Of Demons and Roses
Chapter 4: Distant Eyes
Nobara woke to her alarm on Monday morning. Nobara got up and went through her morning routine, just like she does every day. However, she felt more tired today than usual.
"Maybe it's just cause I was up late last night," Nobara said to herself, trying to find an excuse for her tiredness. She then ignored that feeling and went about her daily morning routine.
Nobara dressed herself in a pair of black pants with a white sash around her waist and a light blue tank top. Then, she brushed her hair and teeth and went downstairs. For some reason, Nobara was rushing this morning.
Just as Nobara arrived at the bottom of the steps and greeted her parents, Niji appeared at the door.
"This sure is a surprise! I won't have to wait on you this morning. Any special occasion?" said Niji jokingly.
"No," said Nobara giggling.
"Sayanara Kasan! Sayanara Otosan!" said Nobara as she walked out the door with Niji. Nobara was unusually quiet during their walk to school. Her silence greatly worried Niji.
"Nobara... Are you alright? You don't seem like yourself this morning," said Niji with concern for her friend.
Nobara kept a distant look in her eyes as she answered, "Yeah, I'm fine. I guess I got up too fast this morning." Then, the silence returned. Niji shrugged and decided that she would keep a close eye on Nobara for the remainder of the day.
As they walked on, Nobara sensed that someone was watching them. She jerked her head and saw a shadowed figure of a man watching her. The two just started at each other as Nobara walked on, remembering that it was the same man from that previous weekend.
//I must be going crazy! How can it be that same man?// Nobara thought to herself. She spent the rest of the walk trying to come up with a reasonable explanation for this mystery man following her. She also tried to explain why she could sense when he was near.
No reasonable explanation came to her mind, so her just dismissed the thought and kept walking.
Nobara and Niji got a school on time, for once. They waited in their classroom for school to start. Once school started, the teacher took attendance and they got on the bus and left for their field trip. Nobara and Niji sat together on the bus. Nobara hadn't changed since that morning. She still seemed distant, quiet and deep in thought to Niji. She just sat there and stared out the window.
"Nobara...?" said Niji with worry in her voice. Nobara turned and looked at her friend without saying anything.
"Nobara, are you sure you're alright? Your eyes have a distant look in them, you've hardly said anything all morning..."
Nobara smiled and nodded her head, "I'm fine, Niji. Really!" Nobara couldn't fool Niji, but she went along with the act anyway.
Continuing to stare out the window, Nobara thought she saw the shadowed man again. She shook her head and closed her eyes, as a way to get them to refocus. Niji jerked her head in Nobara's direction because of the sudden movement. Both girls had a look of surprise and worry in their eyes. After staring at each other for several moments, they both started laughing. Both of the friends thought of their worry to be only in their heads and laughed at that. Nobara seemed to be back to normal, much to Niji's joy.
The two friends them acted like they would any other times. They started talking about nothing, giggling, joking. Neither of them suspected what was about to happen...
The bus came onto a mountain roadway. Looking out the window of the right side, there seemed to be no bottom. On the left side, where Niji and Nobara sat, there was the other direction for the road. As they were talking, Nobara glanced out the window out of habit. Again, she saw the shadowed man.
//Impossible! How could it be the same guy?! But, it feels like the same person. What the hell's going on?!//
Just as the shadowed man once again disappeared from sight, the bus skidded and the driver lost control. Happy faces turned into frightened ones. Laughter turned into screams. The cheerful atmosphere turned into a panicked one. Nobara felt some kind of force pushing the bus over the edge.
"Hold on tight!!! We're going over!!!!" yelled the driver into a bus full of screams and yells.
The bus skidded off the road and started rolling into the seemingly endless cliff. Inside the bus, it was chaos. Windows were breaking from hitting trees, rocks and numerous other things.
Among the screams, yells and other noises, Nobara and Niji held on to the seat in front of them, trying to stay in one place. Nobara saw Niji start to slip and grabbed her arm to prevent that. Niji looked at Nobara in thanks and Nobara smiled. Just as that happened, Niji saw a huge black mass come toward their window through the locks of her light brown and Nobara's dark red hair. As it came closer, Niji recognized it as a giant rock, and it was about to hit Nobara in the back. Niji wasn't about to let that happen.
Niji grabbed Nobara's arm and thrust herself forward, so that she would be next to the window. Nobara was confused at first, then she saw the oncoming rock. Her eyes widened in terror as she started falling away from her best friend.
"NIJI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Nobara yelled as she fell back. She then grabbed the end of the neighboring seat to hold herself steady. By that time, it was too late to do anything for Niji. The window had shattered and Niji was knocked unconscious. She started falling towards Nobara as she watched in horror.
"NIJI!!!!!!!!" yell Nobara again. She reached out and grabbed her best friend as the bus hit a dead end. Niji fell into Nobara's lap as the once hectic bus became silent.
The shadowed man stood on the road, watching the fallen bus. He smiled an evil smile.
"I'll be waiting for you my little demon," he said as he disappeared into the shadows.