Jules & Sera
Jules was never thrilled with the bus rides to and from away games. Sometimes it felt like they took forever, and most of the time they got back to school too late to actually go to Moxie’s or do anything fun like they could after games played at home. Plus, sometimes some of the boys didn’t shower so the bus was full of sweaty boy stink, weakly masked by a cloud of Axe body spray. Blech. Still, Jules did enjoy sitting next to her friends, like Sera tonight, and being able to take pictures or just gossip helped pass the time.
They were sitting up front, two seats back from the driver, as most of the football players liked to squeeze into the back unless some of them were feeling bold enough to come up and flirt. Jules was thankful for Sera’s company, because otherwise Jules would have had to stretch her feet out on the seat to keep other people from sitting with her.
They were coming up with ideas for Halloween costumes, feeling rather oblivious to anything but the laughter and music filling the bus around them when the impact from the wayward truck was felt. Suddenly there was the sound of screeching metal and screaming and all Jules could see was shattered glass falling over Sera from the window above her as Jules was thrown from the seat onto the narrow floor. Her phone went flying from her hand somewhere in the darkness and she was pitched forward violently as soon as the bus dove nose first into the ditch. Jules wasn’t sure what she hit her head on, but it caused her vision to go white behind her eyes for a moment before everything went dark.
Sera had sneaked a little bottle of her Island Gardenia body spray out of her bag and spritzed it around when they’d sat down, something else for her and Jules to snicker about. Because yes, the body odor was strong from the football players’ direction. She had absolutely no clue that something bad was about to happen, distracted as she was by their conversation. One minute they were laughing and the next, there was a massive thud, the squeal of metal on metal, screams and what felt like a million tiny cuts on her skin. Sera had instinctively thrown up her arms, and her bare forearms took most of the impact of the glass from the window. There was also some in her scalp, but she didn’t even notice the stinging pain from there right then.
Then she saw in the dimness that Jules was lying like a rag doll in the aisle, and she fell to her knees beside her, slivers of glass falling from her clothes. “Jules,” she gasped, her voice sounding thin and wavery and she leaned in, squinting to try to see how badly hurt her friend was.
Jules was in the dark, quite literally. No longer on the bus, she stood in the middle of the road, alone. No buses, no truck, no trees or sky. Pitch black, but for the asphalt beneath her feet. Jules heard nothing but the sound of her breathing. It was loud in her ears, filling the otherwise quiet space around her. She didn't feel safe, and while she wanted to start walking, her body felt frozen in place, like it knew if she moved, something bad would happen.
Then again, something bad could happen to her if she refused to move. It didn't even occur to Jules that this was just a dream, or some kind of hallucination. It felt real. And the fear began to exacerbate as soon as she heard someone, or something, in the distance behind her. She tried to turn around, but her muscles were too tense, and she couldn't move. Jules began to breathe heavily, small whimpers forming in her throat as her fingers curled into fists. It got closer, and Jules realized it sounded like something dragging along the ground. It would fall silent, then move again, closer, closer, until she knew it was behind her. Goosebumps broke out along her skin and she began to shake uncontrollably. It moved her hair away from her neck, its breath unbelievably hot against her skin. Jules began to cry and she squeezed her eyes shut. Her lips parted in a soundless scream as its fingers, long and cracked, sharp and inhuman suddenly covered her face. As soon she felt its nails puncture her skin, her screams suddenly pierced the dark, like someone had finally released the mute button.