บท 23: Turned
(Meghan)
Meghan gulped.
She didn't know what was making the noise but it certainly didn't sound like anything good. The thumps were heavy and persistent, almost like a slow drumbeat.
"How do you suppose the bus got flipped?" she asked.
"No idea," Ray replied, "Something must have happened to the driver. I don't see how else such a big vehicle gets tipped over."
"You think there are any survivors in there?" Rody asked.
The roof of the bus was facing towards them. The four in the car could not see anything that was happening inside. All they had to go by was the sound of the constant thumps. But that alone explained nothing, none of them had any idea what was going on.
Just then, Meghan saw something emerge from the top of the bus. It was dark red and slim. Her bad eyesight made the object look like a big, maroon fork. It was only when the top part of the fork bent forward and slammed into the side of the vehicle did Meghan realize what it actually was.
It was a bloodied arm.
Meghan gasped, "There's—there's something up there." She said, pointing to the top part of the overturned bus.
"Oh my god, what is that?" Samantha asked in disgust.
"Looks like an arm. Someone's trying to climb out of the bus." Ray replied, "Is it a Deathless?"
"Is it a what?" she asked.
"Deathless" said Meghan, "It's what we're calling those monsters."
"Seriously? You couldn't come up with a better name?" Samantha quipped.
Meghan ignored her.
She instead focused her attention on what was happening on the top of the bus.
Ray was right. Someone or something was climbing up from the bus's window. Meghan saw another arm pop out and then a head slowly rose up, followed by shoulders and a torso.
It was a woman. She had matted black hair that covered up most of her face. Her light blue top had several blotches of deep, red blood. Her whole body trembled as she struggled to pull herself through the broken window. When most of her body was out, she sat on the edge of the bus and turned her head in their direction.
"Ahh!" she said in surprise when she saw them, "H—Help! Please! Help me. I'm—I'm bleeding. It hurts so much. Please… help me!"
"She's alive!" Rody said, "She isn't one of them."
"Yeah, looks like it. I've never heard a Deathless speak before." Ray admitted.
"Shouldn't we go help her then? Meghan asked, "She's been hurt badly. She needs some first aid as soon as possible."
"Right, I'll go." Rody said and placed a hand on the door handle.
"No, hold up!" Ray said.
"What's up?"
"Let me just check something," saying so, he opened up his window and stuck his head out partially, "Hello, Ma'am? What exactly happened here? How did the bus flip over?"
"I don't—I don't know exactly," she blurted out, "One of the passengers went… crazy! He started attacking everyone. Scratching, biting… it was horrible! It looked like he was on drugs or something. I saw him go after the bus driver. That's the last thing I remember before the bus flipped."
Meghan saw Ray's expression harden.
"The passenger... did he attack you too? Did he… bite you?"
"Yo, what are you asking all of that for?" Rody enquired.
"Hold on…" Ray whispered.
"My leg!" the woman sobbed, "That bastard tore off a piece of my leg. Please… it's bleeding badly. I need help or I might—I might die here. Help me! I don't want to die!"
Ray sighed. He sat back in his seat and raised the window.
"She's been bit." He said simply.
"So?" Rody asked.
"You turn into a Deathless if you're bit." Meghan replied, "Isn't that what you said?"
Ray nodded grimly, "She's not going to survive. She'll turn eventually. We can't help her."
"Please! What's taking so long? Please come and help me! I can't stand the pain much longer!" The woman cried out in desperation.
"So what are you suggesting we do?" Rody asked, "Just leave her here?"
"Yes," said Ray sternly, "We have enough on our plate as it is. That woman could turn at any moment. If she's near us when it happens, all of our lives are going to be in danger. I'm not risking that, Rody."
"Ahh dude…" Rody started, "I don't know about that. It doesn't feel right."
Meghan understood both of their perspectives. The woman looked hurt and confused. She probably didn't even know about the Deathless outbreak that had hit their area. She perhaps assumed that the bus passenger went crazy all of a sudden and caused them to crash. Rody was only trying to be considerate in wanting to help her. But Ray had a point too. If he was sure that a bite would cause someone to turn into a Deathless then the woman was a potential threat to them all. A stranger's life or the lives of his friends. Meghan knew that the choice was obvious.
"I don't think we should risk it either, we should leave here and try to think about what we're going to do next." Said Meghan.
Ray looked at her as she said that. His eyes were soft and calm. Judging by his expression, Meghan got a feeling that he was silently thanking her for siding with him.
Rody didn't say anything. He merely held his words and sat back down on his seat.
Although she felt bad for the woman, Meghan knew that this was the only sensible thing to do. Taking unnecessary risks would be horrendous to their probability of survival. Right now they needed to prioritize their lives over anyone else's.
Ray shifted the gear to reverse and started backing up. The woman on top of the bus seemed to realize what they were doing and started waving her arms around wildly.
"HEY! WAIT! WHERE ARE YOU GOING?" She yelled, "PLEASE DON'T LEAVE ME OUT HERE LIKE THIS! HELP ME! PLEASE, HELP ME!"
Meghan bit her lower lip in frustration. Hearing the poor woman's desperate cries for help was terrible. She suddenly felt like a villain for suggesting that they should leave. Her guilt almost made her have a change of heart. She turned her head and glanced at Ray. His face was white and his expression looked pained. She could tell that it was hard for him too. But he was still determined to follow through with it. That's how committed he was to keeping them all safe. There always needs to be someone who can make the hard decisions for the betterment of the group. Meghan was glad they had Ray.
"NO! Don't Leave!" The woman continued to plead, "Please—please wait! WAIT…"
Meghan looked back at the woman just in time to see her extend a longing hand towards them. She was sitting on the very edge of the bus, her arm outstretched in their direction. Her pose made Meghan feel uneasy. Not just from the guilt she felt but also because the woman looked dangerously close to falling off.
The woman didn't seem to have noticed it. She kept leaning towards them, now with both arms out in front. Her fall almost seemed inevitable.
"Oh no, the woman!" Meghan pointed out, "She's about to…"
Before she could get the words out of her mouth, it happened.
The woman extended herself too far forward and tipped over the edge of the bus. She fell head first into the solid concrete below with a disgusting crack.
Meghan yelped at the sight, "Oh God!" she cried.
Ray stopped the car. "Did she just… oh no." Ray said in shock, "Her neck…. It's been—"
"Stop!" Meghan begged covering her eyes, "I don't want to see or hear it. Let's just go. Please. Fast!"
"Yeah, on it…" said Ray.
But before he could get the car moving again Rody suddenly said, "Hey wait! She's still moving."
"What? No way. Not after a fall like that." Ray breathed out.
Meghan opened her eyes to see that it was true. The woman was indeed moving. She was very slowly trying to lift herself up. It was proving difficult for her. She kept planting her hands and legs in weird positions. Twice, her whole body trembled and she fell back down on the ground. But that didn't stop her. In her third attempt, she finally managed to stabilize her footing and propelled herself onto her feet like a puppet on a string. It was one of the most unnatural things Meghan had ever seen. Her head rested on her left shoulder in a disturbing angle. It was evident that she had completely ruptured her neck from the fall.
Seeing the gruesome injury with her own eyes made Meghan want to throw up.
"How the hell is she still alive?" Samantha asked, baffled.
"She isn't…" Ray said ominously, "She's turned."
Almost as if on cue, the woman let out a bone-chilling screech and pelted towards them.
"Erratic!" Meghan yelled.
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