The Forgotten City

Chapter 10

We all come to an abrupt halt as we make it to the Forgotten Motel.

"What happened to the bus?" I ask.

"Where is the bus driver? He was supposed to be working on the bus. Maybe he fixed it, and he went to go get gas?" Asks Tiffany.

"I don't think that's what happened," whispers Ian.

I look around, trying to figure out where the bus may have gone. Then I notice something else.

"Hey, guys. Weren't Ben and Sam with us?" I demand.

"They were just here! I swear!" shrieks Sara.

"How could they have just disappeared?" asks Ian.

"The same thing happened to John and Jeff! It's this town! I swear it's haunted or something..." squeaks Tiffany.

Sara brakes down and cries. Ugly sobs wrack her body and black tears streak her face. "Why is this happening? Why was Jason such an i***t?" she screams.

I walk over to Sara and put my arms around her, and let her cry. I don't have any answers, so I don't bother trying to come up with some stupid excuse that would just sound hollow in my own ears.

After awhile, Sara's sobs sputter and she calm down. "Th-thank y-you. I know I-I've been s-such a brat to y-you," she stutters her words. "I think I n-need to g-go lay down bef-fore the c-cops show up." Sara turn to go upstairs, grabbing the railing to keep herself upright.

"Somethin's goin' on in this town, and I don't feel safe out here. Ali, why don't you and Tiff come up to my room?" Ian asks.

"Yeah, sounds good. Tiff? What do you think?" I say.

"Anything to get off this creepy street!"Tiff shivers.

Inside Ian's motel room, Ian sits on his bed and pulls me down next to him. He slides left arm around my body and gently places his right hand on her cheek. "So, what do you guys think?" he asks.

Tiffany flops down on the other bed with a sigh. "Well, Jason was a big jerk, but he totally didn't deserve to die like that! And he was a nice guy, most of the time. But that guy with the knife... Did you see him? He looked possessed! Where did all those people come from anyway? I haven't seen that many people in this rink-a-dink town the whole time we were here! And what's up with Sam and Ben disappearing? Did they stay with Jason? I mean, I guess they could have, but the cop told us to come back to the motel so they could question us here, and Sara said they were with her! So, what happened? And what happened to John and Jeff? And the bus driver and the bus for that matter!?!"

I chuckle at her best friend. "You wanna catch a breath in there?"

Just then a knock sounds at the door.

Ian jumps to answer it, Tiffany and I follow right behind him.

It is the officer from the cafe.

"I just have a few questions for you. First, tell me why there was a mob at the cafe," The officer address Ian.

"Well, we came in for breakfast, and then the mob came in the cafe, marched over to the table with Tiff, Ali and me, and accused us of kidnapping basically the entire town," responds Ian.

"And did you?" the officer asks pointedly.

"Of course not," sighs Ian exasperatedly. "We weren't even planning on staying this long! We were supposed to be out of here and in California by now. You can ask our Professor. He's next door."

"So, what happened next?"

"Well, Jason tried to come over and calm them down. He put his hand and this big dude's arm, then it's like everyone turned on him. The guy punched Jay's jaw. I think Jay was surprised, but not stupid. Anyway, he turned around and left the cafe in a hurry. Everyone followed him out," Ian continues.

"You told me and Tiffany to stay behind," I remind him.

"Yeah, I didn't want you guys gettin' hurt, sweetheart," he explains. "Anyway, I chased after him, but by the time I got to him the big dude shoved a knife in him."

The cop is writing in a notepad, and when he finishes he looks at Ian. "Was there anything else you can remember?"

"No."

"Okay, thank you all for your time," responds the officer.

As he turns away, Ian closes the door after him.

"What do we do now?" pleads Tiffany.

"I say we get the hell outta here!" suggests Ian.

"Yes, but how? We don't even know what happened to our bus! How did a bus disappear?" shrieks Tiffany.

"Why don't we go talk to Professor Williams?" I suggest.

"Great idea! Then we can all get out of here before anything gets worse!" spouts Tiffany.

"I'm going to get Sara. She needs to come with us," I say.

"I agree. We can't leave her out," says Ian.

We make our way over to the girl's room. Tiffany opens the door and barges in. "Hey, sleepy head! We are going over to speak to Professor Williams about getting out of this whole-in-the-wall. You gotta come with us!"

Sara moans in protest. But Tiffany will not take no for an answer. She drags Sara out of our room and we all tromp over to Professor Williams' door.

Ian knocks loudly. "Professor Williams? You in there?"

Professor Williams opens the door looking dazed and confused. His eyes are glazed over, but he tries to focus on us. "Hey, guys. What can I do for you?" he slurs his words.

"Professor! What happened to you?" gasps Tiffany.

"I was helping Steve and the mechanic with the bus when a fog came up. It covered the bus, I started to run inside before it could get to me... But the bus... Steve..." he whispers.

"We need to get out of here!" declares Ian.

"I agree. But how?" asks the Professor.

"I say we grab our packs and just hike out on the road. We come to another town and call for a new bus to take us home!" suggests Ian.

"I'm totally cool with that!" Tiffany declares.

"I think that may be our best option," I agree.

"But what about Sam and Ben?" shrieks Sara.

"Well, what about John, Jeff, Jason, Steve, the librarian, the mechanic and all those kids who all disappeared?" screams Tiffany. "We can't do anything for them! We need to get outta here ASAP!"

"Okay, everyone go grab your gear. We're leaving now," says the professor.