Rolling Over
1298 Words
Chapter 005: Rolling Over
Rezvan held his breath, staring at Rafandra, who still stood alert beside one of the tilted seats. The man's eyes continued sweeping across the fog outside, sharp and vigilant.
"This isn't just some animal... Something bigger, something far more dangerous, is out there."
Rafandra muttered inwardly as he shielded the two female students sitting close together, along with another student in front of them.
The air inside the bus felt increasingly suffocating. The cold crept across their skin, yet icy sweat continued to trickle down their temples.
Rezvan's heartbeat pounded loudly in his own ears. Then, all at once, a realization struck him.
"It's not just one thing... There are many of them. They seem to be coming from every direction..."
"We're trapped in the middle of... something," Pak Marta added.
THUD! THUD! THUD!
Heavy footsteps shook the ground.
The vibrations traveled through the body of the bus, climbing from the floor into the passengers' spines. Every impact was far too heavy to belong to an ordinary animal.
Rough breathing echoed from outside, broken by deep growls that sent chills racing down their backs.
The students couldn't see anything.
The fog was too thick, swallowing everything beyond the cracked, darkened windows. Yet it was precisely because they couldn't see that their fear ran even wilder.
Rafandra repeatedly signaled for them to stay low and remain silent, but the sounds outside were already enough to spread terror.
Some students began crying quietly.
Others bit down on their sleeves to keep themselves from screaming. A few squeezed their eyes shut, desperately pretending this was nothing more than a nightmare.
BANG! CRASH! THUD! BOOM!
The creature slammed into the bus again.
Once.
Twice.
Again and again.
Whether it was trying to overturn the vehicle...
...or searching for something inside.
THUMP. THUMP. THUMP.
Heartbeats echoed throughout the cabin.
Breath held.
Bodies trembling.
Fear slowly piled upon itself, growing so dense it felt as though even the air had frozen.
Their primal instincts understood only one thing:
Don't make a sound.
Just one noise might be enough to draw whatever was waiting outside.
Tears began falling uncontrollably.
Cold sweat soaked their necks and backs.
Their young bodies froze with fear as their imaginations conjured the worst possible outcomes.
"M-Mom..."
"D-D-Dad..."
"I'm scared... I'm so scared..."
"I shouldn't have come... I should've just stayed home..."
"Why did the school trip have to come here? Why couldn't we have gone to Borobudur or somewhere like that...?"
"It's a prank... This has to be a prank..."
"I want to go home..."
"This is just a dream. Just a dream..."
"i***t! I should've gone to a regular high school! Why did I choose a vocational engineering school? It's all guys! If I'd gone to a regular high school, at least I could've experienced dating!"
Regrets, whispered prayers, quiet sobs, and trembling voices blended together in the suffocating darkness.
Meanwhile, Rafandra remained standing firmly beside the bus door. His body leaned slightly to maintain his balance.
His gaze was razor sharp.
Alert.
Like a predator waiting for the next attack.
Nearby, Rezvan crouched between the tilted rows of seats, his jaw clenched tight.
He forced himself to stay conscious.
To keep thinking.
To remain a teacher for his students.
GRRHH... HURRFF... GRRHH... HURRFF...
That rough breathing came again.
Close.
Far too close.
The creature hadn't left.
And no one knew what was actually standing outside.
KRAANG!!
A tremendous impact slammed into the side of the bus.
Bodies were hurled sideways.
Screams instantly erupted throughout the cabin.
The bus lurched violently.
Then—
KRRREEEEKKKKK...
...the bus began to roll.
Metal shrieked.
Glass exploded in every direction.
The bus crashed against the uneven ground.
"AAAHHHHH!!"
"HOLD ON!!"
"WE'RE ROLLING!! WE'RE ROLLING!!"
CRASH!! THUD!!
Impact after impact battered their bodies.
Trees.
Rocks.
Hard earth.
The entire bus felt as though something vastly larger was tossing it around and smashing it over and over again.
Bodies slammed into one another.
Some students were thrown into the aisle.
Others crashed into seats.
Their screams merged with the shriek of twisting metal and shattering glass.
Every second felt like a gamble between life and death.
Rezvan was hurled hard against a row of seats. His shoulder slammed into the steel frame so violently it felt as though it had nearly been torn off.
Yet even through the pain, instinct took over.
He grabbed the hand of a student who was about to be flung toward a shattered window.
"Hold on! Don't let go!" he shouted while struggling to keep himself anchored.
His heart pounded wildly.
But his mind was still searching for a way to protect the children.
Elsewhere, Rafandra held several students back from being thrown even farther.
His body slammed repeatedly against the wall of the bus, yet he stubbornly forced himself to remain standing.
His eyes never stopped watching the fog outside.
CRAAASH!! THUD!!
The bus slammed into something solid.
Everyone was thrown violently once more.
Several students broke into hysterics.
Rafandra immediately covered one student's head with his own body to keep it from striking the metal.
"Stay calm! Grab onto anything solid!" Rafandra shouted over the deafening impacts.
Rezvan gave a quick nod despite struggling to breathe.
"Stay low! Hold onto the seats! Don't stand up!" he shouted to the others.
Outside, a massive shadow shifted faintly within the fog.
Indistinct.
Incomplete.
Yet enough to make everyone's skin crawl.
KRRRAAANG!!
At last, the bus stopped rolling.
But it now rested at a steep angle.
Nearly upside down.
The sounds outside continued.
Heavy.
Resonant.
As though something enormous was slowly pushing against the bus from outside.
THUD!! SCRAAAPE!! BOOM!!
The ground trembled each time the unseen thing made contact with the vehicle.
HHRRRGGHHHH!!
A harsh breath drifted through the fog.
Incredibly close.
Everyone's skin prickled instantly.
No one dared approach the windows.
Much less look outside.
Then—
Silence.
No more impacts.
No more roars.
Only the sound of heavy breathing.
The hiss of damp wind.
Or perhaps...
...the fog itself.
The bus was tilted at nearly seventy degrees, wedged between hard ground and the trunk of a tree.
Gravity itself seemed distorted.
The floor had become a wall.
The seats were now both footholds and traps.
The windows along the left side had shattered completely.
Glass fragments lay scattered everywhere.
Metal creaked softly whenever someone moved.
Rezvan slowly regained awareness.
His body lay wedged between seats that now hung above him.
His shoulder felt crushed.
His head throbbed.
Warm blood trickled down from his right temple.
"...Ah..."
He groaned weakly.
Every breath stabbed through his chest.
Inside the bus, the situation had become even worse.
Crying.
Groans of pain.
Pleas for help.
Fear.
"Help..."
"I can't move... my leg...!"
"I can't see anything...! It's so dark... help!"
"Pak... Pak Guru... please..."
Rezvan heard every voice.
But his own body could barely move.
The world spun around him.
Blood dripped from his forehead.
His shoulder felt as though it had been ripped apart.
He tried to speak, but only ragged, broken breaths escaped.
Not far away, Rafandra slowly forced himself back to his feet.
One side of his face was covered in blood.
His breathing was heavy.
But his eyes remained sharp.
Focused.
His survival instincts had taken over completely.
Count the casualties.
Protect the survivors.
And—
Stay conscious.
"Pak... Marta...?"
Rafandra's voice was low and heavy beneath the groaning metal.
He crawled toward the driver's cabin.
Pak Marta was only half-conscious.
His body trembled violently.
Blood dripped from his forehead.
But he was still alive.
GGRRRUUUHHHHHH...
The creature's voice echoed once more from outside.
But this time...
It sounded farther away.
Still...
It hadn't left.
Its presence was unmistakable.
Whatever it was doing out there—
One thing was certain.
It was still nearby.
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