CHAPTER11.
"―is that Rose?"
Light flickers in front of her face, illuminating the outline and her blonde hair; she sits towards the end of the bus, curled up against the window.
She has Emmett's lighter.
Before even stepping foot onto the bus, I could smell it; so overwhelming and strong―no words can describe it. Taking the first step, I look up―noticing the bus drivers lifeless body hunched over the steering wheel; even through the darkness, I could see the dried up blood around his neck, and on the front of his shirt. Gagging, I push past Jake and Alice―running off of the bus, holding my hand to my mouth.
Thankfully, I didn't throw up.
Walking back onto the bus, I keep my head down―breathing through my shirt sleeve until I know I'm past the bus drivers dead body. Looking up, I pause with wide eyes, now seeing Banners dead body. Taking deep breaths, I managed to get past him.
Emmett and Rosalie are huddled into a small two-seat-er―his arm is sprawled loosely around her shoulders, while he whispers in her ear. Rosalie doesn't even look at me; no "hellos" or "glad you're still alive." She feels my presence though, and hears my footsteps on the floor. I know this because she freezes when I stand in front of her, taking a seat next to Edward, who finds my hand in the darkness and gives it a squeeze; he kisses my lips.
"Are you alright?"
I nod leaning back in the seat and kissing his neck (clad wife beater) just below his ear.
"We need to talk," I say to Rose.
She sighs, angling her body towards mine, "I know."
"―why did you run away?"
She looks down at her hands, ashamed. "I was scared."
"News flash," Edward says mockingly. "―we're all scared."
"I know."
Rose picks the dirt under her fingernails.
It's quiet for awhile.
Sighing loudly, Rose whispers "it's all my fault―er, well... my families fault I guess," pausing, she smacks her lips. "―that we're here, in this big mess."
"...I don't understand."
"My dad," she breathes. "Is why we're here."
"I'm not really following you here, Rosie." Emmett rubs her shoulders, "whats going on?"
"My dad was―" she pauses, "is addicted to cocaine," she spits the word. "Aro was his drug dealer," she pauses again, looking at me. "―your dad had actually busted my dad first."
"―go on." I urge her.
"I don't really know all the details. Remember," she turns to Emmett. "―that big math exam we had last year, and you were over helping me study for?"
"Yeah," he snickers. "I remember."
"It was right after you left when Bella's dad showed up," she plays with the ends of her hair. "I guess they had some kind of lead on my dad. So," she turns to me, "when your dad showed up―he didn't want to make a big scene―he didn't want people to think that of my father if it wasn't true because we're a respectable family," she says this mockingly using air quotes. "You know how small towns are, and of course it was true," she sighs. "Long story short, my mom offered your dad a lot of money to keep quiet about it―she told him that she would tell help him find the dealer, if he just... dropped it, all the charges and shit and forgot that it ever happened."
"I don't understand," I murmur. "My dad was like, bribed by your family?"
Rose nods.
"―how much?"
Rose purses her lips. "$50,000."
Jake whistles loudly.
"Aro was caught too," murmurs Edward.
"It was the biggest drug bust in Washington... like, ever." Alice says.
I can't breathe.
I can't breathe.
I can't breathe.
"I can't breath," I finally say out loud. "I don't believe that," tears burn my vision. "―my, my dad."
Rose frowns, "I'm sorry."
"I... I need to go."
Quickly standing, I run down the isle―past Banner and the bus driver, and out of the bus doors.
Stopping when I'm a little ways away from the bus, I lean my hands on my knees―breathing heavy, my heart racing, tears streaming down my face.
A couple moments of nothing but breathing and my pulse hammering loudly in my ear, I eventually hear footsteps in the distance.
Edwards hands grab my shoulder, turning me and pulling me into his chest; he kisses my face, my cheeks, my hair, my mouth, and rubs my back soothingly. I wrap my hands around his waist, clinging desperately onto his shirt―crying loudly into the nook of his neck.
"Are you okay?"
"No," I cry into his shirt. "I can't believe that my dad―my dad would do something like that."
"Me either," he sighs into my hair.
"―he's no better then Aro and his drug mules."
"Maybe we shouldn't think of it like that."
Pulling away and taking a step back, I say "then how should we look at it like?"
"All I'm saying is that, he's still you're father," he sighs, reaching for my fingers but I pull away.
"―he accepted money instead of doing his job."
"I'm not saying what he did was good," Edward argues, grabbing for my hand again―this time I let him. "I'm not agreeing with him," he pauses. "But he did a good thing on some level―Rose's dad isn't in jail because of him; she still has her family."
Sighing, I hug Edward. "I know."
"We just need to think positive."
Tilting my head up from his chest, I ask "how?"
"I don't know, baby." he sighs into my neck, "we just need to be."
"Does the bus even work?" Jake asks after a while.
"Uh," I murmur, cuddling between Edwards legs. "I'm not going over there."
"Emmett," Rose pushes him out of the seat, "go see if the bus works."
Walking down the isle, he mutters quietly to himself, "what a bunch of pussies."
Standing over the bus driver, Emmett visibly shakes his head and chuckles under his breath.
Daintily, he picks up the bus drivers plaid shirt between his to fingers―index and thumb, he tugs lightly; when the bus drivers head lulls backwards, Emmett automatically steps back, gagging and hopping on his feet.
The expression on his face, causes us all to laugh.
Covering his nose with the collar of his shirt, he sticks his forearms under the bus drivers arms and lifts―his head falls back onto Emmett's chest, causing him to crane and stretch his neck, away from the bus drivers lifeless eyes/face; he drags him down the isle a little ways, eventually sitting him in the seat in front of where Banners lifeless body lays.
Rose leans against the back of the seat in front of her, "dose it work?"
"Be patient."
He turns the key.
Nothing.
"―fuck," we all curse under our breaths.
He turns the key again.
Nothing.
"―we can't just leave them here." I argue, "and we're not throwing them outside so the bears and wolves can get them."
"I'm not touching a dead fucking body," Rosalie argues.
"―can't we just leave them on the bus?" Alice asks.
"Not if we plan on sleeping here," I say. "I can't sleep knowing that there are two dead bodies in the same room as me."
"―and that smell? No." Rose shudders visibly.
"At least the rain makes it easier to dig." I sigh, though that doesn't make it any better.
"If you think about it, it's really just out of respect," says Rose.
Adding, I say "they'll just be buried until we get out of here, and then they can be properly buried in a funeral home."
"It just seems kind of morbid..."
Rosalie shrugs sadly. "I don't think we have a choice."
Finding a spot, about 10 minutes away from the bus―we begin digging.
We dig with our hands and the odd object from the bus; like a spoon, some person had packed in a lunch bag with their lunch.
Emmett, Edward and Jake take turns carrying each dead body towards our newly dug grave site. Placing them gently in the shallow grave, we begin to pile the dirt on top of them, eventually using tree branches and leaves to cover the rest of their bodies from the wilderness.
Standing up from from the mud, Alice unclasps her red bra and ties it to one of the branches―marking the grave for future reference.
Walking away from the gave-site, Emmett claps his dirty hands, "all done."
Just before the sun comes up, I find myself awake laying next to Edward on a small two-seat-er.
"We need to get out of these woods today,"
Edward runs his dirty fingers up and down my bare stomach, "how?"
I sigh, rolling over so Edward is spooning me―wrapping his arms around me, I play with his fingers. "I don't know," I pause, thinking. "―but one things for sure, I know that they won't give up until they get their revenge."
"What do you want to do then?" Edward laughs humorlessly. "―fight or something?"
Biting my lip, I turn around―looking at him over my shoulder.
"No," Edward eyes go wide, "that's like suicide."
"―how?" I argue, sitting up, "we've got this far―everything they've thrown at us, we've beat them in some way."
Edward rolls his eyes, "okay then," he pauses, "lets say we do fight them, what the hell are we going to use to beat them?"
"Uh, lets see―" I murmur, reaching on the bus floor.
My hand feels for a purse or some type of school bag.
When I find one, I sit it on my lap and dig through its contents.
"A nail file," Edward deadpans.
Ignoring him, I pull more stuff out.
"Nail clippers," I mumble, pulling it apart. "―with a little attached knife."
"―this is stupid." Edward sits up, sounding annoyed as he runs his fingers through his hair, "you're practically just asking for a reason to die."
Frustrated, I throw the purse onto the bus floor. "―okay." I roll my eyes, playing along, "lets say somehow all of us magically gets out of here alive, unscathed." I pause, "lets also say that my dad," I spit. "―doesn't catch these guys, because he probably won't. Obviously their plan was very thought out, obviously they know what they're doing―they hijacked the fucking bus with 40 people on it. So," I raise a brow. "Lets say 1, 2, 5 years down the line, they still aren't caught―they're practically forgotten. But they haven't forgotten, because I'm the reason their family is in jail," trailing off I finish with, "they aren't going to give up; you didn't see the look in that girl―Victoria's eyes; shes dead-set on getting her revenge, Edward. I don't want to live my life always looking over my shoulder. I don't want to whined up being happy in life, only for it to be taken away from me because we didn't do anything about it when we could."
It was silent for a while after my speech.
"―this is stupid." Edward scratches the back of his head, "even if we were to do this, how are you going to get everyone else involved? We surely can't stop all those people by ourselves."
Emmett automatically sits up, "I'm in."
"Me too," says Jake giving me a thumbs up over the seat.
"―hell," Rose murmurs, "he's fucked with my family for a long time. I'm in."
We're all looking at Alice now.
She giggles, "sure. I'm in too."
Edward sighs loudly, falling heavily heavily onto the back of the seat.
When you gonna wake up and fight... for yourself?
A/N: Incredibly nervous to post this chapter.
About all the other students who are missing―well, the woods are huge. I'll try and find a picture and post it on my profile. So, while Bella, Edward and the gang are going deep into the woods, the others are easily just walking closely to the road. If you know what I mean? I hope that answers some of your questions, even if it's a little vague...
Review? Even if I'm scared about what you have to say.