The Bus Ride

Chapter Six

All I hear are sickening thuds as fists hit the bodies lying on the ground, and the sobs and pleads for mercy coming from them. A tear slips down my cheek as I sob, unable to help the people being tortured in front of me. I try to run forward to help the people, but am held back by two hands. I am sobbing uncontrollably now, unable to help. Finally after what seems like hours the people stop screaming and lay still. I look at the faces. The bodies belong to Luke, Dallas, and Nicole. I scream and run to them, cradling Luke in my arms as I cry. Someone taps me on the shoulder and I turn around, looking at the face of my friends killer. I gasp. It's me.

I bolt upright in my sleeping bag, shaking and covered in sweat. It was just a dream. I look around at the rows of sleeping children and notice it is still dark out. I see figures moving around the sleeping bags, and assume that it is our guards. I can also see a light coming from a small cabin on a hill. My hopes soar, thinking it might be someone that can help us, but I soon realize that the more likely possibility is that the leaders of this little operation are sleeping there. I sigh and lay back down, staring at the star twinkling under the sky. It's hard to believe that somewhere, some other girl is looking at the stars, from her own bed, safe, while I'm here, stuck in the middle of the horrible situation. It's hard to believe that no one knows what we have all gone through. By now of course, parents would have realized that their kids are missing. People have probably called each other, called the school, called the bus company, and no one has an answer. I just now realize the brilliance of the Sly Foxes plan. No one would ever dream that their kids are in the middle of a hostage situation. I can't help but wonder what the Sly Foxes want. Money perhaps? I have a gut feeling that this is bigger than money. They want something even bigger. Why else would they kidnap two hundred kids? If they wanted money, a few kids would suffice. Maybe I will never find out, but I need to. Surely I can piece together the story. These people underestimate us. They think we are just weak little kids. They don't know what we are capable of.

I can't get back to sleep, no matter how hard I try. My dream really shook me up, and I'm almost afraid to go back to sleep, for fear that I'll have the same dream. I wonder if it is an omen. I sure hope not, because if that is the truth, my friends will all die, and I will be their murderer.

Eventually I get back to sleep, and wake up to the sound of a little kid crying, loudly. I can hear people around the kid trying to get them to shut up, but with no use. If anything the kid just starts crying louder, and soon other kids join in, until we have about twenty kids crying, and it is so loud I want to duct tape their mouths shut. I know that they can't help it, that they are afraid, but that can't stop me from being irritated. Nicole raises her head up, her hair a mess and her eyes groggy.
"What's going on?" she asks, rubbing her eyes.
"Some little kids just randomly started crying, don't know why." I replied. I look around and my eyes settle on something hanging on a branch. My eyes widen as I take in what I'm seeing. I think I may have figured out why the kids were crying.

A body. A body is hanging from the branches, and I am one hundred percent positive that it is the body of that boy that was killed yesterday. The message couldn't be clearer. The body clearly states: Don't run away. Run away, and you will be next. The kids are still crying, and I hear some of the older kids whispering to each other nervously. More and more people start to notice the body, and soon all two hundred of us are up and chattering loudly. Maybe a little too loudly. I see the cabin door swing open and a bunch of people step out. I quickly nudge my friends and they fall silent. Some people also notice it and follow my lead, but most keep talking. I stay silent, hoping that nothing too bad will happen. As they get closer more and more people stop talking until there are only a few clueless ones left. The leader pauses in front of us. He looks very annoyed. This is not going to end well for anyone.
"What was all that talking?! You woke me up!" He shouted. I could almost see the spit flying from his mouth. I cringed. This was not a way to start off the day.
"Did you idiots not see the body? Didn't you get the hint? You kids are idiots." He continues, equally as annoyed. It is silent for a couple moments as he catches his breath until a lone voice shouts from the group of kids.
"Screw you!" the mystery voice shouts. No one dares to even breathe, and you could practically hear the leaves fall, that's how quiet it was. Everyone was dreading what was going to happen. We all knew what these people were capable of, and I was still trying to decide whether or not this person was brave or stupid. I was leaning towards the side of stupid. Just as the leader was about to say something back more kids join in.
"Screw you!"
"You can't keep us here!"
"You coward!" I could see Luke start to open his mouth and shout something but I put my hand on his arm and shook my head. I didn't want to be known as a troublemaker, and the worst thing we could do right now was to stand out. I thought the kids shouting were idiots. Being "brave" and "noble", when in reality, they were probably going to get themselves killed.
"ENOUGH!" the leader roared. It quieted down pretty fast. The leader was breathing pretty heavily and I didn't want to see what happened next.
"Who started this?" He shouted. No one spoke.
"Come forward, or else I will beat everyone one of you black and blue!" After a short pause a girl stood up, probably in the eleventh or twelfth grade. She looked scared to death, and rightfully so, because after seeing what happened to that boy, I could predict her future. The leader beckoned her to come forward and she slowly shuffled through the crowd. I could see the fear in her eyes as she made her way over. She stood in front of the leader, practically shaking in fear.
"Not so brave are you now, huh?" He says with a chuckle. She doesn't answer, and the laughter in that creepy old man's face dies and is replaced with a cold look. He grabs her chin and forces her to look at him. Then, without further warning, punches her in the face.

He continues punching, and once she is on the ground, kicking, and I try to avert my eyes, as I know what happens next and I have no intention of seeing it again. But something different happens, something that I don't think anyone could have expected.
"Get up." He spits at her with contempt. With difficulty she stands up and faces him.
"Turn around." He tells her and she turns to face us. She looks terrible. I can't tell who was worst, her or the boy, but I think the boy is still winning as both his arms were broken, she only had one broken. She looks back, waiting for further instructions.
"Close your eyes and point to somebody." He continues, almost scarily calm. She points to a little boy, in first grade by the looks of him, and he is dragged up to the leader, crying in fear. My heart goes out to him, but I keep my poker face on. No weakness. Four more times she is told to do this, and one of the times she points dangerously close to me, but luckily lands on someone else. Soon there are five new people standing up there, all looking scared to death. No one knows what will happen next. The leader produces a knife out of his jacket and hands it to the girl, and what he says next is no joke.
"Kill them."

Another filler, but next chapter we will get some good action. If you enjoyed this chapter remember to vote, comment, and follow.
Cat