I was sitting at the bus stop after school when the fog rolled in. My music was playing so loudly through my headphones that I barely noticed the sound of the rain. I closed my eyes and sank my mind into the music, letting go of reality and drifting away in the sound. My eyes opened and I crashed back into reality. I see the headlights through the thick fog andremove my headphones. The door squeaks open and I don’t think to glance up at the driver as I climb aboard. I sit in the back next to the window and as I lean against the side I feel the doors shut. The bus begins to move but oddly enough, I don’t feel the road under the tires. I stare out the window but the fog blocks my vision. I shake my head, I’m positive that I’m just being paranoid, but I can’t shake the feeling that something is wrong. I shrug it off, I’ll just get off at the next stop and wait for another bus.

The bus isn’t stopping. I check my watch but it must be broken, the hands are spinning way too fast, hours going by in seconds. I check my phone, the clock hasn’t changed since I got on the bus. It must’ve been at least an hour ago, maybe, I don’t know. I stand up and begin to walk towards the front, I just need to tell the driver that I want to get off and he’ll stopand let me. The bus is too still under my feet, it feels almost stationary but I know the bus is moving. Am I moving? I don’t seem to be any closer to the front. I look behind me. My seat is several steps behind me. I start counting my steps. How many steps should it take to get from the back of the bus to the front? 27, 28, 29, 30, 31. The back of the bus is much farther behind me, but the front seems just as far away as before.

87, 88, 89, 90. I should be at the front by now, but it’s still so far away. I sit in the nearest aisle seat and glance behind. I can’t even see the back of the bus anymore. I am suddenly very glad I brought my things with me. My phone is dead, and my watch is spinning faster now. The fog out the window is just as thick as ever. I lean back in my seat. Why aren’t there any other passengers? I sit up and look in every direction. No one, at all. I stand back up with a new goal in mind. If Ican’t reach the driver, maybe I can find another passenger. I gather my things, close my eyes and start running forward as fast as my feet will carry me in hopes to make progress towards the front of the bus. The bus hits a bump, I didn’t think we were driving on the road how did we hit a bump? I fall backwards and land in a seat, my eyes open. I’m in the back ofthe bus. The very back seat. I bury my head in my hands, what is going on. My watch is now moving backwards, my phone is alive and is gaining battery percentage. Am I in hell? Purgatory? Limbo? New plan. I flip the locks on the window and try to pull it open. It’s stuck, but I don’t care. I’m more determined than ever, I push and pull with all my might until I finally feel the window give. It flys open. Triumph. Wait. The fog starts pouring through the window like a sink overflowing. I yank the window closed and lock it. I look back towards the front of the bus, there are three otherpassengers now, we haven’t stopped. When did they get on? They’re all sitting in the middle of their seat facing forward, not moving. I loot at the ceiling and notice the escape hatch. My last hope. I gather my things again and head towards the hatch. To my surprise, it’s easy to reach, I open it, pull the ladder down, and climb out.

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

I stand on the roof and hear train tracks, and a whistle, the wind is whipping my hair around. Why are we going so fast? I look down. That’s not a bus, that’s a train, I didn’t get on a train did I? I see a tunnel coming and quickly drop back down into the bus. Train.

I’m on a train. There are no other passengers in my car. I reach into my pocket and pull out a crumpled piece of paper. My ticket? I have a train ticket. It’s stamped, seven times, I can tell there used to be words but I can’t read them now. My phone is gone. My watch is stopped. I go to the front of my cart and look into the next one. Three passengers. All perfectly still sitting in the middle of their seats. There is no luggage above them. The train does not shake on the tracks but I know it’s moving. So much fog outside. What? I didn’t see any fog on the roof. I didn’t see any fog when I looked outside towards the next cart. There can’t be fog outside. Every window other than the front window shows fog. I run to the back and yank the emergency brake.

The train stops instantly. No jolt or screech just stopped. I shouldn’t have done that. All the other passengers are staring at me. There are thirty in this car alone. All heads turned 180 degrees. All faces twisted into horrifying expressions of disgust and anger and, sympathy? I mutter an apology and sit back down. The train starts moving again. I do not move from my seat. The middle of my seat. I’m crying. I stay facing forward. I do not look down. I do not move. I shouldn’t have gotten on the bus.