If Carol Peletier never saw another bus again in her life she could be content. It wasn't that she held some particular irrational hatred or grudge towards the vehicles, she'd loved going on the bus as a small child, adventuring across town to the library or even just to school. However after two days of transfers, bus stations and uncomfortable trips with a motion sick (and irritable) five year old, Carol's patience for buses was wearing thin and somewhere along the line, perhaps three or four stops ago, her fondness had turned to disdain.
It would have been easy to turn back now rather than continue forward, she was leaving what little she had behind in search of something more, something that may not even be out there. But it was worth a shot; it was worth uncomfortable bus trips and transfers and motion sickness. Just thinking about it made Carol smile, for the first time in a long time she felt free, even in spite of being confined to her seat on the small and rickety bus.
Looking beyond the dirty window Carol could see the early morning sun just peaking out enough to illuminate the world, the sky not quite completely blue and the fluffy clouds looking a tea-stain gold. She estimated it mustn't have yet been seven in the morning, she'd not bothered to keep track of the time as she'd stayed up all night keeping watch over Sophia, who began to stir in her mother's arms as the bus let out a loud hiss, awakening the young girl from her slumber.
"Are we stopping again?" Voice still thick with sleep, Sophia slowly blinked open her wide brown eyes to the world and did a quick scan over the immediate area. Sophia hated riding on the bus, it made her feel sick. She especially hated this bus, it hissed and wheezed and made funny noises. Not to mention the bottom of her seat was lined with (already chewed) chewing gum.
"Not for a while yet, sweetheart, try to sleep a little longer." Carol replied, earning a groan from her daughter. The two returned to sitting in silence; Carol feeling too tired to talk and Sophia feeling too sick. Only the crackling of some ancient tune on the radio, the hisses and thunks of the bus and the occasional quiet chatter from fellow passengers could be heard.
Sophia tried following her mom's advice, but she was too restless to sleep. Naturally an early riser, Sophia didn't see the point in sleeping late. However, staying awake would inevitably leave her feeling sick, directing her gaze toward her sneakers she felt tears coming up behind her eyes. Five years old, tired, frustrated and bus sick was not a good mix.
"I want to go home," She mumbled, opening the floodgates and letting out the tears. With tears now falling down her freckled face in steady streams she looked up at her mother. "I feel sick, I wanna go home." All the crying in the world would do her no good now and Sophia knew it, they were miles from home and they weren't turning back. With a tired sigh, Carol tugged her little girl close to her and smoothed out some of her hair.
"Sophia, you know we can't go home," Carol said softly as she brought the girl into a tighter hold. "We'll be off the buses soon, okay? Promise." She offered. It appeared though that Sophia was inconsolable. It was a full blown tantrum, something every parent hates to deal with.
"I feel sick." Sophia wailed, drawing the attention of a few other travelers, none seemed amused at the five year old's antics. All Carol could do was try her best to assure Sophia they would be fine and off the bus soon, it seemed to have little success in consoling Sophia though. Carol herself was trying to remain some level of calm, it was a stressful situation enough without Sophia pitching a fit - something she didn't often do. Situation considered, Carol felt a tantrum was inevitable at some juncture in the trip.
It was only a few moments after things got in full swing when Carol felt a hand brushing her shoulder as the person in the seat behind her extended their arm, well as much as the seats would allow for anyway, followed by a quick and gruffly said, "here".
If there was two things Daryl found positively intolerable it was public transport and children crying on public transport. So as he sat in his seat on what was, quite frankly, the world's shittiest bus and listened to the kid in front of him pitch a fit he quickly tossed around the idea of jumping out the window.
He didn't know why he did what he did but he did it anyway, he felt bad for the woman in front of him trying to shush the kid, she seemed tired and things didn't appear to be going well for her. Not to mention the poor little girl seemed to be very travel sick, something Daryl - a sufferer of travel sickness himself - could empathize with. With a sigh, he dug around in his pockets before pulling out a couple mints, one of the more natural and less costly methods of easing nausea.
"Here," he said as he extended his arm through the seat and shoved them at the woman. She looked at him wide eyed and arched an eyebrow, her gaze drifting down to his outstretched arm. "'S just mints, for travel sickness." He explained, fishing around in his pocket again to produce the packet and - as if that wasn't enough proof - popping one in his mouth. She looked skeptical but took them anyway.
"Thank you, I'm sorry. She's not usually this fussy," came the quick apology. "Sophia, say thank you." She added in a more upbeat tone. Less than a minute later Daryl was flooded with thank yous from the little girl. He was honestly just happy the candy had stopped her wailing and her sickness. Daryl considered it a service to the entire bus.
The next few minutes of the trip resumed and passed quietly; Daryl could hear other passengers talking or going about their business, the little girl in front of him seemed well enough again to be playing 'I spy'. It was, all in all, pretty quiet. Until the bus let out a loud hiss followed by some painful whines and thunks, jerking Daryl out of his relaxed state into a more alert one. Everyone was out of their seats, peering out the windows and demanding answers. Taking a moment to glance out his own window, Daryl noticed a cloud of smoke coming up from under the bus as it came to a sudden halt.
"Are we breaking down?" The woman in front of him tugged her little girl close and stood from her seat to peer out the window at the smoking clouds.
"Looks like." Daryl nodded. He couldn't believe it, he really couldn't afford for this bus to break down. The one god damn time you hear about a bus breaking down like that in the middle of damn well nowhere and he was on it just my luck he thought grimly.
A.N: Oops crap sorry, I don't know what I'm doing and this is probably a really bad idea but I did it anyway. Anywhodelays, here's this new fanfiction thingy. I hope you like it, I really just needed to write it down before it exploded out of my head. Tell me what you thought, if you have the time :) I'll try to have an update on the way soon-ish.
Love and kisses,
Boo.