Garth screamed!

  Dick glared at the two tow truck drivers, pivoted on his heel, angrily marched to the building, opened a garage door, and Garth backed his truck up to the open stall. Garth gently dropped off the bus into the stall. “Keep it in here until you are told you can remove it!” He instructed.

  “FINE!” Dick snapped.

  The two tow truck drivers finished unloading their trucks and took off. As they were pulling out of the parking lot, Dick picked up a rock from his parking lot and chucked it towards the trucks. He turned back around and glared at the bus that was now taking up space in his garage. “Damn thing!” he snarled as he walked back into the building.

  An hour later, Robin and Burke arrived at the police station. They met up with the detective that was leading the investigation of the crash. “So nice of you to get here so soon," the detective said as he held out his hand for a handshake. “I'm Detective Hugo,” he introduced himself.

  “I'm Burke,” Burke responded as he shook Hugo's hand. “Owner of that bus and father or the driver. This is my granddaughter, Robin. Her father was the driver and mother was one of the doctors on board that bus.”

  Hugo hung his head, “My apologies for your loss,” he somberly stated.

  “So, what happened?” Robin asked.

  “The bus plowed through a guard rail and rolled multiple times down the side of a mountain,” Hugo informed them, “That's all we know right now. We did take some toxicity tests on the driver. We found no drugs or alcohol in his system so we already ruled out impaired driving.”

  “My son went through vigorous drug testing for his job,” Burke informed the detective. “Random testing, I assure you I already knew that wasn't the cause.”

  Hugo nodded. “We know that now, sir,” he responded. “This is an active investigation.” Hugo motioned for them to follow him. “Come to my office.”

  The three of them walked through a secured door and down a long hallway towards the detective's office. When they got inside, they all took a seat. The detective pulled up a map onto his computer along with some photos from the crash site. He turned his screen around with a warning first. “These photos may be difficult to see,” he warned.

  Burke and Robin took a deep breath and looked through the photos. Hugo made sure the photos of the victim's bodies were not included in the set of photos he was showing to Burke and Robin.

  Burke began to tear up. “That thing looks horrible!”

  “Were there any mechanical failures that you can think of?” Hugo asked Burke.

  “It was a brand new bus!” Burke replied as he wiped tears from his face. “I had it less than 24 hours before my son took it for its first run.”

  “We did have a massive thunderstorm here that day,” Hugo told them. “It was bad, but if everything was working properly on that bus, then, they should have been fine. Visibility was low, but anyone could have seen more than a hundred feet in front of them," Hugo stated. He paused for a moment, “That is only if they had proper wiper blades.”

  Burke thought for a moment. How good were those wipers on that bus he just bought? They were thin and skimpy. He was planning on putting on thicker more durable wipers onto that bus but never got around to doing so. “Oh no,” he said resentfully. “No, sir, the wipers were not the best. They were factory standard.”

  Hugo sighed. “Alright,” he responded. He got up, picked up a few bags off the floor, and handed them over to Burke and Robin. “We believe these are Casey and Eva's belongings.”

  “Can I see my parents?” Robin asked.

  “My dear, I don't think you'd wa
nt to,” Hugo softly said. He had seen the bodies of the victims at the crash site. He had a strong stomach and has seen a lot in his forty-year carrier, but seeing the victims of the bus crash made him vomit!

  “Please let us see them.” Burke pleaded. He knew his granddaughter had a strong stomach and could handle things.

  “Okay,” Hugo sighed. He got up from his chair and instructed them to follow him to the local hospital.

  When they arrived, Hugo flashed his badge to the security guard and took Burke and Robin down to the morgue. He typed in a special code and the three of them entered. “This is the room where autopsies are done,” Hugo informed them. “We have medical professionals trying to determine if Casey had a medical emergency behind the wheel.”

  They walked over to a table that had a body covered up by a large sheet. Hugo placed his hand on the edge of the sheet and looked both Burke and Robin in the eyes. “Are you sure you want to see this?” He asked.

  “Positive," Burke replied.

  Hugo slowly uncovered Casey's body. His head was laying alongside his dead cold body. Eyes still open.

  Both Burke and Robin turned away from the table and rushed out of the room as quickly as possible! They both began gaging!

  Hugo recovered Casey's body and walked out to see where Burke and Robin had run off too. He found them hunched over a trash can. "There you are,” Hugo said. “It was bad, as you could see.” He put a gentle hand on the back of Robin's shoulder, trying to comfort her. She was very distraught by what she had just seen. “If you changed your mind about seeing your mother, I completely understand."

  “No,” Robin stated. She took a deep breath, maintained her cool again. She stood back up and looked Hugo in the eyes. “I want to see my mother one last time,” Robin felt guilt for not saying goodbye to her mother that morning she left to go on that fateful trip.

  They walked into a different room and the officer pulled open one of the body drawers. Burke and Robin stared at Eva's body. Her arm was torn off in the crash. Robin was tearing up. “Can I have a moment,” she told the two men.

  “Of course,” Hugo replied as Burke and himself left the room. When they got out, Hugo watched from a small window in the door.

  Inside the room, Robin held her mother's cold, lifeless hand. “I'm sorry I never said goodbye that morning,” she grasped her mother's hand even tighter. She talked to her mother's dead body for ten minutes before letting go of her mother's hand and walking out.

  Hugo went back into the room by himself and placed Eva's body back in the cooling drawer. Once he exited, the three of them went back upstairs and into the parking lot.

  Hugo pulled Burke aside and informed him that the police had already submitted a report to his insurance company on his behalf. Burke smiled. “Thank you,” he stated. “What should I do?”

  “You got a lot on your plate right now,” Hugo softly said. “Take care of your family, your insurance will contact you when and if they need anything.”

  “Thank you, sir,” Burke replied. The two men shook hands and Burke proceeded to Robin's car. Robin was already sitting in her driver's seat on her phone. She was on the phone with Jayme.

  Burke sat quietly in the passenger seat as his granddaughter was sobbing while she was talking to her wife. He reached over and grabbed ahold of Robin's right hand that was resting on the center console. She was on the phone for a half-hour before the conversation ended.

  “Will you be okay to drive?” Burke asked her.

  “I'll be fine,” Robin replied.

  “How about we just get a hotel room for the night,” Burke suggested. “I believe we both need it.”

  Robin agreed and started up the car. She drove around town and found a quaint Victorian house that was turned into a bed and breakfast. She pulled off onto the side of the road and parked. “I'll go in and see if they have a room available,” she told her grandfather.

  When she walked inside, there was a man dressed in old clothing, probably from the mid-1700s era, standing at the front desk. “Good evening, sir,” Robin said. “Would you happen to have any rooms available?”

  The man stared blankly at Robin. Then vanished! It was the same spirit who visited the spirits of the bus crash!

  Robin was petrified! She ran as quickly as she could out of that building, got into her car, and sped off!

  “Whoa!” Burke yelled as he held on for dear life! “What happened in there!”

  “Nothing!” Robin replied. She didn't want to tell her grandfather that she just saw a spirit! She didn't want him to think she was crazy. “Just a strange front desk worker that gave me the creeps!”

  They drove around for a few more minutes before they found a large hotel instead. “There we go!” Robin stated. “Hopefully no ghosts in this one!”

  “Ghost!?” Burke asked in shock! “Is that what happened at the last place?”

  Robin pulled into the parking lot and parked. She looked at her grandfather and nodded. “The front desk clerk at the other place vanished right in front of me!”

  “Oh shit!” Burke responded. “I wonder what the history of that building is,”

  “Don't know,” Robin responded as they exited the car. The two of them walked into the hotel, got a room, grabbed their bags from the car, and proceeded to their room.

  After they were in the room, Robin called Jayme and let her know that her grandfather and herself were spending the night. Jayme thought that was a good decision. She knew Robin was in no condition to make the long drive home that day. Once Robin was off the phone with Jayme, she tried looking up the history of the bed and breakfast.

  She was on her phone for an hour trying to dig up information. She couldn't find anything. She put her phone down and sighed. “I'm going out,” she told her grandfather as she put her shoes back on and left the room.

  She walked outside and found a man standing by the main door of the hotel smoking. She stood alongside the man. Who was staring straight ahead. “Excuse me, sir,” Robin said. “Can I bother you for a smoke?” Robin didn't smoke, but she needed one at that moment.

  The man looked at her. He had to be in his seventies. He was wearing a white doctor coat. His eyes were hollow. Almost lifeless it seemed. He slowly turned his head and looked at Robin. He didn't say anything. He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out his pack of smokes and handed Robin one along with a lighter.

  Robin thanked the man and lit up. The man began walking away and he vanished as well! Robin's jaw dropped! She quickly dropped the smoke and put it out. She quickly turned around to enter the hotel again and the man from the bed and breakfast was standing directly behind her. “Robin,” the ghostly man said.

  Robin let out a bloodcurdling scream and ran inside! She rushed back into the room and slammed the door behind her. “We can't stay in this town!” she panicked!

  Her grandfather was sound asleep on his bed when Robin returned to the room. The slamming of the door woke him up. He sat up and panicked, “What's wrong?!”

  “This whole damn town is haunted!”

  Just then, they both heard a knock at their door. “I'll see who it is,” Burke said as he got up from his bed. He peered through the peephole in the door. He jumped back. His face lost all color. It was the man with the white doctor's coat Robin had just seen outside.

  “Who is it?” Robin asked.

  Burke gulped. “It's your great grandfather, your mother's grandfather,” he stated. “He died on your parent's wedding day,”

  “What?!” Robin was shocked! “Was he a doctor too?” she asked.

  Burke nodded. “He was once a surgeon at the hospital your mother worked at,” he informed his granddaughter. Burke took a seat on the edge of his bed. “Massive heart attack, I found him laying on the floor of the men's room during the reception.”

  “That's horrible!” Robin replied. “How did my mother take it?”

  “Not so good,” Burke softly stated. “She tried to resuscitate him but, it was too late," he s
ighed.

  Robin sat down next to her grandfather and put her arm around him. “Why do you think his spirit is here?” she asked. “What do you think he wants?”

  Burke shrugged and held his granddaughter close. “I Don't know."

  “Do you think my parents are happy where they are now?”

  “Oh, definitely!” Burke replied with a smile. “They are in a much better place now.”

  Little did Burke and Robin know, the nature of the crash that killed Casey and Eva came from a dark place of revenge! Every one of the victim's souls of that horrific bus crash had now become imprisoned within that bus and were unable to move on.

  “Let me see if he's still out there,” Burke said as he got up and made his way back to the door. He looked through the peephole again, and the man was gone. “Phew!” Burke said in relief! “He's not there anymore!”

  IV

  The next morning, Dick arrived at his shop only to find a bunch of accident investigators and an insurance agent waiting for him by one of the garage stall doors.

  “Oh, wonderful!” Dick said cheerfully as he got out of his truck and walked over to them. “Are you all here to get rid of that bus for me?”

  One of the investigators gave Dick a disgusted look. “No, we are here to take a thorough look at that bus," she informed him. “Now, open that garage door!” She demanded.

  Dick let out a huff and unlocked his shop. After a moment, he opened the garage door to the stall where the bus was sitting.

  The investigators and the insurance agent entered and began taking notes on their clipboards. Dick stood aside leaned up against a wall, arms crossed. “Make this quick!” he demanded!

  Dick kept checking his watch with every passing minute. “Ugh!” he complained. “You all are taking forever!” Only five minutes had passed by that moment.

  Another investigator glared at Dick. “Seven people died in this bus!” he snapped. “We are trying to give the families some answers! HAVE SOME HUMAN DECENCY FOR ONCE!” Everyone around that area had no respect for Dick, unfortunately, he was the only auto repair shop for miles!