In the early morning, a bus began its journey on the streets of a bustling city that was just starting to wake up. People were leaving their homes one by one as they set off to do whatever it is they had planned.

Some of them walked, and some went by car, while others relied on public transportation to get them where they needed to go.

Just like every other day, Oli would be travelling back and forth across the city multiple times. Luckily for him, his route for the day involved him just going back and forth across the same streets several times, without any other bus routes to worry about.

It was a tad bit boring, but at least it was easy.

Oli felt a bit odd however. He couldn’t quite remember how he got onto the bus today. He felt like he was having breakfast one moment, then the next he was driving around. But he just chalked it up to him being a little tired.

Doublechecking his route for the day, he pulled the bus out of the depot and started travelling down the road. With barely any thought, he navigated the city with ease.

By this point in his career, he was familiar with not only the layout of the city, but also the routines of the people. Although there would always be some things that were different, he was used to seeing the same cars and the same people as he drove around.

Reaching the first bus stop, he saw an old woman who would always take the bus each Tuesday morning to go shopping. The bus door pulled in and he lowered the bus so that her old legs could get on easily.

“Morning Debra,” he said.

“Good morning Oli.” She sat down on a seat near the front as they began to chat about their days.

The door closed and the bus went on its way.

Everything fell into a routine. He followed his route, picking up familiar people and dropping them off at the same place they always got off at. Aside from a few one off people, not much was different from every other day.

Pulling up to the next bus stop, he averted his gaze from the person that was getting on. He felt awkward and guilty looking at the sling around the man’s arm.

The man got on the bus without saying a word, brushing past the others and finding a seat at the back of the bus.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

The atmosphere felt awkward, but there was nothing Oli could do about it. He chose to ignore the man and concentrated on driving.

Reaching the mid point of his first route, and after a few more people had gotten on and off, he became aware of something going on behind him.

An old man was openly leering at the injured young man, not hiding his disdain and hatred at all. Sitting next to the old man was a familiar young woman who was awkwardly trying to hold the old man back.

“Good morning Oli. I can feel that you are guilty about what you did. I’m giving you a chance to redeem yourself and apologise to the young man you injured. He is about to be accosted by someone who won’t hold back as much as you did. It is a question whether the young man will even be able to leave the bus if you don’t step in.”

A strange voice rung in Oli’s ears, scaring him. He looked around to try and find where it came from, but it was far too strange to connect to any of the people around him.

At this time, the old man had already left his seat and was stomping towards the young man at the back of the bus.

Seeing this, Oli tried to get up, but was tugged back into his chair. Looking down, he saw something wrapped around his upper arm that he somehow didn’t notice before. “What?”

“If you want to stop something disastrous from happening on your bus. You need to be willing to sacrifice something. If you want to save the young man and give him a second chance, you will have to leave your chair and get between them. But if you leave the chair, this metal strap will tighten, and break your arm. This is the cost you will have to pay for breaking that young man’s arm. Good luck Oli.”

Blood drained from Oli’s face as tension rose in the air. He tried to pull at the strap and free himself, but it was stuck on their tight.

The old man had reached the back of the bus by now, his face red and covered in sweat as he yelled at the young man.

The young man flinched back, looking for a way to escape, but was completely trapped. He tried to look at others for help, but no one met his gaze.

Everyone on the bus was focusing on what was happening now, and even Oli who was trying to free himself was looking back at what was happening. The only person trying to stop what was happening was the young woman who was desperately trying to pull her father back to no avail.

The old man had reared his arm back, prepared to punch the young man in the face. If this hit, the young man’s nose would no doubt be broken.

Feeling a pang of guilt in his chest, Oli pushed down his fear, pushed open the door between his seat and the rest of the bus and stepped outside. As his foot touched the ground, he felt something in his arm snap.

His eyes welled up as his arm was flushed with pain. Gritting his teeth as the strap tightened around his bicep and crushed the bone, he pushed himself to the back of the bus.

CRUNCH.

His bone shattered, and at the same time, the old man’s fist landed on the young man’s nose with a sickening crunch.

Blood poured from both of them as Oli reached the back of the bus and put himself between the two of them.

The old man’s rage seemed to be quelled upon seeing Oli, and without a word, he returned to his seat.

“Well done Oli. You passed the test.”

Seeing the young man relatively fine, Oli sighed and passed out from the pain.