I don't do A/N's up top anymore, but this is a special case. Recently, my work has been stolen and reused by a user by the name of 4fireking. Not just my work, but many other people's as well. He's plagiarised again and again. I just wanted to warn people out there that he's not to be trusted.

17:39

Joseph Howarth had been a bus driver all his life. He often liked to think of himself as the most experienced bus driver in England. When he was twenty, he got a job as a prison bus driver. This was his career for a good fifteen years, before a shiv to the shoulder made him hang up his boots on that particular career path. He moved on to a school bus for another ten years, making the same old routes days on end, but it was enjoyable. Unfortunately, an ill-advised relationship with a female student cost him that job. While she was technically overage, the school still thought it looked bad and fired him. After that he flitted around as a casual bus driver before moving on to private buses for musicians, celebrities and the like. He was paid more than his other jobs just for doing the thing he had been doing all his life.

Joe was now sitting in one such private bus, his eyes peering out from his glasses to the door, waiting for the first arrivals. This bus was made especially for the annual contest of the For The People festival. The seats all looked at each other, so contest winners and headline acts could talk with each other. There was a mini-fridge on the right side between two seats. On the opposite side were ten sets of three albums, prepared to be autographed by the headline acts for this year's contest winners.

Seeing Eddy Cool approach, Joe opened the automatic doors for the host. With that flashy smile, Eddy leaned outside the bus. "Hey Joe."

"Hey there Eddy." Joe ran a hand down his clean-shaven face. "You comin' in?"

"I'm making sure the winners are actually the winners out here. However Elijah, Charlie and Bridge are on their way."

"I gotta say Eddy, I'm not sure I trust that Bridge will be comin'. He doesn't exactly seem a sociable guy."

Eddy shook his head. "I've been having this conversation a lot Joe. Bridge keeps his promise, so just trust in him. Speaking of which…" Eddy pointed a finger. Joe followed it to see Charlie Walker and Elijah Freemon walking side by side, talking. About ten steps behind them loomed Bridge, dressed in the exact same clothes he wore for his performance. Charlie was first on the bus, greeting Joe with a tip of his hat. Elijah slapped Joe on the shoulder as he passed.

"You good, J?"

"Always good, brother." Joe responded with a smile. He felt a certain kinship with Elijah. The man had it tough, being in prison at a young age. Joe had seen many prisoners claim to want to be good again, but often it was hard to believe. Elijah was proof that people could turn their lives around from jail. It was a bonus to see a fellow black man earn points for their community.

Bridge slid into the bus, having to duck low to avoid slamming his head on the frame. He couldn't even stand straight in the main bulk of the bus, his head and shoulders ducked down. Bridge strolled to the back of the bus without a word, sitting on the back seat with his legs stretched out before him. Joe looked to Eddy about Bridge's cold demeanour, but Eddy just shrugged.

"He's here, isn't he?" He laughed. "Right, the winners ought to be here soon."

The first to arrive was a very neat blonde girl. Emma, according to the nametag Eddy gave her. The nametag was to avoid any embarrassing situations of forgetting names. Interesting, Eddy didn't check the ticket or the identification for her, simply let her on the bus. She must have met with him before to not get checked. She walked onto the bus, greeting Joe with only a curt nod of the head. At least she acknowledged. A lot of the time, he was simply a bus driver, not anyone important enough to say hello to.

Next was a girl who practically skipped up to Eddy with a nefarious smile.

"Got your ticket and identification?" Eddy asked and took the ticket offered to him. "Alright then, Lily." He gave her the nametag before pausing. Lily cocked her head to the side.

"Something on my face?"

"You… You're that girl from before, in Bridge's room. What the hell are you doing here?" Eddy tried to keep his voice down but Joe could see in his mirror that Bridge had noticed the girl and his face turned even sterner than before. "I'm not going to let you on this bus, you know. I'll call security to get you - hey!" Lily sidestepped Eddy, completely ignoring him, and stepped up onto the bus. She tried to continue on but Joe grabbed her arm lightly, but firmly. He had dealt with her kind before.

"You ought to leave, miss." Joe said.

"Leave? But I won that contest. I spent a bunch for that ticket." Lily tried tugging her arm out of Joe's grip but was unable to. She glanced up to Bridge, who was staring at her with narrowed eyes. Elijah and Charlie were looking at the situation, bemused. She then looked to Eddy, who seemed to be on the phone to security. Lily sighed. "Oh dear… I guess I was caught. Well then, I'll make my way back to Japan and see if I can find some music by Ryoushi." Lily glanced back at Bridge, his hands squeezed into fists under his pockets. "Oh wait! I don't need to go to Japan, I can just-"

"It's fine, Eddy." Bridge called out, blinking slowly. "Don't bother."

Eddy stepped into the bus and looked to Bridge. "You sure?"

"It's fine. As long as she doesn't… do anything else, it's fine." Bridge seemed reluctant to say as much.

"Alright then." Eddy sighed. "Disregard that John." Flipping his phone shut he turned to Joe. "Let her go."

"Thank you." Lily pulled her hand back to her side and promptly skipped to the back of the bus, plopping herself down right next to Bridge. He stiffened again but his face hardly changed. Eddy sighed and shook his head, stepping outside the bus to greet two more winners.

Sabrina and Ruby, Joe noted. Ruby seemed extremely excited to be here, a normal reaction, while Sabrina seemed quite quiet. Maybe it had something to do with her nose, which seemed to be bruised heavily.

"Thanks!" Ruby grinned, practically pulling Sabrina onto the bus. Ruby had to contain herself coming face to face with three of the biggest faces of music.

"Evenin'." Charlie greeted, extended a hand to shake with Ruby. Ruby grabbed it eagerly.

"Hi! I'm a big fan of your music, well, all of your music, that's why I signed up for this contest, obviously, since there'd be no point in being here otherwise. I mean, you guys are simply awesome, inspirational, and I'm starting to embarrass myself so I'll just sit and be quiet." Ruby blushed and sat down with the quiet Sabrina at her side.

Next was a teenager called Corey, who strode onto the bus, trying to contain his excitement. Raiden came next. An unusual name, Joe noted. Both were about the same age, but likely had completely different personalities. Another pair arrived, this one male and female. The boy named Adam and the girl named Jacey. They were an odd pair, but they seemed comfortable around each other.

Finally, arriving almost a minute after everyone else, was Jace. He had his hands in his pocket, looking thoroughly miserable. Upon reaching the bus, he pulled his hands from his pockets and forced a smile. It was good acting, but Joe caught it. It didn't even seem like he wanted to be here. After he was checked and sat down on the bus, Eddy jumped on and Joe closed the doors behind him.

"Alright everyone! So, here's the plan as it stands. We are going to be taking a drive to London. On the way there, you'll have your chance to talk to Charlie, Elijah and Bridge. When we reach London, we'll arrive at a hotel, which as you know, is all prepaid. You'll be staying at the hotel for the night, and in the morning Joe here will arrive to take us to the studios, where Charlie, Elijah and Bridge will each record a single song to be given to each of you. These will be autographed." Eddy pointed to the album CD's. "You'll also receive their newest album, also autographed. Now, let's get comfortable."


Carol and Timothy sat in the police car together, Timothy at the wheel. They were parked, looking out onto the road, watching the rain patter down on the fields ahead of them. Behind them were the lights of the festival, the sound of music still playing despite the fact that the Pyramid itself had closed down.

"I can't wait to be back in London." Timothy complained for what seemed like the hundredth time. "At least we get the occasional interesting thing happening. Here it's just drunks. When you said patrol I thought you meant actually driving around."

Carol shrugged. "I thought that's what the order meant, but apparently not." Timothy started to respond just as Carol's mobile ringtone went off. Carol checked the number and frowned slightly. She answered the call immediately. "Cindy? What is- Slow down honey, what's the matter?" Timothy glanced to Carol, hearing the panicked tones on the other side of the phone. "You burnt your hand? On what… baking cookies? Where's Olly, he's meant to be looking over you? He said it'd be fine? Where is he? Out with his friends?" Carol squeezed the phone tighter. "Alright, it's okay, just your hand? Run it under the water as fast as you can, alright? Then-"

At that moment, a car suddenly zoomed around the corner. It was a Ford Mustang, driven by some scrawny looking man. He beeped at the two police officers as he sped past them. Following closely on his tail were three more Mustangs. The zoomed past, easily breaking the speed limit. Acting quickly, Timothy turned on the lights and started the car, leaning down to his radio to report in as Carol talked on her phone. "Alright honey, momma's gotta go, alright? Just keep it under water for a few minutes, I need to go. Love you." Hanging up and slipping the phone back into her pocket, Carol glanced at Timothy as he concentrated on the road. "You just had to say you wanted excitement, didn't you?"

"These idiots are going to crash at this speed. Jesus Christ."


Sabrina sat silently on the bus next to Ruby as her fellow contest winners asked the three musicians questions. She didn't mean to sign up when she had come to the Festival, but Ruby talked her into it after she hit her in the face. Ruby was a nice girl. Slightly eccentric, but happy with the way her life was. Ruby had already called her a friend… friend… Sabrina hadn't had any friends since February 5th the year before.

Sean… Sabrina closed her eyes briefly and tried to concentrate on the pudgy Adam. After realizing that there were two Adam's who were contest winners - Adam Collins and Adam Treeland, Eddy had jokingly put '1' and '2' after their names on their name cards. He was looking at Elijah, asking his question.

"So… did you ever, like, dream of becoming as big as you are now?" Adam asked. Sabrina recognised him as one of the rookie musicians. He was pretty good, she seemed to remember.

"Nah, man, I don't think you ever expect to get to the top like this. I mean, sure, you dream of reaching these heights but I don't think you ever think you'd actually reach 'em." Elijah responded. Out of the three, he was the easiest to talk to. Charlie was okay as well, but Bridge generally responded with one or two word answers. "But man, now I'm at the top, I know it's simply a matter of effort. Like you, kid, I heard you on stage. You're good, man, and just like me, I think you can make it to where are."

Adam cheeks turned red and he rubbed the back of his head. "I… uh… thanks…"

"Hmph." Bridge said, deliberately loudly. All heads turned to him. Up until this point, he had never initiated conversation.

"Have you got something to add?" Eddy prompted. He was going between each winner, making sure everyone got a chance to talk to the headline acts.

"You talk of 'dreams'." Bridge said, sitting straighter in his seat. "Dreaming is all good and well, but you can't just 'dream' to make it to the top."

Adam bit his lip nervously. "W-What do you mean?"

"I heard that you were good. Good is fine and dandy. You can have a fine career being 'good'. But you'll never reach where we sit with simple dreams and effort. Being good, you can try and try to get better. Maybe you will get better. Maybe you'll work your way up to being a b Plus player in the industry. But efforts and dreams will never make you an A plus player, like we three."

Elijah and Charlie looked at Bridge, both frowning. Sabrina caught a brief sigh from Eddy Cool's direction.

"You got to be born with talent, kid. You can't make yourself talented, you can't just learn. You simply have to be born with the smarts to make it. Freemon and Walker were born with it. I was born with it moreso. You… You're not born with it. You don't have the look, the charisma, the talent. You obviously aspire to be like us but let me be the one to break it to you. You never will be like us. Maybe you'll get a gig or two, maybe even a concert, but you will never rise above B plus. Anything above is reserved for those like me."

"Hey man… don't bring me and Charlie into that, a'ight?" Elijah said, crossing his arms. The others were quiet and Adam bottom lip quivered. He sat back into his seat, silent.

"Well… uh…" Eddy ran a hand through his hair, smiling nervously. "I guess it's good to have different opinions…"

As the bus descended into awkward silence, Sabrina found her gaze drawn to the front of the bus. She looked past Joe and through the window. The roads were dark, any moonlight covered by dark rain clouds. Then two beams of light turned a near corner suddenly. Her eyes widened but before she could call out, the first Ford Mustang slammed hard into the front of the bus.

Joe's death was near instant. The much heavier Mustang crushed through the metal, bending inwards over Joe's lower half, crushing his legs and waist. His top half hung lip, blood dripping from his mouth.

The impact reverberated through the bus. Bridge, sitting face on, was thrust forward. He fell on his hands and knees, cursing. As the first Mustang hit the bus, it's rear end rose up into the air just in time for the second Mustang to slam underneath, essentially flipping the first Mustang over. It tore through the roof of the bus. Bridge got to his knees just in time for the tail end to crash hard into his head, crushing it easily. As the car skidded between the winners sitting on either side, Elijah managed to fall to the side while Lily leaped wildly forward, managing to avoid the impact. Charlie wasn't so lucky. The tail end crushed him in his seat, his chest capsizing inwards. Hitting the back of the bus, the Mustang tilted upwards, it's still moving front wheel shredding the underside of Jace's jaw, causing blood to spread everywhere.

The impact had also bent the door, making a sharp and deadly piece of metal. This pierced Ruby in the chest as it rocked from hitting the back of the bus. As Ruby died, Sabrina scrambled from her seat, the others in disarray.

Joe had slumped on the wheel, his foot stuck on the acceleration pedal. The bus managed to turn to the side just in time for the third Mustang to crash hard into the side. The glass and metal smashed inwards, a shard of metal stabbing Adam Treeland in the back. The piece of metal came out of his front. He stared at it in wonder, eyes blinking.

Eddy was on the floor, having been thrown from his seat. His arm was twisted the wrong way and he had lost a couple of his teeth. The third impact hit the bus hard, tipping it on his side. As he slid downwards, he looked up just in time to get crushed by the first car. Elijah, along with the others on the impact side of the bus, found himself tumbling. The fall was broken by the frame of the first Mustang, sharply cracking his head to the side. Lily landed on her feet like a cat, breathing hard.

The final Mustang slammed into the bottom of the bus, knocking her right off her feet and onto the floor. The metal piece that had impaled Adam snapped and fell down. Adam's body hit her along with the spike, pinning them together. Emma had managed to crawl out the broken back window, broken, bloody and beaten. She heard the squealing of break and turned to receive the back end of the police car into her body, smashing it into a pulp. The police car skidded to a halt, Carol and Timothy panting hard.

Then all was still.

Raiden was unconscious on the floor, still breath, his chest going up and down. Corey was clutching a torn jugular, his eyes wide and blood pumping through his fingers as he tried desperately to stop the bleeding. Adam Collins was sitting up, his face a mess of blood. It looked like his nose had been completely smashed. Jacey Rae was clutching a broken leg, tears messing up her dark eyeliner.

Sabrina stared at all of these injuries and the fatalities strewn about the bus. She survived? This was just a… just a real accident. But she survived… she was scared that what she had done in the past wasn't enough, that Death was back to get her but… but she was alive. The police woman and man had come over, peering through the front windows, fact aghast.

Sabrina smiled just as the explosion from the second car burst outwards. Sabrina watched it all as if in slow motion. The first flames consumed Raiden and Corey. The tendrils snaked outwards as if grabbing for prey, reaching Adam and Jacey with a fiery embrace. The bonnet of the car flew outwards with immense speed, cutting Carol and Timothy in two. They looked at each other as their top halves fell away from their bottom half.

The smile was still on Sabrina's face as she felt her flesh burn, smelling that same smell from two years ago. Burnt flesh. At least she'd meet her parents again at last… at least she could explain that she wasn't a coward… and that she had fought to stay alive… She let herself, finally, take in the dark kiss of Death.


Sabrina's hand suddenly stiffened, her nails tearing at the bus seat. Her eyes darted left and right, seeing that Bridge was in the midst of responding to Adam's statement. Then she looked at the road and saw ahead the corner. She knew that it had happened again, for whatever reason. She squeezed her eyes shut.

Why?

That simple question. She had done all she could, she had done what she was asked… now… again? But she had no more time to question. Without a thought, Sabrina pushed herself from her seat and ran to the front of the bus. Joe looked to her with surprise as she grabbed the steering wheel and wrenched it hard to the left. The bus squealed as it went face-first into a ditch hard, the force knocking everyone forward. Sabrina found her head bound against the front glass and she collapsed limply to the floor, everything turning black.

A/N:- Thanks to Grojbandian180 & Yajuu-Kikuishi for the reviews. Woohoo! Vision! Yay! I enjoyed writing this chapter a lot. We've had our character introductions, now it's nothing but plot ahead. You can write the list and see where people are supposed to die and keep track, if you like. Things are gonna get good.

'Till next time!