Chương 125: Chapter 125
The Midnight School Bus had become an urban legend. Some said it was just a story spun by the bored kids in the back of the class. Others claimed it was a ritual, something meant to be tested by the brave, the foolish, or the stupid. It was always the same: A bus, black as night, that only appeared when the clock struck midnight. Anyone who stepped on it was promised an experience that no one could fully understand, and if they were lucky, they'd make it back alive. But something about it always felt wrong, and no one who took the ride ever returned the same.
A group of twelve teenagers—too curious, too cocky, too desperate for an adrenaline rush—decided to test the story. They were the type of people who always pushed limits. Always chasing thrills. They gathered at the edge of town, where rumors said the bus would stop. A mix of daredevils, thrill-seekers, and paranormal enthusiasts.
They waited. The night was cold, but no one cared. The sky above was empty, as if even the stars knew something was coming.
Liam, always the leader, cracked his knuckles and grinned. "You guys ready for this?" His voice was full of that arrogant excitement that you get when you think you're invincible.
Cassie was the first to speak up, her eyes wide. "I don't know about this. Maybe we should just leave it. There's no reason to—"
"No," interrupted Liam. "We're doing this." He cut her off like it was a joke. And it was. For them, it was all just another dare, another bet. They didn't believe in ghosts or the supernatural. But that bus, well, it had a reputation.
It didn't take long for the bus to arrive.
The air grew still. The sound of the wind seemed to fade, like it had been sucked into something else. The old, rusted vehicle appeared, out of nowhere, its headlights cutting through the darkness with an unnatural brightness. No one saw it coming, and yet they all knew it was there. The bus doors creaked open.
Liam stepped forward, his hand raised in a mock salute. "Alright, let's do this," he said.
The rest of the group hesitated. No one wanted to be the first to step on. But one by one, they all followed, until they were all inside. No one saw the driver. The interior was dark, empty, and smelled faintly of something rotten. It felt wrong, but no one said anything.
Cassie sat in the middle, her hands tight in her lap. She glanced around nervously, her fingers trembling slightly. The others laughed and joked, not taking it seriously. "I bet we'll just get some creepy footage and that's it," Charlie said. He was always the skeptic. "Nothing's gonna happen."
But something was happening. The bus started moving without any sound. No engine noise, no tires on the road. It just... moved. The landscape outside was blurry, like it wasn't even real. They passed by familiar streets that felt wrong, and the closer they got to the edge of town, the more twisted everything seemed. Trees bent unnaturally, houses were misshapen, and the roads turned into endless stretches of blacktop that seemed to go nowhere.
The further they went, the less anyone spoke. The chatter died down as the landscape became more distorted. Time stretched unnaturally, and everything around them felt like it was breaking, dissolving into something... other.
Then, without warning, the bus stopped.
Cassie looked out the window. There was nothing there. Just endless blackness.
"What is this place?" she asked, her voice small. It was an innocent question, one that no one could answer.
Suddenly, the door opened again, but this time, no one had moved to open it. They could hear the sound of footsteps outside the bus. Heavy, uneven, like something was dragging itself through the dirt.
Liam jumped up, but Cassie grabbed his wrist. "What the hell is that sound?"
"Stop being a baby. It's probably just some... some guy messing with us," Liam said, though his voice faltered.
The footsteps grew louder. Then, from outside, a voice broke through the silence. It was faint at first, like a whisper.
"Leave... now... before it's too late..."
The door slammed shut.
"That wasn't funny!" Liam shouted, his bravado quickly fading.
But the bus didn't move. It didn't do anything. It just sat there. In the thick silence, they all waited. They waited for something that was never going to come.
Then they all felt it—the presence. It was everywhere, thick as smoke. Cassie's breath hitched as her skin began to crawl. She turned to the others.
"Do you feel it?" she whispered.
Liam looked around, his usual bravado replaced by fear. "This isn't funny anymore. Where are we?"
No one could answer.
Outside, something moved. Shadows. They shouldn't have been able to move. They shouldn't have been able to be.
Cassie pressed her hands to the window, trying to peer through the blackness. There was something out there. She saw the faint outline of what looked like people—no, no, not people. Things. Their forms bent, twisted, like they were in constant motion, but not moving forward. They... shifted in ways no human body should.
One of the figures—Cassie couldn't tell if it was a man, a woman, or something else—stepped forward. It opened its mouth, but no sound came out.
And then it was gone. But they weren't alone anymore. The bus seemed to be closing in, suffocating them.
"Something's wrong," Liam muttered, his voice weak. "Something's really wrong."
A terrible screech ripped through the air. The lights flickered. The air turned cold. One by one, the others disappeared, their screams swallowed up by the oppressive darkness.
Cassie didn't know how long she'd been there. She didn't know how much time had passed. It could have been hours, days, or just moments. It felt like she was no longer part of anything. No longer part of the world outside the bus.
When the bus door finally opened, she stepped out. She didn't know why she stepped out. Maybe she didn't have a choice.
She was back. But nothing was the same.
Her skin was cold, numb. Her mind, heavy, like it wasn't hers anymore. The town she returned to was empty. The streets were quiet, and the houses were just shells. The people were gone. No one was there. They had all vanished, like smoke blown away in the wind.
Cassie wandered the streets. The sky above was pitch-black, and it felt like she was the last living thing.
And then she saw him.
Liam. His body was twisted, his skin pale. He stood in front of her, silent, just watching. His eyes... they weren't his eyes anymore. They were empty, hollow, like they had been taken. Something had taken him.
She tried to speak, but her voice felt... broken. There were no words anymore. Nothing to say. The world around her had died, and she was still walking. Still breathing. Still... alive?
But she wasn't. Not anymore. Something had happened to her. Something had taken everything—her mind, her soul, maybe even her life.
The town was gone. The bus was gone. The others were gone.
And Cassie... she was left behind. Alone. Just like them. Just like everyone who had stepped on that bus.
But no one would know. No one would remember. Because Cassie didn't exist anymore.
And the world kept on spinning, like it always had, with no one to notice.
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