Stay Inside or Go Outside
1880 Words
Chapter 015: Stay Inside or Go Outside
The two grown men hurried across the soft ground, their vision severely limited.
Rezvan slipped again, but this time he caught himself before falling.
Rafandra helped him regain his footing without saying a word. No words were necessary.
Time was their enemy.
When the silhouette of the bus finally emerged through the thinning mist, they almost breathed a sigh of relief.
Almost.
Then, from somewhere in the distance, came the deep trumpet of an elephant.
The low, resonating call echoed through the forest, vibrating beneath their feet and rolling through the dense trees.
Rafandra froze, holding his breath.
Rezvan stared into the darkness, his face tense.
"An elephant?!" he whispered, his voice barely audible.
"It sounds like one..." Rafandra crouched slightly, gripping the lighter whose flame had grown faint.
Moments later, another trumpet answered from a different direction.
Higher.
Sharper.
Faster.
As though another elephant were responding to the first.
The wave of sound shook the leaves, snapped brittle branches, and seemed to stir the very wind itself.
Then other animals joined in.
Forest birds shrieked and burst from the canopy, their wings shattering the silence.
Somewhere, a monkey screamed as it leaped wildly from branch to branch.
On the forest floor, leaves and twigs rustled frantically as smaller animals fled—perhaps deer... or wild boars.
The forest suddenly came alive.
And with every sound, it grew more threatening.
Rafandra lowered his head and slipped the lighter into his pocket.
"Stay calm... don't make any loud noises," he whispered.
Their breathing sounded unnaturally loud against the overlapping echoes of the distant trumpeting.
The bus trembled lightly.
Voices drifted from inside—muffled cries.
Some of the students had heard it too.
Rafandra immediately grabbed Rezvan by the arm.
"Come on! We have to get inside before they panic!"
They climbed back onto the bus.
Although Rafandra was much larger than Rezvan, he moved with remarkable speed and agility—a benefit of years of physical training.
Rezvan struggled to match his pace and was forced to rely on Rafandra's help almost every step of the way.
Inside the bus, everything had changed after the trumpeting shook the forest.
It wasn't panic.
There were no hysterical screams.
Instead, a suffocating silence settled over everyone—a heavy silence like a soaking wet blanket pressing down on every chest.
Several students had awakened, their faces pale and their eyes wide.
Others still lay motionless.
The metallic smell of blood mixed with damp mist, filling the cramped cabin with the scent of fear.
Rezvan stood in the center aisle, still breathing hard.
His hands trembled, but he tried to hide it.
He drew a deep breath, trying to calm himself.
Yet his eyes remained fixed outside...
On the mist...
Toward the sound that still made his heart pound.
Rafandra leaned against the side of the bus and closed his eyes for a brief moment before speaking.
"We have to go outside."
His tone was flat...
But firm.
Several pairs of eyes turned toward him.
The silence cracked.
"What do you mean, go outside?!" Ardi exclaimed.
"It might not even be safe out there, Om!" Nendra said, his eyes darting nervously between the windows and the emergency exit.
"You think staying in here is safe?" Rafandra replied without raising his voice. "You heard it yourselves. The bus shook. Whatever that thing is... if it comes back and pushes this bus down the slope, we're all dead."
"But we don't know what's outside!"
Several students spoke up almost at once.
"Exactly. We don't know. That's the problem."
Rafandra walked into the aisle, looking each of them in the eye.
"But in here, we know exactly what we're dealing with: a cramped space, temperatures that keep dropping, and three of you are already in critical condition. This bus isn't in a safe position. Do you really think we'll survive the night like this?"
Silence followed.
Not born of fear.
But of uncertainty.
Rezvan stepped forward beside him.
His voice was calm but carried weight.
"All of you... I know this is frightening. I'm scared too. But this isn't about who's brave and who's afraid. It's about surviving. You've noticed it yourselves... your fingers are already going numb, aren't they? Those who are injured have started shivering. That's not just panic. Those are the early signs of hypothermia. We don't have medical personnel. We don't have medicine. How are we supposed to survive if even the uninjured start falling sick?"
Dina, hugging herself tightly in her seat, nodded slowly.
"I... I've been shivering for a while now, Pak."
From the front of the bus, Indah looked back.
Her voice was quiet but serious.
"When I was in the Red Cross Youth program, we learned that if body temperature keeps dropping, the organs can start shutting down. Especially for people who are unconscious. They're the most vulnerable."
"Then let's just light a fire in here!" Topan blurted out.
Rezvan turned toward Rafandra.
Without saying so, he left the explanation to the person with more survival experience.
Rafandra immediately faced the students.
"This bus is an enclosed space. If we light a fire in here, we'll all die of smoke inhalation before it even warms us."
"So... we build a fire outside?" Dovi asked, sounding both frightened and doubtful. "Set up camp?"
"We don't have tents or proper equipment," Rafandra replied quickly. "But we can build an emergency shelter. Use removable seats, lightweight metal panels from the rear of the bus, the luggage tarp, and broad leaves for temporary roofing."
"The seriously injured shouldn't be moved carelessly. We'll organize shifts to keep the fire going. Those who are conscious will take care of those who aren't. We'll find a flat area close to the bus. If danger comes, we can retreat back here."
Several expressions began to change.
The fear remained...
But reality was beginning to outweigh it.
"The problem," Rezvan added, "isn't whether we want to go or not. It's whether we choose to go outside and survive... or stay here and slowly freeze to death."
This time, the silence wasn't caused by fear.
It came from indecision.
Everyone's eyes shifted from one face to another.
Outside...
Creeeak... creeeak... creeeak...
...the forest continued singing its strange song, one that only those who survived long enough could truly hear.
Tension settled over the damaged bus once again.
Thin mist drifted through the cracks in the windows, hanging in the air like the cold, lazy breath of the forest itself.
The students' breath formed faint clouds in the dim light filtering through tiny gaps overhead.
Damar slowly rose to his feet.
"Pak... Om Kenek... you're right. We can't just sit here waiting for something when we don't even know whether it's coming or not."
His voice was calm, but unwavering.
Indah looked up from Gilang's side.
Her eyes were swollen.
Tear stains still marked her cheeks.
"Gilang is dying," she said quietly. "Danang and Rama still haven't regained consciousness. If we don't do something now, they'll end up like Adit and Bagas."
Everyone lowered their heads.
At last...
Those names had been spoken.
The two names that had been hanging unspoken in the heavy air.
Two people...
Who would never wake again.
Roni rose hesitantly from his seat, looking at Damar and Indah under immense emotional strain.
“Student Council President... don't be selfish," he said, trying to sound firm, though his voice cracked. "At school, you can be the leader... but this is different. Out here, one wrong decision... and we die. Just like Adit and Bagas."
The atmosphere instantly tightened.
Ardi jerked his head up, his face flushing red.
"What the hell do you mean by that?!" he snapped. "You saying Adit and Bagas were idiots?"
There was anger in his voice.
But beneath it...
Pain.
"Ar, you always throw punches before thinking!" Roni shot back, losing his temper as well. "I never said they were idiots! That's exactly why we have to be careful!"
"Then what are you trying to say?" Ardi shouted, nearly screaming. "You think they wanted to die? Adit and Bagas are really dead! And whatever's out there isn't playing games with us either!"
Roni clenched his teeth.
His breathing became ragged.
"Exactly! We don't even know what that thing is! Just hearing it was enough to terrify everyone. It shoved around a bus this big! We can't fight something like that—not with our bare hands. This isn't some street brawl!"
Bima, who had remained silent until then, finally spoke.
"But... we can't just wait either. We... we have to try. Even if it's only a little... at least we have to try."
At the back of the bus, Fajar sat curled up with his arms wrapped around his knees.
He began mumbling softly, almost deliriously.
"I... I don't want to go outside..."
His voice trembled.
"Roni's right. That sound... it wasn't an animal. Not an elephant. Not a tiger. It's... it's not something from our world..."
Indah looked up from beside the softly groaning Gilang.
The teenager's body was drenched in cold sweat despite the bone-chilling temperature.
She wiped his forehead with a strip of cloth before looking at everyone, her voice shaking.
"How long are you going to keep arguing?! Gilang's getting weaker. Danang's turning pale. Rama's hands are ice-cold. The more you argue, the more time we're wasting!"
At last, Kirana stood.
There was no confusion left in her eyes.
"Indah's right."
Her voice was calm.
Like someone who had finally made peace with fear.
"Pak... we all know Adit and Bagas are dead. We know... you've been keeping quiet... so we wouldn't panic even more."
Rezvan lowered his head.
He offered no denial.
He simply took a long breath, trying to suppress the crushing weight in his chest that had lingered ever since Rafandra had covered the faces of his two students with his own shirt.
Kirana stepped forward.
She looked at Rafandra with gratitude... and restrained sorrow.
"Pak Supir... Om Kenek... thank you. For covering Adit and Bagas's bodies. And... for helping Pak Guru."
Then she turned toward her classmates.
After a brief pause, she continued.
"We're going outside. We'll build a shelter. If anyone doesn't want to come... that's fine. But you don't get to stop the rest of us from going."
She never raised her voice.
She didn't have to.
It was clear.
Steady.
Strong.
Several students lowered their heads.
Others exchanged uneasy glances.
Silent.
Restless.
Afraid.
Yet unable to deny the truth in Kirana's words.
Then...
From somewhere far away...
That thunderous roar came again.
It sounded like a massive steel saw grinding across solid rock.
The ground trembled.
Even the bus seemed to hold its breath.
Indah instinctively ducked.
Damar gripped the seat support pole.
Roni stared at the window, barely breathing.
Fajar began crying silently.
And beyond the bus...
The darkness continued to churn—
mysterious,
cold,
and waiting.
No one voiced their agreement.
No applause followed.
No cheers.
Yet one by one, the students rose to their feet.
Slowly.
Hesitantly.
But they stood.
Because decisions like this are never made with loud declarations.
They are made through action—
by people who finally understand...
that doing nothing is simply another way of surrendering.
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD