Chapter Eight
Nervous and alert, the group of six dashed down the foggy roads of Old Town, past decrepit buildings and halted cars, far away from the MAX tracks where everything had started. Kara pointed out that the Tri-Met buses did most of their downtown route via Fifth and Sixth Street, which prompted them to head in that general direction. Though they could have just as easily taken any one of the stalled out cars in an attempt to escape the city, Sam made a valid argument with the things that they'd seen in their short time, there.
"If we're going to get out of here, lets do it with something that isn't going to get hurled by the first big creature that comes along looking for a new meal," he'd explained as they headed up the road past the store. Bags heavy with supplies, hearts heavy with a mix of fear and anxiety, they moved silently, their eyes and ears alert, intent on not being caught off guard again.
They dashed down Second Street to Davis, up Davis past Third and Fourth Streets and on to Fifth, finally turning left when they spotted the bus lane marked on the pavement of the street. A few feet up from the corner several of the behemoth buses were halted, facing in the direction of Burnside Street and the city center. They approached the first, which appeared to have come to a stop just before one of the large, front open glass shelters that lined what was known by locals as the "Bus Mall".
Kara darted ahead of the group, reaching the first bus and pressing her hands against the cold, smooth surface of the painted back, the solidity of the object a strange comfort to her emotion wrecked mind. Circling the vehicle, she quickly checked every possible point that she could she see for any visible damage that would hinder their possible escape. Once on the side walk again, facing the driver's side window, she looked to the rest of the wary troupe, a hopeful smile and nearly breathless laughter softly trickling out of her.
"We gotta get in somehow, but it looks intact. If we can get it started I think it can get us outta here!" she informed them, clasping her hands together in front of her chest as her heart raced. The sooner they were out of the nightmare they'd fallen in to, the better for her questionable stability.
"Hey, slow down, Kara," Sam chided, stepping up to her and placing a hand on her visibly trembling shoulder, "I know you wanna get home. Trust me, we all wanna, but don't put false hopes up so high,"
The smile twitched on her face and fell away a second later, her eyes closing and her lips pressing tightly together as she forced a long, deep breath out of her body.
"S-sorry…" she muttered, her entwined fingers clutching at her own palms in agitation. Tears appeared at the corners of her eyelids, prompting Sam to gently run a finger down her soft jaw to get her attention.
"Hey," he said softly, "Listen. Calm down. We're not going to sit back and do nothing, Kara,"
"But," she muttered thickly, opening her eyes and rubbing them over with the back of one of her hands. Behind her the other four stood, alert of their surroundings but curious to know what the two were talking about, "what if we don't get out?"
"Well, I'd like to think we've lived a full life!" Sam quipped after a moment of thoughtful silence, earning a rather disturbed look from Kara.
"SAM!" she shrieked, clutching her hands to her chest and recoiling slightly as he started to laugh nervously, scratching the back of his head with one eye half closed.
"Chill out, I was only joking. Come on, you can't tell me that you don't have faith in me anymore; after all we've already been through. There's not just me, either. We've got the other four, and yehknow, personally, that little Asian looks like she can kick even MY ass." Sam offered in a hushed tone, leaning forward and gesturing over his shoulder with a thumb. After receiving a strained giggle from Kara, he ruffled her hair affectionately and turned towards the bus, staring up the driver's side window.
"Ten bucks says there are no keys in there," he muttered, more to himself than anyone else. He turned his head, staring beyond Kara's head to the four still standing behind her, his gaze mostly landing on Russel, "Anyone know how to hot wire a bus?"
Five minutes later Noodle was standing on Sam's shoulder, her fingers working in to the small gap in the partially open driver's side window. Below, Russel was staring up at her with the same expression of complete bafflement he'd had since before she'd crawled up on the other man's shoulders.
"I still can't believe you know how to hot wire, Noodle girl…" he said, crossing his arms across his chest with a snort. Over at the bus shelter Kara and 2D had found a set of benches built in to the wall of the open air construction. 2D was leaning with his head against her shoulder as she pointed at one of the large signs inside, explaining to 2D how most of the Tri-Met transportation system worked while using the guide posted there as a visual.
"Its Murdoc's fault," Noodle stated, grunting with her tongue stuck between her teeth. She continued to wiggle her fingers, trying to reach the latch that seemed almost too far away for her grasp.
"'ow is i' my faul'?" Murdoc demanded from next to Russel, flicking the butt of his cigarette on to the ground from where he was leaning against the bus.
"Remember that show in Michigan?"
"Which one?"
"When the tour bus broke. And this is not working, Sam-san," Noodle finally relented, tugging her fingers out of the small space and moving them about to work the cramps out.
Sam sighed and looked up at her for a second before tapping her leg and instructing her to jump down. She obliged and Sam wandered off in to the mist for a minute, all eyes on him.
"Wut abou' when the bus broke?" Murdoc finally asked. Noodle turned to him and crossed her arms over her chest, her expression hinting that she was still rather miffed at him for the argument in the mini mart.
"You went on a beer run when I was sleeping in that awful vehicle of yours."
"You mean the Winnie?"
"Yes. You left me in the back. Actually I don't even think you were aware I was there. 2D-san and Russel-san were else where and you passed out, leaving me in a strange parking lot with no way to the hotel. You're lucky I have enough intelligence to figure out things with trial and error."
Murdoc stared at her with one eyebrow raised, scratching at the side of his face with his lips twisted in to a curious expression.
"So 'ats 'ow we go' back t' the hotel. Hey, wai' a second! You ho' wired MY Winnie!"
During the discussion Sam had returned, some sort of large, heavy object clutched in one hand. Unnoticed by Murdoc, who was now sputtering half formed obscenities at the realization that Noodle had messed with his precious Winnebago, Sam marched by them and hurled whatever object it was in to the air. A second later a sharp crack was heard, the window of the bus shattering with a resounding noise. Murdoc jumped and nearly stumbled on to the ground, crying out at the suddenness of Sam's action. Clearly he was still jumpy from the experience in the mini mart.
"Wut the bloody hell!"
"Concrete," Sam said matter-of-factly, gesturing for Noodle to return to where she'd been previously. Giving one last slightly arrogant smirk to the agitated Brit, she clamored back up on Sam's back and slipped in to the window easily, brushing bits of gummy safety glass away from where it fell before finding one of the manual levers to push the driver's seat back. Ducking under elongated, button laden dashboard, she inspected the inside before popping back up to look out the window.
"No keys. Give me ten," she informed the group before disappearing once more. Russel sighed, blinking his vacant white eyes a few times before rubbing a hand over his face and going to find a seat.
Nine minutes in to it, after several clicks, whines, and other various noises that sounded vaguely like it was trying to start, the bus suddenly roared to life, followed by a happy whoop from Noodle. Spewing grayish substance from the tail pipe and trembling under the force of its own engine, the bus went from a dormant titan to a beacon of hope in just seconds. Noodle's face reappeared in the window, a smudge of dirt just below the fringe of her bangs and a triumphant grin on her face. A soft, brief 'woosh' could be heard as the double doors opened up.
Giving various hollers of praise to Noodle, the group snatched up their belongings and moved themselves from their various places where they'd come to rest, bolting to the other side of the bus and one by one climbing aboard. Noodle slipped out from beneath the dashboard and wiggled her way off the raised platform and snagging one of the isle facing seats next to Kara. Once everyone was on, Sam dusted off the driver's seat to remove any more of the glass and sat down, strapping the safety belt on across his chest.
Positioning himself behind the wheel, he took some time to look over the dashboard, steering wheel, and anything else that would aid him in driving. Grateful that it appeared to be an automatic, unlike a school bus, he pressed the door control button and looked over his shoulder.
"This might be kinda bumpy. I'm not going to claim I know how to drive one of these things," he admitted, looking at each of them. Kara, 2D, and Noodle had taken the right side seats, while Russel and Murdoc each grabbed a forward facing seat, one right behind the other.
"Jus' take i' easy. I's no' like we're in Speed 'ere or sum'in," Murdoc grumbled, draping his arms over the back of the seat in a lazy position.
"Just do what you have to, Sam," Kara encouraged, resisting the urge to just pitch something at Murdoc's head to silence him. Returning the half hearted smile, Sam faced the front window once more and clicked the windshield wipers on 'low', letting the large contraptions run over the glass and smear away the flakes of ash that had fallen on it like so much gray hued snow.
A disconcerting jerk, a high pitched grinding, and the bus finally managed to take off down the road, its engine roaring loudly as it moved from Davis Street up towards Couch Street, passing the worn down, grungy looking buildings of Old Town.
"Hey, Kara," Russel said, leaning against the small partition that separated the isle facing and the front facing seats to speak to the girl over the droning noise of the slowly moving bus. Kara blinked and tilted her head in Russel's direction.
"Yes Russel?"
"Jus' a question, but what're these windows made out of?" he asked, reaching over to tap the one closest to him, "Its not regular glass, right?"
Kara shook her head, a thoughtful look spreading on to her face.
"No. Tempered. Also known as safety glass, the same stuff the MAX uses. All Tri-Met vehicles are equipped with it, as far as I know," she answered, her head canting slightly, "Why do you ask?"
Russel remained quiet; his distant, white gaze was trained mostly in Sam's direction, and from what Kara could gather, on the window to the left of the man.
"How'd he break that window so easily then?" he eventually uttered, his voice suddenly soft and barely audible above the din of the rambling bus. Kara could hardly make out his words, and 2D and Noodle, who'd been half way listening in next to her, simply traded glances and shrugged, unable to decipher even a word of the quietly spoken sentence.
Kara's head turned as she, too, stared at Sam as he hunched over the oversized steering wheel and fought to keep control while driving. Just to the right of the seat platform a large chunk of sidewalk cement rattled and bounced with the vehicle's jerky movements. A frown creased her face and she nearly turned back to Russel to speak with him once more when she spotted something out of the corner of her eye that caused her heart to fall to the floor.
"No…"
The word fell from her lips without her even realizing it, and though it felt whispered to her, it apparently carried enough force to bring everyone's eyes on her. She didn't register this fact and she rose from her seat, stumbling as the bus slowed via Sam's control. She neared the front of the bus and leaned past the small yellow painted railing that ran beneath the window, pressing her fingers to the cool tempered glass as she stared horrified at the same sight that had Sam bringing the bus to a halt.
"…fuck," he hissed between clenched teeth, his fingers tightening around the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white and his hand started to tremble.
"Nooo…" Kara moaned, her head falling on the glass as she closed her eyes, willing the image before her to go away. Exchanging fearful looks, 2D and Noodle rose from their seats and moved to either side of her, each letting off their own noises of disappointment.
Burnside stretched long in either direction, vanishing after about sixty or so feet in to the thick fog that choked the city, but directly on the other side of the street the same chasm that Murdoc and Russel had encountered yawned before them, large, mocking and desolate. Piece of various short storied buildings teetered on its edge, the backs and sides ripped off completely, exposing their insides to the elements. Beyond the sharp drop, a void of gray nothingness existed, crushing hope just by being there.
Russel only needed to stand up for a second before flopping back down with a huff of disgust and irritation. He gestured to the windshield with a thumb, looking over his shoulder at Murdoc.
"Same as the bridge, man,"
"Yer shittin' me, Russ,"
Russel gave the man a somber look and slowly shook his head, causing Murdoc to groan and put his hands over his face, muttering another string of colorful words under his breath.
Sam reached over and gently touched Kara's arm, his fingers curling around the slick vinyl fabric of her jacket. She blinked and turned her head to face him, her cheek resting on the glass and causing a bit of mist to spread about the cool surface.
"How far up do these streets go?"
"Why?"
"Think there's a chance that something up that way," he asked, pointing to the right, "might lead out? Maybe a highway?"
"…how should I know?" Kara muttered, turning her face away to close her eyes once more. Had she not been so wrapped up in the fact that she she'd literally felt any and all aspirations for leaving the ghosted town alive she might have actually managed to sound snappish.
"'ey," 2D cut in, speaking for the first time in quite a while, "Don' give up now, Kara."
"Yes," Noodle agreed, nodding rapidly, "There has to be a way. You know this town better than anyone else here. Think!"
The bus echoed the disturbing hush outside, Kara unmoving and quiet as everyone kept their eyes on her waiting for some kind of answer. After what felt like an eternity she finally lifted her head and pointed a slightly shaking finger to the right.
"Stadium Freeway. Stadium Freeway goes to Highway Twenty Six," she answered, turning her baleful teal eyes on Sam, "Back up and take Couch down. Burnside doesn't connect with it,"
"Right," Sam nodded, turning back towards the steering wheel. Noodle slipped her hand in to Kara's free one and gave a squeeze, smiling hopefully up at her before leading the older girl reluctantly back to her seat. 2D followed, and once they were reseated Sam lifted his foot from the break and let the bus idle forward about a foot before shifting in to reverse, looking over his shoulder to slowly and carefully bring the giant machine around.
After some difficulty the bus was finally facing the other direction, allowing Sam to begin moving towards the next cross street, his back bent as he hunched over the oversized steering wheel and watched the road carefully through the haze of limited visibility. The bus lumbered along, creeping past the buildings that they'd already gone by once before. The interior was filled with a tense uncertain quiet that even Murdoc wasn't about to break as he, too, had his own concerns about their possible escape.
2D stared out window across from where he, Kara, and Noodle sat, his onyx eyes dull and disturbingly blank. Murdoc rested his head on the window behind him, his odd eyes locked on the blank white ceiling above. Russel was watching the dream like world pass by looking over his shoulder, while Kara and Noodle sat next to the spaced out blue haired man, the young Asain girl's fingers still intertwined with Kara's long, thin ones in a gesture of understanding towards her.
The street known as Couch came in to view, the dark brown Alphabet District street sign almost invisible in the gloom. Sam leaned back, preparing to turn the wheel and guide them around the intersection. The large front wheels went where Sam guided them, and the thickly covered side street became visible in the corner of the windshield.
He let out the breath that he had unknowingly pent up inside his lungs, forcing his fingers to loosen from the tight grip he'd been keeping on the cold obsidian toned plastic of the steering wheel. A soft mutter escaped his lips, a quiet mantra in attempt to calm his fried nerves. The bus aligned with the street, and for a brief moment he believed that they might actually make it out of the strange, seemingly possessed town.
That relief was painfully short lived. Just as he turned his head to present a reassuring smile to Kara, a flash of movement through the haze just before him instantly brought his attention back to the road. His eyes went wide as his line of sight landed on a hulking, clearly inhuman figure looming in the road about twenty feet ahead of the bus. He frowned, his foot shifting over to the break pedal.
2D's eyes snapped back in to focus, a sharp, unexpected pain tearing through the several lumps that littered his skull. He let out a cry, dropping his head in to his hands and pulling in the attention of everyone sitting near him.
"2D?" Kara asked, untangling her fingers from Noodle's hand as the two of them leaned in close to inspect the singer. Wincing, 2D managed to part two fingers and turn a dark eye up towards the red head.
"S-sometihng…" he hissed, his hands trembling and his skin fading in a sickly pale gray.
Toe touching the top of the pedal, Sam pressed down in an attempt to ease the bus to a slow, glided stop to find out what the hulking form was. He barely had registered the sounds of pain coming from behind him, and though he had a vague inclination that the large shadow ahead and 2D's instant migraine were connected, he was much more concerned about keeping the group safe. His plan was ended shortly when the giant rushed forward, zipping out of the mist like a truck injected with nitro.
Kara, who'd looked up and out the windshield at 2D's stammered words, saw the moving inhuman body and screamed out Sam's name as loud as she could. Everyone's heads turned, various cries, shouts, and mutters of surprise being uttered from their lips. Sam's eyes became hug and his hand fumbled and slipped for the seat belt release, the thing coming closer by the second. A long, serpentine build was visible, along with several long appendages that appeared to be arms with long, menacing blades attached. The thing moved like a locomotive off its rails, unheeding of obstacles, only wishing to rip through them like so many weak objects.
"Shit shit shit shit!" Sam cursed, his voice rising in pitch with every repeated obscenity. Finally a faint click was heard and the young man threw himself from the seat, "GET DOWN!"
Screaming shrilly, both girls threw their arms over their heads just as 2D came to his senses and out of his headache induced state long enough to snag them both by the backs of their shirts and push them down on the floor, Sam reaching them just in time to put his body protectively over Kara's while 2D defended Noodle. Murdoc and Russel, letting out their own lines of terrified language, dove beneath their seats.
In an instant sparks flew, metal grinded against metal, safety glass spider webbed and exploded inward, and the driver's side of the bus ceased to exist, becoming nothing more than a pile of scraps. Crocodile like teeth, claws of both bone and some sort of metal alloy, and other grotesque pieces of make up were all that could be seen in the flurry that followed the creature's tremendous rampage. Through it all, a droning shriek, almost like a power tool on its last leg, rang through the air, only adding to the horrible cacophony of terrifying noises.
Then silence.
Sam was the first to raise his head, causing a small rain of gummy glass to fall from his hair and back as he let his gaze survey the damage. Though the experience had been nothing short of horrifying, only the front section of the bus had been beaten inward, luckily leaving the side door slightly bent inwards but in such a way that it could be opened manually. As hard as he strained his ears to catch any off noises, he could find no sound indicating that the creature was still around. Beneath his fingers and through the thin fabric of her jacket and blue tee-shirt he could feel Kara's shoulders trembling in a near convulsive state. Next to them both 2D and Noodle were whimpering in fear, though 2D had managed to protect the smaller girl despite his obvious anxiety.
Rising, he carefully pulled Kara to her feet and motioned for 2D to do the same with the young guitarist. Stunned and shocked, Kara could barely stand on her own two feet, her hands still up around her ears as tears slid down her cheeks from frighteningly blank teal eyes. Forcing her to walk as carefully as he could manage, he ordered the other two to get up as he got to the door and worked to shove the swinging pieces back on the bent pole. A loud creak, a thunk and the door was pushed back, yawning in to an opening. 2D, Noodle attached firmly to his right arm, approached, eyeing the two of them with a shifty, disconcerted gaze.
"Hey Blue, can you take her?" Sam asked, his voice far quieter and less confident than the others were used to hearing. Clearly he was greatly concerned for Kara's mental condition, as it seemed to be failing more and more as the strange town continued to up the stakes on them, but he was well aware that he needed to keep his cool if he was going to get her out of there at all.
2D nodded and looked down to Noodle who reluctantly slid herself away from him and bobbed her head as well.
"We will both take her. Be careful, Sam-san," the little girl answered, assisting 2D as the red haired girl was passed down to them. Slinging an arm over his thin, bony shoulders, 2D was able to walk her down the short ramp and out on to the foggy street.
Sam looked up, motioning for Russel and Murdoc to hurry as they were grabbing the bags that had been dropped and left behind. Russel was first to the door as the older man was attempting to detach one of the backpacks from a broken pole that had snagged it.
"Muds, man, hurry yer ass up!" Russel demanded as he was nearly shoved out the door by a rather impatient Sam who was looking more bothered by each second that passed in relative silence.
"'ang on, 'ang on, we need dis bag!" Murdoc grunted, tugging and wrestling with the duffle bag until the strap finally gave in and tore away from the bag violently. Murdoc cried out, stumbling backwards but securing his balance on the small seat partition behind him.
"You done yet, green boy?" Sam snapped, voice thin with irritation. Murdoc went to retort, turning to shoot Sam a glare, when the entire bus gave a small shutter. Both heads jerked towards the remains of the left side windows. Kara let out a shrill scream while Noodle cried for both Murdoc and Sam at the top of her lungs.
Before either could do anything the faint shutter became an all out quake, something on the outside rocking the large vehicle like a child's die-cast toy. Stumbling around on unsure and unbalanced footing, Sam desperately grasped at the air, trying to find something to keep him from falling. Too late his fingers felt the cool, painted metal of the rail before he went tumbling end over end out of the door, landing on the rough asphalt with a yell of pain as his head connected and his vision swam black for a brief moment.
Before he could regain his composure he felt two thick hands grabbing his arms, lifting him on to his feet and hauling him away from the bus.
"Wait…" he muttered, voice slightly slurred as he tried to shake off the knock to the head.
"No wait, man!" he heard Russel's voice close to his ear. Blinking, he just barely caught the flash of movement that was the giant snake like creature closing in on the open doors. A terrible squeal of the thing's claws connecting with the metallic siding of the bus crashed through the air, Murdoc's screaming mixing in somewhere with the noise. The group could only stand and stare in horror as the thing dug its malformed appendages in to the contraption and lifted it in to the air, hurling it seconds later in to the nearby buildings.
"MURDOC-SAANNN!" Noodle shrieked, bolting towards the wrecked bus that now lay half on its side, much like the MAX had landed earlier. Sam broke away from Russel's grasp and quickly snatched the young girl by her arm, holding her light frame back with little difficulty.
"Whoa whoa, down girl," he chided, pulling her back and kneeling down, "Hold on just a minute before you go all Braveheart on us and get yourself killed."
"D-demo, b-b-but…" Noodle stammered, looking frantically between the wreckage and Sam. On about the third or fourth turn of her head she gasped and pointed past the monster, which still happened to be turned, staring at its handiwork almost as if it were proud of what it had managed. Noodle's finger traced a line to one of the windows that was shattered but still somewhat transparent. A messy haired black head was still moving within the bus.
Sam's lips tightened in to a determined expression. He slipped his backpack off with one arm while giving Noodle's arm a gentle squeeze, causing her to look to him.
"You and big guy go after him. Sneak around, try not to get seen. Move on my mark," he instructed her, causing her eyebrows to arch high.
"N-nani? What a-are you going to do?"
A slow, arrogant smirk crossed Sam's features.
"You'll see," he informed her cryptically, shoving her in Russel's direction.
All four gathered around as he dug in to the bag, pulling out a myriad of items and lying them out before him. Soon he began to fashion them together in to something using a roll of duct tape that he'd also taken from the bag. When he finally stood, the large creature was still concentrated on the bus, more than likely waiting for Murdoc to find a way out. The objects in question appeared to be three long red road flares taped together to a short metal pole, probably something he'd located while looking for something to smash the bus window. He'd tied a string over their release pieces, clearly attempting to light them as quick as he possibly could.
"Ready?" he said to Noodle and Russel. They nodded, clearly nervous but willing to do anything to rescue their band mate from certain destruction. Sam grinned and faced the distracted creature, "Right. On my mark. One, two, THREE!"
Noodle shot off like a rocket, going past Sam and quickly followed by Russel as the two of them went down the sidewalk then making sharp corner towards the bus. As they ran Sam began banging the end of the pole on the ground, causing a loud, metallic clang to ring through the air.
"HEY! UGLY!" he bellowed. Slowly the giant multi-limbed snake twisted it deformed head in the young man's direction. Sam's smirk grew even wider as 2D and Kara could only observe from a distance, frightened and shaken, "Yeah, you!" Sam taunted, reaching up to yank the string from the tops of the three flares. Each ignited with a snap and a 'kwoosh!' noise, red sparks pouring from the three heads like a bizarre fountain.
"Sam!" Kara screamed, her knees wobbling as her body threatened to collapse on her, though she wanted nothing more than to run to him and stop him from being so fool hearty. 2D grunted and struggled to keep her on her feet, chewing on his lower lip as his own concerns pushed themselves to the forefront of his thoughts.
Distracted by Sam's deliberate mocking and show of bravado, along with the crudely fashioned weapon, the creature never saw Russel and Noodle make it to the bus and begin looking for any possible way to free Murdoc from the twisted metal confines of it.
Tapping the pole on the ground one last time, Sam straightened up and took a step forward, sliding his feet in to a defensive stance while lifting his free hand, beckoning to the creature with it.
"Come on, you sorry excuse of a nature fuck up. Let's dance."