Running, always running, that is what Emma did best. I was a fool to think I could have a permanent home and get a "happily ever after." Ugly thoughts that had plagued her the entirety of her life came roaring back to the forefront of her mind. You're not wanted Emma, face that fact and move on. Old wounds tore at her heart and pounded down her spirit in sync with the pounding of her backpack against her shoulders. Your family is dead, they never returned to the pier and they didn't take you with them that day because they didn't want you. You're on your own now, alone. Run.
Legs pumping beneath her faster than her burning lungs could gulp down air to fuel her marathon, Emma didn't know where she was going but right now she couldn't afford to care. The only fact able to sear itself into her mind was that she had to run. Run from the painful thoughts stabbing at her mind that threatened to knock the wind out of her. Run from the image that would forever be burned into her mind for the rest of her days: the only person she loved, cold, still, and dead.
Tears blurred her vision and began to stab her cheeks like pinpricks in the frosty, winter wind as she continued to blindly run down the streets of her neighborhood. Her mind couldn't keep up with what her body was doing. The shock was keeping her numb as Emma hoped this was all just a terrible nightmare and she was still huddled next to Mrs. Elms, safe, warm, and with her family.
She knew better than to open up and allow herself to have hope. This was very real. Hope was an illusion, even with Mrs. Elm.
Mrs. Elms… who was cold and dead and had glazed-over marbles for eyes. Mrs. Elms, who had promised her the world and then in the same night ripped it all away. Mrs. Elms, who was the only person she had, and she was gone now. Forever.
When the bus stop at the entrance to her neighborhood finally came into view Emma realized in alarm that the final bus for the night was about to drive off. "Wait!" she cried, as she waved her arms to get the driver's attention. "Don't leave yet! Wait for me!" Please, she begged internally, her face scrunching up in sheer despair at the thought of being left again, she couldn't bear it. Pounding on the icy metal that made up the bus' side, she ran alongside the vehicle as panic spurred her forward. Nearly avoiding getting her foot ran over, relief washed over her as she felt the bus stop and saw its front doors whoosh open.
Gasping for breath at the entrance, she managed to thank the driver as she hauled herself onto the bus and paid the bus fare to the money container hanging off of the railing. Plopping herself in the first bench available, Emma let her backpack slink itself off of her shoulders and huddled into her winter jacket. Exhausted, she gingerly pulled her knees up to her chest and curled into a ball, numbly watching her old life skitter by as the bus took off.
The hum of the bus as it moseyed was able to settle her bubble of panic and, one by one, Emma was able to unclench each of her tense muscles. Her hamstrings were on fire from her run down several long blocks to the bus stop and her headache was coming back with a vengeance. Shivering uncontrollably, she managed to wipe what was left of the trail of frosted tears away and focus.
Now, Emma, she chided herself. We need a gameplan, we spent the last of our money on this bus fare, which is going… where, exactly? She looked around for any sort of sign that could indicate where she was headed and found nothing of use. Ok, that plan didn't work. Is there anyone on this bus that could tell me where we're going? Doing a quick scan she realized no one else was aboard. And the driver almost left me, with no one else aboard and no reason to leave so hastily, really? Frowning to herself, Emma marched right up to the driver's seat and, when she went to tap the driver on the shoulder, saw there was nothing.
Angling her line of sight down a notch she realized a small, strange boy barely tall enough to see over the steering wheel was driving the bus. He wore a white shirt with a periwinkle sweater tied around his neck, and... red footy pajama pants? That wasn't even the strangest part, his head looked like a giant onion. The only thing solidifying for Emma that he didn't have a literal onion for a head was a single tuft of blonde hair sticking out at the top.
"Excuse me, who are you?" Emma frowned in utter disbelief as shock, then annoyance, then concern crossed over her features. "How are you driving this bus? Are you even old enough to drive?" Emma slightly squinted her eyes in accusation as she pointed this fact out, waiting for him to deny what she knew was true.
The boy didn't acknowledge her presence as he continued to drive, footy pajama feet pushing pedals he could only reach by using pedal extensions.
"Ok, whatever. None of my business, I get it, but can you at least tell me where we're going?" She huffed in utter exasperation.
Silence was all that met her questions, he didn't even look at her.
Now Emma was starting to get mad.
"Look. I don't have time for this onion boy, you have no idea what I've been through today! I found out I'm never going to school and seeing my friends again." She started to count off on her fingers as she continued her list, "broke my best friend's heart, fought with my foster-dad, my foster-mom died in my arms, and I ran all the way through my ENTIRE neighborhood, in deep snow might I add, to this bus stop to get on this bus. Wherever you're taking me is my last hope! So, I need to know where that is so I can make a plan of what I'm doing with my life. So!" She barked, "I need you to tell me where that is. Right. Now." Somewhere during her speech, Emma realized she pointed her index finger at him and clenched her jaw, and was mortified at how much like Mr. Elms she looked like at the moment.
Tension filled the air as the boy completely ignored her, like she wasn't there at all.
Emma sighed in exasperation at herself and at this boy as she stomped back to her seat, realizing it was hopeless and he wasn't going to say a word. "Thanks for nothing, hope you know what you're doing and we don't crash or something!" She yelled back to the boy.
Giving him one final dirty look, she combed her fingers through her curls in order to calm herself down, she still needed to focus. Ok. So progress was made. Sort of. Breath in through nose, out through mouth. Calm. I found out I'm on a bus that is being driven by some random onion child who may or may not even know I'm here. According to what I saw out of the front window there is nothing but open road for at least the next few miles. Which means I have time here in the warmth of this bus, that's good. Right? As she attempted to get more comfortable in the hard plastic of the bench, her arm brushed against her backpack.
Now is as good a time as ever to take inventory of what I was able to grab I suppose, she pondered to herself.
Taking the contents out of her bag one by one, she counted that she had all of her knick-knacks, her laptop, her phone, and her tablet (all fully charged, thank you OCD regarding full batteries!), her chargers, a flashlight, batteries, a few of her winter clothes, her tools, whatever dry food she was able to quickly grab out of the pantry, a single flask of water, and the golden pouching holding Mrs. Elms precious gift.
Ok, I can work with this! At least I have the basics. Now, I just need to find a way to get some money and I can do this. Hopefully wherever this dude is taking me will be near a place I can crash, then I can look for somewhere to get a quick job.
Feeling tons better than she did before, Emma neatly returned her items back into her bag. Smiling to herself, she decided she could reward her good work of winning this round against her anxiety and listen to a few songs. I hope this bus has an outlet somewhere…When an outlet was found Emma settled down for some much-needed sleep. Propping her bag up as a pillow and using her coat as a blanket, she quickly drifted off to sleep listening to "Comet" on repeat by Mr. Universe.
The loud hiss of the bus shifting to a sudden halt jolted Emma from her sleep, causing her to rip her earbuds out of her ears and almost break her phone dropping it on the floor. "Ouch", she whined as she rubbed her ears and put her things back in her bag.
Looking out of the window she realized they were still in the middle of nowhere. "Hey onion boy, what's the big idea! I don't see a town or anything around here, not even a bus stop. Why are we stopped?"
When she went to look towards the driver's seat for answers she almost jumped out of her skin. Onion boy was standing right there at the end of her bench, pointing towards the open bus entrance door with an expressionless look on his face.
"What. Is there something in the middle of the road?"
He continued to point.
"Is there something wrong with the bus? Are we out of gas?"
He merely continued to stare and didn't move a muscle.
"Oh nevermind, move." Emma huffed as she shoved him out of the way and went towards the open door.
The sun was just beginning to rise as Emma emerged from the stagnant bus. Shielding her eyes from the first rays of the day, Emma took in her surroundings clearly for the first time since entering the bus. She really was in the middle of nowhere.
As far as the eye could see there was nothing but dry, sandy, nothing. She was in the middle of a desert. Where exactly did this man-child, kid, thing, take me? She worried.
Pushing that thought to the back of her mind, she needed to figure out what made him stop the bus here. First things first, check the tires. Doing a quick inspection of each tire she saw no issues with any of them, none were losing air, and there was also nothing obstructing the road.
"Ok, we seem to be good. Hey, did you check the gas meter?" Walking back around to the side of the bus she emerged from, Emma noticed onion boy was standing by the side of the road holding her bag.
"Hey!" She exclaimed, "give me that," she swiped her bag from him hoping he didn't steal anything out of it. She didn't trust him a bit.
"What are you doing touching my things! I didn't tell you to go fetch my bag." He gave her a swift wave and began walking back onto the bus as she did a quick check that all of her things were where she left them.
Then it dawned on her.
"Wait… you're not leaving me here are you?" She asked incredulously.
When he continued to head back to the bus she began to panic, unbidden tears filling her eyes. "Wait.. please! You can't just leave me here! You never told me where I am! There is nothing for miles! Can I at least have a map or something? Is there another bus stopping here any time soon?" The questions came tumbling out of her as she stumbled after him.
For the first time in the hours they've known each other, he acknowledged her. He turned to look at her, halting on the first step of the stairs leading back onto the bus, sighed, and walked around to the back of the bus.
Emma didn't notice the bike onion boy produced from the back of the bus as she attempted to stop her tears and process what had almost happened. Walking it over to her, he waited for her to collect herself and take hold of the handlebars. When she did he quickly patted her arm, climbed onto the bus, and drove away.
Mouth agape in shock and speechlessness, Emma just stared after him for several long minutes.
"Jerk!" she eventually shouted towards the retreating form of the bus. Face scrunched in anger, she couldn't believe the predicament she was in. Good job Emma, way to go. Now, what are you going to do? You're an idiot for doing what that munchkin directed you to do and getting off of that bus.
Kicking up a cloud of dust around her in anger, she allowed the dust to settle (metaphorically and literally) before deciding on what to do next. Ok, so now here we are once again. In a situation life throws us in out of nowhere, alone, and forced to think of a way to survive it and regain some semblance of normality. You should be used to this by now Emma, why are you surprised? You'll get through this, you're a survivor and have gotten through much worse, just think your way through it. Placing her hands on her hips and giving a "hmph" to herself in agreeance, Emma inspected her new bike.
It was sturdy and seemed to be fully functional, and happened to be just her size.
Odd.
It was a pretty purple with silver sparkles, possessed a holder for a drink container down between the handlebars, and even had a little wire basket on the back that, thank goodness, her bag would fit into.
While repacking her bag once more for the bike trip, Emma came across the golden pouch containing Mrs. Elm's necklace. Fingering the velvet of the pouch, Emma decided the necklace was too valuable to leave in her bag for the trip, in case it was to get smashed by heavier items, and put it on. Tucking it safely underneath her clothes, once her things were secured properly to the bike Emma set off after the now long-gone bus.
The hours ticked by at an agonizing pace as the sun slowly rose higher and grew hotter. Sweat trickled down Emma's back and coated every inch of her exposed skin as she continued to pump the pedals beneath her under the merciless heat of the sun. Well, the good news is at least I'm able to keep warm. It doesn't even feel like winter here, even though it's in the middle of December. Emma mused to herself.
As the wind blew some of the sweat off of her brow, Emma was left with nothing to do but think. Geez, what am I going to do when I run out of water? At this rate, there is no form of shade or any sign of anything other than desert coming up any time soon. The sound of water sloshing in her flask beneath her was a slight comfort, at least she wouldn't have to deal with this problem any time soon. As long as I keep regulating my water intake to two sips per drink, and only when my throat is completely dry, I think I can last at least the rest of today.
As a lone cactus came into view, a lightbulb went off in Emma's head. That's it! Aren't cacti fruits chock-full of water? How else could they survive in the constant heat and lack of water? Parking her bike next to the cactus, Emma went to work removing the budding fruits, utilizing her tools and patience. Not wanting to spend too much energy fighting the cactus while trying to avoid getting stabbed by needles, she only removed as many fruits as needed to fully quench her thirst and fill up her flask. Thank you actually educational reality T.V. and Discovery Documentaries! Emma sang to herself as she rode off with renewed hope.
As night approached so did the cold, and so did a forest. Thankful for the shade and protection from the elements, Emma parked her bike up against the sturdiest tree she could find and settled in to make camp for the night. Never having been more thankful that she took the time to learn some survival skills in Girl Scouts growing up, Emma managed to start a fire for herself and ate some beef jerky and a few gulps of cactus fruit water. Agilely climbing up her tree of choice to sleep for the night, Emma again thanked her younger self for taking the time to take a gymnastics class and try her hand at parkour which were turning out to be invaluable skills in this situation.
I'm beginning to feel like Katniss Everdeen, she smirked at her comparison to her favorite story character, I hope I survive my version of 'The Hunger Games', and with style, like she did.
A week passed as Emma continued to follow the road through the forest, that is, until the road the bus took became overgrown by the forest foliage and essentially ended.
Clothes torn and dirty, food resources long since depleted, Emma didn't have the inner strength to handle such a blow to her emotions, she couldn't afford to lose direction and hope, not now.
Sinking to her knees and letting her bike fall over in a loud tumble, Emma began to wail. "NO-" The rest of her cry was cut off by a blubber of sobs and tears, liquid she realized too late she couldn't afford to be expelling, not when she didn't know when her next source of drinkable water would come. "No this can't be it! This can't be the end of the road!" She began to tear at her hair as her words ran together in impending hysteria, "How-did-the-bus-go-this-way! It-had-to-of-come-through-here! I-would-have-noticed-tracks-if-it-went-off-road!" Hysterical laughter came bubbling out of her as she began to rock back and forth on her haunches, staring at the foliage and willing it to reveal its secrets for how a bus could pass through its presence.
As silence resumed through the forest when Emma's episode ceased, a notification sound pinged from Emma's phone. Whipping her head towards her bag still tethered to the bike, Emma tore through the forest that lay between her and that sound from heaven and unlocked her phone's home screen. She had a single bar of signal.
Crying, now out of joy and hope instead of despair, Emma walked around with her phone towards the heavens as her new compass. A bar means a signal, a signal means WiFi in range, WiFi means civilization, civilization means people, people means HELP!
Walking her bike beside her, Emma used her phone as her guide for the next couple of hours until she was able to track the source of her signal bars. A sign that read: "Welcome to Beach City" greeted her once she emerged from the forest. She had reached the end of the road.