Bus Number 6-Part 6

It was only a short blackout, but when he opened his eyes, his vision was doubled. The bus driver was slowly walking toward him, and he could see two of them, slowly swaying in and out of his vision as he tried to regain his senses. 

"Ugh." He groaned as he tried to slide up and regain his footing, but his head was pounding and his feet were slipping. He glanced down the bus and saw Avery and Leslie, both too caught up in their fights to pay him any attention. He was on his own, but with his injuries, there wasn't anything he could do…unless. It was risky, but dying was riskier, so he took the chance. He pulled up the system, choosing the bus driver and himself as targets, and hurriedly used [Empathy]. 

On the outside, it appeared as if Belle had passed out. This caused the bus driver to stop moving toward him. Instead, he approached slower, as if investigating the body. On the inside, Belle felt his perspective-changing, and he was placed in the body of someone driving a bus on a dark mountain road. 

The first thing he felt was an intense wave of sadness, deep and all-consuming, it reminded him of when he was depressed after leaving his parents. The tiredness and wondering if he should even get up were still there, but this feeling was exactly like when he was at his worst. There was an alcohol bottle sitting next to him, the bus driver sneakily glanced back at his passengers before taking a swig. 

The feeling of drinking was very realistic, he could feel it burn on the way down and even felt his head get a little dizzy for a second. Belle had to use every bit of his concentration to make sure he knew that it wasn't him doing this. He had to look for something, a hint that would tell him the bus driver's weakness. 

The only things in sight were the alcohol bottle and a picture of a woman, the bus driver glanced at the photo and a wave of sorrow overcame Belle, almost sending him off track from how intense it was. The photo had to be of his divorced wife whom the system mentioned in the mission description. 

Another swig of the drink was taken as the bus continued down the dark road. A turn was up coming down the road, a curve in the road leading down the mountain. All of a sudden, Belle was hit with a dark thought, clearly brought on by the alcohol the man was consuming getting in the way of his judgment along with the depression and exhaustion. 

What if I just drove off?

As the turn approached faster and faster, Belle realized that the bus driver was pushing on the gas pedal. Whether consciously or unconsciously, he was speeding up toward the turn. Some of the passengers seemed to realize and glanced suspiciously at the driver, but they must've thought he had the situation under control and didn't say anything. And then…the bus crashed through the barrier and vaulted down the mountain.

There was a single second of weightlessness before Belle felt the crashing pain of slamming his face into the glass and getting impaled by a tree. His vision cleared and he was brought back to reality, he wanted to throw up or scream, but the bus driver was leaning down in front of his face. Belle immediately swung his fist up, punching him in the face and causing the bus driver to stumble back. 

His head was still throbbing, but it was better than before and he managed to stand up, almost stumbling at the last second. He grabbed his axe and slapped the cheek toward the bus driver's toppling leg, sending him falling toward the floor. Using this chance Belle dashed past him and reached out toward the picture of the woman, still on the bus even after his death. The bus driver had already recovered and was lumbering toward Belle, but he turned around and quickly showed the picture to the driver. The driver paused, his expression turning into a grimace as he glared at Belle and started rushing toward him again.

"I'll break it." He threatened. The bus driver stopped again, this time he seemed slightly worried. That slight pause was all Belle needed, he opened the system, grabbed out the gun, poured his turbulent emotions into it, and shot the static bus driver. He stood there, waiting until the bus driver well and truly disappeared, before collapsing onto the ground and holding his aching head. 

"Blergh." The dizziness made him throw up in the aisle. 

"Shit, I might have a concussion." He mumbles. 

"Everyone alive?" Avery questions. 

"Mhm," Leslie replies. 

"I think," Belle answers. When he managed not to get dizzy every time he stood up, he stumbled over to Avery and Leslie, who had collapsed on the seats. The two ghosts they were fighting were gone, exorcized by Avery. He collapsed next to Leslie, cradling his head so as not to hit it on anything. 

"The bus stopped moving," Avery remarks. 

"Yep, we should probably leave." Leslie sighs. 

"I'm getting to it." Belle groans. He ends the stream right there, gaining 800 Ghost Points. The system mission was also seen as complete, but it only gave him some extra Ghost Points. It had gotten flimsy with its rewards, only giving him Ghost Points since the last mission. 

About an hour later they managed to crawl out of the bus, it was resting at the same bus stop they were at when they got on so they walked back to their cars in silence. It was now four in the morning and all three of them were exhausted. 

"I'm going to sleep forever when I get home," Leslie says, stretching his body out. 

"I agree," Belle says as he opens the car door and hops in. 

"...While I hope to never see you guys again, this was kind of fun." Avery blurts out, then she hops in her car and slams the door, driving away. 

"That was interesting." Belle muses. 

"To say the least." Leslie chuckles.