A hazy shape clarified near the light. A house? A car? The attacks at the cabin smashed my glasses. We'll be back home soon. Dad can craft some new ones.

"Avery, what is it?" I half tripped and stumbled over a mass that stuck out of the grasses. My rapid heart beat became more noticable as we rested.

He squinted. "I think, a bus," he said between breaths.

Out of nowhere It started to drizzle, the sparce clouds gathered together shuttering the last light of the evening behind them.

System configuration completed.

.

.

.

The previous system shutdown at 11 am was unexpected.

Configuring Skills.

Skill level increase pending.

Not now go away, were almost there. Stupid shity system can't even look decent.

Character Name: Rosey Goodreed

Level: 3

Skills Acquired: 1

For a moment it showed the skill name and what level, but then the bottom half of the box glitched and fragmented onto bright colors.

System Ran Into a Problem And Needs to Restart.

Restarting.

Error.

Rerouting to separate server.

Please wait.

"Ouch!" We both covered our eyes with an arm, brushed the boxes aside and kept going. Mom said years ago the system worked perfectly, but it started breaking down before I was born.

I could see it now, a rusted tipped over school bus, now dented all to hell, dull steel showed though where the paint had been scraped off—my guess— from hitting something. Or something hitting it. The drizzle turned into a light rain and pinged off the metal.

A hand stuck through an open window held a flashlight that turned on and off repeatedly.

"Can you hear us?" I shouted as we neared.

A head poked though the window, his deep soft brown features exploded onto a swoon worthy grin. He pushed against the frame and dropped down. "Hurry!"

He smoothed some dust from his face.

When did he cut his hair? It was so long the other week.

His lush compact curls were pulled back into a tight pony tail, the front in a faded clipper cut.

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Avery and I exchanged looks. He shrugged. "You know hmi better than I do.

Alright then. I do know him! His blurry features came into view, it was Robert. He hated when anyone used anything but Rob, thought it was too old fashioned.

"Rob, Rob! It's us!" He's part of the chess club at our school, William F.T. High School. My best buddy, he's alive! I hadn't even had a chance to think of anything else but taking care of Avery and me.

I ran onto his arms and gave a squishing hug, then softly bopped his forhead. We're the same height. I'm not all that tall either.

"Woah." His cheeks flushed a bit, hint of pink on his handsome rounded cheeks. He looked at me out of the edges of his eyes, wide yet cloaked as if he wasn't sure I was real, we were real. His sholders and back slumped a fraction as he looked at nothing. "I didn't think anyone would come, it's been a couple days already. I know it's not long but, I can't venture through the clearing edge. It's solid!"

Avery waved a pale hand in my face.

"Quit it squirt ," I said, a spark of irritation rolled down neck, chest and arms. I squeezed my fingers and shook them. Shoo, go away. Don't get mad at him. Arms dropped quickly to my side. They both gave me a strange look.

Don't care. I was beginning to think that we might make it after all, with Rob we're stronger than alone.

The clarity came back on his gaze and his shoulders straightened.

"Now, I know people are alive we need to find a way out of here so, can we quit the reunion and keep going already?" Avery flashed quick glances at the forest.

Shit. Now some foxes and wolves were mixed in with the deer, they stood in a line circling the clearing, staring without blinking. When I was younger these were NPC critters they didn't attack unless you hit them too many times and raised your agro to crazy hights. Don't bother the bunnys, they're crazy evil. Chickens even worse. I still have the scar from when a bunny took a chunk out of my arm. By then healing potions and spells gave or cast poison.

I shook my head. Wandering around in thoughts wasn't going to help us.

The system will work things out, I hope it fixes the animals soon, the waking nightmares made me fell a little like running around and screaming, at least inside my head. Don't think about it. Don't think about it. Don't think about it! In the now. Be here.

Rob signed with a hand to follow. "Help me, the bus driver is still in here. Prepare yourself he's—not doing well."

Just the driver where the others? "Coming. Come in Avey."

"Better than staying out here. I can feel them watching me, it's like an invisible pressure." He shuttered and smoothed out his black T-shirt with a 😛 smiley on it.

After they both slipped though the window, I climbed up and dropped inside and landed on my knee. A searing pain took over my knee, dropping to my side I held it and hissed.

"Why didn't you wait? I was going to catch you," rob said his usually smooth low voice rumbled and echoed inside.

“You didn't say you were gona.'" I kept my voice even, to keep from yelling. It's not him it's the stupid pain. "Oohh. I'll wait next time." A flash of yellow over my head. 😵‍💫

"What the hell?" They both said together. Another flash of light and ❕❔ floated over their heads.

What is this an anime? I sat up, and poked at the emoji it spin around and popped into a mass of pixilated sparkles. Seriously?! 💢 Now a red light appeared overhead from an anger emoji.

"Off! Off! Disable! Go away!" This was the most annoying glitch yet. "Quit it system!"

A flash of blue outside. Now what?

We huddled back to the window entrance.

Collecting error info.

(Restart 0% complete)

At the clearing edge, off behind the animals, came a thump.

Are there way more bunnys then before? How'd they grow so big?

An ity bitty screen floated before me.

Cancel? Okay?

This was weird. Where's the level ups? The skills? The stat screen, I can't even see my screen!

"I don't know what you want! Save us!" I bent down and threw a stick at the screen. It smashed into the Okay, the screen indented, god knows what powered up and a humming began above.

"That's bad, right?" Avery's head moved following the small screen as it wobbled and crashed inside the bus.

The animals immediately went into a frenzy, the deer dug with it's hoves, great chunks of earth flung off around the clearing. aThe foxes and other animals, dug into the same hole. Some were panting, with thick foam that splattered onto the grass.

Rob went over to the open window closing it. "Change of plans, help me with the driver and unlocking the seats in the back."

"Um.. a shield?" I shook so badly that I stuck my hands in my pockets before anyone noticed. "Where's the driver anyway?" They didn't need more things to worry about.

"Kind of. It'll have to do."

The humming quit, a soft beep followed.