A young slender girl had just left her city’s community college and walked quite a distance only to wait under the pavement on a hot summers day; She brought her arm up to cover her face from the light and blistering heat, sweat running down the side of her face, legs aching which only proceeded to annoy and exhaust her further, only to make the sigh that left her sound like a growl.
I only just got to the damn bus stop, she cursed internally. The day hasn’t even really started and I already regret leaving the dorms, and if Daniel doesn’t show up to work today either, then I have to fill in for his fucking shift!
She decided to try and lean against the stop sign on the pavement near the bus stop, not wanting to get anywhere near the homeless guy still sleeping on the bench underneath it; which did no favors for her anxiety or the blistering summer heat that was made worse by her dark clothes.
Just as she was debating whether or not to just call in sick, her bus turned the corner and came to a stop in front of her. Great timing… she mumbled to herself as she stepped onto the bus after the hissing doors opened, after running her bus card through the scanner she sat in a seat that was facing the aisle of the bus, and as she did so the bus started moving again.
Selene settled into the bus seat and turned on her phone and let the minutes pass by only later to be met with a message which she read bitterly, it was Alex, her manager.
“Hey Selene it’s Alex, Could you do the night shift tonight? Daniel called in sick today too.”
Oh fuck no! Are you kidding me?
She leaned back in her seat, threatening to just melt into it in defiance of the message she just received; she brought up her phone and pouted as she started typing in frustration albeit resignation since she had already assumed this would happen.
“Yeah, sure..”
As the bus came to a stop to pick up it’s next passenger she finished texting the message; she let her arm go limp on her lap still holding her phone, bringing her other arm to cup one side of her cheek.
“Guess I’m not playing tonight either..” she mumbled to herself, she was hoping to play some video games tonight with her friends online, but those plans seemed to have already been dashed and set aside for the sake of work.
As the bus started moving again, an older woman in the seat across from her looked over to her and gave her a soft look. “Tough day today darlin’?”
Selene shifted in her chair and glanced her way; “Yeah..just work.” forcing a smile; the sound of the road going past them filling up the sound of the bus.
“Well don’t we all, these days that’s everyone’s problem” the old woman spoke with a gentle voice, in an effort to make some small talk and to hopefully make the girl’s day just a little better
Selene breathed in deeply and let out a sharp sigh almost to signify her bewilderment and agreement towards the older woman.
“Yeah, just someone from work called in sick”
With added air quotes and hefty sarcasm to emphasize her annoyance, she looked at the woman with a smile.
“Oh darlin’.. can’t imagine that’s going to be making you day any better, but if you’d like I can at least hear you complain about it, I like me some tea”
With a smile that could show the mischievousness in the woman’s tone, her offer was made all the more enticing to Selene.
“The names Audrey by the way sweetie”
With kind eyes she spoke, and settled a bit more into her seat and ready to talk away with the girl she just met.
“Mine is Selene, and sure yeah that would be really nice thanks”
Selene said with a smile, she figured if anything else this would probably make her say just a little better, if at least to just air out her frustration just a bit with someone who just so kindly offered up a distraction, and she doesn’t even want to look at her phone right now.
And so the two talked for a while, gossiping for what felt like seconds to about minutes pass by, Selene was never much of a talker or particularly extroverted, but for some reason this woman in front of her could get her to open up like a book.
As the two woman kept talking happily as the moments went by slowly in their conversation, the bus however, started moving faster and faster, and then felt as if though it hit a road bump at high speed.
What is that bus driver doing!? As Selene dared to look over at the bus driver she saw the driver passed out at the wheel. She was about to scream..but someone had done it for her; a younger guy closer to the front of the bus screamed.
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“The fucking drivers out!”
Those few words felt like it erupted the entire bus into a panic; Oh shit! oh shit!... She kept cursing in her mind as she tried to grab a hold of something and brace herself for the inevitable..And then she caught a glimpse of the windshield of the bus and what was in front of her; It looked like the images in her college textbooks on Astrophysics…a black hole.
The whole bus felt like it was lifted from the ground as she began holding on as tightly as she could to her seat. The whole world felt like chaos and she was just being thrashed around in a blender, her voice going sore from her screaming, before everything just went dark, and so did her consciousness..
Then Selene felt something shaking her, as all at once she breathed in heavily and the smell of salt and brine hit her nose first, then her eyes opened to see a young girl around her age shaking Selene’s shoulders alongside the older woman from earlier nearby, both in rough shape.
“Hey! Hey! You alright!?” As the girl shook Selene awake, the older woman next to her Audrey was the next she would hear as Selene ran her hand through her aching head. “Careful girl, she must’ve hit her head real hard, be a little more easy.”
An audible groan escapes Selene’s lips “W-What, are…?” is all she could mumble as she held her aching head only to have the older lady speak up again “Now don’t fret about, you probably hit your head real hard; Hey sweetie help her lay on the seats. and be real careful”
“Yeah, I get it I’m trying lady but we all got banged up here” the girl ran her arm Selene’s, before helping her up onto the seat as gently as she could, which wasn’t to say much but she couldn’t blame her, if not because of her current state then because she knew she had gone through the same she had.
Shit what happened? We got pulled into what looked like a black hole…THE FUCK IS THAT AN OCEAN!? As Selene looked out the window behind the lady and young girl she must have had a crazy look on her face, because they were pretty confused for a second before they realized.
“H-How are we near the ocean..?”
“Hell if I know, it’s insane, last I checked Wisconsin wasn’t in the middle of a damn ocean” The girl exhaustively said with just as much fear as there was an attempt at trying to bring some humor to calm herself.
“Who knows darlin’, I just hope this shit blows over”
The older women quipped, with furrowed brows.
The young girl seemed to just breath and try to keep herself from breaking down.
I need to see what’s going on, I gotta try and get up; Selene tried sitting up using the wall of the bus to slide herself up. Only to be met with the sound of the groaning bodies of people trying to get themselves up and any who were still injured or unconscious.
As Selene looked around and swept her eyes around the bus, she saw out of the bus window and saw that the bus was on a stone platform, where the only thing off into the distance that she could see was ocean and the sky; There looked to be a group of people who outside of the bus yelling at each other, some more sane and together then others.
Oh shit..are you fucking kidding me? We are in the middle of the fucking ocean!? Of the places to end up! Selene’s mind started racing and cursing at the situation, barely wanting to stop. I have to..no..I need to figure out what’s going on here!
Selene started lifting her aching body from the bus seat grabbing the attention of the two that had helped her earlier.
“Darlin’ yah need to take it slow.”
Her eyes looking at Selene sympathetically.
“No, I need to see what’s going on.”
Selene said with a disbelieving look on her face.
“Fine, I’ll go with you. I don't want to be in here when they all wake up too…seeing the same reaction get’s tiring after a while..”
The red haired girl said with an exhausted voice.
“My name is Annie by the way, let’s go.”
Selene nod’s and she tries her best to walk towards the doors of the bus, in protest of her aching bod.
“Mine is Selene.”
Trying her best to move through the center aisle of the bus, she responded to the girl, having just barely gotten rid of the grogginess she was feeling after going unconscious.
And when Annie pushed the bus doors aside, Selene was hit with a stronger scent of briny and salty air.
When she stepped out, it was with all of the confidence that she was still on her world, on Earth…but that illusion was destroyed when she saw… arches..there were arches well half of one, with pedestals just like the one the bus she came here on had, it almost looked like something out of a video game!
She looked around awe struck, and then looked next to her at Annie, who wore a similar expression.
“Just where the fuck are we?”
Speechless as she was, those were the only words that seem to come to mind for Annie, as she craned her neck to look at the spires and platforms around her.
Not too long afterwards other’s left the bus…then all hell broke loose, as the situation was starting to dawn on everyone who was on that bus…they were in a place that couldn’t be on earth.