Chapter 4 : School Bus

In the still darkness, the only lights that illuminated the road were the lamp post and bus lights.

Inside the bus, the passengers who were lucky to escape from the school were full in panic. The terror in their faces were remnant of what nightmare they experience earlier. Those who have their phones with them called the emergency hotlines several times. But the lines were busy. They called their respective love ones to check on them or to seek help.

Xin Mi was doing the same. She called her mother multiple times but there was no response. It rang first and then routed to voice mail. She tried to call her dad. Same. It just rang. On the seventh ring, the line was picked and her dad's hurried voice sounded from the other line.

"Mimi? Are you okay? Is Jinghe safe?"

"Dad-" Xin Mi did not expect her voice would choke the moment she spoke to him. All her fears and nervousness poured out suddenly. She was not closed to her parents. Her parents were working abroad as long as she can remember.

They would come home once in a while. Or to be precise they would come once a year. They only stayed in Country C ( Xin Mi's country) until their vacation was over. Xin Mi grew up alone without depending in their care and love. As long as they provide her daily needs that would be enough. She was a good child. She never complain. Deep in her heart she was also proud in her parents because of their passion in their proffesions along her resentment to them. Nevertheless, she was their child.

In this kind of moment, Xin Mi unconciously let down her guard and express her venurable state.

"Are you okay Mimi? What happened?" Her dad asked anxiously.

"We're okay. We are safe for now. A lot of people turned into a man-eating monster-" Xin Mi suddenly heard gunshots at the background.

"-dad are you okay? Is that gunshots? Did they appeared at that side too?"

"I am safe for now. Locked the house. Go to the storage room. Pulled down the candle holder. Password is your birthday. It will lead to the basement. There are a lot of useful things there. You can hide there until I look for you. I love you." Her father said without a pause.

"Dad.." Xin Mi held her cry. She turned to Little Jinghe.

"It's dad. Tell him, I love you."

Jinghe came nearer to the phone. She heard what her dad said.

"I love you too Dad ." Little Jinghe said with tears in her eyes.

"I love you girls-" Crash. There was a sound of something breaking. Gunshot could be heard without a pause. A midst of it, they hear their dad shouted,

"I'll call you girls as I ca-!" Toot. Toot. The phone call ended.

"Dad...I love you too..Please be safe." Xin Mi could not help back her tears. Little Jinghe was affected and cried.

Jay Li awkwardly comforted them.

After Xin Mi calmed down, Jay Li borrowed her phone to call his home.

The bus was nearing the middle grade school. It was Little Jinghe's school. The school has it lights on. There were only complete silence and a little howls echoed from time to time making the atmosphere more terrific. They passed the gate. Xin Mi quickly blocked Little Jinghe's eyes as she witnessed a group of kids eating the insides of the gate guard. The passengers all gasped and some vomited.

"No one survived. Poor kids." Xin Mi looked at the man who spoke. Xin Mi recognized him. He was one of the teacher in their grade.

Xin Mi looked around the bus. There was about twenty of them who survived. A lot are wounded. The most wounded was the man beside the gate guard. Xin Mi did not see the man who jumped in the third floor.

'Did that guy got eaten?' Xin Mi shuddered.

She looked at Jay Li who just finished his phone call. Out of curiosity she asked him.

"Are they safe?"

Jay Li nodded. "Yeah, for now. I talked to my mom. She said grandma is weird. She locked her in the cr. I told her to not let her come out. Dad is not at home. My brother was with my mom. But he is injured by grandma. I hope they would be fine."

It was Xin Mi's turned to comfort him.

"By the way, did you know Qin Mo?" Xin Mi asked him after a while.

"Of course. Who doesn't know him? He's more famous than you." It looked like Jay Li recovered from his worries.

"Did you see him? Did he make it out?" Xin Mi was worried. She did not see him come out of the building.

'Did he turn to one of them? Or he was eaten?'

"I didn't see him. Everything happened too fast. Besides he is your classmate. Did you not see him?" Jay Li threw the question at her.

"I did not go to my classroom." Xin Mi's brow was furrowed. She and Qin Mo was not close. They only have a civil relationship. But when she was in middle school. He unexpectedly help her. That day was ingrained in her mind and bloomed to a feelings called puppy love. Yes. Little Jinghe was right. She had a secret crush at Qin Mo. Aside from that day that she become aware of him, that boy grow up handsomely. Making him become the Prince of their school. He was the every night dreams of the highschool girls. This made Xin Mi felt the distance of them were like heaven and Earth. So Xin Mi was satisfied gazing at him from a far.

And that boy that she admire so much...was he safe? She looked back at the direction of their school. He could be there. But what state he is in?

She wanted to go. Check the school if he was in there. But she could barely save herself and her sister, how could she save another people? Or go back and faced those monster? She did not have the guts nor capabilities to do that. That was asking for death. For now, she had to worry hers and her sister's safety.

"What's happening?" One of the wounded teachers started a fire.

Like a match on a forest, the passengers let out their anxiety.

"I don't know. My seatmate just started attacking me. A lot of my classmates turned into a monster-"

"It's so dark. I woke up from the screams around me. When I turned on my phone I saw them biting and chewing the flesh of my classmates-"

"My teacher just got violent and started attacking us. Those people-"

"They want to eat me-"

The bus was filled with fear of the passengers as they relive what nightmare they experienced.

"HEY!" A man's voice sounded above everyone. It was the teacher who Xin Mi recognized earlier. His voice has a distinct power that attracted everyone's attention. They instantly become silent.

"I know we experienced something..horrible. We lost our classmates, our colleagues, the school, the people we care about. It all happened too fast.We don't know what's happening. No one can answer to us. We are scared, afraid, and traumatized. We barely manage to survive-" he stopped as the passengers exhale a breath. His voice was like a clear spring. Making their tight nerves relax.

"But our lives doesn't stop here. Our loved ones are still out there. In our homes. We have to go home. Safely. In order to do that, we need our clear minds, calm and determined heart. I know it's too much to ask of you to do this in this kind of situation. But everyone of us don't have a choice." Everyone was awaken. Their minds become clear. Their terrified faces change into determination. They have one will- to survive.

"What power..." Little Jinghe stared amazingly.

Xin Mi heard it as she was the closest to her. It seems a nonsense statement. But to Xin Mi who clearly knows that little Jinghe was never a child who says something foolish, she was intrigued. She felt too that something non-existent crept to her being when the teacher spoke. It was like a pheromones. Making her feel lighter and relaxed. Then determined. She really felt it was connected to what the teacher said.

"Yeah. The power came from his mouth. It is actually his voice." Little Jinghe pointed it out carelessly. Like it was a fact to be known.

Xin Mi was shocked. She just managed to guess it was somehow connected. But Little Jinghe assessment was more accurate and detailed.

"How do you know?" Xin Mi calmed her mind.

"Can you not see it?" Little Jinghe's cute forehead scrunch up.

"See...it?"

"Yeah. Those lights surrounding you. Lights surrounding at Jay's hand. And that man's mouth produced colorful lights as well."

Xin Mi now was flabbergasted.

"Lights..? You see lights surrounding us? Why..why didn't you mention it to me before?"

"Ah..because I'm not sure. Before I just see the lights from time to time. Like when you catch the strawberry juice. Your hands and feet were covered by tiny lights. I thought it was a reflection by the florescent lights. But when I woke up. I see those lights clearly. It was on everyone. "

Xin Mi believed every word little Jinghe says. Aside from being intelligent, this child never lied. Well sometimes, but she always give a warning first.

"Those lights...you mentioned they are..power?"

Little Jinghe nodded like a peacock. She was probably enjoying the flabbergasted look of her sister's face.

"Why do you say so?"

"Well..I'm not too sure. But remember when you carried me and run? I was quiet because I was shock by the little lights surrounding to all of you. I observed you and those people. When you run in front of the bus to help Jay, I saw the light become brighter in your feet. When that guy spoke, his mouth produce lights and it entered to all of us. When it entered me, I felt a power joining me. Giving me a breath and powered me. So what is that light other than power?" Little Jinghe looked at Xin Mi mockingly.

'This child! Mocking me! Forget it. She's bright and she's my sister. We are on the same blood. So I'm bright too.'

For a moment, the teacher's soothing voice was effective as Xin Mi forgot her anxiety and worries and rather contemplated of how her mind can't be comparable to an eight year old.