by Shannon Cook
Robin and Jayme stepped aside and took a seat on a large boulder. They watched as the two men screamed at each other!
“I told you, you were too drunk to drive that night!” Martin snapped.
“I was fine!” Royce snapped back! He tried turning the blame on Martin by saying, “if I was so drunk, why didn't you take my keys from me?”
Martin was becoming angrier! “I tried and you got irate with me!”
“What did I miss?” A spirit said as they manifested next to Robin and Jayme on the boulder.
“OH SHIT!” Jayme and Robin shouted simultaneously in fear! As Royce and Martin continued screaming at each other.
“Finally!” another spirit proclaimed with excitement! “Some entertainment!” the spirit looked at Robin and Jayme and said, “most of the time, this is a very quiet neighborhood.”
Jayme and Robin looked at each other in disbelief!
“I made a mistake!” Royce stated.
“You pulled in front of a semi!” Martin snapped! “I told you there wasn't enough room for your turn and you told me to shut up!”
“Can you forgive me?”
“No, I can't,” Martin stated with great disappointment. “You took my life away from me because you were too drunk and stubborn to listen!” He turned away and began walking back to his grave.
“Wait!” Royce yelled.
“I'm done talking to you!” Martin snapped.
Royce let out a deep sigh, went back to his seat, and sat back down.
Robin and Jayme got up from the boulder and walked back towards the bus.
“Hold on,” one of the spirits said from the boulder. “That's it? Horrible! I was just getting into it!”
“Party's over everyone,” Jayme told the spirits who came out to watch the argument between Royce and Martin.
They got back on the bus and took a seat. “We're sorry, Royce,” Jayme apologized. “We really tried.”
“It's alright,” Royce responded. “I've gotten used to being stuck on this bus.” He let out a deep sigh of disappointment.
“Why are you upset?” Casey asked.
“I wasn't able to complete my unfinished business,” Royce responded. “Martin didn't forgive me.”
Casey smiled. “Try stepping off the bus,” he instructed Royce.
“I can't,”
“Just give it a try,”
Royce got up and made his way to the bus steps. Slowly he walked down the steps. Using caution with every step. When he got to the threshold of the passenger door, he hesitated. “I can't do it,” he said.
“Yes, you can!” Casey reassured him.
Royce closed his eyes and managed to get one foot onto the ground successfully. He slowly put his other foot onto the ground. He stood in disbelief for a moment before turning around to face Casey with a big grin on his face! “I did it!” he cheerfully proclaimed! “How is this possible?” he asked in confusion. “He didn't forgive me!"
“Didn't you say that you needed to know if he forgave you or not?” Eva asked.
“Yes,” Royce softly said.
“There you go,” Casey said. “You found out that he didn't forgive you, but you still found out.”
Royce put his head down. “I was hoping he would've though,” he said with disappointment.
“It's time for you to move on,” Casey told Royce as he shut the door and began driving the bus away from Royce.
Robin and Jayme turned and watched out the back window as Royce's spirit stood in the middle of the cemetery driveway and slowly vanished behind them.
Jayme got up and opened the first aid kit on the bus and pulled out the box of bandages. There were only ten bandages in the box. “This isn't going to be enough,” she sighed. Both she and Robin were still bleeding from the thorns piercing into their bodies.
“How bad is it?” Eva asked them.
Robin and Jayme lifted their shirts part way. Both their bodies were covered with bloody scratches and spots of blood.
“Oh damn!” Eva proclaimed. “Hold still!” She took her hand and waved it over the wounds. A blinding glow filled the bus for a moment! When the light faded, Robin and Jayme looked at their wounds. To their amazement, they were gone!
“How did you do that!?” Robin asked.
Eva smiled and said, “I can do anything I want now… except getting off this damn bus!"
Casey rolled his eyes. “Would you all just stop with that!” he snapped!
XI
Later that day, when the sun was beginning to set on the long country road the bus was traveling down. Robin and Jayme quietly sat in their seats wondering what was next. The first two tasks they had to do, something terrifying happened to them! They didn't know if they would be able to continue to fulfill their promise and make it out alive in the end! Robin suddenly had a brilliant idea on how to make a break for it!
“Father!” she shouted! “I have to use a bathroom! NOW!” she said with urgency!
“Hold on!” Casey yelled. Suddenly, the bus was sitting in a parking lot of a fast-food establishment. “Here you go,” he said. “How about you both get something to eat while you are in there. Get some nourishment.”
“Thank you, father,” Robin said as she and Jayme got up and exited the bus.
When they got inside the bathroom, Robin pulled Jayme aside. “Listen, now's our chance!”
“To use the bathroom?” Jayme asked. “I know, now let me go so I can.”
Robin shook her head. “No, now's our chance to make a run for it!”
“Can I at least use the bathroom first?” Jayme asked.
Robin nodded.
Once they were done and washing their hands, Jayme looked over at her wife. She was surprised she wanted to throw in the towel on the promise they made to the victims of that horrific bus crash. She understood the reasoning behind it, but her wife's parent's spirits were still trapped. “What about your parents?”
“I know,” Robin sighed. “But how much more can we take?!” She panicked! “Who knows what will happen to us next!”
Jayme nodded in agreement. “You have a point."
“Let's get our food, and sneak out the other door,” Robin suggested.
“Sounds like a plan,” Jayme agreed.
Back on the bus, Irwin was getting frustrated. “What is taking them so long?” he snarled.
“They are getting something to eat!” Eva snapped. “Give them a moment!”
Inside, Jayme and Robin were waiting for their order when the manager recognized them from a missing person's flyer! He told the cooks to take their time on their orders. He walked up to the counter and told them it'll be a few extra minutes on their food.
Jayme and Robin told the man that was fine.
The manager went back to his office and called the police. There was a patrol car in the area and it rushed to the establishment.
Casey heard the sirens coming. “Oh great!” he snapped! He wasn't going to get caught! He didn't want the bus to get towed back to where they started. “They are not going to mess up my route!” he stated. He made the bus vanish into thin air.
Robin and Jayme looked out the window and noticed the bus was gone! “Where did it go?” Jayme asked.
Robin was nervous. How were they going to make a run for it now if they couldn't see the bus? Just then, the police showed up and rushed in! Robin and Jayme breathed a sigh of relief!
“Are you two Robin and Jayme?” the officer stated.
Robin and Jayme nodded. “That's us,” Robin stated. “Are you taking us back home? …Please,” she pleaded.
The officer nodded. “Indeed I am,”
“Thank you!” Robin replied.
The manager handed Robin and Jayme their food. “Here's your order, ladies,” he said with a smile.
“Thanks!” Jayme stated as she took the bag.
The officer and the two young ladies exited the building and began walking towards the police car. What they didn't know was, Casey had parked the b
us between the building and the police car, but he had made the bus invisible! Robin and Jayme were walking a few steps ahead of the officer when they suddenly vanished!
The officer stopped in his tracks! He could not comprehend what he just witnessed!
The next thing Robin and Jayme knew, they were buckled back into their seats on the bus. “How the hell?!” Robin snapped!
As the bus pulled away, Irwin began to laugh. “Did you think you could pull that fast one on us?” He got up and went back to Robin and Jayme's seats. “Looks like you brats need a little more supervision! CASEY! Open that door!" he demanded.
“Why?” Casey asked.
“Just open the damn door!”
Casey opened the door and Irwin's corpse boarded the bus. “Recognize him?” Irwin asked Robin and Jayme.
Robin and Jayme were horrified! Not only did they have to deal with spirits, they now had to deal with zombies!?
“Keep an eye on them!” Irwin demanded his corpse as he pointed towards Robin and Jayme.
Irwin's corpse snarled and walked over to Robin and Jayme. He stood facing them. Staring them down.
Robin gripped her wife's hand tightly in fear! The two ladies trembled as Irwin's corpse leaned down and roared in their face!
“How did he get here?!” Casey asked.
“I teleported my body here,” Irwin smiled.
The next few hours were intense for Robin and Jayme. Neither one of them wanted to shut their eyes, they feared Irwin's corpse would do something horrifying to them while they were sleeping. They stared straight ahead, holding each other's hands, afraid to move a muscle!
“Is this really necessary?” Eva asked Irwin.
“Eva!” Irwin snapped. “They tried to make a run for it! They are the only ones who will be willing to help us all out! We can't let them get away! If you don't like how I do things then get off this bus! You know you can at any moment!"
Eva put her head down. She knew Irwin was right about that. She also knew that she could have moved on a long time ago, all she has to do is confess to her husband what went on between her and Irwin, but she was not willing or able to yet. She wanted to have that deep conversation with her husband when they were alone.
“Wait,” Robin chimed in. “You can get off this bus mother?”
“Not until I do my unfinished business,” Eva replied.
“Come on,” Irwin said. “Tell us all!”
“Not right now!” Eva snapped.
“Why not?” Robin asked. “Why don't you want to get off this bus?”
Eva sighed, “I do want to get off this bus,” she said. “I can complete my unfinished business at any time, it's just,” she paused for a moment. “I'm staying on here to protect you and Jayme during this task you are on.”
Robin smiled. “I understand, mother.” Robin stood up and was going to try to hug her mother when Irwin's corpse slammed her back down onto her seat!
Irwin's corpse snarled and grunted at her.
This angered Casey! He quickly slammed on the breaks, which caused Irwin's corpse to propel towards the front of the bus! Irwin's corpse smashed out of the windshield, bounced off the hood of the bus and onto the road in front of them. Casey quickly hit the accelerator and ran over Irwin's corpse, as the windshield magically repaired itself
Irwin rushed towards the back window and looked out in horror! There was his corpse lying in the middle of the lane behind them! He turned and walked back to his seat. “How dare you!” He snarled.
“How dare you treat my daughter that way!” Casey snapped back!
Back in Robin and Casey's hometown, the local police station received a call from the police officer who tried rescuing the two young ladies earlier that day in Alabama. He informed the lead detective on this case, Kate, what he experienced.
“Thank you for that information, officer, I will pass the information around on the missing bus's last known whereabouts.” Kate hung up the phone and scoffed to herself, “I just moved from Alabama!” She looked over and looked at her family photo on her desk. She was missing her wife and children, but she knew they were expected to arrive the next morning. This made Kate happy!
She picked up the phone and called Luke. She let him know that his missing bus was last seen in Alabama and that Robin and Jayme seemed to be alright. Except, they vanished right in front of the officer who tried bringing them back.
Luke was stunned! “Vanished?!” he asked. “Are they ghosts now too?!”
Kate wasn't sure, but it made her think for a moment. How can two people disappear into thin air if they were still alive? Her heart sank. For the first time in her career, she feared she wasn't able to save them in time. “I'm not sure, sir,” she replied. “I'll keep you posted on our progress.”
“Thank you,” Luke said as he hung up the phone. Luke walked out of his office and stepped outside to get some fresh air. “Buying that bus was a huge mistake!” he complained to himself. He sat down on a bench and began to tear up. His worse fear seemed to be a reality now.
Alma noticed Luke beginning to sob outside. She stepped out and sat on the bench next to him. “Any update?” she asked.
Luke nodded as he wiped the tears from his face. “I think Robin and Jayme might be dead,” he said. “It's all my fault!”
Alma couldn't believe her ears! Her heart sank! “Are you sure?” she asked. “Did they find their bodies or something?”
Luke looked at Alma and replied, “An officer watched them vanish right in front of him!"
Alma didn't want to believe that! “There has to be some explanation!”
“Have you been able to get ahold of Burke yet?” Luke asked.
“Not yet, I believe he is still in Paris.”
“Keep trying, he should know his granddaughter is missing.”
Back on the bus, Irwin was still angry with Casey for running over his corpse! “I can't believe you did that to me!” he snarled.
“Your corpse should learn to keep his filthy hands off my daughter!” Casey snarled back!
Irwin got up from his seat, his eyes were glowing with rage! Eva could sense Irwin was about to do something to her daughter and daughter-in-law! She turned around in her seat and told Robin and Jayme to “RUN!”
Robin and Jayme quickly jumped out of their seat and rushed to the back of the bus! Irwin held up his hands and two straitjackets appeared in his hands, along with rope!
He approached them slowly as they struggled to get the rear emergency door open. The latch was stuck!
“It won't budge!” Jayme grunted.
Irwin grabbed ahold of Robin and forcefully put one of the straitjackets on her, then he put the other one on Jayme. The two young ladies squirmed on the floor trying to break loose! Irwin chuckled at the sight! “Now, where should I tie you two up?” he asked.
He looked around the bus for the perfect spot. Then he got a brilliant idea! He took the rope and tied Robin and Jayme together back to back, and shoved them into the wheelchair securement area. He snapped his fingers and the four floor straps instantly installed themselves. Irwin rolled the two ladies to their side and attached the wheelchair securement straps to the straps of the straitjackets.
“You two aren't going anywhere!”
“LET US GO!” Robin demanded.
Irwin laughed hysterically! “Do you really think I'm that stupid?”
“Yes,” Jayme quietly chimed in.
Irwin quickly focused on Jayme. His eyes were full of anger! “Are you calling me stupid?”
Jayme didn't answer. She knew she just made a huge mistake! Her heart began to pound out of her chest as Irwin crouched down beside her.
Irwin eyed Jayme from head to toe. “What shall I do to you?” he asked.
“DON'T HURT HER!” Robin snapped! She was getting exasperated with Irwin! “Lay a hand on her and I will -,” she paused. She was going to threaten to kill him, but he was already dead!
“You'd what?” Irwin chuckled. “You can't do anythin
g to me! So, that means I can put your wife through intense torcher, as you watch and can't do anything about it!” Irwin snapped his fingers and in an instant, Jayme's back was being pressed against the wheelchair lift! The same thorny vines from Irwin's gravesite appeared and wrapped around the lift and Jayme. Then forty rats appeared and rushed towards Jayme!
Jayme let out a blood-curdling scream as the large rats began climbing up her body, and up her pant legs! She cringed as she felt the slimy silk fir of the rats against her skin!
Eva, Veronica, and Frank all jumped onto their seats and screamed! They were all terrified of rats!
“STOP THAT!” Robin screamed at Irwin! Robin squirmed on the floor trying to break free!
Irwin laughed hysterically at the entire thing! “Oh, you want one?” he asked Robin.
“Want one what?” Robin asked in a disgusted tone!
Irwin walked over to Jayme and pulled one of the rats off of her. “These!” he stated as he pulled the waistband of Robin's pants forward and dropped the rat down the front of her pants!
“NO!” Robin cried out as the slimy, large hairy rodent squirmed around in the front of her pants!
Casey glanced in his rearview mirror and yelled, “WHAT IS GOING ON BACK THERE?!”He quickly jumped out of the driver's seat and rushed to the back of the bus! Bus 340 continued to speed down the road by itself!
“WHO'S DRIVING THE BUS?!" Jayme and Robin panicked simultaneously.
Casey lifted his hand and tossed Irwin back to his seat. “STAY THERE!” he demanded! He rushed over to Jayme and magically made the rats, the straightjacket she was wearing, and the thorny vines vanish, which caused Jayme to flop to the floor.
“Ugh,” Jayme grunted. She picked herself up and brushed herself off.
“Go help your wife,” Casey calmly said. “I need to get back to driving this bus.”
Jayme nodded and walked over to Robin. She crouched down and untied the rope that was around her. Then she proceeded to un-hook the wheelchair securement straps from the straightjacket, and finally, remove the straightjacket from her wife.
The two young ladies got up and made their way back to their seats. “How dare he put a straightjacket on us!” Robin snarled.
