Chương 12: Dead Bus

The schoolyard lies silent and shadowed. Beneath the moon's glow, two long silhouettes advance, their forms gliding over the pavement toward a waiting school bus. Crimson and Willow emerge, their fingers intertwined.

"Where are you taking me?" She inquires.

"Somewhere we can have more privacy." With a mischievous grin, he forces the bus door open and gestures for her to enter. Hesitantly, she steps inside. He guides Willow down the aisle, heading toward the back of the bus. He claims the final seat beside the rear window. She settles down as well. In the seat facing him. He casts her a glance that seems to ask, "Oh really?" But she remains still. So Crimson slides into the seat beside her.

She faces him, and the next instant, their lips meet, his mouth pressed against hers in the dim, vacant school bus. His hands travel to her thighs, drawing her closer against his body. Willow's fingers trace the back of his neck, her spine curving, her form pressing into his. Crimson's hands seize her, his nails morphing into claws that scrape her jacket, shredding the material. He recoils suddenly, his eyes squeezed shut.

"What? What's wrong?" She asked abruptly. Attempting to conceal his eyes from her, he rises from the seat.

"Stay back."

"Crimson?" His eyes snap open, revealing a seething yellow hue.

"Stay away from me!" Startled, Willow retreats. In an instant, she's out of the seat, resisting the urge to glance back even as a low growl rumbles behind her. She dashes down the aisle as fast as possible when Crimson's clawed hands seize her ankle and wham! She crashes down, her eyes wide with terror. His hands now grip both ankles, dragging her back while her fingernails scrape across the floor. But then she twists around and kicks, her heels striking the creature behind her.

Stumbling back from the impact, Crimson bellows in rage, shaking the bus. Now transformed into a monstrous black shape, his eyes blaze with a vicious blood-red intensity. He charges, his massive clawed hands ripping through the bus seats as Willow reaches the door, pushing it open. But she's trapped. She struggles to squeeze through, finally breaking free as the door slams open and...

Out of nowhere in the school lot, Churro slams his jeep's door, hoisting his backpack onto his shoulder.

"So what happened next? You ended her life?" he inquired. Crimson trails him from his jeep toward the school building.

"I'm not sure. I just woke up. I was drenched in sweat and gasping for air. No dream has ever jolted me awake like that."

"Mine have. But mine usually wrap up a bit differently." He probed, strolling alongside him down the hallway.

"First off, I meant no dream has ever felt so lifelike. And second, never share such intimate details about your nights with me again." Crimson responded, utterly repulsed by what he'd heard.

"Got it. But let me hazard a guess here..."

"I know. You're thinking it's tied to my date with Willow tomorrow. Like I'm scared I'll snap and tear her throat out." As they keep moving through the corridor, the dread in Crimson's mind intensifies, like a foreboding omen of something about to unfold, though he can't pinpoint when, but Churro keeps talking. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

"No, absolutely not." He hesitated a moment, catching his expression, then added, "Okay, that's exactly it." Crimson nods, his head drooping low.

"It'll be fine. Honestly, you're dealing with this pretty damn impressively. It's not as if there's a Werewolf 101 course you can sign up for."

"Not a course. But perhaps a mentor." Churro is baffled at first, then the meaning dawns on him, and he smacks the back of his head for uttering such nonsense.

"Who? Auztee? Have you forgotten we got him locked up?" He reminds him.

"I know, but every bit of it... pursuing her, pulling her back onto the bus... it seemed so genuine." This left Churro puzzled, prompting him to ask, "How genuine?"

"As if it truly occurred."

"I suspect it did..." He says, glancing across the parking lot where police tape encircles one of the school buses. Sheriff Valantine and his deputies watch a lab technician inspect the rear bus door dangling from its hinges. And even worse... there's blood smeared on it.

In the hallway, they're hunting for Willow. Crimson is truly worried because he might have killed his girlfriend, or perhaps someone else did. Churro tried to soothe him, saying, "She's probably fine..." But that didn't help at all, it's only making Crimson more anxious.

"She's not answering my texts." He keeps checking his own phone, waiting for a reply.

"You know, it could just be a coincidence. An incredibly lucky coincidence."

"Just help me find her." Crimson said, then a hand lands on his back. He nearly jumps out of his skin, but it's just another student. The praise keeps pouring in. He notices, genuinely shocked by all the attention Crimson is receiving. But he's only distracted, desperately looking for Willow, scanning every female face he sees. Starting to panic, he shoves past, leaving Churro behind. Around a corner, breathing so heavily he's almost gasping, he presses his back against a locker.

As anxiety turns to anger, he raises his hands, fingers curling into fists. He spins around, slamming his fist into a locker. The locker door crumples like tinfoil, swinging down from its hinges. It's oddly reminiscent of the bus door. As the locker's contents spill out, a shocked Crimson backs away. Retreating around the next corner, he crashes right into someone. It's Willow, and her books tumble from her arms to the floor.

"Oh my God. You scared the hell out of me Crimson."

"You're okay."

"Once my heart starts beating again." He kneels down to help pick up the books. She notices him staring.

"What?" She asked with a shy smile.

"Nothing. Just happy to see you." They're so close they might almost kiss, and Willow is about to reply when a voice comes over the PA system.

"Attention, students. This is your Principal..." Everyone stops to listen, hoping to hear that school is canceled.

"I know you're all wondering about the vandalism that occurred to one of our buses last night. While the police work to determine what happened... classes will proceed as scheduled. Thank you." The principal continued as groans erupt through the hall.

"Save me a seat at lunch?" He nods and watches her walk away. With a relieved sigh, he heads down the hall, but then pauses to see Larch at his locker. The exact same locker Crimson punched and left dangling off its hinges.

"What the hell?" he whispered, noticing a guilty-looking Crimson staring at him.

"What are you looking at, asswipe?" Crimson shakes his head as if to say nothing. Then hurries past as Larch grabs his locker door and starts trying to bend it back into place.

In the chemistry classroom, Mr. Smosh writes chemical reactions on the board while Crimson and Churro exchange hushed whispers from their desks.

"Perhaps it was my blood on the door?"

"Could be animal blood. Like maybe you caught a rabbit or something?"

"And did what?

"I don't know. Ate it."

"Raw?"

"No, you stopped to bake it in a little werewolf oven. How should I know? You're the one who can't remember anything." Churro snapped, but everyone around him heard it.

"Mr. Valentine, if that's your idea of a hushed whisper you might want to pull the earphones out once in a while. I think you and Mr. Croft would benefit from a little distance. Yes?" He points to two empty seats on either side of the classroom. He and Churro stand and cross to their new seats. Crimson's desk is right in front of Larch. He sits, very aware of his eyes on his back.

"Let me know if the separation anxiety gets to be too much." As he turns back to the board, Rowler gazes up from her seat.

"Hey look! They found something!" She called out as everyone turns to a student pointing out the window.

"They found a body!" In one motion the class bolts to the window to see for themselves. Even Mr. Smosh. Outside an ambulance sits parked by the woods as two EMT's emerge from the foliage, pushing a gurney. Strapped to it as a man's body.

"That's not a rabbit." Crimson said to Churro. The gurney rolls toward the ambulance when suddenly the body atop it lurches up. the entire classroom screams. As the EMT's ease the victim down, Crimson steps back from the others. Stunned. Devastated. Stiles slowly approaches.

"This is good. He's not dead. He got up. A dead guy can't do that."

"Churro... I did that."