

### This book is for anyone who has ever had an idea, but never followed it through.

### Any dream you may think is impossible can easily become reality.

Acknowledgments

### I would like to thank my family and friends for supporting me through the stressful times I've had creating this book.

### Any of the information about the Scouts or technical bus issues mentioned in this book came from the help of Internet Search Engines.

### I'd also like to say a special thanks To Shaun Guillan for proof reading my book; it's nice to have another author's opinion.

### I'd also like to thank Daniel Curry for producing the book cover.

### My Author Page:

###  https://www.facebook.com/mjzauthor?fref=ts

### My Personal Page:

###  https://www.facebook.com/michael.j.zahra

© Copyright Michael Zahra & Stranded Bus 2015.

Prologue

### My name is Josh Crosser.

### My life does seem just like anyone else's. I'm up early every morning, setting off for work in whatever God chose the weather to be that day.

### I work hard, trying to make a living. What separates me from other people is the fact I possess multiple talents, and I do different things outside my work life. The thing I enjoy most, the thing that keeps me going, is the thrill of an adventure.

### Not living with my mum or brother, I've been a very independent person for a long time. It isn't fun living life with just bills coming through the door, often with the word 'Warning' on the top corner.

### I've had this trip to Dansville booked for over two months, and I can't help but feel incredibly excited. I can feel my body tingling with anticipation.

### This will be the third time I have been away from Lakeside in nine months. Don't get me wrong, there's no place like home. But, to me, there's also no place on earth like Dansville.

### While I've read multiple leaflets about the place, it's always been one of those places that have drawn me to visit. Travelling on the Value bus isn't the most ideal situation or the best mode to travel by, but it's definitely the cheapest.

### My journeys on the bus are always rough, and not exactly what you'd call comfortable. For some reason I just knew this trip wasn't going to be like any of the others. Don't ask me how I knew; it was just feeling deep in my gut. Call it instinct, maybe, or just plain fear. I don't care either way.

### I'm not a very romantic type of person. Having had no girlfriend for a long time, I've grown accustomed to my own company, and I guess that's the way I like it. At least on my own there's no way of getting hurt.

I spend most of my spare time going to the gym and playing video games. There's a contradiction of sorts. Although I do enjoy the hobbies that occupy me, it's never the same as the feeling I get when I return home after having been to somewhere different, a new part of the country. While I've visited some amazing places over the past year, something about the name Dansville brings a queasy feeling to my stomach.

### As I prepare myself for another trip, hopefully my sense of adventure won't lead me into trouble...

Chapter 1

Saturday, August 14th 2010. I knew that, after today, my trip away from Lakeside would possibly be my last for some time.

### It's always stressful when my manager approaches me. A six foot, three hundred pound gorilla, he approached my desk just as I sat down to record my results, spreading his hairy hands and growling.

"I don't know why you waste your time here; your targets are well below standard." He had a loud, rumbling voice and broad Yorkshire accent.

"Check out my report and say that to me again." I laughed, more to myself than anything.

### He grunted and moved off to find an easier target to terrorise.

### I don't want to be stuck in a dead end job all my life but, for now, it helps pay the bills. Having a manager like Bill just makes it even more unbearable. His beady eyes feel like being examined with creepy x-ray glasses.

### 'Get a smile on your face or you're out the door,' is Bill's most famous saying, and he makes sure to say it every damn day. How Bill ever became a manager is beyond me, but I'm not planning on sticking around much longer anyway.

### I stared at the clock, willing it to strike three.

### "What story will you have for us when you get back?"

### Usually I have an interesting tale or two about my trips, and it gets my colleagues' attention. They always seem to appreciate it when I share a story.

### The hectic day finally ended, and I started to gather my things to head home.

### "You've got a job review when you get back." Bill shouted as I headed out the door.

### "It's about time you had one, you prick." I muttered under my breath.

### "What did you just say?" Bill barked.

### "I said, see you later!" I replied, smiling sarcastically.

### I stepped out the front doors, the breeze lightening my train of thoughts. The cool air felt refreshing, blowing away all the pressure of work.

### The soothing feeling didn't last long. The stop where I usually catch my bus was having some construction work done, and therefore was out of action. This meant that I would have to run to the next stop, which is about five minutes up the road. Halfway there, with sweat starting to bead on my face, I glanced behind and saw the bus approaching.

### I made it in time and got on. It was the 800, where luckily my good friend Russ was the driver. He was tall in stature, with a frame of six foot four cramped into the driver's cabin. He certainly towered over me, too, by at least seven inches.

### "Hey, Josh, I saw you coming in the wing mirror! Man, you sure as hell can run!"

### "Well, I don't go to the gym for nothing." I laughed. "Where've you been lately?"

### I hadn't seen Russ in about a month, which was quite strange as we were good friends. My home was only about half an hour from his.

### "There are a lot of things going on, man; you don't know the half of it. I had to take some time off for personal reasons."

### Russ can be a hard man to pry information from sometimes, and it seemed like a sensitive subject, so I thought it best to let it go.

### Russ is an outgoing guy otherwise; his quirky, witty comments can usually put a smile on your face.

### "It's good to see you at least." I said. "I hope everything is alright. I'd better go sit down."

### "No problem man, talk later!"

### I smiled and found a seat.

### The journey passed quickly. I looked out the window for most part of it, with music thumping quietly through my headphones.

### I spotted the Moonlight Ambience takeaway, the indication that the next stop was mine.

### I made my way to the front of the bus, pressing the red stop button as I went. Handy features on most buses, but unfortunately, not all of them have it, as you'll soon learn.

### I approached Russ in the driver's cabin again and wondered if he remembered I was going away.

### "I won't be seeing you for a few weeks after today."

### Russ looked a little confused at first, but then he smiled, remembering.

### "Oh yeah! Your monthly trip to Dansville, or something, right?" I nodded. "Nice place, though I've only been there once."

### I studied him carefully without being obvious. He looked stressed, his face slightly pale and in need of a shave. The bags under his eyes stood out amongst the pallor of his skin.

### "Why don't you book some time off and come with me?" I said suddenly. "I mean, surely there'll be tickets left for the bus, and there's always a room at Dansville. I got my bus return ticket and a room for two weeks for £150."

### "I don't know, I don't want to be a burden. You've had this booked for some time." Russ replied.

### "Russ I've known you for 8 years, way before you became a bus driver. Heck, we go back to when we used to work at MTM. You wouldn't be a burden at all! I could use some company anyway."

### Bus rides can be a little boring on your own, and it's a long way to Dansville.

### "Alright, if you don't see me tomorrow on the Value bus, you know I haven't been able to get time off. But, if you do see me, it will be one amazing trip!" Russ grinned, looking more like his old self again. I laughed and shook his hand.

### "See you there!" I winked.

### As soon as I stepped through my front door, I took my size seven shoes off and instantly my feet felt the relief. I noticed there were a few letters on the welcome mat.

### One of them was a white envelope, with big red block capitals practically screaming 'URGENT'. I was behind on my bills thanks to a cock up at the bank.

### I did try calling them, but after being on hold for over ten minutes, whilst they charged me for the phone call too, I just hung up in a rage.

### Whenever I got home from work, I had a routine. I go straight to the fridge, grabbing a couple of snacks. Then, I go straight upstairs and play some video games to wind down. I was all for that today except I had to pack for the trip.

### I own an absolutely huge suitcase, which is a little cumbersome but I always take a lot of stuff with me wherever I go so, frankly, it's a necessity. For this trip however, I decided to take my sports bag and travel light. It would seem a leopard can change its spots. I pack everything in threes; three shirts, jeans, boxers, shoes, socks, jumpers, hoodies and anything else useful. Since I wasn't taking the suitcase this time, the packing was done fairly quickly.

### Setting the game controller down on the desk, I yawned, stretching like a cat. I was exhausted, but excited for what the trip would hold.

### I'd asked Russ if he'd like to join me on my trip to Dansville, and while he hadn't definitely confirmed he would, it'd be great to have a travel buddy and to hang out with Russ properly again.

### I never get nervous but tonight, I had a terrible feeling that something was going to go wrong. What can I say, I overthink things sometimes.

Chapter 2

### My alarm went off piercingly loud in the morning silence, waking me with a shock. I was grateful, however, as I had been in the grip of a nightmare.

### I'd seen heavy snow falling from the sky, falling fast and piling high quickly. I'd never seen anything like it before in my life. It doesn't snow in Lakeside, not even in the winter, but in the dream it was completely covered.

### I didn't recognise where I was. It was an unknown and strange place, dark, and a heavy mist shrouded everything like a wraith.

### I shook my head, hoping to simply shake away the uneasy feeling the dream had left me with. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes, blinking in the bright sunlight streaming in through the window.

### Excitement took me; I couldn't wait to start my trip to Dansville, but the uneasy feeling still lingered.

### Putting it aside, I went for a shower to wash away any nerves and get ready for the day. It would be busy but fun, I hoped.

### I stepped out into a beautiful sunny day. I couldn't remember the last time it had been this warm. I decided to take it as a sign, a fresh start of sorts.

### I arrived at Express Rail with time to spare and quickly found the group I would be travelling with. We were greeted by an advisor called Murray.

### He told us the details of the trip, letting us know that the travelling time would be approximately fifteen hours and that there would be twenty passengers on board today. I startled at that, surprised. There weren't usually so many.

### I counted the passengers milling around, but there were only nineteen, including myself. We were missing one. I wondered if the twentieth passenger was Russ. I glanced around to see if I could spot him and that's when it happened.

### The world slowed down, the light becoming like the gloom at dusk, the sky a milky-black swirl. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a young woman, totally out of place amongst the other tourists. She had black, medium length hair, a small scar on her right cheek and was wearing a grey t-shirt smeared with blood.

### I stared in horror, realising that none of the other passengers could see her except me.

### The t-shirt was ripped, exposing the flesh beneath, criss-crossed with jagged black gashes. It was like the entire world around me had stopped, there was complete silence. She looked at me and only me.

### Suddenly, she spoke.

### "One of them is deceiving you..."

### Her voice was like a breathy whisper, yet it seemed to echo around the world.

### "Look what they DID TO ME!" she shrieked, the words booming like an explosion.

### Everyone else had disappeared; it was just her and me. I couldn't breathe; the world felt like it was closing in as she stared at me, her face etched with terrible sadness.

### I wanted to scream, to shout that she would be okay, but there was no air in my lungs. The sky turned jet black, like ink being poured into a glass of water.

### All went black.

### "Sir, are you okay?"

### I heard Murray's voice in the dark as if from miles away.

### "Sir, can you hear me?" He sounded very faint. I couldn't process what had just happened. My head swam.

### Coming to, I saw a small crowd had gathered around me. I knew I couldn't tell any of them what I'd just seen.

### "Murray, I'm okay. Just a bit lightheaded. I could do with something for my headache." I laughed weakly, trying to joke it off.

### I placed a hand on my forehead. It felt hot, and my hand felt soothingly cool. I climbed shakily to my feet.

### "I'm okay, thanks."

"Okay, as long as you're sure!" said Murray, watching me a moment. He turned to shout to the crowd. "Listen up everybody! The bus is running a little late, we're trying our best to get it here for 10AM."

### He glanced at his watch.

### "It's currently 9.40, so you can go have a look around, but don't go wondering too far. Be back here for 9.55 at the latest!"

### Everybody groaned and shuffled off, my moment forgotten already. What a start to the trip this was. The bus was late and I'd fainted and had some sort of vision, if I could even call it that.

### Some of the passengers had gone for a smoke, chatting and bitching about the bus being delayed. Others had wandered into the small shopping mall.

### I heard someone saying "We could be on the road right now. Instead, all we get is stress."

### I didn't know any of the passengers, and I didn't want to join in any conversations, so I put my headphones in and ignored them all. Last thing I needed now was more people fussing over me.

### Eventually, everyone wandered back to the meeting point, stomachs full of food and lungs full of tobacco.

### Murray informed us that the bus was on it's way and wouldn't be long.

### I thought I'd check out the local shop at Express Rail. A few offers were displayed on yellow posters on the shop windows, but the only thing I wanted was some water.

### Just as I was leaving, the shop owner asked "Where you off to?" in a gravelly voice. He was an old man in his sixties, with short, white combed-back hair.

### I was slightly taken aback, answering sharply.

### "Dansville."

### "Dansville? You'd have to be stupid to go there." rumbled the old man.

### Whether the old guy was delusional or just an arsehole, I didn't know.

### "What's wrong with Dansville?"

### "Young lad, did you not hear what happened there a few years ago?"

### I didn't have time for some spooky old-wives tale for clueless tourists.

### "Look sir, I've got to get going, my bus is due any moment. Thanks for the water."

### I looked at my watch. It was 9.49.

"She was about your age you know, young, talented, and ready for a fresh start." he said as I reached the door. I turned back to face him.

### "What did you say?"

### "Lauren Hill was her name." he said, seeing that he'd caught my interest. "The poor girl was murdered and the killer was never identified."

### I slowly approached the counter as he spoke.

### "There were a few rumours going around that someone on the bus could have been responsible for the murder." said the old man.

### How could someone on the bus be responsible for the death of a young woman? If that was the case, surely the police would have questioned everybody on board, and taken fingerprints. I started to think this man was losing his marbles.

### "Unless you tell me something worth listening to, I'm outta here. My bus will be here any moment." I said, checking my watch again.

### "Goddamn it, listen to me." the old man growled urgently. He started speaking fast, in a low tone despite us being alone in the shop.

### "Someone overheard the police saying they found bottle of white wine in the girl's room. Lauren had no drink on her at the start of her trip. CCTV showed that she'd stepped off the bus and gone straight to her hotel room. Around 10.45, someone wearing a hooded jacket knocked on her door and greeted her with the bottle of wine. Lauren invited them in."

### "So, she knew her killer?" I couldn't help myself. The old man smiled grimly.

### "So it did seem. She was brutally murdered that night, torn apart as if by a wild animal. You can imagine the scene of horror the maid found the following morning."

### I glanced at my watch. 9.58. I needed to hurry.

### "Couldn't they identify who it was from the CCTV footage?"

### "A police officer friend of mine told me they couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman, only that they were over six feet tall." said the old man.

### I paused, thinking. The murdered woman, Lauren Hill, must be the woman I saw earlier in my vision.

### I pulled a small notebook I always carry out of my pocket and quickly jotted down everything the old man had told me.

### I wondered if I'd met this Lauren Hill before. The vision had been so vivid, so real.

### There was an awful, high-pitched screech. We turned to look out through the window to where a horrible, old, yellow and rusted bus had pulled up. On the side it read 'Dansville'.

### I said thanks and left the shop, joining the others clustered by the bus. Closer up, I could see the state of it. It really was on its last legs. I couldn't believe we'd be travelling in this heap. You could peel the paint off with your fingernails.

### The windows were smudged and dirty and the rims around the wheels had started going brown. There were scratches and dents all over the place.

### The doors opened and the bus driver got off, looking sheepish.

### "Sorry, everyone" he said.

### The other passengers were outraged.

### "The bus company have been cutting back, and as a result they've dragged out old vehicles like this one."

### "Surely we can't travel on that, it looks like it belongs in a museum!" an elderly lady shouted.

### "This is a joke!" cried someone else.

### The bus driver looked embarrassed, but all he could do was spread his hands apologetically.

### "Everybody calm down!!" shouted a voice.

### The crowd quietened and turned to see who'd shouted. The passengers parted and right at the back of the group stood Russ. He was grinning. I couldn't help but smile back.

### "Look, we can all stand here and whinge about it, making us all even later, or we can get on the bus and get going at last!" he said.

### A young, well-off looking couple immediately broke off, muttering about putting a complaint into the travel office about what a disgrace this situation was. No one stopped them.

### Everyone else grudgingly filed onto the bus, stowing their cases in the storage compartments. It was clear this was the bus we were travelling in and we'd just have to accept it.

### I got on last, passing Russ as I did.

### "You always liked to make an entrance." I said, smiling.

### "Oh, you know me." he grinned.

### I do indeed, I thought. This trip was going to be fun.

Chapter 3

### As soon as I put one foot on the first step, I felt nauseous, my stomach bunched up in knots; I fought back the feeling and forced myself on.

### "What took you so long then, eh?' I said as I sat down next to Russ.

### "I was hardly going to miss an opportunity like this, was I, Crosser? Besides, I had some time off to take anyway." he said.

### Russ and I have been friends for eight years, all the way back to when we both started at MTM.

### Russ and I were the only new guys and our job involved packing cardboard boxes. We didn't know anyone else, so after packing two hundred boxes a day for two years, we grew pretty close.

### After that job, I didn't see Russ until I started getting the bus home from my current one. Sometimes I tried texting or even calling, but I never got replies, and he certainly never picked up.

### I decided then to gently interrogate Russ, if you will, about what's been going on in his life. It didn't make sense how he suddenly just cut things off like he did.

### "Hello everyone." came a voice from the front. "My name is Rodger, I'm your bus driver today and we will be leaving in just a few moments, first I need to-" but he was cut off when there was a loud banging on the window of the bus doors. It was the old man from the shop.

### He kept knocking with some force, so Rodger indicated for him to step back. The double doors swung open, and he clambered on to whisper something to the driver.

### What was so important that the old man had to stop the bus to Dansville? There was more grumbling from the other passengers, only Russ seemed unfazed. I strained to listen in on the conversation.

### I noticed the old guy had a folded piece paper in his hand when suddenly he pointed towards me. With a few quick strides, he was beside me.

### "Trust me on this." he wheezed. "This is something you'll not regret reading later." He passed me the paper and looked in my eyes for a moment. He seemed to study me. After a moment, he nodded and walked away.

### As he climbed off the bus, I shouted, "Thanks!" He didn't look back.

### The black rubber lining the doors pressed together, shutting off the outside world. The rusted old wheels began to turn, squeaking horribly. There were no air conditioning vents built into the roof of the vehicle. In about every two to three aisles, next to the window seat, there had been grey mini radiators. The paint on them had been worn, just like the old bus. I'd be very surprised if they worked.

### We were parked on the left hand side of the station; the roads were shaped like a racecourse. The bus would have to do a U-turn, a sharp left for about 50 metres, then straight into a right turn before you're even out of the station.

### After going around, sharp turns and all, we were finally out then immediately hit a red light. Typical.

### I perused the bright yellow information leaflet, about four pages thick, and chock full of information such as the amount of times the bus would be stopping. It also turned into a very colourful red and blue fold out map.

  * ### Express Rail - Hill City would take three hours, where we would be taking a quick ten minute break for anyone who needs the toilet or a cigarette.

  * ### Hill City – Thompson Centre is a four hour drive, where the driver would be taking a half an hour break.

  * ### Thompson Centre – Country Passage is six hours. Once you enter Country Passage, it is a straight drive for three hundred miles. Of course we would have to stop after every sixty miles to refill the petrol. Of course.

  * ### Country Passage – Dansville is a two hour drive, at which point we would all be smiling as we finally reach our destination.

### Just got to get through this journey. Easy enough, right?

### Whenever I go on an adventure, I prepare like I used to do in the Scouts. Prepare for any situation, no matter how good or bad it could be. The camp leader, Jerry, had a motto: "Live like you're in the wild."

### Ever since then, I have followed that motto and it has never let me down.

### Our first part of the trip was to Hill City. I've only ever visited once in my life. It's a nice little village, where everyone and everything is as quiet as the harmony of nature. Hill City never has any trouble, no reports on the news or in the paper.

### With one bus station, little corner shops and a couple of takeaways; it's a very quiet place.

### Having had plenty of sleep the night before, I wasn't tired. In fact, I felt almost restless. The couple opposite us were out for the count and their loud snores weren't going to be great to put up with for the journey.

### A few things were bugging me about Russ lately and I don't usually tend to worry about things, but we have been friends for years and the new distance between us was rough going.

### We weren't as close as we once had been, so I decided to speak to him about what was on my mind.

### "So, are you going to tell me what's been going on with you?"

### Russ looked very concerned, but just as he was about to answer my question the bus came to a sudden stop. There was a great crash and the passengers were thrown out of their seats.

### A red Subaru came flying out of a sudden left bend, the driver chancing his luck, but ended up crashing into the side of the bus.

### Everyone stood up, shocked by what had happened, tilting their heads to look out their windows to get a glimpse of the crash. We could see the damage to the Subaru was rather bad.

### Rodger stood up. "Everyone, remain calm! I'm going to go have a look."

### He exited the bus. As I neared the front, I could hear Rodger and the driver of the Subaru having a heated argument. I climbed off to try and calm things down.

### "Maybe if your old ass bus hadn't come from a war and had a decent driver, this wouldn't have happened!" said the young Subaru driver.

### Rodger replied angrily, "If you could look right and left, you would have seen my bus coming, you idiot!"

### Neither man was backing down.

### "The simple fact is, you didn't look where you were going and now it's your insurance details I'll need." said Rodger.

### "Just hold on, guys." I said. "You two need to calm down, take a step back and talk this out or this isn't going to end well." I had to keep things level-headed or it was sure to bubble over.

### Russ came out from the bus, laying a hand on my shoulder. He looked fed up of the bickering.

### "I've called the police." he said. Rodger and the driver looked pissed off at this news. "Look, I'm sorry but we were all sick of the shouting, so I did what's best."

### He headed back towards the bus, glancing over his shoulder at the two men, a small smile playing on his lips.

### Soon enough, a police officer on a motorbike showed up. He moved swiftly from his parked bike to assess the situation.

### The standoff between Rodger and the driver of the Subaru had calmed down; they'd started talking it out. Russ came back out.

### The officer pulled out his badge; it read 'Officer Rigby.'

### "Don't move, I'll be back in a moment." he said, and he walked off to have a chat with Russ in private.

### I thought that was odd. Why would he need to talk to Russ first? I thought it would be best if I stayed, just in case anything was to kick off between the two drivers again.

### Faces peered curiously through the windows of the bus at the scene.

### The Subaru was completely wrecked; it would definitely need time in the garage to get fixed. The damage to the bus was very minimal, with hardly any sign of impact. I mean the bus couldn't look any worse than it did when it first turned up at the station.

### Rigby and Russ were laughing as they returned. Russ must have told him the whole stupid situation. Rigby's expression turned serious before he spoke.

### "What's your name, sir?" Rigby asked the driver of the Subaru.

### "Kevin." he replied.

### "Well Kevin, its bad news for you. I've been told you didn't look where you were going, and the bus driver had no choice but to suddenly brake because of your negligence." said Rigby.

### "I'm-I'm sorry officer, I don't know what came over me back there, I'm just in a rush." sputtered the driver nervously.

### "Kevin, we will be taking your insurance details for the incident, and I want you to come back to the police station with me."

### Rigby headed towards the bus, reassuring the passengers that everything was okay. Kevin looked scared. I headed back towards the bus too.

### "Russ, are you coming?"

### "In a minute, I want to have a word with the officer and make sure everything is okay." he said.

### Back on the bus, everyone seemed fine. A few faces even showed relief. Rodger had come back trying to get comfy in his blue seat, while Russ and Rigby were talking outside.

### "The officer is gone, everything is fine and you're all okay." said Russ.

### Just as Russ finished speaking, an elderly woman began to shout.

### "Help!! I need help over here!"

### I turned my head and saw a young woman with blood pouring from her head. It looked pretty nasty.

### "I've tried waking her up, but nothing." Floods of tears were running down the elderly woman's face.

### I rushed to the back of the bus, attending to the woman who was unconscious. Followed behind me was Russ, the passengers making a circle around the unconscious woman. I had to barge through to try help.

### Her head was leaning on the window, with red smears running down to the bottom of the dirty window.

### "Everyone back up! Russ, go in my backpack and get my water and towel." I barked.

### "Here you go!" He tossed the stuff to me and I deftly caught the water and hand towel. I soaked the towel, just enough to not saturate or make the towel drip. I placed it on the young woman's head, covering the wound.

### "Keep this on her head; I need to grab some first aid supplies from my bag."

### "Will she be okay?" sobbed the elderly woman.

### "I don't know..." I replied truthfully.

Chapter 4

### Searching through my large sports bag can be a challenge. However, I have it organized, so I know where everything is.

### It's all split up into categories: First aid, general clothing, stationary, office supplies and more.

### In the first aid compartment it's much a first aid box, bandages, plasters, antiseptic wipes, dressings, safety pins and a leaflet.

### When I was in the scouts we would always go on hikes, sometimes for days at a time. 'Live like you're in the wild, prepare for anything. Don't take your eye off anything or anyone.' Jerry's famous motto always comes to mind whenever I think about those days.

### The only supplies we were allowed were: a sports bottle but 1 litre maximum, a first aid kit, a map of the area, a compass, a Swiss army knife and a few snacks. They were usually a rough few days, but I learned a lot from the experiences, and wouldn't change them for anything.

### The main reason I learned to practice first aid was the gruesome incident when Taylor broke his leg, trapped under a tree trunk.

### The way his ankle bone snapped was sickening. A glaringly white shard of bone tore out of his leg like a garish sun dial. The guys and I knew it was serious when we heard his ear-piercing scream. The sound of his leg getting twisted was like a gunshot.

### "AAHHHHH!!" came the heart stopping screech from behind.

### Taylor was last in line; he didn't like to be at the front, so I led the way. It was getting dark when we were climbing an uphill slope, passing tree stumps on the ground. Our heads snapped round when he screamed.

### His face had gone a rotten milky white.

### "Hang on buddy!" I sprinted towards him, sweat popping out on my forehead.

### "Crosser, none of us know first aid, how the hell are we going to help him?" Everyone else looked almost as pale as Taylor did, and frightened too.

### "Hell, I don't know what to do either, but we've got to try something!" I yammered.

### I reached into my backpack to get the basic green, square first aid box.

### "Hold still, this may hurt!" I reached for his leg, attempting to pull it out from under the gnarled stump it was trapped beneath. It was bent horribly.

### "I need two of you to help!" I said to the stricken faces. "One to hold him still and the other to help me over here!"

### Everyone had clueless, gormless expressions on their faces, like they had never planned on something like this ever happening. Kenneth and Paul came to my aid.

### Kenneth had to hold Taylor still so he wouldn't do any more damage. He held Taylor's arms still whilst I gave instructions to Paul.

### "On three, we pull the bark up slowly." Paul swallowed hard and nodded.

### "1...2...3...pull!" We both pulled the big, heavy brown knot that was crushing the leg of Taylor. It must had weighed at least 80 kilos, but with the both of us lifting at the same time we managed to shift it.

### Everyone around watched as we moved quickly. Each scout looked like they were in a state of shock. Paul and I managed to lift the bark up, and drop it on the other side, freeing Taylor's leg.

### After that incident, we had to place his arms around our necks and help him walk. Paul, Marshall, and the rest of the group helped pick Taylor's legs up, and carry him in an upwards position, to fully support him.

### It was around 10.40pm when we got back to base. The sweat was pouring from our heads, as we rushed to get some medical attention.

### Back at the scene when Taylor was on the ground, the only thing I could do is wrap my shirt around the wound, tightening the opening to stop any more blood loss.

### When Jerry saw us coming from a distance, he dropped his thermos and started running straight over, mobile phone in hand. He dialled rapidly, his voice jumping all over in panic.

### "Hello! We need help over here ASAP!" He gave the operator our location, begging for immediate help.

### We carried Taylor to the chair Jerry had been sitting on, using the blue picnic cooler as a foot rest. I gave Taylor some water, to keep him hydrated as it was quite a trek from where we had come from. Jerry came over, eyes wide.

### "Help is on the way." He looked at Taylor. "Hang in there fellow scout, you'll pull through." No one ever said Jerry was the best for speeches. He looked terrified that his career as a scout leader was over. He'd sent us all out there alone.

### Minutes later, the white ambulance truck had arrived, the red and blue lights casting eerie flashes over the surrounding foliage.

### Two men in green uniforms were sat in the front of the truck, whilst another two green uniformed staff had come out from the back with a yellow stretcher. They holstered Taylor on to the stretcher, loaded him into the back of the vehicle, and were on their way to the hospital with Jerry accompanying him. For the rest of us, we had to pack up our stuff and get the bus back to Lakeside.

### A few hours later, we all received a group text from Jerry, telling us all information about the status and situation of Taylor's condition.

### It wasn't great news. 'Taylor's leg is that crippled and twisted, it will need to be amputated.'

### I've only seen Taylor a couple of times since that horrific night. That was our last ever scouting trip. He says really does appreciate life more, but I can't help feeling he'd be bitter too.

### One day, I got an unexpected text from Taylor. It read: 'Crosser, if it wasn't for you, I would have been stranded out there. I may have lost my leg in the end, but you stopped it being much worse. Nothing against the other guys, but they didn't have a damn clue. You didn't save my leg, but you saved me. Thank you.'

### I don't usually get emotional, but after having a good catch up with Taylor, seeing how well he's doing with a prosthetic leg, it kind of makes me appreciate how lucky I am. It could have been any of us trapped under that tree root.

### Taylor has since been helping Jerry at the Scout headquarters, teaching younger kids how to prevent injuries that can easily be avoided.

### I shook my head and concentrated, gently pushing the damp towel onto the woman's bloody forehead.

### Every time I removed the towel to take a look, more blood poured out.

### Instead of taking off my shirt, I used some wipes to swipe the wound, stopping the bleeding for a moment.

### The only thing I could think of was placing the towel on her head, remove it for a quick second and place a strip of gauze on the wound.

### Russ was on hand to keep a hold of the towel, so I started unravelling the roll of gauze.

### On my count of three, the towel was removed and I wrapped the gauze quickly around her head before the blood had a chance to seep out again. I hoped this would slow it down, at least.

### The young woman was still unconscious but, for now, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

### There wasn't much I could do; she took a pretty hard knock to the head when the bus crashed into the Subaru. The metal bar may have received no damage, but the young woman's head certainly did.

### Rodger got out of his blue seat, looking even more shook up than before. Poor guy. First a Subaru crash, and now an unconscious passenger.

### "Rodger, don't worry about this. Russ and I are seeing to it. She'll be okay. I did all that I can." I reassured him.

### I didn't want to worry Rodger any more than he already was, but there was no denying it; the girl was in bad shape. She suffered a very nasty hit to the head.

### "Thanks for the help back there with the officer and Kevin. I... I just can't seem to focus right now." he said.

### "Go sit down and relax." I said. I had to calm him down, or otherwise this bus would be going nowhere.

### "I've got some energy drinks in my bag if you want one." Russ said.

### "That would be great, yeah." replied Rodger.

### "Excuse me son, I didn't catch your name." asked the elderly lady.

### "Crosser..." I responded. I don't like to be referred to by my first name. Only my family or close friends get to call me Josh.

### "I'm Edith, I saw it all happen."

### Edith had white hair, with wrinkles and the typical look of an elderly woman who hadn't aged very well.

### "Can you tell me everything you saw and what happened here?" I asked her in a calm voice. The last thing I need is another person freaking out, especially at Edith's age.

### "Well, I'd been looking out of the window since we left the station. There were some beautiful sights. The beautiful scenery and how vibrant everything is that Mother Nature provides." Edith was blabbering about the sights, and was giving one hell of a description about what was making her happy.

### "Aw that's so lovely!" said a passenger, interrupting.

### I had to try and find out what Edith knew about the whole situation. "Edith, that's great, but I need to know what happened here with this girl. She's badly hurt."

### "She looked so alone. I was looking out of the window, as you know, and I could see her reflection. She looked sad, unhappy and I thought I'd go over and keep her company. She said her name was Jessica." said Edith, pausing before she spoke again.

### "When I asked her where she's from, she said 'High Water'. She said she came on this trip to keep a promise she made to her mum before she passed away."

### High Water was about two hours away from Lakeside alone, never mind the distance to Dansville. High Water is a very rough place, there's a lot of crime. A high crime stat there is getting knifed, most cases resulting in murder. The police there are very corrupt, turning a blind eye for the right price.

### It wasn't always like that, but when the Rebel gang came across on their bikes one day from Grand Kola, all hell broke loose. They would tear down signs; throw bricks through windows, smash up buildings, taking no prisoners. They would torment innocent people, with no second thoughts. I once heard that they even burned a few people alive. It was absolute mayhem, and it certainly changed the landscape of High Water. After that, no one went to High Water unless they had to.

### Thinking about High Water caught me off guard; I'd lost track of the conversation.

### "Did she tell you what this promise was? Did she give you any idea, or any clues of what this was about for her?" I was curious as what Jessica had told Edith.

### "She did tell me why she comes here every year; to find the person responsible for her sister's death." said Edith.

Chapter 5

### Not only was I shocked, but everyone listening in on the conversation around us were too.

### I guess the story the old man had told me was true, the murder that happened at Dansville. Was Jessica related to the victim? If so, why and what was this promise she had kept?

### The victim may have been the woman I had seen back at Express Rail but why did she approach me?

### "One of them is deceiving you...LOOK WHAT THEY DID TO ME!"

### Those words from the young woman, the words she had screeched to me inside of what felt like a nightmare, I couldn't get them out of my mind.

### Was someone on this bus the deceiving one? Who is responsible for the murder and what, if anything, was the motive for the brutal killing?

### All I know is I had questions and I wanted answers. I won't stop until I had them, whether I had to ask Edith more questions, or hope Jessica would come around.

### The last thing I wanted is for Rodger, the bus driver, to hear about this. He was already in such a state of shock, never mind hearing about what Edith had just said.

### Russ whispered, just loud enough that everyone nearby could hear him: "If you could all sit down, me and Crosser here can sort this. No one else needs to know, or get involved."

### It was for the best if the other passengers sat down and didn't get involved. If they did, I'm sure different stories and rumours would be going around. Passengers slowly backed off and returned to their seats. That didn't stop them whispering to each other, sharing their opinions.

### "Look Edith, I know this is a lot to take in, and this must quite emotional, but carry on the story and tell me what happened with Jessica." I tried to encourage her to continue the story where she left off.

### Tears ran down Edith's face, running between her wrinkles. Edith reached into her bag and took out a small, white tissue. She visibly calmed herself down, took a few deep breaths, and carried on with her story.

### "When Jessica mentioned the murder, and the promise she had kept, I had to ask her what it was all about. Fiona, her mum, was diagnosed with cancer about four years ago. She only had a year to live, according to the doctors. Jessica and Fiona were extremely close, like I am with my daughter, it seemed."

### Edith took a deep breath before continuing.

### "Jessica wanted to make sure that however long her mum had left to live was the best it could possibly be. Three years ago, when the murder happened in Dansville, I mean I only heard about it in the papers and on television." Edith told me everything she knew.

### I did recall seeing something about a murder that had happened on the front page of my local paper. The story wasn't so much about the cold case murder, but how some new investigator had found out who was behind the murder.

### The story on that page was:

### Roughly about two years ago, and with hardly any evidence, the case had started to go cold. Then, just as hope seemed lost, a young private investigator, Eddie Monroe, had found evidence, and re-traced steps that cracked the case wide open.

### He re-examined the CCTV footage and the files to pick up any pieces that had been lost. What he had found was amazing, his eye for the smallest detail was incredible, and stunned fellow investigators.

### Eddie appeared at a local press conference at 7PM and announced, 'Tomorrow at 12 noon, I will be handing all my notes and evidence I've found to the police. The killers name will be revealed, and he/she will be put away for murder, and sentenced to life behind bars.'

### That day never came.

### Eddie was brutally murdered in his hotel suite. The whole nation were in complete shock. He was found when room service knocked on his door at 9.25AM. They received no answer when the maid on the scene knocked on his door; she'd had to use her swipe card to enter the room. She rang the police straight away, without touching anything or Eddie.

### Young investigator Eddie Monroe is still branded as the best investigator there had ever been in Dansville.

### Hotel Lancôme got the orders to close its doors; it lost all their customers once it was announced as the murder scene of the young investigator.

### The police believed it had something to do with the murder of the young woman in Dansville. If it wasn't because of that case, Eddie may still be alive today. Family members and Eddie's girlfriend were questioned as they were suspects to the events at Hotel Lancôme.

### Each one of them had an alibi for where they had been on the night of the death. When I read that part of the section, I started thinking like an investigator.

### Could his girlfriend commit the crime for the money? I mean surely a private investigator would be earning at least £30,000 a year.

### Without a doubt, a girlfriend of a young investigator would be getting spoilt rotten with gifts and fancy meals. Maybe she didn't want anyone to have the money, and the easiest way to do it would be to kill Eddie. Her alibi apparently cleared her of any suspicion.

### Erica, Eddie's former lover, has never been heard of since, possibly keeping a low profile from the Media's eye.

### The family of Eddie were all questioned individually, and each one had airtight alibis.

### My thoughts on that were:

### Did his family have any grudges against Eddie? Did they ever have a falling out or some kind of nasty argument, or was there violence involved, that they wanted to seek revenge?

### With his family all being cleared of the murder, the only people left to interview were his close friends. Eddie used to spend time with them after work, drinking until the late hours of the night. There was really no story to be told when it came to his friends. They often would wait for him in the local pub.

### Unless the media publishes a story or finds out the dirt on what happened in Eddie's life, I or anyone else will never know the story of Eddie Monroe.

### I must have seen the same newspaper as Edith was describing. A lot of people knew about the unsolved murder case, it was front page news.

### I knew about the story the old man had mentioned at Express Rail, but no one ever talks about it, and I thought maybe he knew more details than what I knew already.

### Edith had been thinking about the story herself before she carried on.

### "Jessica never told me the true extent of the promise; I didn't want to ask her. If Jessica's sister was murdered, that must have been the promise she made to her mum." said Edith.

### I sighed. Things were getting heavy.

### "Thanks Edith, just try to relax, okay? I'm sure she'll come around soon." I had to reassure Edith, she looked so worried.

### Rodger was sat in his blue seat, drinking the energy drink Russ had given him. He crushed the can and turned to face the passengers.

### "Five minutes guys and girls, we've got to get going. That girl isn't getting any help while we stay here."

### We needed to catch up on the journey time as we were running an hour behind schedule. The trip was meant to be a fifteen hour trip.

### Russ was looking a little wary, but I bet everyone on this bus was feeling the same. What should be a straightforward trip, has turned into a major obstacle course already.

### Rodger had started up the cranky sounding engine and we all held our breath waiting for it to just give up and conk out. After a moment it roared into rusty life.

### We were an hour into Hill City. Despite the crash, at least we were making way into the three hour stop. Rodger had informed us that soon he would need to refill on petrol.

### About five minutes after we had started getting going, we had to stop. The petrol cap needed opening and filling up.

### "Be right back, the old heap needs a filling." Rodger left the bus through the automatic doors. I was thinking about the story of the investigator, the exact same one Edith knew, I thought I'd ask Russ what his views were.

### "Russ, you know the story Edith told, what do you think about it?" My question caught him off guard, I could tell.

### "You don't believe that garbage do you Crosser? I mean come on, I've read the papers, and I've heard all the rumours, I don't believe it." he said.

### I guess each to their own opinion, but I knew Russ was wrong and I for one did believe that 'garbage'. I didn't want to question Russ to why he didn't believe the story, or what he may have possibly read.

### "I take it you read the local paper when the story was published about Eddie Monroe?" I forced the question so Russ would have to reply.

### "Yeah I read it, I mean I am a bus driver, and the local paper is there every day." he said sardonically. I kept going with the questions.

### "You got a valid reason for why you pretend that murder never happened?" I asked Russ.

"Eddie Monroe, he may have been a hot shot private investigator and all, but come on. I mean, he announced he was going to reveal the killer's identity, but somehow that never happened. If I have any thoughts, it would be that it's all corrupt."

### At first I thought Russ was being ludicrous, but the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. I never thought maybe other private investigators not being keen on the thought that someone, a hotshot like Eddie, could outdo them.

### Eddie was on the case for a little less than six months, and he had found evidence and details that had been missed by pretty much everyone.

### Maybe the other investigators didn't take too well to that. If that person couldn't solve the mystery, and then comes along Eddie, who cracked the case within a little amount of time, surely that would piss them off.

### It could have made for a motive for the killing at Hotel Lancôme. Eddie could have been stabbed in the back for all we know, a plot against the young hotshot.

### I took a sip of water to quench my thirst as Rodger came back onto a noisy bus, abuzz with conversation.

### Whilst she was unconscious, it was best to lie her down somewhere with some space. The best place was the back seats of the vehicle.

### Seventeen passengers in total on the bus and I only knew three of them: Russ, Jessica and Edith. Whilst everything was calm, I thought I would try socialising with the other people on board. Everyone else apart from an elderly couple, who were from Hill City, was from Lakeside.

### The elderly couple, June and Graham, had been visiting their son when they got on at Lakeside, and knew there would be a return bus today to Hill City.

### Whilst I had a quick chat with some of the other travellers, I found out most people had also seen the promotions I had, which intrigued them to take the trip out to Dansville.

### I was leaning a little out of my seat, talking to other people, when Rodger announced the bus had been refilled and we would be on our way. I leaned back, still sitting next to Russ, who was awfully quiet.

### From behind me, I heard a soft thud.

Chapter 6

### My concentration was focused on looking out of the windows, seeing the huge farm lands go by, when I heard the noise.

### It came from Jessica's head hitting the window as she got up, stretching backwards and softly banging against the pane.

### Edith was crying, but she had a big smile on her face, as Jessica started to finally wake up from the horrific accident.

### She was still very drowsy, but she slowly started to come around. I got out of my seat and approached her, making sure she was okay.

### "Where... where am I?" Her voice was quite shaky.

"You're on the bus to Dansville. I was talking to Edith about what happened." Hopefully there isn't any other physical or mental damage done to Jessica, despite the bad bruising she will have.

### "I remember getting the bus this morning and talking to Edith, but after that, I don't have any recollection." said Jessica.

### "Jessica, take it easy, you've had a nasty knock. Lie down and try get some rest." I tried to reassure her and keep her calm.

### "We've been worried about you, but it's alright now don't worry, I'm here if you need anything, we can talk later."

### Jessica slowly laid herself down across the seats, attempting to get some rest.

### In my sports bag I always carry a travel cushion for my neck when I want to sleep. I didn't need it so I gave it to Jessica to try and make her feel a little more comfortable.

### We had picked up on our trip after suffering delays. Within two hours, we'd be at Hill City.

### The view from outside the window was incredible. Even if the window itself hadn't been cleaned in a while, and had seen better days, the big, tall, evergreen trees stood out in amongst the view. The branches swayed back and forth gently; all seemed calm.

### There were no big buildings in sight as the whole outskirts and even Hill City itself is a remote village. Hill City had been standing tall for hundreds of years, hardly changed over time.

### I've only ever visited there once, some time ago. It was all part of a working scheme I was sent on to gain the training I needed for my new job. It was about time too, as I'd been made redundant from my previous job and had been searching for a new one for months.

### MTM (Maxing Technical Materials) was the place I met Russ. We'd been there for two years.

### The redundancy pay was one month's wages for every year you had been employed with the company. The redundancy I received wasn't great, and it didn't last long after I'd paid some bills.

### It took some time getting the job I'm in now, but I have been employed there for some time. I do enjoy the job, even if I despise the manager Bill.

### I sometimes think to myself how my life could have been so much different if I'd made different choices. I could have taken a different career path when I younger.

### At the age of sixteen I was in my final year of school and only a few weeks away from my taking my big exams. Just as I was about to leave school, I couldn't decide what to do with my life. One day, we had an advisor visiting from Lakeside Campus who asked us, "What are your interests? What do you want to do with your life?"

### Never had I ever received a harder question, especially at the age of sixteen. All I wanted to do was play video games, hang out with friends, and not have a care in the world.

### I learned about the Scouts, and it caught my attention. It sounded like something I'd be interested in. Not long after I started going to the Scouts, I was attending every week. Despite my dedication to it, I didn't think of it as a career choice. It was fun and it also passed the time.

### Lakeside Campus lecturers did teach me how to cook, and over two years I learned to make a large variety of things. I did start losing interest after a few years.

### "Hey Crosser, are you in a world of your own or something?" said Russ.

### It must have been obvious that I'd been daydreaming.

### "Yeah I was, just thinking about things, that's all. How long have we got left until we arrive at the bus station?" I'd lost complete track of time.

### "We've got about another 30 minutes. Try to relax, man, and not think about the past too much. No point wallowing in things that've happened." said Russ.

### Before we knew it, we were pulling into the rather decrepit looking bus station.

### June and Graham said goodbye to the group, waving as they departed from the bus. Another elderly couple also exited at Hill City; they'd mentioned earlier about it being their home.

### Some of the other passengers got off the bus and refused to get back on, saying it was due to the state of the bus and the earlier incident with the Subaru. They decided that the events that had unfolded were enough to make them bail out.

### The group that was left on the bus, sticking it out to Dansville, was a total of ten. If this kept up, there'd be no one left on this heap of junk when it finally got there!

### Getting off at Hill City was a thought that crossed my mind but I wasn't going to miss this trip for nothing. Jessica still needs help and I would feel guilty if I left her in someone else's care.

### Maybe I was a bit cocky that I have the skills of a first aider and no one else did, plus I thought Jessica was a very pretty girl and the fact that she had a motive for going to Dansville piqued my interest.

### Rodger was taking a short break to fill the tank up. It would be needed just to wheeze our way to the next stop, which was the Thompson Centre.

### I'd never visited the Thompson Centre in my life, so I didn't know what to expect or see on the way, but I was looking forward to it. After we had a break at Hill City, it would then be a four hour journey to get to the Thompson Centre. Yeah, that's all, I thought.

### I stepped off the bus, and was greeted by sunny weather, with a touch of wind. I'm pretty sure the other people milling around the station were laughing in disbelief at the state of our transportation.

### The bus definitely looked like it had driven out of a museum, or a damned scrapyard, which was, frankly, the best place for it.

### Stepping through the automatic doors into the warmth of the building was a feeling of relief from the slight wind outside.

### I proceeded towards the local coffee shop and was served by a young woman named Sue. I can't help but take note of people's names and memorise faces of anyone I meet or talk to.

### I walked out of the double automatic doors, sipping on a steaming hot cup of coffee, and saw that Rodger was standing outside holding a drink from the same place.

### "Hey Rodger, are you feeling better now?" I asked. It seemed liked he had calmed down, the Subaru incident forgotten.

### "I feel a whole lot better. You had my back earlier, thanks for that. I have something to ask you." he said. He looked as if he didn't know my name, so I filled him in.

### "Crosser..." I said.

### "Crosser?" he said. "Is that your first name?"

### "It's my second name, not many people refer to me by my first name." I replied.

### "Okay..." he said, nodding.

### "So... what's the situation with Jessica? I mean I overheard some of it from the passengers sat behind me, but I don't know the whole story."

### "She took a nasty hit to the head when the bus crashed into the car. She cracked her head on the metal frame, opening a gash. She's lost a lot of blood."

### "Oh man, that's really bad. How's she holding up?"

### Rodger's tight facial expression showed he was starting to worry, but I had to try reassuring him that everything was okay.

### "I think she's okay, she's sleeping. I told her that's the best thing for now. I have no idea if we're near any hospital at all. I wrapped the gash, and the blood has stopped. Don't worry about it, it's the last thing you need."

### "I trust you on this one Crosser, but if anything happens, you let me know. I mean she could have been killed and it would have been on my hands, as she's on my bus. This shit is serious."

### If I found out anything, I would let him know, but I wasn't going to tell him everything, no matter how much he asks. The less people know about the whole thing, the better. We finished up our hot drinks and headed back towards the transport.

### Stepping back on board the bus, I went back to my seat and noticed Russ wasn't there. I didn't see him leave, and I didn't see him inside the building.

### "Excuse me son, how is she holding up?" asked a middle aged woman, catching me off guard.

### The woman had very light, brown hair, with signs of wrinkles showing on her face. She looked like she was in her late forties. She was sat down on the same aisle as me, but on the left side.

### "Yeah Jessica is okay, she just needs some rest. I didn't want everyone crowded round her; she's been through enough already." I told the woman.

### "That's good of you son. I overheard what was said." she replied.

### "What do you mean?"

### Intrigued, curious, and a little bit nosey, I was wondering what this woman may have heard about the rumours going around.

### "I don't mean to snoop into other people's affairs, but I heard something about a promise."

### Convincing this woman to not get involved was going to be tough, but it was my business to do so.

### "Don't worry about it, I'm going to make sure she's okay and if I get any information, I'll let you know. I just don't want everyone talking about this like it's the news story of the year."

### The woman nodded in agreement.

### Looking around the bus, taking in the remaining passengers, I noticed a strange man sitting by himself a couple rows in front of me. He was wearing a big, black jacket with the collar popped up, and a black beanie hat jammed on his head.

### I hadn't seen him back at Express Rail, but I didn't really think much of it. I don't think he's talked to anyone so far, or at least I haven't seen him in conversation with anyone.

### Ten passengers were left on this bus and we had three stops left to go on the trip. We've already had a bus crash and a passenger receive a severe blow to the head.

### I was starting to wonder what else is going to happen on this trip.

Chapter 7

### My mobile phone started to ring, the display screen lighting up. I answered.

### "Hello, is that you Josh?"

### Right away, I knew my landlady was on the other end of the phone. I was a little behind with my bills this month.

### "Yeah it's me, but this isn't a good time. I promise you'll get your money soon." I said and hung up. I heard the start of her saying something, but she was cut off before she could get it out.

### I did tell the landlady I had booked a trip, but she must have forgotten. We have a bit of an on – off relationship. Sometimes it's just for sex, when she pretty much blackmails me to make up for the rent I owe.

### She's a young, pretty woman who inherited the property, and a few others, when her father passed away.

### I get calls now and then, sometimes Lacy even makes it up that I haven't paid my rent, when I have. She must get lonely and knows I can be easy bait. One day I'll tell her it's over. I placed my mobile phone into my sports bag.

### Miracle of miracles, despite the state of the bus and the stuff that's already happened today, we were leaving.

### Russ had stepped back on to the bus after he told me he'd needed to make a quick call.

### I wondered, how come Russ keeps making phone calls? Has he got himself a girlfriend?

### "Maybe you should stay out of it." he snapped.

### Touchy.

### Maybe I was overthinking things, but I was now starting to suspect the hooded man at the front of the bus, and my close friend Russ.

### One thing that I've learned over the years is to never trust anyone. I go by a motto, 'Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer.'

### The bus screeched horribly as it exited the station. I swear, the longer the journey went on, the worse the bus became. I could barely hear myself think over the noise at times.

### After just over half an hour, I sat near the back seat where Jessica was lying down, my hands gripping the silver bar of the seat in front.

### All of a sudden, the bus slanted sideways, to the right side of the road, into a layby.

### "What the hell was that?" Rodger bellowed. Clearly, he was just as surprised as we were.

### He slammed his foot on the brake, the bus coming to a screeching, shuddering halt.

### "Is everyone alright?" shouted Rodger, giving the passengers a quick scan. "I'll be back in a minute." He opened the double doors and practically leapt from the bus. All I could think was we'd blown the front right tyre.

### Jessica had woken when the bus had stopped, snapping out of a dream. The bus shook slightly as Rodger inspected things outside. Within a moment he was back inside.

### "Crosser!"

### I snapped my head up.

### "Can you and Russ come outside?"

### Russ and I exchanged a glance. Russ's expression was impossible to read. We both followed Rodger outside.

### "Guys, this tyre is totally buggered. If we're going to get anywhere, it needs fixing ASAP."

### The tyre had a gaping hole in it, almost as if it had been torn on purpose. Upon further inspection of the blown tyre, Rodger's facial expression turned more serious.

### He said that it looked like the tyre had run over some nails or something, as if it had been deliberately placed on the road.

### "Are you saying someone did this on purpose?" said Russ.

### Rodger looked at him and held his hands up, palms outward.

### "Just thinking out loud, Russ. I've never seen a tyre blow like this one has simply due to wear and tear."

### "Rodger, what are we going to do? I mean, I don't know how to change a bus tyre."

### "I do, but I'll need some help." said Rodger.

### Russ simply stared at the blown tyre intently.

### "If you and Russ could hold the side of the tyre while I take the nuts off, it'll come off. I'll also need one of you to pass me the wrench when I ask for it." said Rodger.

### I nodded and looked at Russ.

### "Russ?"

### He looked at me and shrugged.

### "Let's do it!" he said.

### "Give me two minutes guys, we're going to need the jack to raise the bus, then once we've changed it we should be good to go." said Rodger as he headed to the trunk.

### "I'll go let everyone on the bus know that we're fixing the problem now, whilst you grab the jack." I told Rodger and Russ, as I headed inside the bus.

### As I stepped on board, I hoped everyone on wasn't too pissed off by this latest setback. As soon as I climbed the steps the hooded man began to speak.

### "Let me guess..." he rasped, laughing dryly. "This shitheap bus, it's driver, and you two main men are totally useless?"

### I stopped and looked him square in the eyes.

### "If you got your ass up instead of just sitting there, maybe you could help out." I said.

### He laughed again, a wheezy noise, without humour.

### "Nah, you three assholes seem to be fucking things up just fine on your own."

### I leant in close to his face, close enough to see his pupils dilate.

### "You either say something helpful or constructive, or shut the hell up. I'll throw you from this damn bus myself."

### I hoped it would shut him up.

### "Crosser, huh?" He said, matching my gaze. "What kind of dumb ass name is that anyways?"

### He stood up, slowly, his body rigid with tension.

### The entire bus was silent. The only noises were Russ and Rodger sorting the tyre outside. Unless I did something, this guy was going to get real nasty.

### My fist collided with his jaw in one lightning fast movement.

### Within a matter of seconds the guy was out cold on the floor.

### This guy had started a stand-off for no reason, and with the current mood I'm in, he got everything he deserved. This bus journey has lurched from one disaster to another.

### "You all just saw that, I didn't intend on it happening. Just to let you all know, the right front tyre is kaput. We're fixing it right now and hopefully it won't take too long."

### I reached down and grabbed the hooded guy and heaved him up, propping him up in his seat. His head flopped forward onto his chest.

### Exiting the bus, I didn't care for how the guy was; I only cared about helping out Rodger and Russ. I made my way back around to the busted tyre, trying to get this problem resolved quickly.

### Rodger held up some kind of tool, breaking the lug nuts attached to the alloy wheel, moving in a star like pattern.

### Rodger nodded to us, signalling that the nuts had been broken, and we started to lift the tyre attached to the bus. We placed the busted tyre on the floor, and Rodger told us the spare was in the trunk.

### Russ grabbed the spare wheel from the trunk and placed it between us. We lifted it together, handing Rodger the new tyre. He manoeuvred it into place on the axle.

### Tightening the nuts, he used the gun and moved in a star like position once again, securing the new tyre.

### "Just need to tighten the nuts securely and we are all good to go." said Rodger.

### Finally, after twenty-five minutes, the new tyre was on and the torn one lay forlornly by the side of the road. The new tyre stood out amongst the decrepit ruin of the rest of the bus; all shiny and new.

### After we stored the old tyre and the tools inside the trunk, we all headed back into the bus.

### Jessica was feeling better, so I went and sat down next to her on the back seat. I wanted to know more about her whole situation.

### "I get why you're going to Dansville, but why do you want to track down a killer? That's a bit crazy."

### "I will tell you only Josh." she said. Even though Jessica called me by my first name, I didn't mind.

### "You heard about the murder that happened a few years ago in Dansville, right?" asked Jessica.

### "Yeah, I know of it, but no one ever found out who the killer was. The only guy who thought he'd solved it was killed himself."

### I referred, of course, to Eddie Monroe.

### "Well... the victim Lauren Hill... was my sister."

### Edith did mention that Jessica said something about a sister, but I'd had no idea her sister was Lauren Hill.

### Their mum died of cancer, and she knew about the murder before she passed away. That must have been the promise that was made between the two.

### Tears rolled down Jessica's cheeks as the story came bursting forth. I grabbed Jessica and hugged her.

### "Are you okay? I can see why the whole promise between you and your mum was made, Edith told me."

### I felt sympathy for Jessica. She'd lost two of her family members, both in tragic ways.

### I could feel the moist tears against my t-shirt.

### "I'm sorry for everything that has happened, but you're here, you're trying your best. This might not mean much, but I will help you find your sister's killer."

### "You'll help me?" she said in disbelief, a slight smile on her face. I wanted to help Jessica bring some closure in her life; she must have been suffering with the pain of not knowing for some time now.

### "I will. I bet you've been trying to solve this for a while, am I right?"

### "Yeah, about three years. I just want to know who killed my sister and why. Maybe then I can bring peace to my mind. This is between me and you, no one else must know about it." she said, taking a pause before she spoke again.

### "Thanks, Josh. I appreciate your help and support. I mean, you don't really know me, but you've already helped me more than anyone. My head feels better at least."

### "How is your wound anyway? Can I have a look?" I asked.

### She nodded, smiling.

### I removed the bandages from around the bloody wound, revealing the damage that had been done. A severe gash showed where her head had hit the metal bar. It looked pretty nasty.

### I would have to put some new bandages on at some point, keeping the wound covered.

### My big, red sports bag would have to be searched through again. I carry damn near everything in there.

### I carefully replaced the bandage.

### "It doesn't look too nice, but you'll survive." I smiled.

### She smiled again, shyly.

### "Can I ask you something?"

### "Of course." I said nervously, wondering what she was going to say.

### "If we are going to work together, what information do you know?"

### I knew about Eddie Monroe, and that he was murdered before he revealed the killers identity.

### "I know the basic information that anyone knows, really. A little more than what was in the local paper at the time, I suppose." I replied.

### "Has anyone else talked about it or have you heard a different story from someone?" Jessica asked.

### That sentence right there stopped me. I remembered back at Express Rail, the old man telling me about it all.

### Before we'd set off, he'd stopped the bus from leaving.

### I remembered the piece of paper the old man had given me.

Chapter 8

### I hadn't been thinking about the note the old man had given me. I'd completely forgotten that I had it in my pocket.

### Folded away in my pocket, it must've been important for the old man to completely stop Rodger leaving the terminal.

### Jessica and I were still talking, and just as I was about to pull out the note from my pocket I noticed the hooded man was getting up, and heading straight towards me.

### Russ stepped out from his seat, and stopped the man in his tracks, blocking the way towards me.

### "Let's just calm down, enough things have happened on this journey without the need for confrontations."

### "He started the whole thing earlier, I just did what was right and I punched the guy. He pissed me off at the wrong time." I said, getting out of my seat.

### "You got a lucky shot in before." he barked. "Let's see you try your luck out now!"

### The guy was still making wisecracks, trying to play the big man. I don't know if he had a personal problem with me or he was fed up with the crappy bus we were travelling on and was just looking for someone to take it out on.

### "I can't be bothered with you again. If I come over there and punch you once more, I'll make sure that you spend a few nights in the hospital." I didn't want another confrontation, I wanted to sit down and enjoy the bus ride.

### All of a sudden, Rodger slammed on the brakes, the bus coming to a sudden halt. The hooded man grabbed onto the bar to steady his balance, and so did I.

### "What the hell is happening back there?" called Rodger, looking in his rear view mirror. "I want both of you to sit down; otherwise I'm not going anywhere!"

### "Nothing's happening back here, just a little misunderstanding, that's all."

### I didn't want us arguing to stop the bus journey.

### The man sat back down near the front, behind the driver's seat. Russ came over to Jessica and me with a smile on his face.

### "How are you holding up? I see Crosser here is looking after you." he said.

### "Yeah, he's been really helpful, and my head feels a lot better too." said Jessica.

"Okay lover boy..." he winked at me. "I'm sure you're busy chatting this pretty girl up, I'll leave you two lovebirds alone."

### He laughed all the way back to his seat.

### Maybe I was flirting with Jessica, but I couldn't help it. Jessica was a very pretty girl, and she seemed to be opening up to me, even though I'm essentially a stranger to her.

### I felt a soft spot for her, really. I don't usually get like this, or let this stuff happen, but I couldn't help it.

### Back to the matter at hand, I wondered what was on that paper that could have been so important.

### Could this be the answer to the killing in Dansville?

### Did it hold some valuable information about Eddie Monroe?

### Did the old man miss out some information about the conversation we had? Or was the man just going senile?

### All these questions ran through my mind. I was so intrigued by the mystery; I needed to read what was written on the note.

### A folded piece of paper is all that occupied my right jeans pocket. I placed my hand over my pocket, just about to remove the piece of paper, when Jessica placed her hand on mine.

### "You're a sweet guy. The past few years have been very hard for me. I appreciate you listening to me, and you also seem to understand my situation. My sister Lauren and my mum Fiona both died horribly."

### She started to stroke my hand gently.

### "Not a day goes by that I don't think about both of them. I promised my mum, when we heard about the killing in Dansville and Lauren was named as the victim, I wouldn't let her death be in vain. I promised Mum that I would find out who killed my sister, by any means necessary."

### She looked up at me then, her eyes shining with pain and a fierce determination.

I couldn't imagine the pain Jessica had gone through, was going through. She had suffered for a long time of not knowing who was responsible for Lauren's death. Edith approached us, smiling as she looked at Jessica.

### "Hey darling, are you alright? How're you feeling?" said Edith.

### Edith looked a lot less worried than when I last spoke to her.

### I left the two ladies to carry on their conversation and returned to my seat next to Russ.

### "We'll talk later Josh." Jessica called.

### "Josh huh?" said Russ suddenly. "Whole time I've known you and I've never called you by your first name. Am I not sweet enough?" He fluttered his eyelashes mockingly.

### I shoved him playfully, laughing.

### "You're telling jokes now? I've never thought of you being that type of person."

### "I can be very surprising. You don't know everything about me, Crosser." he said.

### "I'd say I have a good idea. After all, we've known each other for a long time, and we spent two years working alongside each other." I replied.

### I didn't know where the time had gone. Eight years we'd known each other, but only two of those years we worked together doing the shitty job of packing boxes.

### "What did you get up to after the days of MTM?" I was curious about what Russ had been doing with his life.

### Russ always seemed to try and avoid that question, so I hoped I'd caught him off guard.

### "You know what, Crosser? Since you keep bringing it up, and you've been nosey about it since the day we saw each other again, I'll tell you." said Russ.

### About time, I thought.

### "After MTM, I was a couch potato for a while. I couldn't get employment anywhere. I was sick of my life, and I was in a spiral of depression. One day I got a call that changed all that."

### Russ paused, thinking carefully, before carrying on.

### "My brother Andrew, he was very ill. I've never mentioned him before but he lives way out west. Anyway the call I got was about him being in hospital, and they told me that he didn't have long left to live. He was dying, Crosser." He looked at me, his eyes shining. "I rushed out in my Chevy; I had to get to him as soon as possible. It took me just over five hours to get to the hospital where he was. He was very pale, very weak. The life support machine was the only thing keeping him alive. The nurse explained the horrific incident that had happened a few days earlier."

### I couldn't believe what Russ was telling me. He'd never once mentioned in eight years anything about any family members.

### "Oh man, I never knew any of this..." I felt bad about questioning Russ.

### "The nurse told me that Andrew was on his way home from work, crossing the road, when all of a sudden, a yellow Mustang knocked him down. She said it was reported as a hit and run. Reports from eyewitnesses said they had seen a yellow Mustang hit Andrew and drove off, but they didn't catch the license plate. His neighbour Steve made the desperate call to the police. Blood had poured from the back of his head. Apparently he'd landed brutally hard on the pavement. Andrew was connected to the life machine for five days before I had to make a choice between this life as a vegetable, or..."

### Russ looked out of the window, gathering himself.

"The decision to turn the machine off was the only option I had to make, the only one I could make. It was killing me inside, every second, every minute, and every hour. My mind was split in two - do I leave him on the machine, hoping that he will come around by some sort of miracle? Or do I end his pain and suffering? Crosser, what would you do in a situation like that?"

### The story I was hearing was shocking enough, but when Russ dropped that question, I didn't know what to say.

### "I don't know what I'd do Russ, but turning off the life machine may have been the best option. If there was no hope that he would wake up." I replied.

"Well, I decided that he'd suffered enough. It was one of the worst things I've ever had to do. I had to tell myself that if I was in the same situation, I'd want someone to take me off the machine, and end the suffering. For weeks afterward, everything was just a blur. One day, a friend told me about a vacancy that opened up, a bus driver's job. I thought it would pay the rent, and it would stop me moping about my brother. I had to continue my life." said Russ.

### After all this time of not knowing what had happened with Russ, I was in complete shock.

### Now it all made sense. No wonder Russ had become so intensely private and withdrawn.

### "I know it must have been a hard time for you, but I hope you're okay." I said softly. I felt terrible.

### Maybe we've both got a straightforward kind of attitude, but there are sometimes things that happen that can change that, and this was one of them.

### "Crosser, it was for the best. I know my brother is in a better place now." said Russ.

### We both jumped in fright as a mobile phone began to ring. We smiled, the tension released.

### It was Russ's phone. He looked at the screen and turned to me.

### "Got to take this Crosser." he said, getting out of his seat and moving to a more private section of the bus.

### Jessica was still talking to Edith, laughing away and smiling. I thought this would be a good chance to grab a snack out of my backpack. With everything that's happened so far, I hadn't noticed how hungry I was.

### My choices were a bag of crisps, or a chocolate bar. I always carried a lot of food in my bag, but I always conserve and ration what I have.

### I decided to go with the chocolate bar; it always seems to hit the spot. Soft and full of flavour, it didn't take me long to eat.

### I still had four bags of crisps, peanut butter sandwiches, three bars of chocolate, and other little snacks. Thompson Centre wasn't too far away, and we'd been travelling for over three hours.

### Stop number three before the really long part of the journey was approaching very quickly. From the Thompson Centre it would take no fewer than six hours to get to Country Passage.

### I thought I'd take another look at the leaflet to see if there was any information I may have missed.

### It was quite funny to note in the brochure that it says after an hour into the journey, there isn't much scenery around for the rest of the drive. There were markers on the journey map indicating every fifty miles.

### Whilst I had the seat to myself I decided to have a short nap, before reaching our next destination within an hour.

### Shutting my eyes and going into a daze, it didn't take long before black shadows were all I could see.

### I couldn't feel my body, shrouded within a dream. I felt as if I was lying down somewhere, resting, feeling great, until that one moment that changed it all...

Chapter 9

### Relaxing on a lounger, with a refreshing cold drink, all my problems just seemed to melt away. I shut my eyes for what I thought was only a moment, basking in the sun and the heat, but hours must have flown by.

### I felt a shadow loom over, blocking out the light. Suddenly, all the heat evaporated too. Goosebumps popped on my flesh.

### When I opened my eyes, I was shocked by who I saw. It was the young woman's ghost, Lauren Hill.

### She looked like she did before; covered in blood, her clothes torn and ragged.

### "You've got to wake up! The mystery won't solve itself!!" she shrieked, her voice all at once a hundred miles away and reverberating all around me.

### I was terrified; I didn't know what to do or say, I felt as if I was frozen in place.

### I managed to choke some words out just as she slowly started to fade.

### "Wait, I have a few questions that I need answering! I know I haven't got much time, but how am I supposed to solve your murder? Why did you choose me?"

### Surely Lauren Hill couldn't have known about my interest in mysteries, or indeed anything about me.

### "Josh... I need your help. My sister needs your help. I can't... I can't remember how I was taken from this earth. Somehow I recognise one of the faces on that bus, as if I had some kind of moment with them." said Lauren, even while her form grew more transparent by the second.

### I needed any information or memory from Lauren's ghost, whatever details I could gather. Lauren's soul can't rest and Jessica won't stop until she found out who killed her sister Lauren.

### I know I didn't have much time until I woke from this dream. I didn't know how long I had left here, and I didn't know how much longer Lauren would stick around for.

### "These horrible marks on my body... I was in my room at the time. JOSH!" She bellowed suddenly. "Find out who isn't telling the truth! I have a feeling one of them was in the room with me that night! Be very wary!!"

### With the final word, wailed like a banshee, she disappeared, and all was dark again.

"Crosser? Hello? Anyone in there?" My body was being shaken.

### I slowly came around, realising Russ was waking me up. I blinked rapidly and rubbed my eyes. I saw I was back on the bus.

### I saw we had stopped at a terminal. A large sign through the window proclaimed it to be the Thompson Centre. Turns out I'd slept through most of the journey.

### "We're at Thompson Centre. You were having a nap, and you were talking out loud. Sounded pretty serious." said Russ with a smirk.

### This was the second time Lauren's ghost had appeared to me, seeking my help.

### I knew at some point I'd have to talk to Jessica, although I had no idea what her reaction would be.

### I was hoping that no one had heard anything I was saying, especially if the ghost thought someone on the bus was telling lies deceiving us all.

### "What were you dreaming about anyway, Crosser? Whatever it was, it seemed pretty intense." said Russ.

"I honestly can't remember. My mind has gone blank. It mustn't have been that important." I said.

### The only person that would hear the truth from me was Jessica. I couldn't tell anyone else, and I couldn't trust anyone else on board, not even Russ.

### Stepping off the bus, the fresh air hit me in the face and immediately soothed me. The confined heat of the bus had been starting to make me feel dizzy.

### "See you in half hour, Crosser. Need to make a call and grab some food." said Russ, already heading off into the bus station.

### I saw Jessica talking to Edith, before Edith gave Jessica a hug and popped into the Thompson Centre bus station.

### I wanted to spend some time with Jessica for numerous reasons. She turned and made eye contact; I immediately felt my stomach churn nervously and couldn't help but smile.

### "Hey, how are you holding up?" I said.

### Jessica looked livelier than before, her eyes bright and the colour had come back into her face.

### "Yeah I'm good, feeling a lot better than I was a few hours ago. I've had some food, some water, and a lovely chat with Edith. She's such a sweet lady. How are you anyway? Before I stepped off the bus, you weren't looking like yourself. Russ said he would check on you. I was worried." said Jessica in one big rush.

### I was happy that Jessica was worried about me, even though she didn't have to be. I wasn't sure how Jessica was going to react when I told her about the ghost.

### "Don't worry about me, I'm fine. Listen; there's something I really need to talk to you about. You may not take it well."

### Her face darkened. I steeled myself.

### "What do you mean I won't take it well? If there's something important I need to know, I'd rather you told me now." she said.

### "Can we go somewhere private? This isn't for anyone's ears, but yours and mine." I said, taking her arm gently.

### We walked around to the back of the building where it was quiet.

### Now was a great time to tell Jessica everything about the ghost I had seen, and the experience I'd had in my dream.

### "Back at Express rail, I looked away from everyone else and...I saw her. Her ghost appeared to me."

### She was watching me intently.

### "I don't know if you believe in ghosts, but I do. Her clothes were soaked in blood. Her shirt and denim shorts were torn; I could see the gashes in her flesh..."

### "She screamed to me, 'One of them is deceiving you, look what they did to me.'"

### I told her I was shocked by what I had experienced. As I started to explain what had happened to me so far, Jessica looked confused as to what was my point, so I continued.

### "This woman had black hair, and that may not mean much. The old man at Express Rail told me the story even though I already knew about the girl who was murdered in Dansville. The ghost that appeared to me could be that girl, I'm almost certain. When you were worried about me before, during the dream I was having, the ghost appeared once again."

### "I'm starting to get worried now, Josh, what did this ghost want from you?" she asked.

### Jessica had no idea what I was about to tell her.

### "The ghostly apparition told me that she needed my help, that she couldn't remember why she was dead, and that she felt she recognised one of the people on the bus."

### Tears rolled from Jessica's eyes, as I told her everything Lauren had said to me.

### "Oh, my god." she cried. "It's Lauren, isn't it? My sister! Tell me everything!" she said, pleading.

### Surely, deep down inside, Jessica was happy that Lauren was around. At least I could see her, and pass on any messages, even if they're bad. It can't be easy to hear how she is even after death.

### "Your sister told me not to trust anyone on board. She believes that someone on the bus could be her killer. If, somehow, she had really recognised someone on the bus, we need to be extremely careful."

### Jessica was upset by what I was telling her, but she needed to know everything I knew.

### "Have you heard the Eddie Monroe story? I think there are some details that link his death to Lauren's." I said.

### Whoever killed Eddie Monroe must have discovered Eddie knew who killed Lauren Hill that fatal night. I wanted to find out what the connection was.

### "How do you think they're connected?" asked Jessica. "I mean, you're right that Eddie must have known who killed my sister, but what's the motive behind it all?"

### "I don't know just yet why, but there's some sinister secrets surrounding both cases." I said.

### There were other people to suspect, like his former girlfriend Erica. His family and friends, too. Eddie was about to close the case, and the killer would have been behind bars right now.

### Whoever was responsible for the murders must have connections. They must have gained access to the Hotel Lancôme with ease and without suspicion.

### "I don't doubt your suspicions at all." said Jessica. "In fact, in a sense, I agree with you. Obviously, no evidence has surfaced over the years relating to the double murders. I tried to get any information I could from officers that spoke to me, off duty of course. No evidence was found in the hotel room. No fingerprints, no shoeprints, nothing at all. That's why it's been such a cold case for some time now. That information is just between you and me." she added.

### We decided to have something to eat before we got back on the bus. All of this was making me extremely hungry.

### The Thompson Centre had a little café, serving hot and cold sandwiches, confectionary, hot and cold drinks and newspapers.

### The café was a modern looking, little business inside the bus station, with yellow, painted walls and red 'Easy Eat' sign placed above the shutters.

### Jessica grabbed a cold tuna mayonnaise sandwich. I told her I conserve my food in my backpack and I only use what I've got, when I need it. She didn't complain, or even find my habits weird when I explained why I do so.

### Survival instincts and methods had taught me well during the time of the scouts. It hadn't failed me then, and it shouldn't fail me now. I did decide, however, to have a peanut butter sandwich.

### Two elderly couples from the bus were also sitting in the café, so it was best to not continue what we were talking about while others from the journey were there.

### We all got into a big group conversation, talking about the incidents on the bus, and generally getting to know one another.

### John and Juliet had been married for forty-nine years, almost approaching their golden wedding anniversary.

### The couple would be renewing their vows for their fiftieth year, with around a hundred guests invited to the big celebration.

### David and Harriet, funnily enough, had been also married for forty-nine years, though their anniversary had been just last week.

### Dansville was going to be a little celebration for both couples. They were all planning to spend two weeks in Dansville.

### I was pleasantly surprised when I found out that all four of them are all friends, having attended the same school many years ago. Both couples were with their childhood sweetheart, and stuck by them all this time, and still they were deeply in love.

### Both elderly couples were nice people and Jessica and I were both getting on with them very well. David then asked us a question we hadn't expected.

### "Are you two a couple? You look good together." said David, grinning.

### As soon as David asked that question, Jessica went bright pink.

### She didn't reply to David's question, she was too shy to say anything, so I answered for us both.

### "Er, no, David." I smiled.

### I may have been pretty blunt but, the truth is, I'm not the romantic type, and I don't like talking about my feelings.

### "It's not a bad thing just, at the minute, I don't really know Jessica, and she's going through a pretty rough time. We're just friends, it's far too soon to be thinking about anything more than that." I explained.

### Harriet, John, David and Juliet all agreed that we looked cute together, but they didn't say further.

### Jessica seemed rather put out by my answer, but before I could say anything I spotted Russ going outside.

### "I'm going outside to get some fresh air, I'll see you all back on the bus." I said as I got out of my chair and headed outside.

### Call me crazy, but I thought Russ had been making a lot of phone calls throughout the entire trip, and I wanted to know who he had been calling.

### The hooded man also exited through the doors, so I wanted to see what he was up to, too. Upon leaving the bus station, I saw to my right that Russ was busy talking on his phone.

### To my left, the hooded man in black was also making a phone call, turning his head to the right so no one could hear him.

### As I approached Russ, he quickly ended his phone call when he saw me.

### "Thanks for the info." he said, then hung up.

### "Hey, Crosser, are you still in dream land?" he sniggered.

### "Don't play funny with me Russ; I'm not in the mood for jokes. I've got something I want to ask you." I said.

### "Okay, spill." said Russ.

### I didn't know whether Russ would tell me the answers I wanted, but it was worth a shot, especially as it started to seem suspicious to me.

### "Who are you always on the phone to? Since the start of the trip you've constantly been attached to that thing,

### ." I said.

### The phone had seemed to be glued to his ear every time I looked at him.

### "If you really must know, it's Officer Rigby. He's been letting me know about the accident and Kevin. Apparently he's currently at the local police station, waiting to be questioned. Officer Rigby thinks that Kevin could have been under the influence of alcohol, and that's what caused the accident." said Russ.

### I was shocked by what Russ had told me. When I'd seen Kevin, he wasn't slurring his words, he didn't stink of alcohol, he was just a nervous wreck.

### "Oh. I didn't know that. I'm surprised Rigby is telling you that information."

### "Well, we got on pretty well back there, so he said he'd keep me updated on what was going on. So, that was the latest thing he told me before you rudely interrupted me." said Russ.

### I was still somewhat suspicious of Russ' behaviour, and the fact that he was getting a lot of information from Officer Rigby.

### "Do you know the name of that man over there?" I asked Russ, signalling over my shoulder at the hooded guy I'd punched out earlier.

### He'd also been suspicious this whole time, and I wondered why he was on board alone.

### "I don't know who he is, but if you're going to confront him, try not to make a scene okay?"

### Russ knew that when I had something on my mind, I was going to do something about it, that there's no stopping me.

### One time at MTM, one of the guys we worked with, Alex started to spread rumours because he must have seen that Russ and I were good friends. Aren't some guys just really predictive and clichéd?

### Colin, another guy we worked with, told us who had been starting the rumours, knowing full well it could lead to a confrontation.

### That night, in charge of locking up, I told Russ I was going to confront Alex. Russ came with me, wanting to know exactly what had been going on.

### I'd turned the key for the shutters and, as Alex ducked under them to leave, I stopped him.

### "You know, spreading rumours or jumping to conclusions isn't going to do you any favours." I'd said.

### "Crosser, what the hell are you talking about? I haven't done anything." said Alex.

### I could tell by his eyes he was lying, and he certainly wasn't going to admit it. I made sure he did that night.

### "You've got two options." I said, holding up my fingers. "You can admit that you started the rumours, and tell everyone what a sad, pathetic low life you really are."

### He twisted his face, a mixture of amusement and anger.

### "Or, you can deny it to my face again, and we'll see where that gets you."

### I'd made sure that there was no CCTV in operation; I'd bribed security that night to turn the cameras off.

### Alex looked from me to Russ, thinking.

### "Screw you!" he snarled, suddenly lunging forward to try and barge past me.

### I grabbed him by the shoulders and threw him to the ground. Alex landed hard on the floor, his back slamming the concrete.

### "Get up!!" I shouted, clenching my fists.

### Alex got up to his feet, holding his back. When he was finally up, I punched him in the face, knocking him back down.

### Blood poured from his nose and down his front. He groaned.

### "When people ask how this happened, you'll tell them that you fell down the stairs. Tomorrow we want a full apology from you. Consider yourself lucky that I'm in a good mood today, otherwise you wouldn't be returning to work."

### Russ gave Alex a kick to the ribs as we left him lying there, crying in pain.

### Russ and I both knew he wasn't going to spread any more rumours, or tell anyone what had really happened.

### The next day when Alex walked in, both his eyes black and his nose a purple lump, the whole room went silent. Someone spoke up.

### "Whoa, Alex what the hell happened to you? You look rough!"

### Alex looked over to where I was stood then. I simply stared at him, expressionless.

### "I, er, fell down the stairs." he mumbled, quickly going to his workstation.

### He never gave us any trouble any more, that's for sure.

Chapter 10

### The hooded guy looked up slowly as he saw me approaching.

### "I'll call you back." he wheezed, hanging up the phone.

### "I haven't come over here for any trouble, I just want to talk." I said.

### He eyed me warily.

### What phone calls was he making? Why did he start the argument between us?

### "You know, I was just making a phone call, and you rudely interrupted me." said the man.

### "I don't care if I interrupted your conversation; I want to know what your deal is. You've barely spoken to anyone, and yet you start a fight with me." I really didn't want any trouble, just answers.

### "Josh Crosser, that's your name right?" he asked.

### "Just call me Crosser." I said.

### He motioned me closer. I hesitated.

### "C'mon, man, no trouble, honestly." he said.

### I moved in closer. He started to whisper.

### "Look, my name is Brian Harper. I'm an undercover detective. The scene I caused back there was for play along purposes only, to fit my identity. I couldn't tell you earlier." he said.

### I couldn't believe what I was hearing. A god damn undercover detective now? I snorted derisively.

### "It's the truth. I was sent here to protect Jessica. My team believe that your friend Russ Vance could be the guy we're looking for." said Brian.

### Despite my own suspicions of Russ's behaviour lately, it was still a huge shock to hear it from someone else, especially one who claims to be a detective.

### I looked over at Russ, who was tapping away on his phone on the other side of the concourse, oblivious.

### "Why are you tracking Russ? Why the hell didn't you tell me earlier?"

### "I didn't tell you as someone may have suspected something if you were in on it. When I took that punch earlier, it made it look like I wasn't going to cause any more problems." said Brian.

### I wondered what evidence, if any, they had against Russ. This was getting a bit much to take in. I had to focus.

### Just as I was about to walk off, heading back into the bus station, Brian grabbed my arm.

### "I'll tell you more later, Russ is looking in our direction, and I don't like it. You've just got to trust me." said Brian.

### I looked at him intently. He nodded.

### After I finished talking to Brian, I thought about telling Jessica who Brian was and the suspicions he had about Russ. On the other hand, if I told Jessica about who Brian was, it could blow his cover.

### Jessica had been in a mood with me when I'd last seen her. Or, at least, I think she was.

### I headed back inside to the Easy Eat café, where Jessica and the two couples were talking amongst each other. I could hear laughter amongst the group, so I grabbed a chair and sat down.

### Jessica didn't look in my direction, or notice that I'd sat down next to her.

### Rodger also grabbed a chair and joined in with the conversation. Rodger told the entire group that he was married. They'd only been married for about two months, and that they'd tied the knot in Hunter's Dale.

### Hunters Dale was about three hours from Lakeside. It's a beautiful place, with tropical trees, beaches that stretched beyond what the eye can see, and only so many people can visit there in a day.

### Hunter's Dale was one of the three places I had visited within the last nine months, and it had been one of my most memorable trips.

### Whilst I was on my trip to Hunters Dale, I'd met a guy called Shaun, also lives in Lakeside. Shaun was also on vacation, getting away from his troubled family life. I met him at the bar.

### "Nice tattoos..." he said, observing my right arm

### My tattooed arm was shaded with black and grey smoke, looking like there were ripples in the skin. On top of the shading was a green, angry dragon with yellow smoke coming from its nostrils. On the back of the top half of my sleeve was a huge wave, with the Japanese symbols for fire and wind, decorated with a purple flower shrouded in the smoke.

### At the bottom of my arm was a turquoise snake, with a yellow underbelly and brown spots, and a sliver of a pink tongue.

### The snake is wrapped around the bottom half of my arm, with its long body covered with black and grey shading, just stretching down to my wrists.

### My tattooed sleeve arm also had the Chinese symbols for the different elements: Earth, Wind, Water and Fire. Each one was in a different place.

### "I bet that hurt! I'd love a tattoo, but how much would something like that cost?" asked Shaun.

### "It almost feels like a knife is digging into your flesh. Only advice I can give you is to never get tattooed for the sake of it, make sure it means something to you."

### The motto is pretty cheesy, but getting tattooed, it's on your body for life; you don't want to be regretting it forever.

### We were sat talking for a while that day, having a few drinks, and relaxing in the sun. After Hunters Dale, I rarely saw Shaun, only in passing on the street. One day at work, Shaun came into the store and he must have impressed Bill.

### Rodger's voice cut through my reminiscing.

### "My wife and I are planning on moving soon, so this job is just temporary. I've found a new job over in Fishpoint as a lorry driver at Firm Distributions. Better wage, and also the option of fewer hours. Eileen and I have been talking about having our first child." said Rodger.

### Rodger had serious plans with his life. He was quitting his job as a bus driver, and moving to Fishpoint City. I was a little jealous, in a way.

### Rodger finished his coffee and said it was about time that we all were heading off again.

### Thompson Centre to Country Passage is a six hour journey through the countryside, and then the two hour short trip to Dansville.

### The sky was starting to fade, and we were starting to feel the first bite of winter as a cold wind blew in, chilling us all.

### Russ walked out of the bus station with one of the women who were travelling on the bus. Both Russ and the woman were crossing the road to the little confectionary shop, 'Colton's', just opposite the bus station.

### Colton's is an old style building, with its white exterior, black framed windows, and a red banner sign above the door.

### I was talking to Rodger when all of a sudden; there was a loud screeching noise and a sickening thud, followed by a scream that pierced the silence.

### The woman was unconscious, with a huge stream of blood pouring out of the back of her head. She'd never seen the bus coming.

### Everyone inside the bus station ran outside to see what had happened.

### I ran over to see Russ checking her for a pulse. She was still alive.

### The driver of the bus rushed out of the vehicle, arming the sweat from his forehead.

### "Oh my god, is she okay?"

### Russ got his mobile out of his pocket, and started making an emergency phone call.

### "We're at the Thompson Centre, we've got a woman who's been hit by a bus, come as soon as you can!"

### "Crosser! You know first aid right? Well now would be a great time to put that into action!"

### Everyone turned his or her attention to me; I felt a huge amount of pressure. I was still in shock by what had happened, but I had to act fast.

### "Someone get my backpack! Russ, go with Rodger, and get my backpack from inside of the bus and quick." The woman's chances of surviving were slim unless I did something.

### Both men ran towards the bus to retrieve my backpack with the supplies that I would need. It was the only thing I could think of that might help in this situation.

### "Jessica, help me out over here."

### Jessica came running over and kneeled down near the woman.

### "I'm going to take my shirt off, and you're going to keep the shirt pressed against the back of her head. She's already lost a lot of blood, but if we can keep her from losing more she may have a chance."

### I looked towards the bus and I could see Rodger pressing the button just above the bus door, to let Russ in while he remained outside. I couldn't see the inside of the bus, but I hoped Russ wouldn't be long.

### I didn't have time to wait, so I took my shirt off and handed it to Jessica.

### "Take this. I'm going to arch her head so that you can place the shirt on the wound, on three..." Jessica grabbed my shirt and got in position.

### "One...Two...Three..." I lifted slowly and Jessica carefully placed the shirt onto the injury.

### Jessica held the shirt firmly against the wound, as Rodger returned and held the woman's head upright. I grabbed my bag from him and rummaged inside.

### I could see the many worried faces around me, watching, waiting on what I was going to do next. I felt a huge amount of pressure, and there was only one thing that I thought was the best thing I could do.

### My only idea was to keep this woman warm, even if that meant moving her inside to the heated bus station. Keeping her outside wouldn't do her any good. Who knew how long the ambulance would be?

### "Listen up, everybody. We need to get this woman inside. Keeping her out here when it's starting to get cold is not good."

### Six people came over, offering assistance to get her inside.

### "I need someone to grab the towel from my bag, and I need some of you to put your coats down on the floor, and hurry!"

### Edith took the towel from my backpack, whilst some of the passengers took off their coats and rushed into the bus station.

### "On the count of three, lift, one...two...three!" Everyone heaved and lifted the woman.

### We carried her through the automatic doors, positioning her over the coats placed on the floor.

### "Very slowly, everyone, on the count of three..." We carefully lowered the injured woman onto the blanket of coats.

### "Does anyone know this woman's name?" I asked, shouting so that everyone could hear me.

### "Eleanor." said Edith.

### "Eleanor, if you can hear me, please hang in there, help is on the way very soon." I hoped that Eleanor could hear everything I was saying. I hoped she was strong.

### We could hear sirens blaring in the distance. Help was on the way.

Chapter 11

### The sirens sounded like they were getting closer, so Russ and I went outside for some air. A police bike showed up outside of the bus station, and I was gobsmacked to see who it was.

### Officer Rigby.

### We were miles away from where the Subaru crash had occurred. How the hell did he get her so fast?

### "What the hell is Rigby doing here, Russ? We're four hours away from Hill City." I was pissed off to see Officer Rigby. We needed an ambulance, not a police officer.

### I wondered how Rigby reached the Thompson Centre in less than four hours. In fact, how had he made it in less than twenty minutes? Something was very fishy about the situation, but I didn't have time to think about it; Eleanor was in trouble.

### "Does it matter what Rigby is doing here? Eleanor needs help, and here's someone who can help." said Russ.

### I couldn't deny that, but I didn't want Rigby anywhere near the bus station, not that I had any choice. I was growing more and more irate by the constant events of the day.

### Officer Rigby saw Eleanor lying on the floor and immediately radioed it in.

### "I'm going to need an ambulance here ASAP, it's a life or death situation." he said.

### Within a few minutes, which seemed like hours, an ambulance finally arrived. The side of it read 'Thompson Hospital'.

### The medics were quick to exit the vehicle, pulling out a stretcher from the back doors, pushing it along to the inside of the bus station.

### Rigby, Russ and I all followed after them. Hopefully it wasn't too late to save Eleanor.

### "Make way everyone, the paramedics are here." Russ shouted.

### Everyone parted quickly, giving the medics room to work.

### Jessica was still holding the shirt against Eleanor's head, trying to prevent any more blood loss.

### "Miss, I'm going to have to ask you to step away, so we can act quickly." said one of the paramedics.

### John, one of the medics on hand, knelt down next to Eleanor, trying to talk to the woman for a response. He placed his hand on her forehead, and two fingers on her neck, checking for a pulse.

### John then initiated CPR, trying to regulate her breathing.

### He wasn't having much luck, and Eleanor wasn't responding. He placed both hands on Eleanor's chest, pressing down, and then stopping, to release the pressure he had been applying.

### He repeated the process about fifteen times, as we all stood there and watched.

### With the help of the other two medics, John managed to place the stretcher underneath Eleanor. He then buckled both straps, securing her in position.

### They rushed out of the station as quickly as possible, loading her into the ambulance.

### "We've been talking to Eleanor for the whole journey, can we both go to support her?" asked John and Juliet.

### John the medic looked in the back of the ambulance before he said: "There's room for both of you, but we need to get going now!"

### John and Juliet had sacrificed their trip to Dansville to be by Eleanor's side in her time of need.

### The pair stepped into the back of the ambulance quickly, a medic closing the doors after them. The ambulance sped off, the sirens wailing and the lights flashing. Within a moment, it was gone.

### Rigby informed us that he would need to take statements from everyone. The thoughts I'd had earlier still played on my mind. It was weird how Rigby had arrived so quickly. Had he been following us the whole time? Could Officer Rigby be responsible for the deaths of Lauren Hill and Eddie Monroe?

### None of it made sense to me, the only theory I had was the possibility that Rigby was working with Russ, but surely that was preposterous. Realistically, I hoped Russ had nothing to do with any of this, and Brian's accusations were misinformed.

### "I need all of you go inside; I'll have to take statements one by one. Edith, you're up first." ordered Rigby.

### Inside the bus station, there was a patrol room. Rigby showed his badge to the chief operator, so he could use the room for questioning.

### The rest of us sat in the Easy Eat café as we waited for our turn to be questioned.

### Jessica was still in a mood with me, but I did appreciate that she helped me through a tough situation.

### "Can we talk? I don't like it when you're in a mood with me."

### I smiled when Jessica said, "I suppose you can have 5 minutes."

### I was expecting a slap across the face from Jessica, but I was glad that didn't happen.

### "I wanted to say thank you for what you did back there, I appreciate it. At least I know that I helped someone in need."

### "I didn't do it for you; I did it for that poor woman. I couldn't let her bleed to death, I had to help..." said Jessica.

### "I don't often admit it when I'm in the wrong, but I'm sorry." My emotions and stubbornness had gotten the better of me.

### "I forgive you." said Jessica, a big smile spreading on her face.

### "I was insensitive about your feelings; I shouldn't have been so blunt." I gave Jessica a gentle, playful shove.

### "So you like me huh?" I teased.

### She went bright pink again.

### "It's okay, you don't need to reply, I already know the answer." I said, mock-arrogantly.

### I wanted to know what Jessica's thoughts were about Officer Rigby.

### "Something's fishy about Rigby, What do you think of him being here?" I asked.

### "I wondered how he managed to get here so fast. I think we need to be careful as to what we say to him." said Jessica.

### Edith came out from the room, shaking the officer's hand as she sat down next to us.

### "David and Harriet, come this way please." said Rigby.

### Jessica, Brian, Rodger, Russ and I were the only ones still to be questioned. I was waiting for my turn. I had a few questions of my own.

"What did he say to you Edith?" Jessica asked.

### "He asked me just some basic questions, like what did I see? Who was I with at the time it happened? Did I have any contact with Eleanor during the trip? I was told not to discuss my answers with anyone. He doesn't want anything said until each person has been questioned, and written a statement." said Edith.

### Russ had gone outside after receiving a phone call once again. The rest of us were sitting in the Easy Eat café, waiting for Rigby to call us into the room one by one.

### Rodger had gone over to talk with the other bus driver, trying to calm him down. He clearly couldn't cope with what had happened to Eleanor.

### Jessica still had no idea that Brian was an undercover detective, and I wasn't sure it was the best time to tell her.

### Then I thought, Russ wasn't around, Rodger was talking to the bus driver, and Rigby was interviewing David and Harriet. Edith had just gone outside to get some fresh air.

### "Jessica there's something I've got to tell you." I started, before Brian butted in and spoke before I could say anything else.

### "Jessica Hill, right?"

### "Yes that's me." she said. Jessica looked puzzled, just like I did when Brian spoke to me earlier.

### "I'm an undercover detective, I was sent here to investigate the case regarding your sister, Lauren Hill. I understand that this may be difficult to talk about, but I have reason to believe that Russ Vance could be the man we're looking for."

### Talk about a ton of bricks. Jessica certainly didn't know what to say to Brian, she was gobsmacked.

### "How can this be? What evidence do you have?" Jessica asked.

### "I have been investigating this case for some time now, and honestly, I have very little evidence. But what I do have points to Russ Vance being there that night in Dansville when your sister Lauren was murdered. Now's not the best time to tell you both what else I know. I don't want anyone else to find out. Josh wanted to tell you earlier, but it was for the best that he didn't." said Brian.

Chapter 12

### There had been trouble since the start of the trip, now we were delayed even more into our journey. Dansville was looking very bleak to all of us. Putting that aside, I wasn't about to give up and go back home. My trips are always an adventure when I get there, but already so much had happened by the time we'd reached the Thompson Centre.

### So far, this trip had been nothing but bad luck, including the incident with the red Subaru, the flat tyre and Eleanor being struck by a bus. Now we were waiting to be questioned. All I could think was, what next?

### David and Harriet were in the patrol room being questioned together. They were in there for a while before the door opened and they appeared, smiling genially.

### "I'm popping to the toilet. Rodger, I want you to wait for me in the room, I'll not be long." said Rigby.

### Rigby headed down the hall as Rodger went into the patrol room, waiting for Officer Rigby to return.

### "So, what did Rigby say to you?" Jessica asked David and Harriet.

### "He said the same things to us as he did to Edith. He explained that we weren't in trouble, and that he wouldn't need to take any more statements from either of us. I wouldn't be surprised if he's saving the real questions for all of you." said David.

### Everyone went quiet as Rigby returned from the toilet and headed straight for the patrol room where Rodger was waiting to make a statement.

### I started to question whether Rigby knew who Brian really was. Brian was an undercover detective, and surely Rigby would know about another officer on the trip.

### I was jumping to conclusions again, but if any of my theories were correct then the rest of us could be in danger.

### I was waiting for my turn to see Rigby. I wanted to confront him, I had questions and I wanted them answered.

### Russ returned from his phone call, sitting down opposite me.

### "I'm just going to the restroom." I said, excusing myself from the group. I felt Russ's eyes on my back.

### I headed down a wide white hallway, where old, framed photos were displayed along the walls, showing the days of when the Thompson Centre was first opened.

### Making a right turn into the open restroom, I found it totally empty.

### All the cubicles were open, with not one door closed. After finishing my business, I approached the sink and looked in the mirror.

### I felt a tad drained, and looked it too, so I leaned my face over the basin and splashed some cold water on my face. It refreshed me a little.

### I looked up, water dripping from my face to see Lauren's ghost stood behind me in the mirror's reflection.

### With blood running down her face, what happened next turned my stomach in knots. I span around. A ghostly knife appeared, wielded by some unseen apparition, slashing through her clothes and ripping at Lauren's skin. Blood sprayed forth, splattering the walls and my clothes as Lauren shrieked horribly.

### The knife continued to slash at her as she lay there, fading from the world.

### CLICK.

### I startled, and saw I was looking into the mirror again, Lauren standing at my shoulder. There was no blood.

### "You had to see that for yourself." she moaned, her voice as distant as the wind. "I'm starting to remember more about how I died."

### My stomach felt queasy, my whole body felt nauseous and dizzy. I ran into the cubicle, passing through Lauren's ghost, and threw up the peanut butter sandwich I had eaten earlier.

### "THE MURDERER CAN'T GET AWAY WITH THIS JOSH!" Lauren screamed. I fell to my knees outside the cubicle.

### "Why do you only appear to me? Why don't you appear to Jessica?" I begged her.

### "Jessica is weak. You Josh, are a strong, resilient man, and you never take no for an answer. You're persistent. Just think, what would Jessica's reaction be if I appeared to her?"

### Lauren was right; Jessica was in a fragile state, especially since the start of the trip and the awful knock to the head.

### "Lauren, I think I'm getting closer to finding out who murdered you. I have my own suspicions on what happened that night, but I need you to tell me something. Do you recognise anyone around me? Russ Vance? Officer Rigby? Brian?"

### Lauren told me that she had been watching over the events that have unfolded so far. I was hoping that her memory would grow less hazy.

### "Someone's coming this way... I don't know anyone, I'm sorry I can't remember Josh, but be careful what you say to that officer." she said as her form began to fade once more.

### Lauren's ghost vanished within an instant. I left the restroom and walked straight into Rodger, knocking us both to the ground.

### "Rigby sent me to find you, Russ told me that you went to the restroom." said Rodger, as he helped me back up to my feet.

### I didn't tell Rodger about Lauren, or what I had just seen, but it was something I needed to talk to Jessica about. I didn't know how she would take it.

### As we walked down the hall, I asked Rodger, "How did it go in there?"

### "Not too bad, just asked me what I had seen, and if I could write down what happened so he can submit the report later on." said Rodger.

### Rodger's interrogation hadn't been as bad as others, but I knew that once I was in the interrogation room, I wouldn't get the same treatment as the others.

### Going through the front blue door in the patrol room, the walls were painted grey, with several TVs connected to the back wall. There were seven TVs; each screen had a different number, for the different angle the camera was focused on.

### I noticed that one of the security cameras were focused on the Easy Eat café. Had he been keeping an eye on us?

"Take a seat, Crosser." said Rigby.

### Rigby pointed to the chair opposite him, with the desk separating us. I'm not the type of guy to beat around the bush, and I certainly wasn't about to now.

### I slammed my hand down on the desk.

### "Let's cut the crap. How the hell did you get from near Hill City to here in less than ten minutes? The only way you could have done that was to follow us all the way here. If that's the case, what's going on? Other people on this trip may not speak up to an officer, but I will."

### Rigby slammed his own fist on the table, his facial expression serious. No one must have said anything to him during their interrogations, but I wasn't about to sit back. I wanted answers, and now was the time to get them.

### "Crosser, you have a lot of nerve, you know that? You want to know how I got here so quick?" Rigby started smirking.

### "There was no traffic all the way here. Plus, I had a call come in from dispatch, not that it's any of your business."

### I knew Rigby was lying, he may not admit it, but it seemed a little too coincidental that the call from dispatch was for the Thompson Centre.

### "Whatever this so called call was, I bet you still trailed the bus all the way here. What are these phone calls with Russ all about? And this alcohol thing with Kevin? My ass. I know that's a load of crap."

### I didn't believe for one second Kevin was drink driving when the Subaru had collided with the bus. He was all shook up, nervous, and couldn't even think straight.

### Rigby was to blame for all of this, I believed that now. He had pinned a false accusation on Kevin, ensuring that no one on our bus would need to be questioned and ensuring we continued our journey.

### I wondered why Rigby would want the bus trip to carry on? Does he know about Jessica and her sister?

### "You do know, Crosser, the more you agitate me, and the more you harass an officer, the more likely it is that I'll arrest you. So keep running your mouth and asking questions, but just be aware of the consequences you'll be facing. If you want to sit down and actually talk about this, I need to ask you questions about what you saw earlier." said Rigby.

### "You want to know what I saw earlier? I saw Russ and Eleanor crossing the road. Russ was ahead of Eleanor, who wasn't far behind, when the oncoming bus knocked Eleanor down. Russ was shouting for help, not leaving the woman's side. I tried to save her life. No one else knows CPR, or anything about first aid, so I had to do something."

### No one had heard about the status of Eleanor, she'd been in a critical condition when she left here, but at least she had two people supporting her.

### For a little while, the interrogation had seemed to cool down. We were talking, I even laughed at something he said, but I made it clear we weren't going to be friends.

### "So, now that I've answered your questions, how about you answer mine?" I still hadn't received any answers.

### "Thanks for your time Josh, you may go." said Rigby evasively. I made my way to the door, but I turned around to say something.

### "Don't call me Josh. When I find out what is really going on here, and if you have any involvement at all in this, I will beat you to a pulp."

### I slammed the door behind me, leaving Rigby to his thoughts. I didn't care that I'd essentially just threatened an officer of the law. After all, I thought it pretty telling that Rigby hadn't arrested me on the spot.

### The time was 7.45PM. A few hours had passed since we'd arrived at the Thompson Centre. I was beginning to wonder if we'd ever make it to Dansville.

### I hoped that the remaining two interviews wouldn't take long; I wanted to be spending my time in Dansville, exploring a place I've only read about.

### Getting to Dansville almost seemed destined to never happen, I was hoping for no more trouble, and for the rest of the way to be smooth sailing. I wasn't banking on it.

### Jessica came and sat next to me, placing her hand on my shoulder before she spoke. "It sounded quite heated in there, from what I could gather."

### "I tried getting answers from Rigby, but he wouldn't budge. I know he's up to something, Jessica, so whatever you do in there, play up to him. Don't give him any answers, the more you tell him, the more danger we could be in and it could change anything that he is currently planning. Don't say anything to Russ either. If he's been making phone calls to Rigby, we need to be prepared for what might happen next."

Chapter 13

### Jessica had been in the room for over half an hour. I hoped she didn't say anything to Rigby that he could use to his advantage.

### Jessica and Russ had been the only ones left to question. Brian didn't need to be questioned; Rigby had nothing to ask him. He'd said, "He would give the same answers as everyone else."

### I was suspicious as to why he wouldn't question him, especially when Brian had been with us all at the horrific accident. Perhaps Rigby knew Brian's true identity and didn't want to reveal it.

### Jessica opened the door with a smile on her face as she looked towards me, but she turned around and continued to talk to Officer Rigby.

### "You're such a lovely man officer, it was a good job you arrived when you did. You may have just saved a woman's life." said Jessica.

### Jessica must have been sweet talking Officer Rigby in the patrol room, and by the sounds of it, she did a pretty good job.

### "Thank you everyone for the information." said Rigby as he approached the table. "I will pass on all the information you have given me, and let you know any further information about Eleanor. Before I go, Russ, can I have a word?"

### Russ walked off with the officer through the automatic doors, going outside to have a chat instead of talking in the patrol room.

### Pulling Jessica aside, I asked her, "What did you say to him? By the sounds of it, you must have said exactly what he wanted hear."

### "All I did was what you asked of me. He didn't ask me for any information except about what I saw earlier." said Jessica.

### "I want to know what the hell is going on around here." I fumed quietly.

### "It seems like Rigby and Russ have some sort of connection because they can't have become that friendly that easily. I wanted to tell you earlier but when I went to the toilet, I saw Lauren's ghost again. She didn't have much time buts he did say to be careful about what we say to Rigby. I don't know if she was going to tell me more information because she vanished."

### "Is that why you told me to watch what I said in there?" She sighed deeply. "I want to end all of this! I want to know who was responsible for the murder of my sister. I don't just think it could be someone involved on this trip, I KNOW it is."

### We both were pretty much certain that someone on the bus had murdered her sister, Lauren.

### "I know this is tough on you, but I'll help you find the killer, if it's the last thing I do. We still need to talk to Brian and find out, if any, what evidence he has."

### The large clock inside the centre struck 9PM, and Russ and Rigby were still outside. Everyone else was still sat at the table, grumbling about the never ending delays.

### Rodger had been asleep, along with David and Harriet. It was dark outside, and the Easy Eat café had now closed for the night. The workers told us that we could stay in the seating area, as the chairs were bolted to the ground. Around nine-fifteen, both Russ and Rigby returned and joined us.

### "Whoa! I never knew the crazy train rocked into the Thompson Centre." said Rigby as he looked at the people who were asleep. Rigby clapped loudly, shouting, "WAKE UP."

### Everyone jumped, and Rodger announced that we would be finally be setting off, starting the six hour trip to Country Passage. Rigby said goodbye, hopped on his bike and drove away.

### Everyone gathered their things and made their way outside. A small queue formed, getting onto the bus one by one.

### There were now only seven people left, not including Rodger, on the bus to Dansville. I couldn't help but think that we were sorting them out, one by one, finding out who it was.

### The engine rumbled, the bus windows started to shake then the engine stopped. Rodger turned and said, to the groans of the everyone on board, "I'm going to have to fill her up."

### Rodger left the bus, closing the doors behind him. We'd already used a few jerry cans, but if the bus kept going at this rate I'd started to wonder if we'd have enough to last us for the rest of the journey.

### "What did Officer Rigby say to you all?" Russ said aloud to everyone.

### Edith spoke up, "He didn't say much, and he just asked what we had seen with Eleanor."

### "I can assure you all; I had nothing to do with any of it. We were crossing the road and when I turned back, I saw Eleanor lying there unconscious." said Russ.

### Edith sat down next to Russ, putting her two hands on his arm, assuring him that everything was going to be okay.

### Russ looked worried and shocked by what happened earlier, but we would have to wait until Rigby had any further news.

### "We all said that we saw Eleanor getting struck by the bus, and that you had ran straight over to assist her." said Harriet. Everyone must have given similar statements to Officer Rigby, except me.

### "Crosser, what did you say in there? We all heard some shouting, sounded pretty heated." asked Russ.

### I didn't know whether Rigby and Russ had been talking about me when they went outside, so I made sure I was careful about what I said next.

### "I asked Rigby some personal questions, but he didn't answer one of them. I mean, surely it's not just me who thinks it's strange that Rigby arrived very quickly?"

### The whole bus went silent. I wasn't going to lie about what we'd talked about; I wanted them to know that I didn't trust Rigby.

### If I was the only one to be suspicious of Rigby's behaviour, then so be it. Russ didn't say much after I spoke up, the only thing he said was, "I don't know how he got here so quickly, but thank goodness he did. He may have just saved that woman's life." said Russ.

### Everyone agreed with Russ, nodding their heads in approval. I wasn't going to drop the subject, but I would talk to Russ privately about it later.

### Rodger got back on, checked the fuel gauge and started the engine. Finally, we were off.

### It was nine-thirty by now; over nine hours had passed by since leaving my home in Lakeside. Tiredness was starting to kick in. I decided to have a short nap, and hopefully the six hour journey would have passed by the time I awoke.

### Jessica was sat next to me, leaning her head on my shoulder. It wasn't just me and Jessica who had decided to have a short nap; Harriet and David had also drifted off.

### Dreams weren't something I had a lot of, but whenever I did, they were always very detailed and most of the time horrifying.

### Beaten down, losing its colour, and not functioning very well, this ugly vehicle appeared in front of my eyes, the rusted paint peeling off. The vehicle was twice my height, and it had seen better days. Several terrifying faces appeared in the windows. Blue, pale faces, like they'd been frozen or dead for a while.

### Their hands and faces were pressed against the windows, looking for someone to come to their aid. Walking around to the front of the bus, the driver sat motionless in his seat, head pressed against the wheel.

### "Are you okay in there?" I shouted out.

### The end of a screwdriver burst out of his head suddenly, exploding with blood, trickling over his face, obscuring his features. I vomited, hard and heaving, by the wheel.

### Making my way swiftly around to the other side of the bus, I couldn't see anything or anyone in the windows now.

### I started walking off slowly, reaching the rear of the bus when I heard somebody call out.

### "I can't believe it was you all along!" said an unknown voice.

### "Maybe if you opened your eyes, and took everything in around you, things could have been different. Now it's your turn." came the response.

### My vision blurred; I couldn't see a thing around me. A mist had come from nowhere. In the gloom I saw scissors glinting in some unknown hand. They slashed and stabbed.

### Blood sprinkled onto fresh snow, a scream barked into the sky, and then cutting off as quickly as it had began.

### My body started to shake, shivering with the sudden coldness. I noticed blood was pooling around my feet. I checked the right side of my body, and to my surprise I could see blood running down my right arm.

### There was a huge gash in my arm, blood pouring slowly but steadily. I started to feel very weak, losing feeling in my arm, my energy levels draining quickly.

### Was I somehow being affected by the injuries to another person on the bus? Was I somehow living through another person's suffering?

### I span around in the darkness, feeling like I had to get away, when I saw them; a figure stood not far away. A masked figure, watching me. I ran back in another direction. I heard running footsteps behind me.

### Whoever this masked assailant was, they weren't letting up, and were hot on my heels.

### Running though the white emptiness, I felt completely lost, isolated. I feared there was nowhere to go. My emotions were starting to get the better of me; I was starting to outright panic.

### I turned a corner, but it led me straight back to the bus. I was stuck in an infinite loop.

### My only idea was to get on the bus, as crazy as it seemed, and hopefully the masked assailant wouldn't look there. My legs felt tired from the running, and the blood still poured from my arm.

### I was outside of the bus doors, struggling to get my breath back, when I felt myself falling back, falling to the ground...

Chapter 14

### I couldn't feel myself collapsing to the floor, but I felt the pain shoot up my back with the impact.

### I tried to stand up, trying to force my weak legs to not give up on me. I felt completely helpless. I couldn't move anything; my right arm had lost all feeling, the blood pooling next to me.

### The masked assailant finally caught up, and they hovered over my weak body. They removed the mask. It was a woman.

### When I spoke, it didn't seem like she could hear me; my voice was a mere whispery rasp.

### I closed my eyes and felt myself soar upwards, out of my body and into the sky.

### I opened them and could see a grave being dug, piles of dirt around it.

### A casket was about to be lowered into the ground, and I felt everything slow down and come to a standstill.

### My eyes snapped open, and all I could see was the ceiling of the bus, the real bus this time. I had woken up again.

### The bus had come to a complete stop. I was still dazed, recovering from the dream. It felt so realistic, I felt as if I'd died.

### I could hear Russ and Rodger having an argument. Jessica had moved somewhere else. I noticed my clothes were soaked with sweat.

### Looking around the bus, Jessica had been asleep on the seat opposite me, with Harriet, David, and Edith on separate seats also fast asleep.

### Rodger and Russ were arguing at the front of the bus, but over what? I moved my stiff body to the edge of the seat, so I could stand up and see what the commotion was about.

### "What the hell do you mean the bus won't start? What the hell is the matter now?" demanded Russ.

### I hoped what I had heard wasn't true. If we were stuck in the middle of nowhere, who knows when we could get the bus fixed.

### "I mean the bus won't start. I've tried turning the key, hoping for a push or a response, but nothing. It seems completely dead." said Rodger.

### "I couldn't help but overhear you two shouting." I said sarcastically. "Just what is going on?"

### "We were driving for about an hour, when all of a sudden, the bus completely cut out. Rodger says he's tried everything, but nothing works. Crosser, are you okay by the way? Jessica moved from your side, you were shaking, and I told her you'd be fine." said Russ.

### "I'm fine. What do you mean just completely stopped? I hope I'm dreaming this."

### "We were driving along, sailing smoothly for the first time in this trip, and all of a sudden, I could see thick, grey smoke coming from under the hood of the bus. I knew the engine was finished." said Rodger.

### "Has anyone been outside to check out the problem?" I asked. Surely if it's something drastic like the engine blowing, one of them may have checked.

### "Crosser, we have been here for more than an hour, and have you seen the weather outside? It's snowing like crazy, and when I stepped outside, I nearly froze solid." said Russ.

### Out of the mini speaker of Rodger's radio, the radio presenter said it is -20 degrees outside. Apparently we were due some kind of freak weather for the next few days.

### I noticed my breath was now fogging in front of me. It had gotten really cold inside the bus.

### Russ started shivering. I hoped that what I saw in my dream, with the frozen bodies pressed against the window, wasn't a premonition.

### "I'll go check under the bonnet, I hope that I can get the bus up and running again, but I'm not promising anything." said Rodger.

### Rodger got out from his seat, and headed straight towards the doors of the bus.

### "Crosser, I need you to press the red button when I tell you to. It'll open the doors for me to run outside, but I need you ready to let me back in, or I'll freeze."

### Standing next to the doors, Rodger zipped up his coat, and looked outside. "NOW" he shouted, and I pressed the button.

### The doors opened and a freezing cold gale blasted in, bringing with it a flurry of snow.

### After Rodger stepped outside, I pressed the red button again, shutting the doors.

### I brushed myself off and looked out of the window. I could vaguely see Rodger through the heavy snow. He pulled the hood on his coat over his head, trying to protect himself from the lashing snow.

### The last thing I could see outside was Rodger lifting the bonnet of the bus. I couldn't see anything after that; the bonnet was higher than the window. I kept my focus on the doors, waiting for Rodger to return.

### "How long was I out? I had a horrible dream." I said to Russ.

### "You were out for about an hour. Everything was going great until the bus stopped. Rodger and I talked for a while, he did tell me a story that might interest you." said Russ.

### I was intrigued about what Russ and Rodger had been talking about, but I didn't get a chance to ask Russ as Rodger started banging on the door.

### His face was pink, almost turning to blue. His hands were pure white, and he was shivering pretty badly. Immediately, I slammed my hand down on the red button, swinging open the double doors. Russ grabbed onto Rodger's arm as he struggled to get back into the bus.

### I shut the doors as Russ managed to get Rodger back in the bus. He'd had only been outside for a few minutes, but he had suffered.

### Several thoughts ran through my mind, but I needed to check that Rodger was okay. He'd slumped to the floor of the bus.

### I took off my coat and placed it on Rodger. "Rodger are you okay? Did you manage to get a good look at the problem?" I asked.

### I was still shivering, but I knew Rodger needed the coat more than I did right now.

### "It was hard to get a good look, but it seems to be a faulty transmission vacuum modulator because this bus is so old. It looks like it has sucked transmission fluid into the engine, where it's burned in the cylinders. That's the reason for the grey smoke, and why this bus is going nowhere." said Rodger.

### What Rodger had said didn't sound good at all, the worst part being the bit about the bus going nowhere. I was worried whether we'd make it through the night.

### "Well isn't this great! I was hoping you were going to tell us that you could get the bus on the road again, not telling us we're screwed!" shouted Russ.

### The temperature inside the bus was getting colder every minute. I told everyone to wrap up and stay warm; we were in it for the long haul.

### "Crosser, what do you think we should do? I'm freezing my ass off." said Russ, starting to shiver.

### All three of us were shivering now. What we were wearing wasn't going to be enough to keep us warm for long. I needed to check our supplies.

### "Right this is the plan: we need to go to the trunk, get everyone's bags and bring them on board. It's already starting to get colder in here, and it isn't going to get any better. Once we do that, if anyone has food apart from me, we may need to ration it out. We need to wake the rest of the group, and let them know the situation. Rodger, I need you to radio through to control if you can. Russ, I need you to check your mobile for a signal constantly."

### If we could somehow manage to get a signal either from the phone or radio, we may have a chance of getting help, possibly even a replacement bus.

### "I'll try and get in touch with dispatch, but I can't guarantee that it will work." said Rodger.

### Rodger went back to his seat, grabbing hold of the radio. Russ pulled out his mobile phone, checking the top of the screen for any signal in the area.

### "Damn it, no luck! Not even one bar. Now that we're the countryside, none of us are going to be able to get signal." said Russ.

### If Rodger couldn't get through to dispatch, we would definitely be stuck here for some time, but for how long?

### "Guys, you may want to come over here." said Rodger. I hoped it was good news.

### Russ and I went straight to the front of the bus, and as soon as we saw Rodger's face, I could tell it was bad. He looked very worried.

### "I tried the radio, hoping for a response, but I got nothing, all I got was fuzzy noise. Whether I can hear incoming feeds or not, I don't know. If I can, it will be useless anyway, I can't respond." said Rodger.

### Rodger slammed the radio back into its holder, pissed off because he couldn't get through to anyone.

### "What the hell are we going to do now?" asked Russ.

### Both Russ and Rodger looked at. No one else had an idea; it was only me that could think of something.

### "I only have one idea that we can use, if we are going to survive. I know it may sound crazy, but with hardly any food and the freezing weather, it's going to affect us even more very soon."

### None of us knew how long this broken bus would be stuck for, or if any help would be coming, but I wasn't prepared to just sit back.

### "What do we need to do? I'm here to help." said Russ, jumping to his feet.

### "We need to tell everyone else the situation. Plus, we need to get everyone's bags from the trunk. A few of us need to go out there and get them on here as fast as we can." I said. It was the only thing we could really do for now.

### With the weather getting colder, we needed the bags from the trunk. If we could wear extra layers of clothes, we could keep our body heat in for a while longer.

### "I can't believe we have to go outside in this freaky weather but, Crosser, if you think we need to then let's do it." said Russ.

### "If I go outside, I can try get to the trunk and grab the bags. Russ, I'm going to need your help. I need you to come outside and help me bring the bags to the bus, while Rodger helps us with the doors."

### None of us wanted to do it, but we all knew we had to.

### Everyone else was sleeping at the back of the bus, making it easier for Rodger to grab the bags as Russ handed them to him.

### My backpack had a few extra set of clothes. I took out a spare shirt and pulled it on. I had on a pair of jeans, a short sleeve shirt, a jumper, and I put my gloves on too. The weather outside was getting worse, the snow falling in endless drifts. The hailstones were coming down thick and fast, adding to the level of snow.

### Our plan was set. Russ and I waited near the door, waiting for Rodger to open it. This was the only thing that could help us out, and I was determined to get the bags from the trunk.

### With a press of the button, the doors flew open and Russ and I climbed off the bus as quickly as we could, into the horrendously cold weather.

Chapter 15

### The snow and hailstones battered me as I ran to the rear of the bus. Getting to the trunk was the only thing in my mind.

### I had only been outside for about a minute, but I already was shivering violently. My face was numb; my fingers were agony to move. I had to hurry.

### I could hear Russ shouting to me.

### "Hurry up, Crosser; I'm freezing my balls off! Are you at the trunk yet?"

### Sliding open the trunk doors, there were eight bags, each one a different colour. I didn't know whose bag belonged to whom, but I grabbed a pink one, and went straight to Russ. Once Russ grabbed the bag from me, I could briefly see him trailing back towards the front of the bus. I turned back to get more.

### We kept at it for what seemed like hours, our pace slowing dangerously as we froze. The weather was too much; my body was losing all feeling.

### Russ wasn't looking too good either; even he struggled to carry the bags to the front of the bus. I didn't know how Rodger was feeling; he had to keep the double doors open until we were finished.

### After some time, struggling against the cold weather, there was only one bag left.

### "RUSS THIS IS THE LAST BAG! GET ON THE BUS AND TELL RODGER TO PUSH THE BUTTON, AND SHUT THE DAMN DOORS." I yelled over the howling wind.

### I heard Russ running back to the vehicle as I slammed the trunk shut, grabbing the last bag.

### The last bag felt like I was carrying 100kg, my hands were completely devoid of feeling. I tried to have a big smile on my face when I reached the bus, but my lips had cracked and started to bleed. I tried to get to the bus as fast as I could, but I couldn't run.

### Handing Rodger the last bag was a big relief; Russ grabbed on to my arm and helped me onto the bus. Rodger slammed the red button, and shut the double doors as soon as I was on the bus.

### "I was worried about you two, but I'm glad you're both okay." said Rodger.

### Rodger had gone pale, and felt less of the cold than me and Russ had, but I could see the smile on his face as we both got on the bus.

### Russ grabbed my arm and helped me up to my feet. It wasn't much warmer on the bus, but my body instantly felt better.

### "You don't have the problem of waking everyone up now, they wanted to help, but I told them to stay put." said Rodger, motioning behind me.

### I looked towards the back of the bus, noticing the cold but happy faces of the other passengers. The rest of the group came running towards us, embracing us.

### "I... I needed to help you all."

### My words came out slowly, and my teeth were chattering. I was still feeling the effects of the cold weather. I tried to smile.

### Sharing the body heat with the others was nice, even though I'm not usually the hugging type.

### It was nice to know that the rest of the group cared; it seemed like they knew how important it was to stick together.

### If we were going to be stuck for a few days, and dispatch had no word from Rodger, they might see it as an alarming situation, and send help right away.

### "I had to get the bags... with how cold it is out there... we need extra clothes to protect ourselves from the cold weather." I told the group.

### "It's a smart move you made, Josh." said Jessica, hugging me. "It's nice to know that you've got the safety of us all in mind. We all agreed that you should have woken us up, we could have helped in some way." The others rumbled their agreement.

### "I need to know if anyone apart from me... has got any food on them. We need to save what we have; I fear that we're going to be here for a while."

### I hoped it wasn't just me who carried some food. If that was the case, we wouldn't have enough food to last us a day.

### Unfortunately, I gleaned from their faces and the disappointed mumbling that no one else had any food with them; they'd all assumed we'd be in Dansville by now.

### "I have some, but not much." Rodger spoke out.

### "What food do you have?" I asked.

### "I have a pack of six bags of cheese and onion crisps. I know it's pathetic, but I'm addicted to them." he laughed. "It's a good job I did keep them, as they're pretty useful now."

### "What we need to do is sort out which bag belongs to who. Once you have your bag, put on some extra layers and keep as warm as you can. I think it may be best if we all get some sleep, hopefully tomorrow we can figure out a plan, or hopefully someone will come rescue us."

### Hopefully.

Chapter 16

Monday, 16th August 2010, wasn't a great start for me, or anyone else. I couldn't sleep properly, even with two hooded jackets to keep warm through the night.

### The freezing temperatures were affecting me badly. I woke up shaking, with goose bumps all over, and I had an aching back and neck from trying to sleep in a bus seat.

### I kept waking up having sudden flashes; I could see the thick snow starting to pile against the bus, two feet high, now. The snow hadn't eased; in fact it had gotten worse.

### When I checked my watch, it was 5AM. David, Harriet, Edith, and Jessica were awake, talking. Russ, Brian, and Rodger were still sleeping.

### I didn't know what evidence Brian had against Russ; I still hadn't had the chance to talk to him. If the murderer was on this bus like Lauren had thought, I needed to be careful who was around me. It literally could be any of them.

### As soon as I woke up, I could hear some of the passengers saying that they were hungry. We didn't have much food, and who knows if we were going to get any help soon.

### I went over to the driver's seat. Rodger was asleep, so I didn't want to disturb him. I saw that his radio was in its holster. I pulled it out, pressed the black button on the side and spoke into the radio: "Is anyone there? Please respond! We're stuck in the middle of Country Passage!"

### No luck. There was no response from the other end, and all that I could hear was white noise. I placed the radio back into the holster and joined the others.

### "We haven't got much food. There's not going to be much to go around, so we'll have to make do with what we've got. We're miles away from anywhere, and none of us could walk to the Thompson Centre from here. We'd be dead in less than twenty minutes." I said.

### I didn't know what to do, and I didn't have a plan. We couldn't send someone out in the freezing cold, and none of us could get any signal to contact anyone.

### Unless anyone else in the group had an idea, it looked as if we would be staying in the bus for the foreseeable future.

### I suddenly thought of a way that we could get help. I was surprised I hadn't thought of it earlier. I went over to where Rodger was sleeping, slowly shaking him to wake up.

### Rodger slowly opened his eyes, and when he realised it was me he asked, "Is everything okay Josh?"

### "Rodger, I have a question for you. I'm surprised I didn't think of this sooner! Do you know if there are any buses scheduled to come through this way anytime soon?"

### Rodger sat up and pulled out a white sheet from under the steering wheel. "There's one scheduled to come along this way at 10AM. Although I wouldn't get your hopes up because with the weather being as it is, they're more likely to just cancel that service."

### It was a long shot, but it was a chance. It was some hope, which we badly needed right now.

### We were stuck out in the middle of nowhere, with barely any food and no real chance of help for days. We couldn't walk back to the Thompson Centre, and we didn't have any other form of transport to get us out of here. It was looking pretty bleak.

### Russ approached the front of the bus, listening in to what Rodger and I were talking about.

### "We've got to do something, we can't just stay here." said Russ.

### "This bus is going nowhere!" he shouted to the rest of the bus. "We need a plan, otherwise we're stuck here and we're all going to freeze to death. Who knows how long we're going to be here for, or if anybody is going to rescue us. We can't take that chance."

### Everyone pulled their phones out and checked to see if they could get any signal. They all shook their heads.

### "I know this is a long shot, but it's the only chance we have. Rodger says that a bus is meant pass through here at 10AM. With this weather, it looks unlikely that that will happen. I hope that it will, and then we can get to Dansville and put this all behind us."

### 10AM soon came, and we were all pressed against the windows hoping that the other bus from Lakeside was coming, but it never did. Despite everyone wearing extra layers, every one of us sat shivering badly.

### The snow outside now looked to be about three or four feet high, piling up against the bus. I hoped that the snow was going to let up soon, or else we'd be buried.

### By 12PM, we gave up on the idea of another bus passing through here anytime soon. Everyone was hungry, and the food we had the most of was crisps. Everyone had a bag of crisps for their breakfast. It was all we had.

### At least we all would have something to eat today. I shared out the large bottle of water I had with everyone. It didn't take long before the bottle was completely empty.

### Whilst some of the group were talking amongst themselves, I was thinking of ideas on how we could get out of this terrible situation.

### Rodger was going to keep trying the radio to see if he could get a message through to dispatch. Everyone else was checking their phones every twenty minutes, hoping for a signal to get through to somebody.

### I thought of something that we hadn't tried yet; if one of us could go outside, even for a minute, the chance of getting a signal could dramatically increase our chances of getting out of here.

### I shouted for everyone's attention, before I told them my idea.

### "I've come up with an idea that could help us. If one of us goes outside, before the snow completely blocks us in, the chances of one of our phones getting a signal could increase."

### "I'll try the radio again." said Rodger, going over to his seat, hoping that this time he'd be able to get a connection.

### "I guess you're right, Crosser, but I've been outside and so have you and Rodger. I think someone else should go." said Russ.

### Russ had a point, we had already been outside. It was time someone else shared the responsibility. The options were: Brian, Harriet, David, or Jessica.

### I was worried about Jessica, she was still recovering from that nasty bump to the head, and I didn't want her to go outside.

### "I'll do it!" said Brian.

### I hoped that if Brian managed to get a signal, he could get through to his office and send back-up.

### Everyone else still thought that Brian was a shady guy, and that he was very suspicious; I still didn't trust him myself.

### I trusted Brian more than I did Officer Rigby, anyway. At least Brian had told me and Jessica that he was undercover.

### "Hello dispatch, is there anybody there? We need serious help out here. We're stuck at Country Passage." shouted Rodger into the radio, but to no avail.

### Rodger placed the radio back in its holster. It looked like the radio would be no use, and we were still in the same situation.

### Rodger didn't have any luck, and the only thing we could do now is to let Brian go outside, and hopefully he would manage to get a signal on his phone.

### "This guy has volunteered to go outside; hopefully we might have some good luck." I said, pointing to Brian.

### "Rodger, I need you to check that the doors are still working." Rodger pressed the red button to activate the doors, but something was wrong.

### "These doors won't open with the button; I don't know what the hell is wrong with them! It's one thing after another with this bus!" said Rodger.

### I wasn't surprised that the doors had stopped working, the engine had failed, and now the buttons wouldn't work. The cold had started affecting the electrics.

### Attached to the double doors were two black handles. If Russ and I could pull the handles open, Brian could get out of the bus and try his mobile phone.

### "Rodger, Russ and I can pull the handles on the doors, and get this guy out of here to try his mobile." I said.

### "Okay, some snow will get into the bus, but as long as you two can pull the doors shut until he needs to get back in." said Rodger.

### Russ and I went towards the doors, tugging at the handles to try and force the doors open. The handles were very stiff, but we both managed to create an opening for Brian.

### "When I say so, we are going to pull the doors at the same time, so you can go outside." I said to Brian, who took a deep breath, steeling himself for the cold.

### "NOW!"

### We both pulled the doors open, and Brian stepped outside. I could see that Brian had pulled his jacket hood over his head.

### Looking out of the window, I could hardly see Brian. He was trying to look under his jacket at what I think was his phone.

### Brian turned his head to the right. I couldn't make out what he was doing, and neither could anyone else that was looking out of the window.

### Within five minutes, Brian came back and knocked on the doors. Russ and I pulled the handles, and the double doors came open. Snow fell onto the bottom step, but nothing that was going to affect the inside of the bus.

### "I'm so cold." said Brian, shivering, heading back towards his seat. He had already started to go blue.

### It looked like both of my plans had failed. Rodger couldn't get through to dispatch and Brian hadn't managed to get a signal on his phone.

### The only food that was left were two sandwiches and a few chocolate bars, but that wasn't going to last us very long.

### "I guess we're going to be here for a while, I'm all out of plans." I told Brian.

### "I managed to get a signal, and I spoke to my team. They said they'll be sending someone out soon, although it could take some time. They're going to approach quietly, with no signals, so when they come, I'll grab Russ and I'll need you to let them in." he whispered.

### I couldn't believe what Brian had told me. He had managed to get a signal on his phone after all, and help was on the way. I couldn't tell anyone else on board, I wasn't meant to be talking to Brian in the first place.

### Russ and Jessica were talking near the back of the bus. I couldn't tell exactly what was happening, but it looked like Russ was asking Jessica if she could get out his seat, which was near the window.

### Jessica stood up, and Russ did so too. He then head-butted her, and she fell back down into the seat unconscious.

### I couldn't believe what I had just seen. I leapt from where I was sat and ran to the back of the bus.

### "Jessica? Jessica?"

### I ran down the aisle of the bus, my eyes focused only on Jessica, when I felt a sharp blow to the back of my head, and all went black.

Chapter 17

### "None of them knew that we had this planned all along, especially not Crosser."

### I could hear someone talking, but had no idea who it was.

### "You've got that right, Russ. He may have suspected me, but suspecting you, he did not. These morons won't be here much longer, once we have what we want, they'll all be dead."

### All I could hear were faint voices as I started to slowly come around. I didn't know how long I had blacked out for, or how I ended up in this dizzy state.

### I heard Russ' name, but who was he talking to, I didn't know. My head thumped painfully.

### Slowly opening my eyes, looking down to the floor, I could see a massive puddle of blood.

### "Hey look! He's finally decided to wake up. Someone help his sorry ass up."

### Someone picked me up roughly. I opened my eyes properly and blinked. Russ's smirking face came into focus.

### "All it took was Jessica, and the plan I had all along is coming to fruition! You're so pathetic, Crosser."

### Russ punched me in the cheekbone and I fell to the ground. I felt very weak; blood trickled from the corner of my mouth.

### "Get him up, let him look around in his last for few moments he's alive." said Russ.

### I used all the strength I had, trying to get back on my feet, and I saw that everyone had been tied up. All the passengers looked up at me, their mouths covered with a strip of duct tape.

### I could hear them trying to speak, to cry for help through the tape. I couldn't help them now.

### "Are you all okay?" I shouted out.

### I was on my knees, my hands tied behind my back with rope.

### When I looked up, I was shocked; Russ was standing in front of me, a sadistic smile on his face.

### Standing next to Russ was someone I didn't expect to see - Officer Rigby. I couldn't believe it, how did Officer Rigby get on the bus? How the hell did he manage to drive through the terrible weather?

### Russ must have lied to us all when he said he couldn't get a signal on his phone. I didn't know how long I blacked out for, but it must have been for some time.

### What I had thought this whole time was true; Rigby and Russ were working together.

### I knew Rigby looked suspicious from the first time I saw him. It looked like Brian was completely right about Russ, and I should have believed him earlier. I should have trusted my instincts.

### I wondered what Russ had planned for us; none of us could do anything. I had to escape somehow.

### "All this time, Crosser, you didn't do a damn thing to stop me." sniggered Russ, mocking me. "You have no idea who I actually am and, better yet, you don't know what I have in store for all of you. Rigby is my right hand man, and has been for a very long time. All this time I had planned on this bus getting stranded. Nobody is going anywhere."

### "You don't need to explain yourself to anybody, Russ." said Rigby.

### "These people haven't got much longer left, not once we start torturing them. Let's leave that punk Josh until last; I'd love the great pleasure of slicing him up, piece by piece."

### I was enraged. Who knew how long we had left to live? Russ and Rigby were going to take their sweet time and enjoy every moment of their plan, unless I stopped it.

### Back when I was in the scouts, we learned how to tie different kinds of knots, but also how to untangle each one of them.

### The ropes that bound my hands were done well, but not well enough.

### When the time was right, I would still be able to free myself, but I couldn't make it obvious.

### With this kind of knot I learned that if the rope is tight, to move your arms outward, trying to create a space and loosen the hold. Once I had done that, I'd need to press both thumbs together in the knot to loosen the tight grip.

### I remembered that I had a pair of scissors in my bag, which was the other option I had to set my hands free. I started to wriggle my hands slowly, trying to loosen the hold the rope had on my hands being tied together.

### From the corner of my eye, I could see that my backpack wasn't too far away.

### I had a crazy idea. If I could get up, I could start causing trouble between Russ and Rigby, and they'd end up hitting me. I could make myself fall towards the bag, and grab my scissors when they weren't looking.

### There was only one other person in the group that could also set themselves free, and that was Brian. If I could cause a distraction, Brian may have already started untying his ropes, and that would buy him some time.

### As I used the strength I had to get back up to my feet, both men's attention hadn't been entirely focused on me. Russ and Rigby had been watching the rest of the group and talking between themselves.

### I slowly raised myself up and Rigby turned around, seeing that I was getting to my feet.

### "You never know when to give up do you, Crosser? Surely you can't be that stupid to want another beating from us." he said.

### As soon as I got up, Rigby went to punch me, but I managed to shift my body out of the way, and I kicked him as hard as I could in his ribs. Rigby fell straight to the ground.

### I moved myself into position, ready to take a punch. Russ turned and headed straight for me. With his right fist, he landed a punch on my jaw, knocking me down.

### I landed near my backpack.

### Although I planned on taking the punch, it still bloody hurt, and blood still poured from my mouth. Right behind me was my backpack; I knew that I now stood a chance against both men.

### Rigby got back up on his feet, and he was pissed off. I could see that Rigby was heading in my direction, irate and annoyed, and he landed a hard kick right into my ribs.

### I struggled for breath, great gasping gulps choking me.

### "That should keep him down for a while. He should know not to mess with an officer." said Rigby.

### I took slow, steadying breaths, waiting for the right time to grab the scissors and start cutting the rope. If I could free myself, I could take them both on.

### I didn't have any other plans; I couldn't just sit back whilst two evil men are planning to kill us off one by one.

### Rigby and Russ turned their attention away from me, standing over the rest of the group. This was my chance. I had to get the scissors while I had the opportunity. I might never get another chance.

### With my hands tied behind my back, I tried using whatever grip I had to get into the pocket, shifting my hands around slowly, searching carefully.

### I tried feeling with my hands, looking for the sharp blades of the scissors, but I couldn't find them. All that was in the pocket was the duct tape roll, a measuring tape, and a basic stationery set.

### I remember packing the scissors in the same pocket as the rest of the items.

### The only other item in my bag that was sharp was one end of the compass, but with a locked code, I couldn't get into my stationary set. I could feel something else there, too. What was it? Wait, it's-

### "Are you looking for these, Crosser?" said Russ, suddenly.

### I looked up and I couldn't believe it - Russ was holding up the scissors.

### "How the hell did you get them?" I asked.

### "Remember back at the Thompson centre when you sent Rodger and I back to the bus? Well, I went in your backpack to get the towels and saw the scissors. I knew they could come in handy, so I made sure you couldn't get them." said Russ. "Now I'll show you what they're meant for!"

### Russ turned back to the group, kneeling beside David and Harriet. In one quick movement, he slashed Harriet's throat.

### "No!" I cried.

### Her eyes went wide as blood sprayed forth like a geyser. David began to fight as hard as he could against the constraints, tears falling down his cheeks, trying to get to his wife.

### After a few moments, Harriet's struggling slowed and she fell over, dead. David broke down, sobbing.

### "You see Crosser." said Russ, standing up. "I don't feel sorry for anybody, and when you try beat me at my own game, someone is going to pay the price."

### Both Russ, and Rigby were laughing. They relished the sight of this poor woman's body on the floor, the blood pooling around the hostages.

### David's mouth was taped, but he was trying to scream, to get at the men. He gave up and lay down next to his wife, his knees soaked in blood. He looked utterly distraught.

### I felt sick. For nearly a decade I had known Russ, and I had never known he could be so sadistic. He had just murdered an innocent woman in front of us all, and her poor husband David saw it happen.

### "Look, Russ! Look how pathetic this guy is! He'll be joining his wife soon." said Rigby, snorting.

### If these two can nonchalantly just murder this woman in front of her husband, I didn't have much of a chance.

### "Listen up! If anyone of you dare try to escape from this bus, or if anyone tries anything, another one of you will die. It will be much worse than what you've just seen." said Russ.

### They both walked away, heading for the front of the bus, thinking about what they were going to do next.

### Very quietly, I leaned over to David, and whispered.

### "I'm so sorry about your wife; they're not going to get away with this. I can't imagine the pain you're going through, but I'm slowly getting out of my ropes, and when I do, you'll get your revenge."

### I tried to make as little noise as possible when I was trying to untie the rope, otherwise both Russ, and Rigby may get suspicious of what I was up to.

### After a short struggle, I managed to create a gap in the ropes, loosening the hold it had on my hands.

### I couldn't let on that I could get out easily, especially when Russ and Rigby were on high alert. I would have to time the escape perfectly, and to do that, I'd need to set the others free first.

### I couldn't talk to anyone, they all had duct tape over their mouths, but if I could pass on my plan then maybe we'd get out of this mess.

### I needed to get Russ and Rigby's attention.

### "Hey arseholes! If you're done kissing each other over there, I have questions that I want answered." I shouted.

### Both Russ and Rigby laughed at me, but got out of their seats and came closer.

### "Big man, talking like that while you're tied up. Okay, Crosser, I guess we'll play along. What do you want to know?" said Rigby.

### "Everyone's here, we've all heard the stories, but what happened to Eddie Monroe? I don't believe for one minute that you two didn't have anything to do with that." I said. As I've already mentioned, I had my suspicions, but I needed to hear it from them.

### "Whatever do you mean?" said Rigby, pretending to be shocked and acting like he didn't know what I was talking about.

### "I mean, did you two lovers have something to do with the murder of Eddie Monroe and Lauren Hill?"

### This was the only chance we were going to get to hear the truth. Whether they would tell us what happened is a different matter.

### "You better watch what you say, Crosser, unless you want us to kill someone else." said Rigby.

### "Calm down, Rigby, if Josh wants to know something, he starts to get angry. If he's going to play this game, we can play too. I want to know, Josh, just out of interest, what are your thoughts on it all?" said Russ

### I had to be careful here, I felt like I was teetering over the edge of a trap.

### "I don't have a clue on how both Eddie, and Lauren were killed. If you want to know what I think, I'll tell you. I think Russ committed the murders; Rigby hasn't got the balls to do anything. I bet Rigby was just back up, and he was a part of the plan because you were too scared to go alone, Russ. Of course, with Rigby being law enforcement, he could get you into anywhere. I bet you snuck your way into Eddie Monroe's room that night, and killed him because he found out that you killed Lauren Hill."

### Russ started to clap.

### "Is that what you think? My, my, my... Not bad. A decent guess, I would say. I personally think the success went to Eddie's head. I think he couldn't handle the fame, so he ended his own life. Rigby and I have been friends for many years, I just never told you or anyone about it. I will let you all in on something, though. The driver of the Subaru from earlier, Kevin? We framed him."

Chapter 18

### Back at the patrol room in the Thompson Centre, I had told Rigby that the accusation of drink-driving against Kevin was a load of crap. Kevin was completely shook up; he was a complete wreck, and didn't know how to react to the situation. He wasn't slurring his words; he wasn't walking funny, or acting strangely. In short, no alcohol involved.

### I wasn't surprised that Kevin had been framed. Rigby and Russ had all the power they wanted, and no one could stop them.

### Or so they thought.

### "If you framed Kevin for the incident, how does that help either one of you? What's happening to Kevin right now?" I asked.

### I knew that if Kevin was found guilty, he would lose his license, and be sent to prison.

### "How does it help us? It got Kevin out of the way, made sure this trip continued. I was in contact with Russ all this time, making sure the plan was still intact. And now we're here, and we've just started." said Rigby.

### "I'm going to make you a promise right now." I snarled. "You may think we're all stranded here, but when I get out of these ropes, I will beat both of you to a pulp. I'm going to kill you for what you've done to us all."

### I meant every word I said, I wanted to make them pay.

### Russ and Rigby threatened us all that someone would pay the price if any of us acted up, but I couldn't just sit there and let them kill someone else.

### "You know, Crosser, one more outburst from you, and I swear I'll kill someone else. I don't care if they never see their families again. You don't want that now do you, Josh?" said Rigby, taunting me with my name.

### How could I just sit here and let them do what they wanted? If I tried to do anything, someone would pay the price. Little did they know, I was biding my time, waiting for the right moment to strike.

### There was something else that played on my mind - what was the status of Eleanor, John and Juliet? John and Juliet had gone with Eleanor to the hospital; Eleanor's life had been hanging in the balance.

### Russ hadn't really admitted to anything. All I knew for sure was what he'd done today.

### When I looked outside, it was dark. I must have blacked out for a while. It was utterly freezing inside the bus. Frost was spreading over the inside of the windows.

### I could only see outside half of one, and I could see the snow had piled right up past the bottom of the window. I couldn't remember the last time it had snowed this much.

### Everyone looked totally dejected and frozen. What an absolute nightmare this was.

### I watched Russ and Rigby eating the last of the food, taking slow, deliberate bites to tease us all.

### I could feel the rope starting to loosen; I knew with one little pull, my arms would be free. I had to buy some time. Russ and Rigby hadn't killed anyone else. I didn't need another death on my conscience. The sight of David lying next to his dead wife broke my heart.

### It also steeled me for what I had to do.

### Both Russ and Officer Rigby approached us after they finished eating and picked up Harriet's body, dumping it roughly near the front of the bus. I hoped that they didn't have something planned, to disrespect Harriet, or David may do something that could cost him his life.

### "It's past 11PM; you all best get some sleep! Tomorrow's going to be a very busy day, not just for us, but for all of you. Hell, it could be your last! We're going to be sleeping near the front of the bus, and we're going to use all of your spare clothes to keep us warm. If we hear any movement at all, someone is going to die." said Russ.

### Edith, Rodger and Brian were sleeping, somehow. They must have been exhausted because I didn't know how anyone could sleep in these conditions. I didn't want to sleep, but I watched as Russ and Rigby settled in their seats.

### David, Jessica, and I were the only ones awake. Eventually I noticed that the two men had fallen asleep, so I loosened the ropes silently, and freed my arms.

### I put my finger on my lips, signalling to David and Jessica not to make any noise. I wanted to untie the rope that bound Jessica's arms and David's.

### I softly whispered, "I can get your arms free, and take the tape off your mouths, but you have to promise me that you'll not do anything, or talk loudly, otherwise they'll wake up and we'll all be dead."

### Jessica and David nodded in agreement. I slowly approached Jessica at a crawl, carefully trying to not make a noise. I managed to get to Jessica without making a sound, and untied her hands. I slowly took the duct tape off Jessica's mouth, and we both helped David.

### Both Jessica and David had complied with what I said, but I needed to talk to both of them without causing any trouble.

### I whispered, "Are you both okay? David, I'm so sorry about your wife, but I promise you'll get your revenge."

### "That son of a bitch will pay for what he did!" rasped David.

### I had to quickly shush him as one of the men at the front snorted in his sleep. After a terrifying moment, all was still again.

### I could see the anger in David's eyes; I could see the yearning for vengeance. But not yet.

### I placed my hand on David's shoulder, and told him, "Please don't do anything now David, I know you want to see Russ go to hell, but if you act now, he's going to wake up and all of us will suffer."

### David took a deep breath and silently nodded, his face set with grim determination.

### "Jessica, how're you coping? I remember Russ hitting your head, and then I blacked out. What happened to me?" I asked.

### "I'm doing okay. I'm cold, and my head hurts. I didn't see what happened to you, though."

### "Russ clocked you with a wrench as you ran to Jessica." whispered David. "You were out cold for a while."

### Jessica didn't know where Russ had gotten the wrench from, but I had a good idea where; Rodger had kept a wrench by the driver's seat. Russ must have taken it when no one was looking.

### Suddenly, I had a thought that could possibly get us out of there.

### "Listen, I've just had an idea. I noticed there's a parked police car outside, which means Rigby left his bike. What if, by some chance, he left his keys in the car? If he did, we can get the hell out of here."

### I know the chances of Rigby leaving his keys in the car would be very small, but I didn't have any other ideas. I was knocked out for some time; I didn't see or hear him get on the bus. Maybe Russ needed some help, and Rigby had to hurry out of his car, leaving his keys in the meantime.

### I needed more information about what unfolded when I was knocked out, and only Jessica and David could tell me what happened.

### "When I blacked out earlier, how long was it until Rigby came on the bus? If he hurried up to help Russ, his keys could still be in the car."

### Before David could speak, Jessica spoke up, telling me what had happened.

### "When that creep Russ did what he did to you, Russ ordered Rodger to open the bus doors. Rodger didn't have a clue what had happened, and neither did any of us. Rodger managed to open the doors, and Rigby stepped on board. Officer Rigby then punched Rodger in the face, and tied his hands together. They took turns, tying each one of our hands, one by one, until you were last."

### It looked like Russ had played us this whole time, saying he couldn't get signal on his phone. He'd been in contact with Rigby the entire time.

### Both men were still asleep. How could we get to the front of the bus without them noticing?

### If I could get to the doors without a sound, I could try Rigby's car. I had another idea.

### I started thinking of the obvious; if Russ had left the scissors lying around then I could use them to kill both men quickly.

### "Does anyone know what happened with the scissors Russ used earlier?" I asked.

### Both Jessica and David looked surprised, but quickly caught onto my thinking.

### "I don't know what Russ did with the scissors, but if we can find them, we can save everyone else." said David.

### If the bus being stranded wasn't bad enough, or the fact that there was no food or drink, then I couldn't imagine how bad David was feeling inside.

### "I don't think Russ dropped the scissors, they must be in his pocket. If you and David didn't see him drop them, he mustn't be finished with them yet." said Jessica.

### Jessica was right in saying he wasn't finished with them yet, I think Russ still had something planned for us. I didn't want to stick around and wait to see what Russ would do next. We needed to act fast.

### "New plan: I'm going to crawl over there, and if I can get the scissors off him, we can use them to our advantage. I need you two to stay here, and not say a word, or do anything."

### "What if they wake up?" hissed David.

### "Then I'll improvise."

### We were outnumbered against Russ and Rigby, we had no weapons, we were starved, and freezing cold.

### It was time to even things up.

Chapter 19

### The street lamps outside were down, the daylight had faded, and clouds clouded the night sky.

### The bitter weather outside had invaded the inside of the bus now. The snow was coming down heavily, trapping us inside.

### This had been the worst part of the trip. My whole body was numb, and everyone was suffering with the cold.

### On this trip, we'd had an accident with a Subaru, with the driver being framed for drink driving. Then we'd had to change a bus tyre before reaching the Thompson Centre.

### Outside the Thompson Centre, we lost three passengers, with one of their lives hanging by a thread. We still didn't know the status of either three of the passengers, with Russ and Rigby not revealing any information. We were stuck on a bus that is stranded in the middle of nowhere, and Russ committed a terrible crime right before us all - a thoughtless, callous act of murder.

### I thought if I could crawl towards the front of the bus, if I could get close enough to Russ, I could check if the scissors were still in his pocket.

### Both men were sleeping, and I slowly continued to crawl towards the front of the bus. I knew that if I made one loud noise I'd be in trouble.

### Either one of them could wake up at any moment, so I had to act fast. Forcing my numb body to move was hard, but I managed to crawl along slowly, reaching the right side of the bus, where Russ was sleeping. In the left side of Russ's pocket, I could see the handle of the scissors poking out.

### I slowly reached out, grabbing a tentative hold, then I pulled very slowly, not wanting to risk rushing and blowing it all.

### Slowly, the scissors started to come out of Russ' jeans pocket. After an eternity, the scissors came free. I felt a warm bubble of hope growing in my chest.

### Officer Rigby could have a gun, and who else knows what Russ has up his sleeve, but knowing that we had the scissors, I felt that we had a huge advantage. We had a chance. As I looked back towards Jessica and David, they both had huge smiles on their faces.

### I placed the scissors in my right hand, keeping a tight grip of them as I slowly started to crawl towards the back of the bus.

### When I finally got over to Jessica and David, making as little noise as I could, I handed Jessica the scissors. "Keep these on you, I'll tie you two back up, but I won't leave the knots on tight. At least then, they won't suspect a thing, just don't make it obvious that you can both get out easily." I said to them both.

### Before I tied myself back up, I looked at my watch. It was 1.35AM. Russ had warned us all to go to sleep, as he'd had something planned for all of us.

### I couldn't sleep at all, as I had to keep up the pretence of being tied up uncomfortably.

### I awoke suddenly to see Russ and Rigby standing over us. At some point I must have drifted off. I was exhausted too.

### "Look who decided to wake up! About time, Crosser, we were waiting for you. Rigby here was about to kick to the ribs, but since you're awake, I guess Edith is the unlucky one today." said Russ.

### "No! Please don't do this, Russ!!" I screamed.

### Rigby went straight over to Edith, and I couldn't do anything but look on in horror and anger. He kicked Edith sickeningly hard in her chest. There was a cracking sound; he'd broken her ribs. Edith struggled for breath, fighting back a scream as tears streamed down her face.

### "Russ, you sick son of a bitch, what the hell is wrong with you?" I screamed.

### Russ just laughed at me.

### "If one person dies, what difference will it make? You're all lucky you haven't been killed yet." he shrugged.

### "You've got to help her, she's an elderly woman!" I was struggling to watch Edith in pain.

### Edith was coughing badly; there was a small smattering of blood in the corners of her mouth. Jessica sobbed, and I could see the others were furious.

### Out the corner of my eye, I noticed David was untying his rope, freeing his arms and taking the duct tape off his mouth. He shouted, "I can't take this anymore!"

### David rose to his feet, the ropes falling to the floor, and took a swing at Russ. His fist collided with the side of Russ's head, knocking him to the floor.

### David started to kick Russ, over and over. Even for an old man he had some strength. David was enraged; his anger over what happened to his wife spilling out before Rigby intervened, landing a right fist into David's jaw, sending him to the floor.

### "This old piece of shit thinks he can take us on? Show him what happens when people step out of line." shouted Russ to Rigby.

### Russ and Rigby both started to kick and punch the old man ceaselessly, battering about the head and body.

### "Russ! You need to stop all of this! The man is old and fragile! Leave him alone, and help Edith, she's struggling." I pleaded.

### David was struggling against the men, spitting out blood, struggling for breath. Edith looked like she wasn't going to last much longer, her face contorted with pain.

### I didn't want to react to the situation, but I had no choice. Two innocent people were suffering at the hands of these psychopaths. We ALL were suffering.

### I tried to bottle up all the anger I had, but I couldn't take it anymore. I finally snapped.

### I broke my hands free from the loose ropes and, before either man realised, I punched the left side of Rigby's face, and I lifted my knee right into his gut.

### Grabbing a hold of his crouched body, I threw Rigby down the aisle of the bus. David wasn't moving, but Russ hadn't stopped kicking him, continuing his relentless, sickening attack.

### I used what little energy and strength I had, and I went straight for Russ. Rigby was temporarily out of the equation, leaving us two former best friends to fight it out.

### I landed a kick into Russ' back, before I punched him right in the cheek. To my surprise, he didn't go down or stumble; he just spun around and punched me back.

### I tried to hold my ground, taking several punches from Russ, but I was weakening fast.

### I was in a tremendous amount of pain, but I couldn't back down. I knew that if Russ got the better of me, I would be done for. We'd all be dead.

### I got in a swift one-two with both fists, sending Russ stumbling back.

### I felt a short burst of energy and launched forward with my right foot.

### Landing a boot right into his ribcage, Russ started to struggle for breath, before I felt a sudden shove in the back, sending me sprawling.

### My head hit the floor and I felt someone kicking me, over and over.

### Someone grabbed me and turned me onto my back. My left eye was bruised and starting to close up. I could barely see out of it.

### I couldn't see who was standing over me, but I heard them yell.

### "Get up you two! I thought you both had this under control; obviously you two can't do a damn thing right."

Chapter 20

### My vision was blurry, my eye was bruised, and my head was pounding. All I remembered was Russ and I exchanging punches, before I'd heard a familiar voice.

### I was exhausted and wracked with pain, lying on my back on the floor of the bus.

### "Russ, Rigby, get up! You two are ridiculous."

### I was struggling to comprehend what was happening.

### "This idiot believed what I told him earlier; he didn't have a clue that I was involved in all of this." said the voice.

### "Josh, are you okay? Please say something." said Jessica, sounding far off.

### "He won't be okay after we're done with him, sweetheart." laughed the voice.

### "I can't believe you're in on this, I thought you were helping us!" screamed Jessica.

### I was semi-conscious; I had to stay awake, I had to keep fighting, even after this latest revelation.

### "Tie him up. He'll come around shortly, and he can have all the answers he wants, it isn't going to change a thing to what we have planned." said Russ.

### I tried to stand, then collapsed into nothingness.

### From afar, I could see a building that looked just like home. The outline of the house seemed to glow. I could see the door slowly open on its own. Bright lights shone from the doorway. I could hear a faint voice, but it sounded louder in my head.

### "Josh, I need you to come in here, it's important."

### Intrigued, I followed the voice into the open doorway, to see who was calling for me.

### "Come quick Josh, things are not what they appear, and you may be the only one who can do something about this."

### Suddenly, the lighting changed. All I could see was red, flooding everything. Blood was pouring down from the sky, creating huge puddles everywhere, staining everything.

### Looking down at one of the blood puddles, I could see something reflected in it. I leant in closer.

### I could see the reflection of a face in the puddle, and I jumped at what I saw – Lauren's face.

### "You see now how much blood I lost when I was brutally murdered. You found the one that couldn't be trusted, but now there is someone else, someone who had given you and Jessica hope." Lauren suddenly raised her voice, shouting,

### "Josh, you can't die here, and neither can Jessica. If you do, MY KILLER WILL BE FREE!"

### "My body, I can't move, I'm weak, I'm broken... I...I'm so tired." I said.

### I felt trapped, lost.

### "You aren't weak Josh, it's all in your head, you need to realise that. All this blood, it isn't stopping you from moving, your instincts are intact. Remember one thing: I am by your side. I need your help, that's why I approached you. Not only do I need your help, but so does Jessica." she said.

### I listened to what Lauren had told me and, suddenly, I felt free, I felt strong, and better than I had been for a while. Maybe all it took was the realisation of what was happening around me. I had been thinking a lot on this trip, and the coldness around me had clouded my thinking.

### "Is there anything you can tell me? Do you remember anything else?" I asked Lauren.

### I hadn't seen Lauren since the Thompson Centre. If she had been following us on this journey, maybe she'd remembered something else.

### "The only thing that seems different is that I think I recognise your friend, but I'm not sure."

### I couldn't quite grasp the message Lauren had given me. Suddenly, all the bright lights around me went out. It was pitch black; I couldn't see a thing, or feel anything around me. Suddenly, I heard a loud click, and my eyes opened.

### I could see David and Edith on the floor, pale and faint. They weren't moving, and I couldn't tell if they were breathing.

### Rodger and Jessica were tied up, crouched on their knees, but where was Brian? He was also tied up, and I hadn't undone the ropes that held his arms together.

### If Brian wasn't with the others, there must be only one other place he could be. Looking up, I could see someone wearing a hood, and it wasn't Russ or Rigby. The only person I knew that wore a hood on this bus was Brian, but I hoped it wasn't him.

### What had happened since I blacked out? Surely it couldn't be Brian; he was tied up, and helpless. Suddenly, he turned around.

### Brian smiled a creepy, grim smile.

### "Hello, Josh." he said.

### "What the hell is this all about?" I was shocked to see Brian standing next to Rigby and Russ.

### I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Brian had told me he was an undercover detective, and that he believed Russ was up to something.

### Why the hell was he standing right in front of me? He had Jessica, and I hoped that he was on our side.

### "Now you finally get to see the real me, Josh. I'm not on your side, I never was." said Brian, as starting to laugh.

### "I thought you were helping us, you son of a bitch!"

### "Brian, what the hell is he talking about? Were you conspiring against us?" asked Russ.

### I started to wonder if Brian hadn't let Russ in on everything that had been happening. Was Brian leading them on too?

### "Don't be stupid, I said things to both of them and it worked, your plan is in motion. Josh, Jessica, I AM a detective, but I'm not undercover. I actually work alongside Officer Rigby."

### Jessica looked devastated by what Brian had said, but I wasn't surprised. I should have never trusted Brian; I'd had my suspicions all along.

### Brian betraying the trust I had for him reminded me of when I was younger, when my dad left us. He'd left my mum for another woman, and my mother had to raise two kids on her own.

### My older brother Elias, when he was 16, he had left us all and hadn't been back in contact since. Mum and I still don't know to this day why Eli left us. I don't talk about the subject with my mum, in fact I barely see her, but it was something that I didn't like to think about. The only time mum and I talk is when I phone her, and the conversation is usually, 'Hi, how have you been?'

### I tried to stop thinking about the past, it upset me when I thought about what happened years ago, and I wanted answers from Brian.

### "So what is all of this? What have you three got planned? What did you three do to Lauren Hill and Eddie Monroe?"

### So many questions, so few answers. I wondered if anyone else was involved.

### "You've been pestering us for answers, why do you want to know so badly, Crosser? There are two different stories to both murders. I think if you can prove yourself to us, I will give you your answers." said Russ.

### If Jessica was going to get the answers to her sister's death, I had to cooperate with what the men wanted. I didn't know what Russ meant by proving myself; I didn't want to know what he had planned.

### "Okay..." I grunted. "I want to prove myself to you; I want to know what happened."

### "I have a great idea!" said Russ. "We have three horrible, smelly bodies lying here, I want you to dispose of them Josh."

### That confirmed it. Edith and David were dead too. But I had to control my anger for now.

### "If you untie my hands, I'll do what you want. I don't approve of it by any means, and I don't like it one bit. You three have treated these people like they're nothing. How am I meant to dispose of their bodies?" I asked.

### "We'll untie you, but Rigby will be keeping a gun to your head, and so will Brian. These people were just unfortunate enough to be in our way. Boo-frigging-hoo. I want you to throw them out of the bus, into the snow."

### I couldn't believe how heartless they were. None of them had any remorse for what they had done. If I have to dispose the bodies out of the bus, I was going to do it my way.

### "I'll do what you've asked. Open the doors for me, and I will dispose of them outside." I said.

### My hands were untied, and I felt an urge to just lunge at them all, but I had no chance now. I had to comply for the time being.

### Heaving the bodies towards the doors was very tiring. Lifting dead weight was harder than what I thought it was going to be.

### I moved the bodies as gently as I could, and with the upmost respect. Having two men with guns near my head didn't exactly help.

### "You've got five minutes, this door won't stay open for long with the amount of snow there is." said Russ.

### Lifting him down the steps, I placed David's body down near the left side of the bus. Using both my feet and arms, I covered him with snow.

### "Now that you've gotten rid of one disgusting body, you got two more to get rid of." said Russ.

### Edith's body felt lighter than David's, but I still felt sick. It wasn't right, and the total lack of respect didn't sit well with me.

### Managing to get outside, I placed the body down near David's and once again covered it the best I could with snow, and I did the same thing with Harriet. I had done what had been asked of me. Brian and Rigby shut the doors behind me once I was back on board.

### "Well done Crosser, now stay where you are, and I'll have my men tie you back up." said Russ.

### "There is one thing I want to ask of you - it's been ages since we've had anything to eat or drink. Please give them something, even if I don't get anything." I asked.

### I didn't want Rodger or Jessica to suffer anymore. It had been two days since any of us had any food or drink.

### "You know Josh, as you have done us a favour, we'll give them what's left. We'll be on our way soon, anyway."

### Brian, Russ, and Rigby were true to their word. Half a litre of water was shared between us, and there was some food I didn't know Russ had. Rigby untied both Rodger's and Jessica's arms. Each of us had one sandwich; it wasn't much, but it was something.

### "This doesn't change anything between us Josh, just know that this is the only act of kindness you're getting." said Russ.

### Both Rodger and Jessica were looking pale; they had big bags under their eyes. The past two days had been a real ordeal for us all.

### Now that I had taken the bodies outside, I hoped to finally get some answers.

Chapter 21

### Eddie Monroe, the young investigator who had been investigating the case of Lauren Hill's murder. His death was a mystery, and no one found out what had happened to him that fatal night, but the remaining people on board the bus to Dansville were about to.

### While we were sitting down, Brian started the story.

### "Eddie was loved by his family. I once had the pleasure of meeting the guy, and he was very passionate about his job; I guess solving a mystery was what rallied him to succeed. When I met him, he was with his girlfriend Erica, a very good looking woman. You could see that they had a strong connection, they bounced off each other. It was at an annual gathering where I met them both. Rigby was there with me, and we were sitting down, eating, and minding our own business, when I heard Russ' name in conversation at the table next to ours. Lo and behold, it was Eddie Monroe, talking about Russ to the group of people at his table."

### I didn't know how Brian and Rigby became friends with Russ, but I was intrigued by what Brian was telling me.

### How did Russ have connections with the police officers? I needed to ask.

### "I want to know what happened, and what you all did to Eddie. I want to know how you three became friends." I asked.

### Brian, Russ, and Rigby all started to laugh. They were enjoying it, as if it was all just friendly reminiscing.

### "Rigby and I have been on the force for a long time now. We've been friends for years, and we met Russ when he was in the hospital with his brother Andrew. He hated the police force, and we both agreed. Both of us got to know him more, and I guess we all have sick and twisted minds. Our passion was to kill whoever we wanted, and no one could do a thing about it." said Brian.

### I knew that all three men were warped, I knew that they did what they wanted, and didn't care about the repercussions of their actions.

### I couldn't believe that Russ was all bad. I'd known that when we worked together, he'd never seemed different. I still think there's a good side to Russ somewhere. His brother's death must have caused him to snap.

### "Eddie started to talk about Russ, and how he had found evidence relating to the death of Lauren Hill. I'm surprised none of you knew this, but Russ was dating Lauren." said Brian.

### Jessica hadn't mentioned anything about Russ and Lauren. I was completely taken aback. I hadn't expected this. I'd had no idea. Judging by the look on Jessica's face, neither had she.

### "Lauren never told me anything about having a boyfriend! We were very close, and we shared everything." said Jessica.

### She sobbed again. Now someone Lauren had apparently trusted had been involved in her murder.

### "None of us knew anything about Lauren dating Russ, but what has any of this got to do with Eddie Monroe?" I asked.

### I knew that Eddie had found information relating to the death of Lauren, but I didn't know where Brian was going with his story.

### Suddenly, a thought hit me.

### If Eddie found out that Russ was the one that killed Lauren, Eddie was going to reveal the details. Therefore, if Russ killed Eddie Monroe, they would have a hard time finding any evidence, and the case would have remained cold. Russ had got away with murder thanks to the two police officers he had on his side.

### "Eddie had mentioned Russ' name that night, had found evidence against him, and he was going to reveal to the world who the killer was." said Brian. "As soon as Rigby and I heard it, we left the room immediately, killed both of Eddie's bodyguards and waited. Eddie came up to his room, drunk and vulnerable, it was the perfect opportunity. We left Eddie in the bloodiest mess you've ever seen." he laughed.

### Everyone still remembers to this day the death of Eddie Monroe; he has never been forgotten within the community.

### If he'd been able to tell anyone else about Russ sooner, maybe he'd still be alive, and none of this mess would ever have happened.

### Brian and Rigby would never have conspired with Russ for this series of sick murders. Maybe they would have been caught sooner, instead of holding us all hostage on this stranded bus.

### "You three should be serving time for what you did! You should take responsibility for your actions. I can't imagine what you did to that poor girl." shouted Rodger.

### "He speaks!" mocked Rigby, laughing at Rodger.

### Jessica was sitting in silence; I couldn't imagine what was running through her mind. Both murders had been committed in hotel rooms, and I wondered how the murderers managed to cover it up?

"I have a question for you, Russ." I said. He folded his arms and watched me.

### "How long did you date Lauren, and what was the reason for her murder? Jessica deserves to know why such a sadistic and sick individual killed her sister."

### I hoped Russ would tell me what I wanted to know. I'd promised both Jessica and Lauren that I'd find out the truth.

### "You did one favour, you got one story. If you want more, you're going to have to earn it. Nothing in this life is free." said Russ.

### Rigby laughed sadistically, relishing the hold they had on Jessica, Rodger and I. We all wanted to know the rest, but I didn't want to know what Russ had planned.

### "Don't worry Crosser; we saved the best for last. If you want to know the story of Lauren Hill's death, then you're going to have to kill Jessica."

### All three of them started to laugh, as if it was the funniest joke they'd ever heard. I couldn't imagine killing Jessica.

### "What's so funny? I'm not going to kill her; I'd rather not know what you sick bastards did, than lay a hand on her." I shouted angrily.

### They were toying with us, mocking us. Mocking the deaths of good, innocent people.

### I became filled with rage and close to snapping. This had gone way too far, I was ready for revenge.

### Russ could see it on my face.

### "We're joking, man, calm down." he chuckled. "I mean, if we wanted her dead, she'd be dead! What I want you to do, Crosser, is this; come over here and I'll whisper it to you."

### I didn't have a clue what Russ wanted, or why he wanted to whisper it to me, I just hoped it wasn't as bad as last time.

### Interested in what he had planned, I started to approach Russ, still with my hands tied behind my back. Crouching down near Russ, he whispered to me what he wanted.

### I was shocked by what I was told, but I agreed with what Russ wanted. I couldn't say no.

### Russ then untied my hands, and he sneaked a knife into my hands. The other two were looking at Rodger and Jessica, waiting for my next move.

### I pretended that the ropes were still tying my hands together. I gripped in both hands the knife that Russ had given me.

### I started to slowly inch down the aisle, past Rigby and Russ.

### Out the corner of my eye, I saw Rigby wink at Russ, as if he knew what was about to happen.

### I slowly approached Rodger and Jessica, and then suddenly lunged past them. With the knife Russ had given me, I stuck it right through Brian's jaw. He stood there for a moment, a look of comical surprise on his face.

### Blood gushed out and over the knife, dripping from the handle. He made a weak grab at it, his fingers slipping on the sticky liquid.

### He mumbled something, and we could hear the knife clacking against his teeth, then he dropped to the floor. He was dead.

### I felt a sense of relief that there was one less murderer. One down, two to go.

### Russ had whispered to me to kill Brian swiftly. Apparently, Russ and Rigby were getting sick of Brian, and he had supposedly been a liability the entire time.

### I did what Russ had asked of me, and I was hoping to finally find out the story of Lauren Hill.

### "What did you two do to my sister? I want to know now! If we're not getting off this bus alive, I want to die knowing what happened to Lauren." cried Jessica. She was at the end of her tether, exhausted and terrified and angry all at once.

"We'll tell you everything you want to know, including what happened to Lauren. After we've finished, though, you are all going to die." said Russ.

### "There's no chance you're ever getting off this bus. No one will ever find out what happened that night. So you best make your last moment's comfortable."

### Any chance we had of surviving, either inside this hellish bus, or outside in the arctic weather, was slim to none.

### I was mentally preparing myself for one of two things to happen once they'd finished their tale; either we get off this bus alive and drive back to the Thompson Centre, or we die at the hands of Rigby and Russ.

### It's time to find out.

Chapter 22

### Outside, the snow was still falling, though not as heavily as before.

### It was bitterly cold inside the bus, and I really didn't know how much longer we could last.

### When I was placing David and Edith's bodies outside, I had managed to get a quick look into Rigby's car. I couldn't see any sign of the keys in there, so I knew if I wanted the keys to the car, and any chance of escape, I would have to personally take the keys from him.

### Jessica and Rodger may not have been thinking about how to escape, nor had any ideas, but I did.

### With the little amount of food and water we'd had in the last few days, it made me even more grateful for what I have, and to not take advantage of things I have back home.

### I'd never known what it's like to do without anything in my life until this trip. Despite everything that had happened, the only ones that looked slightly healthy were Russ and Officer Rigby.

### There was no food or water left on the bus, Russ had given us the last of it, but it wasn't enough.

### "You wanted to know what the story is behind Lauren Hill. I'm going to tell you exactly how she died." said Russ.

### "If we're going to get comfortable while you tell us the story, the least you can do is let us sit down on a seat." I said. The floor was painfully cold and we'd all been sat on it for hours.

"Alright Crosser, if you want to take a seat, that's fine by me. I guess, being your friend, it's the least I can do." said Russ.

### I took the seat opposite Russ while Jessica took the seat near me and Rodger sat opposite Rigby.

### Russ began the story.

### "Lauren and I dated a while ago, and neither Jessica nor her mum knew about us. I told Lauren to not mention anything to anyone. The entire time we dated in secret, and that's the way it was kept until now. One day not long after my brother Andrew died, before getting the job as a bus driver, I was having a coffee and I met Lauren. She was beautiful, and it was hard to not introduce myself. It was hard to even know how to talk to her! But I knew I had to say something to this beautiful woman. I'm not usually the romantic type, but she blew me away."

### Russ took a moment to pause before he continued.

### "I'm not going to go into the details of how we met, or why I asked her out. We talked that day, and she gave me her number. We met up one night, got on well and before we knew it, we were a couple. I was so happy that we had become so close in so little time. She helped me get through my brother's death. I wasn't the same person once Andrew passed, but Lauren brought out the best in me. I didn't feel so alone anymore, I felt as if I had a best friend." said Russ.

### I could see that Russ was getting more and more emotional as the story came out.

### Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Lauren's ghost outside the bus. She placed her hands on the window, looking in on us all.

### Lauren put her finger on her lips, and motioned me to keep quiet. I wasn't going to show any sympathy towards Russ, and I doubt anyone else would either.

### "After two months, I asked Lauren to move in with me. Jessica, if it makes you feel any better, Lauren wanted to tell you. I wouldn't let her; I didn't want to mention anything just in case something happened in our relationship. Plus, we've never met before, and then suddenly announcing she wanted to move in with me to you and your mum would be awkward. Lauren didn't accept my offer, she loved spending time with me, but she felt like things were moving too fast. After that, I didn't mention it again."

### Not only did Jessica or I not now know about Russ and Lauren's relationship, but by what Russ was saying, it had seemed like things were getting quite serious.

### Jessica was shocked by what she was hearing and I could see Lauren staring into the bus, looking at Jessica. Looking at Russ with a pained look on her face.

### Knowing Russ like I did, but not knowing how sick and twisted he is, the other side of Russ' personality didn't take too well to Lauren not moving in with him.

### "After Lauren decided not to move in with me, we still kept seeing each other, nothing had changed between us. One day, we had a slight misunderstanding and after that, things went from serious, to nothing. I tried phoning her, I texted her multiple times, but she never replied to me. I started to get annoyed and frustrated."

### Russ hadn't taken too well to whatever misunderstanding he had with Lauren, which meant things were about to get worse.

### I thought I knew Russ pretty well, I mean we had been friends for such a long time, but the more he talked, the more I felt like I've never truly known him at all.

### I was getting colder, losing complete feeling in my body, and the cold showed no sign of letting up.

### "What was the misunderstanding you had with Lauren?" I asked Russ.

### As soon as I spoke to Russ, I could hear a soft whisper in my ear, "When the time is right Josh, I'll cause a distraction. You need to get yourself, and my sister out of here safely."

### It was Lauren whispering to me, but I didn't dare turn round. I kept my focus on Russ.

### "If that bitch hadn't slapped me and then left, then none of this would have ever happened. She slapped me because, apparently, one of her friends told her that they saw me at the coffee shop with another woman. I did NOT kiss another woman! I don't know where the accusation even came from. I never cheated on Lauren, nor did I have any intention to. I loved the girl, and when she left, I started to go crazy. I left over a hundred voicemails, and about the same in texts. When she left, I started to think about my brother, and how someone could kill him and not be held accountable for their actions."

### Just when I thought Russ had started to calm down, he had snapped, and turned angry within an instant. Russ was very temperamental, his behaviour unpredictable.

### "I went for a job interview, and I couldn't even concentrate on what was happening. I wasn't thinking straight, and then I snapped. I ended up punching the guy interviewing me, and I knocked him out. I didn't get arrested though, thanks to my good friend Officer Rigby here." said Russ, indicating Rigby.

### Rigby smirked. I didn't know how long the two of them had been friends, but it seemed like they had grown close.

### I turned my focus away from Russ, and I looked over towards Officer Rigby. I couldn't believe it; hanging from Rigby's right pocket were the keys to his car. Rodger looked at me, and I slyly nodded over in Rigby's direction, indicating the keys. Rodger glanced over and saw what I was getting at. He gave me the slightest nod.

### Once Russ had finished speaking, I was going to take out Russ, and hopefully Jessica and Rodger would attempt to outnumber Rigby.

### There were two of them to three of us. We had a chance, we had to believe that.

### "After I got out of the police station, I had a chat with Rigby, and I sent a text message to Lauren. I told her I'd been arrested, and that I wasn't coping well. Eventually I got a response from her. We met up for a coffee, and tried to talk things through. By the end of the night, things seemed like they had never changed. After that night, our relationship seemed better than ever, and one day Lauren announced she was going on a trip to Dansville."

### I felt like the story was finally coming to an end. Lauren Hill was murdered in Dansville, just like the old man at Express Rail had told me. He had warned me not to take this trip, but I hadn't listened.

### Suddenly, I remembered the note the old man had given me before the bus took off several days ago. After all this time, after all of these distractions, I'd never once looked at the note.

### The last time I remembered it, I had placed it in my pocket, but I wasn't sure if it was still there. I couldn't check my pockets with my hands tied, so I tried to see if there was anything in them.

### I tried to lift my legs up to check.

### "Are you looking for this, Crosser?" said Russ.

### Looking up, I saw Russ holding the note.

### "Aren't you just so predictable? Do you want to know what the note says?"

### I stared at him, grim-faced. He just laughed at me and read the note aloud.

"'A tall man just got on your bus. I rang an old friend and asked him to check his stockpile of CCTV footage. The man on your bus matches the build of the man in the old footage. Be careful.'"

### All this time, the old man had been talking sense. If I'd only looked at the note earlier, I might have prevented this.

### He'd pointed me to Russ this whole time.

### "Do you remember a while ago, Josh, when you asked me if I'd ever been to Dansville? Well, of course I have. I killed Lauren there."

Chapter 23

### I remembered when Russ and I had talked that day on the bus, and he had mentioned that he visited Dansville once, but I'd never thought anything more of it.

### I'd researched all sorts of information about Dansville before I'd booked my trip, but not once did I read any information about Lauren's murder. I thought that was strange.

### Eddie Monroe had taken on the case of Lauren Hill, and he'd found evidence that Russ was responsible for the murder. In turn, Eddie Monroe had been killed by Russ, Rigby and Brian. And the only people who knew were held hostage on this bus.

### The more Russ talked about Lauren, the harder it became to listen to it. He was switching between regret and anger to outright remorseless mocking.

### I was furious with myself for not reading the note earlier. Russ must have taken it out of my pocket after I'd been knocked out.

### I had to stall for time and think of something.

### "Rigby, what happened with Eleanor, John and Juliet? What exactly happened at the Thompson Centre?"

### Rigby hadn't mentioned anything since being on the bus, but he'd questioned us all after the incident.

### "I guess I can tell you about them, it's not like it'll make a difference anyway. If you must know, Eleanor, John and Juliet are all dead."

### I was stunned.

### "What? How?"

### "Apparently, there was an 'accident', and everyone in the ambulance died. Of course, they can't trace it back to us."

### Rigby and Russ started sniggering. They were deeply twisted individuals.

### "Please, finish the story, Russ. You might as well." I said.

### Russ cocked his head to one side as if contemplating, then continued.

### "After Lauren started talking to me again, I had Rigby spy on her. I wanted to know what she was doing, where she was. I found out that she had arranged a trip to Dansville, and I thought I'd go out there and surprise her. After about four days, I went out there. She hadn't called or text me for days, so I was worried."

### Russ sighed deeply.

### "I didn't arrive in Dansville until late. I'd been starting to get paranoid that Lauren was cutting me out of her life, so I thought I would take action. I showed up that night with a bottle of wine, and when she saw me, she let me into the room where she was staying. Anyway, long story short, I asked her why she hadn't messaged or called me back. I didn't get a straight answer. I was convinced she was lying, and in a flash I'd grabbed a knife and stabbed her. I should have felt bad about what I done, but I didn't. I felt no remorse for my actions. In fact, I'd enjoyed every second of it. Before I left Lakeside, Rigby told me that she was the one cheating, and I was right in not letting her get away with it. So I was right to do it, she was making a fool out of me. No one makes a fool out of me, so she had to pay."

### It was utterly heartless and gut wrenching. Jessica was screaming and crying, calling him every name under the sun. I was amazed at her restraint, since she was keeping up the pretence of still being tied up despite the horror story she had sat and listened to. Nothing I could say would comfort her.

### Russ wasn't going to let us leave this bus alive, I knew that in my heart. He'd managed to hide his crimes for this long, and he certainly doesn't want that to change now. I glanced over to Rodger; I saw that he had silently untied his own hands. He looked at me and winked.

### "Well, this has been lovely." said Russ as he stood up. "It's nice to get some things off your chest now and then! But I'm afraid that story time is over. I'm afraid all of this is over."

Chapter 24

### Outside, the snow had stopped falling, but it was still bitterly cold and dark.

### Officer Rigby began to stand when suddenly Rodger leapt up and tackled him to the ground.

### Rodger punched Rigby in the face, but Russ grabbed hold of Rodger's leg, pulling him back. That was my time to strike; I wasn't going to let Rodger or Jessica get hurt if I could help it.

### I rose up from my seat and landed a punch to Russ' ribs. He doubled over, so I kicked him right in the jaw, knocking him down to the ground.

### Rigby was raining punches down on poor Rodger, who was curled on the floor, arms up in a futile attempt to defend himself.

### Jessica was frustrated, and I saw she had the scissors in her hand. She lunged out and drove the scissors into Rigby's right leg, right behind the kneecap. He bellowed like a bull.

### Blood squirted out as Jessica tore the scissors free and struck him again, this time in the back of his left thigh. Rigby roared so loud I thought the windows would shatter.

### Rigby lay on the floor of the bus, screaming. He tried to get to his feet, shaking uncontrollably, pure murderous rage in his eyes. There was a loud bang, and Rigby fell back down. Rodger had grabbed Rigby's gun and shot him in the arm.

### Russ suddenly grabbed my legs and I fell to the ground. I kicked out, hitting him in the eye.

### I clambered to my feet, dazed from bashing my head against the floor.

### I could taste blood in my mouth, and before I realised Russ was up and had punched me in the eye. I quickly spun and landed a punch to his right shoulder, then a knee to his stomach. We were both exhausted and bleeding.

### Russ suddenly gripped my left arm and spun, catching me in the temple with an elbow. I slumped down, dazed. I looked up to see Russ towering over me, ready to finish me off. This was it.

### There was another gunshot, and Russ slumped down beside me. He wasn't moving anymore.

### I turned to see Rodger holding the smoking gun.

### My eyes were swelling up, I could barely see. Every part of my body ached.

### "Josh! Please say something." cried Jessica. I managed to open my eyes enough to see Jessica and Rodger kneeling before me.

### "How's Rigby?" I croaked.

### "He's alive, unfortunately." said Rodger. "He passed out with pain. I hope he bleeds to death."

### Jessica put her arms around me, pressing her body against mine. I felt warmth for the first time in days, and it felt good.

### Rodger held out his arm, trying to help me up to my feet.

### As I got to my feet I saw too late Rigby with the scissors. I barely opened my mouth before he stabbed Rodger in the shoulder.

### "AAAAHHHHH!" screamed Rodger, falling to his knees, hands clutching for purchase on the scissors sticking from his shoulder.

### I punched Rigby hard in the face, hard enough to hear a crack on my wrist. Rigby flew back and hit his head on a metal bar, knocking him out cold.

### "Get these out of me!" shouted Rodger.

### Rodger was screaming with the pain as he tore off some of his shirt, and placed it in his mouth as Jessica slowly started to pull the scissors from the wound.

### Jessica dropped the blooded scissors to the floor and grabbed Rodger, helping him to stand.

### "We need to get off this bus! We have Rigby's keys, but I can't drive, and neither can you Josh! Rodger, we need you!" said Jessica.

### I never learned to drive, and neither had Jessica. We needed Rodger's help; it was the only way we were going to get off the bus alive.

### "Get me to that damn car!" Rodger shouted as Jessica and I placed Rodger's arms on our shoulders.

### I used whatever strength I had left and pulled open the doors of the bus.

### Stepping off, feeling freedom for the first time in days, felt absolutely fantastic. We all had to walk carefully, essentially supporting each other. The past few days had been a nigh on unbearable ordeal for us all.

### Rodger limped his way to Rigby's car, the keys in his hand. The car's lights flashed as Rodger unlocked it. I placed my hand on the freezing handle and pulled open the door.

### Jessica jumped in the back seat as I carefully helped Rodger into the driver's.

### Rodger tried to start the car, but two days in the cold made sure it wasn't going to happen straight away. The engine struggled and spluttered as I went round to the passenger door.

### "Rodger, do something!" shrieked Jessica.

### I looked back and saw Russ clambering down the bus steps. He spotted us and started straight for us.

Chapter 25

"That psycho managed to get off the bus! Keep trying, Rodger!" I shouted. "Shut the doors!"

### Russ was limping badly but he moved with steady deliberation.

### I couldn't believe the strength Russ had, determined that we were never going to escape. It was almost admirable, if it hadn't been so terrifying.

### Rodger kept turning the key, still not getting a response. Russ was speeding up

### Suddenly the engine roared into life, and Rodger let out a roar of triumph. Despite the obvious pain it caused him I saw Russ break into a shambling run.

### He was holding something in his hand.

### A knife.

### Rodger slammed the throttle, and the wheels spun in the deep snow, trying to gain traction.

### "Josh, look out!" screamed Jessica.

### The car started to move ever so slowly.

### I felt like I had a personal vendetta to sort out with Russ. He'd betrayed us all in so many ways.

### Russ had reached the car now, and with the hilt of the knife he smashed the window, scattering glass over Jessica and the back seat.

### "Where do you think you're going, huh?" screeched Russ. He sounded utterly insane.

### Russ reached in to unlock the door as Jessica backed up against the opposite window.

### I couldn't take the chance of Russ getting to Jessica or Rodger. I couldn't let us fail now.

### The whole time the car had been slowly trundling through the snow.

### "Both of you, stay in the car!" I yelled as I ran around to confront Russ.

### I could hear Jessica and Rodger shouting my name as the car kept moving. Russ reached in through the door, trying to stab Jessica, but I grabbed Russ, and pulled him to the ground.

### I was dead on my feet, but I was so sick of everything. I was going to make Russ pay.

### "Go get help!" I shouted to the car as Russ got to his feet slowly.

### This was between Russ and me, no one else.

### Russ spat out blood. It stood out starkly against the white snow.

### "Alright, Josh, you want to do this? You aren't walking away from this one. I'm going to slit your fucking throat." he growled.

### Russ limped towards me, knife in hand. My vision was blurring in and out. I was close to passing out.

### Russ slashed at me, and I managed to dodge it and get a punch in.

### I thought that may have knocked him down, but instead he swung his left fist and caught me in the temple.

### I stumbled to one knee, off balance.

### I saw Russ coming at me, and he kicked me hard in the stomach, and I fell back into the snow.

### I felt the cold burn of the snow against my skin.

### It would be so easy to just give up now, so easy to just die...

### I felt something heavy pressing into my lower back, pressing against my spine. The pain was unbearable.

### Russ stomped his foot into my back. Blood sprayed from my mouth, spattering the muddy white ground.

### I had to fight back. I couldn't give up. I had to fight back for Lauren, for Eddie, for all those people on the bus.

### For Jessica.

### "I thought you'd be a bit tougher than this, Mr Prepared!" shouted Russ. "I had no idea it would be so easy, in the end. So... pathetic."

### There was only one option I had left.

Chapter 26

### Russ thought he had the upper hand. He thought I was beaten.

### But he didn't know I had a plan.

### When I'd been knocked to the icy ground, I felt something in my back pocket. It was incredible that I'd forgotten it.

### It was my Swiss army knife. I'd found it in my backpack earlier when searching for the scissors, so I'd slipped it into my back pocket before Russ had interrupted to reveal he already had the scissors.

### I'd totally forgotten I'd had it there as I'd had no chance to use to earlier, when there were three of them. If I'd tried, I would have been killed.

### My body was flooded with adrenaline the moment I remembered. I had a plan. I had hope.

### Russ had been a pathetic, low down weasel, using underhanded methods to get what he wanted.

### John, Juliet, Edith, David, Harriet, Eleanor, and even one of his partners, Brian, had suffered a horrible death for no reason.

### I was almost beaten to death, struggling to cling to consciousness, but I carefully pulled the knife out of my pocket so that Russ couldn't see.

### Russ hobbled over to where I lay.

### I flicked the knife out, ready.

### "Aren't you going to get up, Josh? You're making me work for your death, here." wheezed Russ.

### Russ reached down and grabbed my shoulder, trying to heave me to my feet.

### Like a coiled snake I lashed out and plunged the knife into Russ' neck.

### His eyes went as wide as dinner plates in surprise. Blood arced from his neck in a graceful way. His hands scrabbled to pull it out.

### I held the knife where it was and leaned into his face, looking him right in the eyes.

### "Don't call me Josh!" I whispered.

### I ripped the knife across his neck, tearing it open with a violent splash.

### Russ fell onto his back, awful gargling noises emanating from his torn throat.

### I looked up as I stood over Russ and there was Lauren, bathed in a white glow. She was no longer bloody, no longer torn and ragged. She was whole, her clothes clean. She smiled at me.

### "Thank you, Josh. Tell Jessica I love her. Tell her I'll always watch over her."

### She turned and walked away, fading into nothing and disappearing in a bright flash of light.

### I knew now she would finally rest in peace.

### Around Russ a large pool of blood had formed, turning the snow to a reddish-brown slush.

### From afar I could hear someone calling my name.

### I looked to my right, feeling weak, drained, and barely able to stand up. Jessica and Rodger were running towards me down the road.

### "Josh! Josh!"

### The last thing I remember then was falling slowly to the ground, and all becoming as white as the freshly laid snow around me. I remember feeling great relief wash over me. I remember smiling for the first time in what felt like years.

### I remember Lauren, and all those who died.

Chapter 27

### I opened my eyes and blurrily saw my hand connected to a drip.

### I felt quite chilly, my arms prickling with goosebumps.

### Despite this, for the first time in forever, I felt relaxed. I looked down and saw I was in a hospital gown, tucked into a bed.

### I realised I was in hospital. I tried to think of the last thing I could remember.

### Biting cold, falling snow, spreading blood.

### I leapt up in shock when I noticed someone sitting to my left.

### "Hello you." said Jessica, smiling. "Nice to see you've finally decided to wake up!"

### I lay back down. It was nice to see her smile again. She had cute, plump cheeks. I might not be the romantic type, but a man can change.

### Jessica got up and leaned over the bed. Before I knew what was happening, she kissed me. I was taken aback at first, but after that initial shock I kissed her back. I mean, of course I did.

### We parted and smiled at each other warmly.

"Where's Rodger? Is he okay?"

### "Look..." said Jessica, indicating the other side.

### I was confused, turning my head slowly to see Rodger in the next bed, grinning.

### I smiled when I saw him, but several thoughts ran through my mind.

### "What happened to me back there? How did we end up here?"

"After you blacked out, you were in a bad way." said Rodger. "We managed to get the car far enough away to get a signal and ring an ambulance. The medics rushed you here and you've been out for a few days. We weren't allowed to see you at first, but Jessica here hasn't left your side when she didn't have to."

### Jessica gripped my hand then, squeezing it gently.

### "Rodger's shoulder was pretty bad but he made sure I got medical attention before he did. All three of us rode the ambulance here." she said.

### I was so grateful to the both of them. They'd saved me out there.

### As we were talking, a young doctor with dark hair and stubble approached my bed.

### "Hello Josh, how're you doing? I'm Doctor Smith. Glad to see you're awake, we've all been worried about you. Thanks to both of your friends here, we managed to get to you just in time." he said.

### "I'm a hell of a lucky guy." I said. It was something of an understatement.

### I didn't know how I'd ever repay Rodger and Jessica for the kindness they had shown, but I grabbed Jessica and kissed her before the doctor said anything else. Rodger wolf-whistled jokingly.

### "I'm pleased to tell you that both of you may go home tomorrow, we want to keep an eye on you for one more night."

### He smiled and walked away. I was so relieved to know I'd be going home soon.

### I tried moving from my bed, but I was so stiff. No wonder I needed some rest.

### "Take it easy there, tiger. You might be getting out tomorrow, but no one said you were completely healed. You've taken one hell of a beating over the past few days, as if you hadn't noticed." said Jessica sternly, carefully pushing me back down.

### That night, Jessica was given a free bed opposite so she could stay and keep an eye on me.

### I turned the television on that night to see if the news had anything on about Country Passage. Nothing.

### I wondered how we'd get back to Lakeside. There was no chance I was getting on a bus again.

### Rodger noticed the look on my face, and asked, "What's wrong, Crosser?"

### "I'm happy that we're going to be out tomorrow, but how're we going to get back to Lakeside?" I asked.

### "I rang my friend Jake earlier, Josh." said Rodger. "He's from Lakeside, too. He's coming to pick us all up in the morning."

### I beamed with happiness. Tomorrow, I was finally going home.
Epilogue

### Jessica and I started to date soon after, taking things slow and seeing how things go.

### As I've said before, I'd never been a very romantic person, but with a little guidance from Jess, I was starting to pick it up.

### Jessica had helped me through so much, and I had helped her, too. We'd helped her sister find peace.

### We'd brought some justice to the killers of those innocent people. We brought peace of mind to the family of Eddie Monroe.

### We stayed in touch with Rodger, who made a full recovery and had vowed to spend more time with his wife. I hear they're expecting a baby, too.

### After a short while, when I had fully recovered, I returned to work, but it wasn't long before I handed in my notice and told Bill exactly what I thought of him. Bill was an absolutely atrocious manager, and one of the worst people I had ever worked with. It felt pretty great to give him a piece of my mind.

### Every now and then, Jessica and I go visit the graves of her mother and sister. We go and say a prayer for the innocent lives lost that day on the stranded bus.

### I finally bought a mobile phone, too, and I only had three contacts in my phone: Jessica, Rodger, and my mum.

### One day, as we left the graveyard, I felt my phone buzzing in my pocket. I looked at the screen and saw it was an unknown number.

### "Hello?" I said, answering it.

### Sinister laughter echoed down the line.

### I recognised that voice.

### "Hello, Josh." rasped Rigby.

### "You should have killed me when you had the chance. It's such a shame what happened to Russ, isn't it? Now, I need you to follow some instructions. You need to do exactly as I say, or else your brother here will suffer the same fate Russ did..."

THE NEXT CHAPTER IN THE 'STRANDED TRILOGY'

'STRANDED BROTHERS'

# COMING SOON

