Meet Me in St. Louie Chapter 1
The charter bus had left Detroit about five hours ago, and had been driving for about four when the snow started to pick up.
Nevertheless, the teacher who organized the trip insists we keep going.
We're just about to get out of Indiana (official state motto: Yawn.) and enter Illinois.
About a half a mile up ahead I can see the outline of a bridge, but I can't see the road due to snow accumulation. Geez, there must be about 8 inches of snow by now.
Now I can see a sign up by the bridge. It looks like some kind of detour sign or something. Yep, that's what it is. The bridge is out due to the snow.
So we take the detour route and about 10 minutes later, the bus driver stops the bus at a gas station. Great. The freaking bus driver doesn't know where she's going. Now I see her coming out with a map and a piece of paper that I guess has directions on it.
She gets back on the bus, and we're off again. Since I'm sitting up front, I can hear her talking to the trip organizer, Mr. Dillerd.
'Yeah, just keep an eye out for me on that side of the road J.C., and you on that side Thelma' the bus driver says to the two teachers up front.
'That guy at the Texaco said the freeway is very narrow, and if I veer off even a little bit, we'll be driving on ice' the bus driver says now.
A few more minutes pass by without much happening.
Then all of a sudden we (and I mean the seven people up front, counting the driver and the teachers) hear a sputtering noise, and can kind of feel the bus jumping a little bit.
'Shit' says the bus driver, thinking that no one can hear her.
'What's the matter?' asks Mrs. Goodshot (The woman formerly referred to as Thelma).
'The engine just died' replies the bus driver sounding frustrated.
'Out here?' says Mr. Dillerd in disbelief.
As if an engine can't die out in the middle of a highway with the nearest gas station 20 miles away.
'Just be quiet a minute. Let me call HQ and see what they can do.' the driver says.
Unfortunately I can't hear the conversation she has with headquarters.
But a few minutes later Mrs. Goodshot steps up to the front of the bus.
'Students, everything is going to be fine. There is another bus on the way to pick us up. We'll all just stay here on the bus until the other bus gets here' she says cheerily.
We wait for about half an hour until the other bus shows up. We all happily board the other bus, seeing as how it has heat.
The rest of the day passes uneventfully until we get to a few hundred feet away from the bridge that connects East St. Louis, Illinois and St. Louis Missouri.
Then all of a sudden a kid in the back vomits all over the aisle. The bus driver pulls over, and Mr. Dillerd says everyone will have to put on their coats and exit the bus until the vomit can be cleaned up.
Wow! This is amazing. It feels so cool (no pun intended) to be standing outside looking down on the Mighty Mississippi River in all of it's frozen glory and beauty. I decided to take a couple of steps closer.
As I took my last step closer, I stepped on a patch of black ice (it's just like normal ice, it's just very hard to see), and went sliding.
I felt terrified, but then realized that I couldn't be hurt that bad, after all, there are guard rails, so it's not like I would keep on sliding forever.
As I finished this thought, I felt my body hit up against the guard railing. My body lands so far up on the railing and at such an angle that I can feel myself starting to slide over the railing.
'Shit' I yell, even though I don't typically cuss.
I slide all the way over the railing before I can do anything to keep myself from falling off of it.
So I start sliding again, now truly terrified. What if I don't stop sliding on the snow? What if I slide all the way down onto the river? Surely someone will see me, I mean, it's not like people normally go out and walk on the Mississippi when it's frozen, right?
Then I suddenly don't feel snow anymore. I feel ice. Hard ice pressing up against my back. I can also tell that the ice is thin, it feels like it could give way any minute.
If the ice breaks, and I fall into the river with it being this cold, I'm doomed.
Then I feel the ice under the middle of my legs starting to crack.
A/N: I know, again the chapter was a little farfetched, but good I hope. I'll update more soon,
I just have to write more first. Of course I want you to R&R.
Oh, and if you have any ideas, PM me, and I'll definitely take them into consideration, and give you credit if I use them. Thanks.
-Yours truly, Randy Taylor.
