Resident Evil 9: Return
Chapter Two: A Tragic Bus Ride
The plane arrived at the airport in Europe two hours late, causing Averie to presume that her bus had already left, and she would need a new ticket. However, a bus was waiting at the far end of the airport parking lot, and passengers were loading their bags into the luggage cabs under the bus. Averie noticed the armoured man from before was also getting on the bus, and at one moment he approached Averie as she was loading a small gym bag into the luggage cab.
"Do you need any help with that?" The man asked, wanting to reach out for Averie's backpack. Averie only had her backpack on one shoulder, but immediately slung the other strap onto her free shoulder and shook her head.
"I'm good." She stated, pushing past the man and onto the bus. She didn't want to be rude, but this guy had been following her. They were on the same bus together, went onto the same plane, now they were on the same travel bus! And he wasn't tracking anyone else around Averie…wait. As Averie looked out one of the windows, she noticed the armoured man watching everyone else around her, taking notes on a small pad he kept in one of his pockets. The only people that stuck out to Averie in that whole crowd were two children being accompanied by a woman in her mid fifties. They kept looking back at the airport with a worried expression on their faces, but followed the woman as she led them to the bus. The children were sat in front of Averie on the bus, with the older woman in the seat in front of them.
Ten minutes later, the bus took off from the airport, and Averie was on her way to the village that she was so curious about. She got to talking with some of the other passengers to find out where they were heading so she could give her mind a break from thinking about her father. The couple behind her were heading out exploring for their honeymoon, while the man in the aisle across from her was visiting family. A young man around Averie's age didn't specify what he was doing in Europe, merely stating that he had always wanted to visit. When she was asked what her plans were, Averie merely stated that she was visiting her father who was born in Europe. When asked where he was born, Averie showed a picture of the village she had in the scrapbook, but a copy she had scanned with her printer. Everyone was fascinated by the photo, especially the armoured man who had come towards the back of the bus and noticed the picture.
When everyone else preoccupied themselves with looking out the window or eating snacks, the armoured man sat beside the empty seat in Averie's row, immediately setting off warnings in Averie's mind.
"You're nervous about me." The man stated.
"And you've been following me, so go figure." Averie retorted. She generally wasn't so rude to other people like this, but this man was creeping her out and worrying her.
"Relax kid, I'm not following you for some creepy reason." The man stated.
"Then why are you?" Averie asked.
The man reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a folded-up picture. He unfolded the picture, and Averie was looking at a picture of her father.
"I was sent on a mission to find this man, and get him to safety. Word has it he has some connection to a village in Europe, the same village that you have a picture of."
Averie tucked her photo away and clucked her tongue, wondering what she should do. She was on her way to her father, closer than she had been for the past two months. She didn't want some guy in armour stopping her. But he couldn't do much while they were on the bus, could he? And what would he do anyway?
Taking a risk, Averie looked over at the man, realizing what he had just said.
"What a minute, you said you're trying to get this man to safety. He's in danger?"
"Now that is classified." The man said, grinning. He was onto Averie's game, baiting her to give more information. Good thing Averie and her dad didn't look a lot alike, or else the man would have been able to put the pieces together by now.
Averie crossed her arms.
"Why not ask anyone else on the bus about this man? They've all come into Europe for one reason or another, maybe one of them can help." Averie suggested.
The man considered this option, and told Averie he would be back later on. She rolled her eyes as he walked away, and looked out the window. In the reflection of the window, she could see a set of eyes watching her from the seat in front of her. Looking away from the window and forward, Averie saw one of the young siblings looking at her, cautious. Averie gave him a little wave, and the boy proceeded to try and climb over the seat to where Averie was. She was startled at first, and heard the older woman in front of the children tell the boy off.
The other child, a girl who looked to be older than him, quietly and cautiously poked her head around the seat, apologetically looking at Averie. But she had a look of concern on her face.
Averie asked her a question, but before the girl could respond, the older woman stood up from her seat and stood beside the children, speaking to them quietly. Averie had no idea what she was saying, but could tell the children were fearful.
Reaching into her pocket, Averie pulled out a small notepad and scribbled something down, ripping out the page. She folded up the page and waited for the woman to sit down, before she pushed the small paper between the two seats in front of her. The page landed on the girl's arm. Averie could hear her open up the note:
Are you two hungry? I have extra snacks.
Averie tossed the pen over to the girl so she could respond, and the note was passed through the small crack in the seats once more:
We don't want to take any of your snacks. What if you get hungry later?
Averie smiled, having used the same tactic the girl was using before. Being polite, but slightly guilting the other person into giving them what they wanted. She scribbled something else onto the paper and passed it back to the kids:
Don't worry, I have plenty. But I don't want you to get into trouble. Head to the bathroom, and on your way back, pick up the small bag on the seat beside me.
The young girl read the note and stuck it into her pocket. She quietly rose from her seat, letting the older woman in front of her know what she was doing. The woman didn't seem to like the idea, which worried Averie. The kid was merely asking to use the bathroom. As the girl walked by Averie, Averie took a better look at her. She looked to be around eleven, with dark skin and beautiful curly hair, which was tied back. She gave Averie a shy smile, but Averie still noticed the concern in her eyes. As she packed snacks for the kids in a small bag, soft ones so they wouldn't be noticed, the armoured man came by again and sat down.
She immediately placed the snacks on his lap.
"Don't eat them. The little girl who walked by is going to pick them up." Averie commanded. The man nodded and looked behind him, watching the girl slip into the bathroom.
Averie wanted to share her concern about the children with someone, but waited as the older woman from before walked by to where the bathroom was. Averie watched as the woman stood outside the door, her arms folded as she looked at her phone. Averie quickly grabbed the bag of snacks and chucked it over the seats in front of her. The boy gave her the thumbs up and hid them under his seat.
"Look, I know you're preoccupied with trying to find 'that guy'", Averie started, of course referring to her father. "But I'm worried about the two children in front of me. I'm scared that they may have been kidnapped."
The man looked behind him at the older woman, and shook his head.
"That isn't my priority right now."
Averie clenched her fists.
"Then I suggest you go find another seat on the bus, cause if you can't help them, then I certainly won't help you."
The man started to complain, but the older gentleman across the aisle stood up, placing his hand on the armoured man's shoulder.
"I suggest you leave son, before this gets ugly." The older man warned. The armoured man sighed, quickly leaving a piece of paper behind before he moved on. Averie shoved the paper into her pocket, deciding to deal with that issue later.
An hour passed, and Averie stood up and walked towards the front of the bus, pretending to need to speak with the bus driver. As she walked back to her seat, she glanced at the older woman who was with the two children, and noticed she was nodding off.
Sitting down in her seat, Averie scribbled down another note and passed it to the kids:
This isn't my business, but I'm worried about you and your brother. Are you two okay?
Averie passed the note to the girl, and waited for a response. Almost five minutes passed by before she received a note, and Averie wanted to cry as she read it:
Please help us. We've been kidnapped. We were unaccompanied minors from the States. We were supposed to take a plane up north to go to our father's funeral, but were stopped along the way. We didn't know what to do, and ended up on a plane to Europe. We're not supposed to be here. I'm only eleven and don't know what to do. My brother is really scared, and I don't know where this woman is taking us.
Averie took a deep breath as she read the note. Of course she immediately wanted to tell the bus driver, but he couldn't do anything while they were on the road. And who knew who this woman was working for, kidnapping kids from the States and dragging them to Europe? She could contact someone and then everyone could be in trouble. She had already gone through enough trouble getting the two kids, she must have been willing to risk anything at this point.
Not answering the girl right away, Averie wanted to grab the attention of one of the other travelers. As she was trying to find someone to help, the young man from before caught her eye, and came up to her seat.
He sat beside her, and immediately noticed the note. Averie quietly whispered to him what was going on, and explained that she didn't know what to do.
"We should tell the bus driver." The young man suggested, but Averie explained her hesitation. The bus driver might not be able to help. She also admitted how the armoured man had refused. The young man suggested that Averie keep talking with the kids, and help them out. He then left the aisle, and went back to his seat.
After a few minutes, Averie learned that every opposite row of seats could swivel backwards, and soon the two children were facing her. Speaking quietly, Averie found out more information about the kids, starting with their names and ages.
The young girl was named Taylor, and she was eleven years old. Her younger brother was named Carson, who was only nine. Taylor told Averie how her and Carson's father had died in an accident a week ago, and the children were travelling from a family friend's house to go to the funeral. Their mother had died when Carson was three and they didn't have anyone else to go with them, so they were counted as unaccompanied minors at the airport. However, the mysterious woman sitting in the row ahead of them convinced the airline that they were to be travelling with her, as she was their legal guardian until they were to be put into a foster home. The agent believed her, so now Taylor and Carson were trapped with no one able to help them.
"Carson noticed how you were speaking to the man with the bulging arms," Taylor explained, meaning his armour. "He said that you talked pretty tough and stood up to him, so maybe you would be able to help us."
"I'm going to do everything I can." Averie promised, forgetting about her original plan to find her father. A new plan was forming in her mind.
However, like many things in life, plans change. Just as Averie was planning how to help the two kids escape, she heard yelling from the front of the bus as the bus took a sharp right turn down an uneven road. Carson screamed, waking up the woman in front of him. She rose from her seat and glared at the two children, reaching towards them. But instincts kicked in, and Averie pushed herself ahead of the kids, standing between them and the kidnapper.
"Back off!" She yelled, pushing the lady away. The woman fell onto the floor of the bus, grabbing the attention of people in the rows nearby.
Meanwhile, the bus was picking up speed as forests passed by on either window. People in the front rows were yelling for the bus driver to stop, but he ignored them, looking at the mirror on his dash and noticing the older woman on the ground.
"She's just a kid!" He yelled at the woman, placing his focus back on the road.
The older woman stood up, and reached for her purse. Averie noticed a knife handle protruding out of the bag, and she was scared she wouldn't be able to help the kids in a moment.
The older man from across the aisle lunged at the woman, knocking her back into her seat and grabbing hold of the knife.
"I know she shouldn't have attacked you but stabbing her is not an option!" He yelled, holding the woman down.
The young man from before came beside Averie and asked if she was okay, and the bus took another sharp turn and went over a large bump. Someone yelled "Fire!" from the back of the bus, and sure enough the bathroom was ablaze. Everyone panicked and moved towards the front of the bus, demanding the bus driver to stop the bus, and let everyone off. With the speed the bus was going, and everyone moving around, and the awful sound coming from the bottom of the bus, followed by the bus driver slamming his foot onto the breaks, the bus fell onto its side and slid along the dirt. Averie fell to the floor of the bus and hit her head, blacking out.