Checkmate

Chapter 2: Disrupted by Chance

Leah

As I’m escorted out the door by two security guards, I wonder what I’m going to do with my life.

“Leave me alone,” I rant. “I can walk for God’s sake.”

I struggle to no avail to let myself free from these hefty guards until we get to the gate.

“Would’t you let me even pack my things?” I snap.

“They’ll be sent over to you before the end of the day.” A security guard replies with a weird smile on his face.

The gate closes behind me. It’s the last time I’ll probably be there as a staff. I dial my keypad.

“Hello”

Hi it’s Jane. Please leave a message and keep it short.

“s**t!!”

Now this is bad. Really bad.

“Jane, I won’t be coming home today…in case you don’t see me tonight. But I’ll be back tomorrow before noon. Call me when you see this.”

I head to the nearest bus stop.

“Tickets, please”

“Thank you,” I reply as I hand over my ticket with a deep breath, feeling both relieved and exhausted.

“Find yourself a comfortable seat,” the driver smiles. “We’ve got a few stops before we hit the highway.”

“Alright, thank you.”

“You okay? Looks like you’ve had a rough morning,” the driver asks curiously.

“Uhmm…not that can’t be handled you know. Just need to get my head clear of the city’s hassle,” I mutter.

He nods understandingly. “Well, we’ve got a smooth ride ahead. You’ll be home before you know it.”

I make my way down the aisle as other passengers board, my eyes running back and forth all over in search of an empty seat with a good spot. I spot one near the back and settle in. Pull out my headphones as I play Für Elise.

After about half an hour, in what seems like the second bus stop, the bus stops but passengers do not step out. I take off my headphones.

“EVERYBODY TAKE COVER!!!”

“Fire”

What the heck???

“Get down!” a passenger yells as the sound of gunfire erupts outside.

Rat-a-tat-tat

Bullets whizz by, hitting the bus with a series of very loud thuds.

“Oh my God, oh my God,” a woman whirls, crouching low in her seat.

The driver ducks, covering his head. “Everyone stay low! We need to get out of here.”

Bang! Bang! More shots ring out, shattering windows and sending shards of glass flying which injures a pregnant woman.

“We’re gonna get killed!”

The driver peeks up. “Hold on! I’m gonna try and get us out of here.”

The bus lurches forward, filling the air with noise as screeching tires steer away from the gun fire.

“Do we even know what’s going on here?” I ask.

“How about you keep your life first, girl. And find out later,” a passenger spouts.

As the bus pulls away from the scene, gun shots fade into the distance and we all heave a collective sigh of relief.

“Is everyone okay?” the driver asks shakily.

“Better, to say the least.”

This whole thing gets me even more upset than I already was. Not the scene itself, but it’s the first time in along while since I boarded a bus to New Jersey where my family lives. After the drama at the hotel, visiting my mum felt like best thing to do.

“Incoming!!!” a passenger yells.

Oh, not again.

I turn to see two gunmen at the far end of the road pointing guns at the bus from behind.

“What? Why are they still aiming at us?” I ask.

Nobody answers.

Rat-a-tat-tat! Bullets! What is left of the broken windows are destroyed.

As the bus diverts, we lose sight of the gun men and the firing stops.

“What’s that?” a man beside me whispers, looking up nervously.

Thud…thud…thud echoes above us, footsteps heavy on the bus’s roof.

“We’re doomed,” I cry out.

“Someone’s on the roof!” another passenger exclaims, voice trembling.

The thuds grow louder, footsteps moving across the metal surface, which is followed by a heavy thud as though a body has fallen on the roof of the bus. A man rolls over from the top of the bus through the empty window frames that were opened by bullets and falls to the floor. A weird moment of silence ensues as passengers peek over the man on the floor.

“He’s bleeding,” a passenger whimpers.

“Bleeding?”

“Could he be the reason we were being aimed at?” I ask.

“I suspect,” a lady exclaims. “He’ll pay for that. We should leave him to die.”

“Leave him to die?” I ask, surprised.

While I haven’t been really friendly with strangers, this was too fatal to overlook, coupled with the fury the passengers had against this one.

“You know what?” I mutter. “Leave it to me. I have some first aid kit with me.”

“Peace at last. I didn’t die,” an elderly man squeals as passengers return to their seat.

The bus returns to the Port Aurthority bus stop it stopped at prior to the gunfight scene.

“If you’re still going to New Jersey we’ll be taking another route,” the driver asserts.

“I’m fine here,” I chime in, alighting from the bus.

“Taxi”

“To where?”

“Lennox Healthcare” I mention.

“Two of you?” asks the driver inquisitively.

“Yes, he’s wounded.”

“I can see that,” the driver stretches to open the back door.

As I try to move this stranger in, what feels like a heavy metal hits my hip.

“Ouch,” I whisper. “I’m all good. We can move.”

At the entrace to the clinic a group of six men and women in white dresses rush out with a stretcher.

“Easy easy,” one of the nurses whimpers.

“You can sit here. The doctor will see you shortly,” a nurse gestures to an empty seat at the corner.

“Alright, thank you.”

I’m sitting in the lobby when a middle-aged woman with a white coat and thin-framed glasses walks in.

“Hi, you must be Leah.”

I get up to greet her. “Oh…yeah, Leah Russo.” We shake hands.

“Nice to meet you,” she says. “I’m Dr. Cathy. And I’ll be overseeing the medical condition of your friend over there,” she points to a door just across the lobby. “Does he have a name?”

“Uhmm…not that I’m aware of,” I ramble, scratching my head.

“On my way to New Jersey ealier today the bus bumped into a gunfight we managed to escape from, only to find him crawling into the bus from the roof.”

“Hmmmm,” Dr Cathy mutters, staring intensely at me as if to read the truth in what I’m saying.

“Okay, let’s get him to talk.”

I follow her to the door she earlier pointed at.

“Knock knock,” she opens the door without waiting for a reply. “He’s breathing, and will be conscious any moment from now.”

“Urgh urgh!” the patient coughs.

“Can somebody get me drinking water?” Dr. Cathy exclaims.

A nurse briskly walks in with a glass of water. “Here”

“Take. Drink,” Dr. Cathy hands over the glass to the stranger who grabs it quickly to his parched lips and gulps all the glass content down his throat, breathing heavily.

“What’s your name?” Dr Cathy asks.

“What you gonn’ do with that, huh?” a deep voice grunts.

Now that just freaked the s**t out of me!

“Why not tell me yours?” he continues.

“I’m Dr. Cathy, and this is Leah who brought you down here.”

What am I supposed to say?

“Hi,” I greet shakily one could almost feel the fear in my voice.

He growls, which scares me even further.

“Uhm, I think I should excuse you two at this point.” I suggest.

“I’m Jensen. Jensen Santoro”