Twenty Three

Max POV

The sun sparkled off the fresh snow and reflected off the side of the bus. I couldn't see the road, there was so much white powder. The people around me on the bus slept, some snored, and some played on their phones. Fang was next to me as always, though just now he sneezed from the bright sunlight. The world felt strange, like this wasn't real life. I felt groggy and unable to speak, yet everyone still understood me.

"Excuse me ma'am?" A small and timid voice said, a light tugging on my sleeve accompanying it. I looked down and saw the small daughter of the couple ahead of us. Her green eyes were large and trusting. Her blonde locks were pulled back into a loose ponytail.

"Yes, sweetie?" I asked her. She turned and pointed at the front of the bus, to where the driver was sitting. I looked up and my raptor vision picked up the driver looking nervously around. His forehead was sweating and he was coughing.

"The man is hurting." She said simply, causing my mind to race. Just as I was trying to stand to move to the front of the bus, the mother of the small child was at her side and took her hand.

"I'm so sorry, come on Annabelle." She escorted her daughter back to their seats. I stood there, in the isle next to my seat in a daze. Fang looked concerned as he watched me. The man is hurting.

I opened my eyes and inhaled deeply as I awoke. I looked around the dark bus and at its sleeping passengers. It was almost 1 in the morning, according to my watch, and the bus plodded along its course. Fang was leaned against the wall of the bus, his head against the back of his reclined chair. He looked asleep to any other passerby, but his still tense posture told me otherwise. His eyes opened as he felt me watching him.

"You alright?" He asked, sitting up. I nodded, already unsure of why I felt so weirded out. I knew I had just had the strangest dream, but I could not remember it. Fang stretched, his back cracking, and he let out a tired sigh. "Are we there yet?"

"Very funny." I elbowed him in the ribs and he flashed me one of his rare half smiles. My eyes continued to scan the quiet bus, certain that something was amiss. My eyes stopped on the little girl of the family ahead of us. She slept soundly in her mother's arms, her thumb in her mouth. She seemed oddly familiar to me, but I figured it was only because she looked like Angel. I sighed and leaned against my seat, reclining it completely back. This bus ride was taking far too long, and I felt so crowded and cramped in here. Fang felt the same way, from his constant shifting and his ever bouncing knee. I closed my eyes again, hoping to fall back asleep.

A low growling noise reached my ears and I opened my eyes. I had to squint against the bright light of the sun, however, as it spilled into the bus through the many windows. I looked over at Fang as he watched the cars zip by us through the window. He met my eyes through the reflection in the window.

"What was that?" I asked and he turned to look at me.

"What was what?"

"I heard a weird noise, it woke me up." I said and he smirked, opening his backpack. He pulled out one of the brown paper bags with sandwiches and juice boxes.

"It was you. Eat up." He said and plopped a sandwich wrapped in seran wrap on my lap. I immediately became aware of my hunger and began to unwrap the sandwich. I guess that's one way to wake up. We each only ate one sandwich and one juice box each, as we wanted to conserve them, though it didn't dent our appetites.

"Where are we?" I asked after a while. Fang sighed and glanced out the window, the bright sun showing the details of his eyes easily. For once I could actually see his pupil, constricted against the light.

"My guess? Oklahoma."

"How do you know?" I leaned over to look out the window. The passing 'Welcome to Oklahoma' sign answered my question. I groaned, knowing we weren't even a third of the way to Chicago. The bus bumped over a large pothole, jarring my mind even further.

"This is better than flying?" I whispered to Fang and he only shrugged.

"Saves energy." He said quietly and I rolled my eyes. It might save energy, but now I was sitting here bored, my mind wandering to random things. Like people watching, the passing cars outside, and how hungry I was getting. I wanted to eat all the sandwiches we had. One thing about flying is that it really takes your mind off things. Time passes so much faster and I knew damn well I could fly faster than this rolling boulder.

"We'll be stopping in the next 5 minutes for gas. Stretch your legs for a moment outside and we'll be on our way shortly." The driver's voice came over the intercom and I breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, I would be able to get some fresh air. Fang and I's gaze met and I smiled.

Those 5 minutes felt like 5 years, but sure enough we had parked in a large gas station and the driver opened the doors. We filed out quickly, my legs feeling wobbly and cramped. Some people went inside to get snacks and other odds and ends. Fang and I stood by the bus and stretched, watching people come and go carefully. I noticed the air was a lot more chilly than in Arizona, and my breath was coming out in clouds. It would only be getting colder from here. My feet crunched over ice on the pavement and the exhaust of the bus billowed out like a large steam vent. I shivered and tucked my hands into my pockets, pulling my wings closer. I wanted to stretch them as well but dared not in front of so many people. The bright light of the sun did nothing to warm the icy landscape either. Shrubs and trees were iced over, icicles made their branches hang low. Only the occasional Chickadee fluttered overhead and sometimes I'd see the bright flash of a red Cardinal.

"Everyone on board!" The driver's voice was piercing and I blinked in surprise. Fang looked at me before starting to move back towards the doors. Our break was over, and we'd be confined to a seat for the next 8 hours at least. What a miserable way to travel.

An hour into the ride I was losing my battle against boredom. People were on their phones or snoring in their seats. Fang was studying the landscape and watching the cars again. The bus moved by a large bank building, and the sun shone brightly into the bus. Fang sneezed, shaking his head. I blinked, my mind seeing something. Had Fang sneezed during this ride before or was this the first time? Thinking I was going crazy, I brushed it off, leaning back into my seat. A slight tug on my sleeve made me jump, however, and I looked down. The small girl of the couple several seats ahead was standing there, her green eyes huge. Now I felt I was in serious deja vu.

"Excuse me, ma'am?" Her small voice asked, she sounded worried and scared. She was pointing to the front of the bus. Her hair was in a neat ponytail and I couldn't shake the undeniable familiarity of the situation. Frowning, I looked to the front of the bus. The driver seemed anxious, his brow sweaty, and his eyes watching everything. He coughed several times, and sounded like he was struggling.

"Yes, sweetie?" I asked her, my gaze falling back on her. Her face was now serious and steadfast.

"The man is hurting." She said. The sentence felt like a kick in the guts. My breath stopped in my throat. I was certain now, this I had seen before. I looked at Fang, who was watching me carefully, concern in his eyes.

"The man is hurting." The little girl repeated. My gaze fell back on her, her face now the scared image I had seen moments before. Her mother was rushing up the aisle now, taking her small hand.

"I'm so sorry, come on Annabelle." She said quickly but gently, leading the small child back to their seats. I was left in a daze. Annabelle? I stood, watching the family buckle themselves in again, the girl completely unaware of the events that had just unfolded.

"Max?" Fang asked. I looked back at him. "Everything ok?"

"I don't know." I glanced back up at the driver, my heart telling me to approach him. Something was very wrong, I just didn't know what, or understand why. The man's eyes met mine through the rear view mirror and held my gaze for several seconds. He then went limp in his seat, his hands falling from the steering wheel and his foot hitting the gas. I panicked, running up to the front of the bus as fast as I could. Fang was now right behind me as I grabbed the wheel, frantically trying to bring us back into our lane.

"Fang, hit the E brake!" I yelled but he was already on it. The wheels squealed as the brakes locked up and we began to slide on the ice of the road. By now everyone on the bus was screaming and crying. The old man was barking at us incoherent gibberish while the little girl's screams pierced my mind. I couldn't get the bus back under control and I saw the bridge coming up. The bus slid sideways, narrowly missing honking cars. The rear bumper smashed into the guardrail, spinning us back around and making the front left side of the bus collide into rail once again. Clipping a power line pole and everything began to go in slow motion. I felt the bus roll onto its roof, the windows shattering and people being pulled from their seats. The crunching of metal filled my ears, and the smell of gasoline burned my nose. We rolled over once more but made it over the guardrail. Free falling, we were forced to the roof of the bus. A few seconds dragged by and I saw the frozen lake rushing up at us. I closed my eyes in time just as the front windshield smashed into the ice.

"Mommy!" The little girl was screaming and her parents were frantically trying to undo their seat belts. The bus was filling with freezing water too fast, we were sinking. The shock of the cold water hitting me made my breath stop and I had to force myself to breathe.

"Everyone try to stay calm!" I yelled, going into overdrive. Something in me was pushing and I had to follow it. "Undo your seat belts, cut them if you need to!" Hearing my orders, Fang was already pulling his pocket knife out and began to work on seat belts. The bus was on its roof and some people were hanging upside down, trapped in their seats. The water was up to my chest now, and in a few more seconds we'd be underwater.

"My son! I can't get him free!" The father of the little boy was yelling. Fang was trying to reach him but couldn't get past the floating debris and glass. I watched as the man and his son took a deep breath and the bus filled with water. Instantly, everything was quiet. The shouts were gone, and only the groaning of the metal bus remained. I began to breathe underwater, knowing that Fang would be doing the same. We were lucky in this case. But I couldn't leave all these people.

I pointed to the little boy and Fang was cutting him loose immediately. The windshield was smashed in and was our only way out. I began pulling people towards it, pushing them through the narrow entrance. It looked like the boy was already unconscious. I grabbed him and rushed through and began swimming. We broke the surface mere seconds later and I quickly moved to the frozen land just ahead.

"Come on, kid, don't give up on me." I panted and pulled him up onto the snowy ground. His drenched frame was limp in my arms but the cold air on his face made him start coughing. He gasped and rolled over as I patted his back. I stood and looked back out at the water, seeing all the heads of the people breaking the surface as well. I saw Fang pulling the little girl behind him.

"Is everyone here?" I yelled and looked around at the sopping wet figures throwing themselves onto the land. The snow clung to their wet bodies, chilling everyone further. "Is everyone ok?"

"The bus driver, he's not here." Fang panted hard next to me. I looked at him in shock, his breath forming clouds in the breeze. He was bleeding from his head as a cut ran down his left eyebrow.

"I didn't see him either." I breathed. I heard the wail of sirens above us on the bridge. Panicking, I looked over to the hill leading back up to the main road. There was no way we'd get out of here without being seen.

"You saved our lives." The mother of the little girl was walking up to me now. She took my hand in her shaky ones and looked into my eyes. "And you saved my daughter's life." She put a hand on Fang's shoulder and I noticed his pained face as he flinched. He might have hurt his arm or shoulder as well.

"And my sons!" The man was now next to me. Nervous, I looked around as the people began to gather around Fang and I. "You're heroes!"

"I'm no hero." I muttered, looking around for any way to get out of this situation. But paramedics were already running down the hill and I could make out the red and blue flashing lights of cop cars. Fang's gaze met mine as several cops made their way to us.

"Is everyone alright?" They yelled out, counting everyone here. Everything was a blur now as my adrenaline began to fade. I was absolutely freezing, as the freezing lake water soaked my clothes and the icy breeze chilled me to the bone. I noticed Fang shaking next to me, his breath hitching and coughing as he struggled to breathe. He walked a few paces away and leaned onto his knees.

"Broke a few ribs?" I asked, standing next to him. He nodded through wheezes, straightening up finally.

"More than a few." He hissed. "Maybe even a lot."

"This is going to be all over the news very shortly." I said, noticing people standing by the guardrail above with phones and cameras. Fang nodded.

"We need to go." He agreed and began moving off towards the edges of the site. We moved away quietly, hoping not to be seen by anyone. I didn't want either of us going to the hospital where we'd be asked questions about the crash, further delaying our mission. With all the chaos and the paramedics documenting injuries and loading people onto stretchers, we seemed to be able to move away without a hit. I still didn't know what had happened to the bus driver or what caused all of this to happen, but at least all these people were safe.

"You think you can fly?" I asked Fang once we were out of sight of the crash site. He leaned against a tree, panting hard and shallow. Our clothes were soaked, and the air was beginning to freeze the very surface of my jeans. If we took off our coats now in order to fly, we'd really be in trouble.

"Is there any form of shelter near on foot?" He asked shakily. I stood straighter and his breathing was wheezy.

"Not that I can see." I sighed, glancing around. We were far enough off the road to not be seen but every one of the buildings within eyesight would know about the bus crash. Seeing two drenched people with injuries would only bring trouble. But then again, I looked over at Fang as he struggled to breathe, again leaned against a tree.

"Max," he said breathlessly. "This is bad."

"Worse than a few broken ribs?" I asked but he only nodded, his stance unsteady. He stumbled onto his knees, unable to get up again. "Fang, what is wrong?"

"I just can't breathe." He wheezed. I knelt next to him, seeing his pale face and blue lips. This was something I knew I couldn't handle, as much as I hated to admit it. Panicking, I jumped to my feet and looked for the nearest building.

"Fang, I'm going to get help!" I looked back at him, but he didn't answer. He was on his back now, unconscious. I turned and ran as fast as I could back the way we had come. Fang's only chance now were the paramedics only half a mile away.