(A/N) This may be the last chapter for a while. I haven't yet finished typing the rest of the story. I know it's cruel of me to leave you hanging like this, but I don't have a choice.
I have a tiny surprise to all who are interested. It's in my new profile. Tell me if you want what I'm offering (which I think many of you will.)
Enjoy!
Runaway Ride
Ulrich wasted only a second to snap around and snatch the skateboard from the boy.
"Hey!" the boy shouted as he tried to catch Ulrich.
Ulrich raced out into the street and threw the board under him. Yelling back to the boy as he caught the tailgate of a passing truck, he cried, "I'll return it! I promise!"
Pulling out his phone, Ulrich fumbled as he tried to hit the speed dial button to Yumi's phone and maintain his balance. He almost dropped his phone when the truck suddenly changed lanes.
As he steadied himself, he heard Yumi's angry voice in his hand. Lifting the phone to his ear, Ulrich heard her saying, "—understand about leaving me—"
"Shut up!" Ulrich snapped. Because he never told her to shut up or talked to her with such a tone, she obeyed. "Yumi, get off the bus!"
"What? Why—"
"Xana!" he cried and hung up his phone.
Stuffing the phone into his pocket, he swallowed slightly. The bus and the truck he was hanging on had just reached the top of a tall, steep hill. At the bottom of the hill were a highway intersection, a bridge, and a river. Any one of those obstacles could spell doom to the people on the bus.
This is going to be harder than I thought, he told himself bitterly.
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Inside the bus, Yumi got up and raced to the front of the bus. There she found the driver with his face slumped down on the steering wheel. His hat had been knocked off and there were a bleeding cut on his head. Looking for the cause of the injury, she found the radio had broken off and hit the driver. The radio now rested in his lap and was slipping down perilously toward the pedals.
Theo appeared behind her and accidentally bumped into her as Yumi reached for the radio. The sudden jerk forward caused Yumi to push the radio forward with her fingertips. It slipped off the driver's lap and landed on the gas pedal. The bus leapt forward uncontrollably.
Yumi fell down to the floor with Theo barely catching himself before he landed on top of her. Reaching forward, Yumi pulled the radio free and shoved it aside. Theo hopped over her and unbelted the unconscious driver from his seat.
At seeing the driver collapse into the arms of a young boy, the eight people on the bus began to panic. Two women came forward and tried to wake the driver as Theo heaved him into a seat. Yumi climbed into the driver seat and tried to steer the bus. However the wheels wouldn't respond to the steering wheel.
Then she saw the eye of Xana flash on the instrument panel for a second. Then before she could move, the seatbelt flashed over her, belted, and tightened itself. Yumi couldn't pull herself free; she was trapped!
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Crouching down as low as he could go, Ulrich steadily gained speed. He quickly caught up to the speeding bus. Grabbing the handle of the backdoor, Ulrich prepared to open the door. But the bus unexpectedly jerked away and Ulrich lost his grip. Ulrich's own speed and momentum propelled him forward and down the bus's side. Damn it!
Changing plans, Ulrich now headed for the bus's front entrance. A flash of red on the window told him Xana knew of his presence. The bus suddenly jerked toward him in an attempt to run him over. Throwing his hands up, Ulrich was somehow able to not get knocked from the skateboard. He was shoved across the medium...and into the line of traffic on the opposite side.
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A white blur in the opposite lane drew Yumi's attention. She watched in stunned silence as Ulrich recklessly weaved his way between the racing traffic on only a skateboard. That idiot!
Dodging around a mobile home, Yumi saw that he was on an unavoidable collision course with a car. Due to the speed he was traveling, he couldn't possibly dodge around it again. He seemed to brace himself for the considerable impact. Idiot!
Seconds before it happened, she heard him faintly shout, "Oh, SHIT!!" Then he jumped.
Flipping over the car, Ulrich miraculously landed on the narrow skateboard. Steadying himself, he swerved back toward the bus as they finally reached the bottom of the hill and the intersection. His speed was so great that he actually passed the bus.
What an idiot, Yumi could help thinking admirably.
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Dragging his foot slightly on the pavement as he passed over the empty intersection, Ulrich's speed began to slow as the bus picked up speed. Facing the bus, he saw the red eye of Xana glaring menacingly at him from the windshield.
Then, Ulrich dramatically lost speed as he started coasting up the slope of the bridge. The bus loomed upon him like an engine of death. When it was only a few feet from him, Ulrich leapt from the skateboard and landed on the bus's hood. Sliding to the windshield, he caught a fleeting glimpse of Yumi strapped to the driver's seat. Then the bus drove off the bridge.