Curse Of The Possessed Bus: Part One 3c6w1m

Introduction Some say, once your life is over your spirit moves on to the great unknown! But what happens when the soul becomes trapped? Unable to move on due to some sort of unfinished business or as a result of a tragic sudden death! One day, in a small town in New Hampshire, two doctors received a notice that the old hospital they were working at was going to be closing its doors for good! A ginormous 150-year-old building that only had one corridor with patients still in it. The mental corridor, which only had four patients who still resided there. Doctor Eva and Doctor Irwin were assigned by the director of the hospital to travel with their mental patients to make sure they got comfortably settled into their new hospital, without issues. Little did they know, that ride to the new hospital would be their last! The bus they were traveling in was involved in a horrific crash on the way to the new hospital! Everyone lost their lives in it! Moments after the victim's spirits departed their battered-up bodies, a mysterious male spirit comes to the wrecked bus. He informs the victims that an evil thing had occurred there and that all the victims of the crash were now under a curse! None of the victims could leave that bus until their unfinished business was complete! The bus was a complete wreck after rolling down the side of a mountain! Totaled! It gets taken to an auto shop with a junkyard in the rear for safekeeping so that investigators could try and determine the cause of the crash. Once the investigation was complete, the bus was supposed to be scrapped! However, the investigation didn't get very far, due to the spiritual activity that was on the bus! The investigators were too petrified to continue to try and find out the cause of the crash and gave up! The bus was never officially totaled out by the insurance agent! The owner of the auto shop/junkyard, Dick, decided that he was going to make a profit off of that bus! He and his brother worked tirelessly day and night and

managed to get the bus fixed and put it up for sale. The bus sat on Dick's sales lot for a long time, he was about to through in the towel on it, and cut his losses! Then as luck would have it, an owner of a bus company, Luke, happened to stop by looking for a vehicle for his son! Dick tried his hardest not to let Luke go anywhere near that bus! He knew the trapped spirits on that bus had scared away too many customers in the past, and he wasn't about to let them scare away Luke as well! The mysterious bus caught the attention of Luke, and he was fascinated by it! Dick was a nervous wreck when Luke heads over to the bus! He thought for sure he was going to lose another customer! To his surprise, Luke ended up purchasing it! Little did Luke know, that bus he just purchased had been involved in a gruesomely fatal crash! Also, that the bus came with seven spirits, free of charge! Of course, Luke's wife, Georgina, and their son, Myles, were not pleased with Luke buying a bus for his company instead of a vehicle for Myles. Once Luke's new bus was put into service, it got assigned to two of the victim's daughter-in-law! Coincidence? Maybe? Maybe not! It didn't take long for Jayme to discover that her newly assigned bus was haunted! Almost immediately, Jayme encounters the spirit of the driver who happened to be her father-in-law! She goes into a panic and rushes back to the dispatch building at her work! She goes home early that day as she refuses to drive that bus! Her wife, Robin, the daughter of two of the victims, didn't want to believe that her parent's spirits were trapped on that bus when Jayme told her. She tried brushing it off as just Jayme's imagination. However, Jayme was bound and determined to prove to her wife, that she was not imagining things! So, in the dark of night, Jayme dragged Robin to the bus garage! Once they were there and located the bus, they boarded it. Immediately, the bus gave Robin a chilling eerie feeling! She wanted off! Then, to her dismay, the spirits of her parents manifested in front of her! Along with the other spirits that were trapped on that bus! Robin was horrified! Yet, slightly happy to see her

parents again. Even if it was in spiritual form. The spirits explained their situation to Robin and Jayme and asked them if they'd help them complete their unfinished business, so they can get off the bus that was holding them captive! The two young ladies agree to help out the trapped spirits, and off they went with Casey mysteriously driving the bus without a key! The next morning, the new owner of the bus, Luke is baffled when he discovers his newly purchased bus went missing overnight! Even more so when he watched his security footage and discovered it was stolen by a ghost! Luke reports his bus missing and the local police searched the entire United States to try to find the best person for the job! They ended up locating a young female officer who had a great skill in finding missing people. They promoted officer, Kate, from Alabama to detective and she ends up having to uproot her family. Moving them to New Hampshire so she could lead the investigation. During Robin and Jayme's time helping the victim's spirits of the horrific bus crash, they endure some terrifying experiences and in some cases, almost lose their lives in the process! Will they stay brave and be able to complete their task of helping the trapped spirits, or will fear get the better of them?

I The storm clouds rolled in over the mountains making the late morning skies appear to be dark, like a moonless night. Casey's knuckles turned white as he struggled to keep his brand new bus under control as he tried maneuvering down the winding mountain roads! He fought the high wind gusts that battered the sides of his bus! Raindrops the size of marbles began pounding against the windshield making it almost impossible to see. Casey could barely see past the hood of his bus! His heart pounded as he continued to keep driving, for he knew he had no other choice, but to try to get down that mountain because there was no shoulder to pull off onto. His engers, all tightened up their seat belts and held on tight. Casey was transporting four mental patients, along with two doctors to keep an eye on the patients. One of the doctors was Casey's wife, Eva, to a new hospital six hours away from the old hospital that had just shut down that morning. This trip was all unplanned for Casey, it was supposed to be his day off. Earlier that morning, Casey stood in his and Eva's driveway and see Eva off as their daughter Robin and her wife, Jayme, came over to drive Eva to the mental hospital so she could ride along with her patients. During the ride to the hospital, Eva didn't say a word. That hospital was her place of employment for over 20 years. But the government decided to shut it down because they had built a new facility that was more high-tech and could meet the growing needs of the area. The old hospital was enormous and built in the late 1860s as a prison originally. The building was costing the small town too much money to maintain. Eventually, it became so run down that only one floor was habitable! Even though the old hospital was run down, and shutting down, that wasn't the only reason Eva was upset, but she wasn't going to tell anyone, especially her daughter what the other reason was. Unbeknownst to her husband and daughter, Eva was having an affair at work with one of the other doctors, Irwin. She never told Irwin she had a family.

When they arrived at the hospital, Eva told her daughter to stop at the end of the driveway. “I'll get out here,” Eva said as she unbuckled and grabbed ahold of the door handle. Robin stopped the car and looked at her mother in shock! “But, it's over a thousand feet to the door!” she said. “Let me just drive you up there,” “NO!” Eva snapped. Robin and Jayme looked at each other appalled. Then Robin looked at her mother. “I was just trying to be nice," she softly said. Eva realized her outburst was uncalled for, she apologized and got out of her daughter's car. No goodbyes, no nothing. Robin made a three-point turn in the driveway and headed down the road. Meanwhile, back at Casey and Eva's house, their phone began to ring. Casey panicked and picked up the phone quickly. Nobody calls at 4 am unless it is an emergency! “Hello?” Casey answered fearing something had happened to his wife, daughter, and daughter-in-law. “Good morning Casey!” a cheerful old man replied over the phone. It was Casey's father and boss, Burke. “Oh, hello father," “Listen, Pete never showed up to do that charter run that was scheduled for today, will you be up to doing it?” Casey thought for a moment, and asked, “Is this the six-hour one taking patients to the new hospital?” “12 hours,” Burke replied. “Six hours each way, but yes it is.” “My wife is one of the doctors on that trip, will that be a problem?” Burke laughed. “Oh not at all! Just no making out while driving there sonny!” Casey was appalled! “Father!” Casey replied. “Please, I am a professional!”

“I know,” said Burke chuckled. “That's why I am trusting you to do this long run. Last night I just picked up a brand new bus that I'm going to let you break in on this trip!” Casey smiled. “I'll be right there!” He hung up the phone, got dressed for work, and left. Back at the old mental hospital Irwin and Eva were franticly trying to get their patients to hurry up and finish packing. “Why isn't this stuff packed up yet?!” Irwin scolded the patients. “Why didn't Dr. Walton have you do this last night?” One of the patients, Royce chuckled. "That old loaf? All he does is sleep with his head on your desk!" “Ew,” another patient, Veronica, cringed. All of the four remaining mental patients at the hospital knew what went on in that office with their doctors, Eva and Irwin. They all knew that Eva and Irwin would have sex on that desk almost every shift they worked with each other. Irwin cringed a little at the thought of old Dr. Walton, who was at least in his late 70s napping where he and Eva made love many times! Irwin shook his head and snapped out of it! “Alright, everyone!” he shouted, “you got ten minutes to pack! Whatever isn't packed up, you are to leave behind!” That got everyone in a panic! They didn't have much and didn't want to lose anything more. Eva peaked into Cissy's room because she heard a lot of grunting coming from inside. “Is everything okay- what are you doing?!” Eva asked. To Eva's surprise, Cissy was attempting to shove a bloodstained pillow into her small suitcase. “You do know they will have brand new pillows for you at the new place, right?” Eva asked. “I know, but I've had this pillow for thirty years,” Cissy replied. Eva gagged a little. “Cissy, that pillow is stained,” she said. “What about all the new ones we've been giving you?” “I just give them to the other patients,” Cissy replied. “This one is special.” “What's so special about that one?”

“It just is, it was my girlfriend's. It was the last pillow she rested on before she ed.” Cissy stuck her nose into the pillow and took a deep whiff of it. “Ah, still smells like her!” Eva raised an eyebrow in disbelief. “I doubt it does.” “GET OUT OF MY ROOM!” Cissy snapped. “Alright, meet you by the door in five,” Eva said as she walked out. “Let's get a move on people!” Irwin shouted as he opened the secured door to let all the patients downstairs. Everyone was rushed to the door except for one patient, Frank. “Ugh,” Irwin scoffed. He closed the door and marched down the corridor to Frank's room. When he walked in, he noticed Frank was holding a pair of binoculars and was staring out his window towards the woods. “What's out there?” Irwin asked as he tried seeing what Frank was intently watching. “Two ladies parked their vehicle over there, and they are steaming up the windows of it!” Frank replied with a grin! Irwin snatched the binoculars out of Frank's hands. “Give me those!” he snapped. “This is why you are here! Until you learn to stop this sick behavior, you will never go home!” Irwin tossed the binoculars into the wastebasket, grabbed Frank by the arm, and pulled him out of his room. “Come on! We're late!” All four patients and the two doctors walked down the old stairs of the hospital for one last time. They all got outside and waited for their bus to arrive. Time slowly ed by and the two doctors kept checking the time every few minutes. “What time was that bus suppose to arrive?” Eva asked Irwin. “A half-hour ago,” Irwin was disgusted! He knew the later that bus was, the longer the trip would take! “What could be taking that jack-ass so long?” “Traffic?” Eva said. Irwin laughed, “It's 5:30 am, how much traffic could there be?”

“Maybe the driver overslept.” Irwin rolled his eyes at Eva as Casey turned into the driveway with the bus. “There we go!” Eva said as she pointed towards the bus. The bus pulled up to the curb and Casey opened the door up for the engers. Eva's heart sank when she saw Casey. She wasn't expecting her husband to be the driver! “Hey, darling!” Casey cheerfully proclaimed as he hopped out of the driver's seat, ran over to Eva, and gave her a ionate kiss on the lips. Irwin watched in anger as Casey began ionately kissing his girlfriend right in front of him! He grabbed Casey by the back of the collar and pulled him away from Eva. “What's the big idea?!” he snapped! “You arrive more than a half-hour late and then you begin making out with the doctor?” Casey gave Irwin a dirty look. “She's my wife!” Casey snapped back. “We've been married for 35 years!” Casey walked away and began loading everyone's bags onto the bus. “Eva!” Irwin snapped. “There is something you need to explain to me! Right now!” Eva sighed deeply, “Yes, yes there is," she looked over at the patients waiting to board the bus. “Eva,” Irwin's voice was stern as he tried to get her attention back on him. “Is he your husband? Or is this some kind of sick joke?” Eva nodded. “Yes, he's my husband and we have a 32-year-old daughter.” “I don't believe this!” Irwin huffed as he walked towards the bus and waited to get on board. While he waited, he stared at the bus alongside him. Then he got an idea! An evil smirk came across his face. If I can just get rid of that driver, then I can have Eva all to myself! He thought to himself. He reached into his pocket, pulled out a small pocket knife, and casually dropped it under the bus. He carefully crawled under the bus and began slicing away at the break line. Not all the way through. He didn't want the breaks to fail while he was still on the bus! Just enough where it would wear out eventually. Maybe in a few days.

“Get out from under there!” Casey shouted as he noticed Irwin's feet sticking out from under his bus! Irwin carefully crawled out from under the bus. “My apologies, I dropped something.” “If you drop something, let me know and I'd get it!” Casey replied. “Now, can you just get on so we all can get going?” Irwin sat down in a seat across from Eva who was sitting directly behind her husband. Casey slammed the door shut, and they began pulling out the driveway. “You better have a good excuse as to why you were so late!” Irwin snared at Casey. “The driver who was assigned this run never showed,” Casey explained. “I was called in and I wasn't about to come to work in my pajamas!” “Fair enough,” Irwin replied as he leaned back in his seat with an evil smirk on his face. Eva quickly noticed Irwin's facial expression, and she didn't trust it! “What have you done?” she asked. “Nothing,” Irwin said. “Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to take a nap. I advise you do the same.” A few hours ed when all the engers were roused by a loud clap of thunder echoed within the bus! Irwin looked out his window to see where they were. To his dismay, they were traveling through the mountains! “Why are we going through the mountains?!” he asked Casey in a panic! Irwin knew that the break lines he tampered with would not withstand all the breaking that would be required to get down the steep winding downgrade at the opposite side of that particular mountain. “This is the quickest way,” Casey replied. “What about the breaks?!” Irwin panicked. Casey laughed. “This bus is brand new! The breaks will be just fine!”

Irwin leaned back and tightened up his seat belt. He looked over at Eva, and back at all the patients who were sitting behind them. He gripped on tightly to the armrest. His face was pale. “Are you alright?” Eva asked. “I think I might be sick,” Irwin replied as he glanced out the window as heavy rain began pounding against the bus. The storm grew heavier and heavier. The wind began whipping the bus from side to side as the bus began its descent of the mountain. Casey had to constantly hit the breaks to keep control of the bus during those difficult driving conditions! “Stop hitting the breaks so much!” Irwin panicked knowing the breaks could fail at any moment now! “If I don't slow this thing down, we could fly off this mountain!” Casey explained. Irwin began to panic even more now! He knew right at that moment that there was now a slim to none chance he or anyone else on that bus would make it down that mountain alive. He looked at everyone in silence, but he couldn't look a single one in the eyes. Casey noticed a very sharp curve coming up ahead and began breaking to prepare for it. He put his foot on the brake and the brake pedal sunk right to the floor! The bus lost no momentum. “What on earth?” Casey asked himself in confusion. He frantically tried to get the bus to slow down. “This is a brand new bus! Why are the breaks failing!?” Eva glared at Irwin who had been acting strange this entire trip. “You wouldn't happen to know why the breaks are failing,” she asked in an accusing tone. “Would you?” “I didn't do anything to the breaks,” Irwin lied as he tried tightening up his seat belt more. He grabbed on to whatever he could and so did everyone else. The wiper blades were struggling to keep up with the intense storm. Casey knew that if he could still see where he was going, they should, hopefully, be just fine. He had been a bus driver for over twenty years and had been exposed to many

difficult situations. He was tense, but he was determined to get his engers to their destination! Out of nowhere, the storm intensified and the wipers abruptly stopped working! “Oh fuck!” Casey said under his breath. “Hey!” shouted Frank from the back of the bus, “Turn those wipers back on! I can't see where I'm going!” “They're not working!” Casey panicked. Eva leaned forward. “What do you mean?” Casey frantically kept turning the wiper blade switch on and off in an attempt to get them working again. He knew it was a lost cause, but he kept trying. “All you need to do is hit that switch on the left of the steering wheel!” Frank instructed. Casey rolled his eyes. “I've been doing that! They are not working!” “You're not doing it right!” Frank shouted back. This entire time, Casey was playing around with the wiper blade switch. “It is not - ” Casey began to say when the wipers abruptly began working again. “That's strange,” he said to himself. “OH CRAP! - HOLD ON!” Casey was relieved that the wipers suddenly began working again, but it came too late. The moment he gained a visual of the road, the bus was feet from a hairpin turn in the road and had zero chance of making it! Casey tried as best as he could to get that bus safely around the tight curve, but he ended up busting through the guard rail! The bus rolled multiple times down the side of the mountain. When it landed, it landed upright. … There were no survivors.

II Moments after the crash occurred, the spirits of every victim emerged from their mangled bodies! The seven spirits glanced down at their lifeless bodies, then around at each other. They were all confused and at a loss! “What happened?!” Eva asked her husband. Casey's spirit was standing alongside his headless body. During the crash, his head was knocked right off of his shoulders and landed in the rear of the bus! He looked at all his engers in disbelief! “I, I don't know,” He responded. “I'm going to go out and check on the damages." Casey didn't have to try to open the enger door because it had been torn off and was laying five hundred feet away from the bus! Casey casually tried to walk down the steps of his bus, when an unseen force forcefully pushed him back onto the bus! ”What was that?!" Casey panicked! A man, dressed in an American Colonist revolutionary war uniform manifested on the steps of the bus. Nobody seemed to know who he was, but the ghostly man knew who one of them was! The mysterious man was Irwin's six-time great grandfather! He looked around the bus at the spirits, the bodies, and the mangled-up bus! He knew his descendant had significantly contributed to the cause of that horrific crash! “An evil thing has been done here,” the man stated. “What do you mean?” Casey asked. “The brakes failed on this thing!” Little did Casey realize, since he was still in a state of shock, that the brakes were tampered with! The man laughed at Casey. “I may not know anything about these new modernized, motorized carriages, but I do know a young cart-horse don't just die after pulling a carriage for only a couple of hours! No matter what the conditions! Unless someone sabotaged the horse!” The man stated as he glared around the bus, looking all the victim's in their eyes in an accusing way! The seven crash victims looked around at each other. Then back at that man.

“With all due respect sir,” Casey began, “what?!” Casey, along with everyone else was quite confused by what the man just said! “Just think about it," the man replied. He proceeded to tell everyone that the bus was now cursed due to the evilness that caused the crash! He informed them that none of them would be able to step foot off this bus until they completed their unfinished business! “I know a lot of you can't complete your unfinished business without leaving this bus,” the man informed the victims. “You will need to find a living soul to help you!” The man laughed a little. “Yeah, good luck with that!” The man walked off the bus and vanished! “Who's going to help us?” Veronica asked Casey. Casey put his head down and sighed. “I don't know,” he replied. Hours had ed since the accident and nobody had heard anything about it yet. Robin was becoming frantic. She was sitting in the old hospital's parking lot where she had dropped her mother off that morning. “What is taking so long?” she thought to herself. She picked up her phone and called her mother's phone. It went straight to voicemail. She tried calling her parent's house to ask her father if he's heard anything from her mother. Robin wasn't aware that her father got called in to cover that trip. Her parent's phone rang and rang. Finally, Robin just gave up. “I'm going home,” she sighed. It was now more than three hours after the time her mother was scheduled to return. When she arrived home, Jayme was sound asleep. Robin crawled in bed next to her and kept checking her phone. The bright light awoke Jayme. “Oh, hi Hun," Jayme said as she rolled over and put her arm around Robin. “Get your mother home alright?” “No,” Robin replied. “What do you mean?” “The bus never arrived," Robin said. “I can only assume and hope that they just

decided to get a hotel room for the night.” Jayme could sense something was wrong. “Why don't you call your father and ask if he knows anything?” “Tried, he didn't answer his phone." Then a light went off in Robin's head! “I'll call my grandpa! It was one of his bus company's buses the hospital chartered!” She dialed her grandpa's number and thankfully he picked up. “Hey, gramps! Sorry for calling you so late, but do you know when that bus doing the hospital transfer is scheduled to return?” “It hasn't returned yet!?” Burke's voice sounded surprised. “Robin, my dear, meet me at the bus garage. Pronto!” “Will do,” Robin replied as she ended the call. She quickly hopped out of bed and rushed out of the bedroom. Jayme got up and followed Robin. “What is going on?” she asked franticly. “I don't know, but my grandpa seemed very surprised that the bus hasn't returned yet,” Robin replied. “I'm going to go meet my grandpa at his bus garage now.” “I'll come with you,” “No,” Robin softly said. “Instead can you just go to the old hospital and wait to see if the bus ever shows up?” Jayme smiled and nodded. “No problem.” They both put their jackets and shoes on and went out the door. They got into their vehicles and headed off to their destinations. When Robin arrived at the bus garage, her grandfather was already there unlocking the door. She got out and met him. “Hi, Grandpa!” she greeted him. “Hi, darling,” he replied somberly as he opened up the door and they walked inside. “Have you tried calling both your parent's cell phones?” he asked.

“No,” Robin told him. “Well, I tried my mother's, but it went straight to voicemail.” “Why haven't you tried your fathers?” he asked. “He keeps it off when he's at home.” Burke looked at his granddaughter. It was evident in her eyes that she had no idea her father was the driver for that trip. “I had to call your father in to drive for that trip. The other driver never showed up,” he informed her. Robin's eyes got wide as she pulled her phone out of her pocket and called her father's cell phone. His phone went straight to voicemail as well. She hung up and let out a deep sigh. “Nothing,” she said. “It went to voicemail,” Meanwhile, a few hours away, a police officer was traveling through the mountains to check for any down trees that the massive storm may have knocked down across the roadway. He noticed a severely damaged guard rail ahead of him. He slowed his patrol car down and stopped just before the spot where the bus had left the roadway. The officer picked up his CB mic and radioed dispatched. “This is squad car 684, I'm on route A42 East mile marker 496. Were there any reports of an accident here in the past 24 hours?” he asked. “I'll check into that,” the dispatcher responded. After a few minutes, the dispatcher got back to the officer. “Negative, no accidents reported.” “10-4," the officer replied. “I'm stepping out to investigate a damaged guard rail. Get the highway crew up here. We need to get this rail repaired before we can get this road opened again.” “10-4” the dispatcher answered. The officer got out of his patrol car and grabbed his flashlight. He walked over the huge gap in the guard rail and peered down. He noticed something big and white that seemed out of place and a path of destruction from the road down to the wreckage. The officer sat down and carefully slid down the steep embankment. When he got partway down, he discovered that the mysterious thing he noticed from the roadway was the top of a severely damaged bus! Once he was at the wreckage,

he carefully stepped on board, trying not to cut himself on the broken steps. When he got inside, he was horrified by what he saw! Seven deceased people. Blood was splattered all over. The driver's body was still strapped into the driver's seat, but his head was way in the back of the bus. The handrail was pierced into the chest of a male enger, it was horrifying! The officer gaged and rushed out of the bus. The moment he exited the bus, he vomited. He got on his CB that was attached to his chest and radioed for assistance, explaining the situation, and requested a tow truck. He took a seat on the ground and waited for help to arrive. He had experienced a lot as an officer, this, by far, was the worse! As he waited for help, he heard a faint female voice coming from the bus. “Help us,” the voice pleaded. The officer sprung to his feet and rushed inside the bus. Was there a survivor he missed? He was hopeful. When he got back on the bus, he checked everywhere. To his dismay, he couldn't find the woman he just heard. He got out of the bus. He stood staring at it. As he was staring, A handprint appeared on one of the windows. “That's strange,” he said to himself. He entered the bus one last time. He felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around and the deceased male enger with the handrail through his chest was standing behind him. Irwin let out a deep gut-wrenching snarl at the officer. The officer screamed, got out of that bus as quickly as he could, and rushed back up the mountainside, back to his patrol car. The moment he returned to his car, help arrived. “It's all you now!” The officer told everyone. “I'm out of here!” He got into his patrol car and sped off! The other officers, paramedics, firefighters, and tow truck drivers were appalled! “That's not like him,” one of the officers commented. The paramedics and firefighters grabbed seven stretchers and eased down the mountainside. One of the firefighters had to use a crowbar to get the back emergency door open. They too were horrified by what they saw inside that bus. They managed to get all of the victim's bodies up the side of the mountain and into the ambulances to transport them to the morgue.

One of the officers got in with dispatch and had the dispatcher try to get in with the police station of the town the bus was from, while the tow truck driver and the other officers proceeded to try to get the wrecked bus up the mountainside. Back at the bus garage, Burke called the new hospital. His heart sank when they informed him that the bus never arrived. “Thank you,” he softly said over the phone as he hung up. He looked at his granddaughter. “The bus never arrived at the hospital,” he informed her. “Why not?” she asked. “I don't know,” Burke got onto his computer and checked the GPS of the bus. The GPS kept pinging the bus's location to the bus garage. He sat back in his chair and glanced over to a box sitting on the floor of his office. “Darling, can you open that box?” he asked, pointing to the small box on the floor. “Sure,” Robin replied as she walked over to the small box. She opened the box and looked inside. “What is that?” Burke asked. “It says Fleet Tracking GPS System," Burke smacked his forehead. “What an idiot!” he said to himself. He turned to his granddaughter. “I forgot to install that onto the bus before it left!” Robin's phone rang, it was Jayme. “Anything yet?” Jayme asked Robin. “The bus hasn't arrived at the new hospital as of yet,” Robin informed her wife. “You can go home,” “Alright, my dear,” Jayme replied. “See you when you get home, I love you,” “I love you too,” Robin replied as they hung up. An hour ed by and they heard a knock at the door of the bus garage. “Who could that be?” Burke got up and walked to the door, Robin followed.

When they got to the glass entry door to the building, they noticed a couple of officers standing there. Both Burke and Robin's hearts dropped to their feet. “I don't like this,” Burke softly said. They both had an ill feeling something happened. Burke opened up the door. Both of the officers took off their hats and looked Burke and Robin in the eyes. “Are you the owner of this company?” “Yes,” Burke replied. “What's happened?” “We weren't expecting anyone to be here this time of night,” one of the officers explained. “But we noticed two vehicles in the parking lot as we ed by." Burke nodded. “Yes, It's abnormal for anyone to be here at this hour, but officers, one of my buses went missing and my granddaughter and I are trying to locate it.” The officers glanced at Burke and Robin. “I'm sorry, sir, madam, there has been an accident,” one of the officers informed them. “Oh no,” Burke stated. “All seven occupants of the bus were deceased by the time help arrived,” the other officer told them. “We are deeply sorry for your loss,” the officers put on their hats and left. Burke and Robin looked at each other, speechless. They were both in shock! They walked back into Burke's office, closed the door, embraced each other, and began sobbing. They sobbed for a solid hour until their eyes had no tears left to cry. Robin texted Jayme to come to the bus garage to drive her and her grandfather back home. They were in no condition to drive themselves. She didn't tell Jayme the reason over the text message. She told her she'd tell her when she saw her. When Jayme read the message, seconds after receiving it, she rushed as quickly as she could to the bus garage. When she arrived, Robin and Burke met her outside. it was evident to Jayme that they had both been crying. Their eyes were red and puffy. “What's happened?” Jayme asked as she gave her wife a tight embrace.

“My parents were killed,” Robin informed Jayme. “The bus was involved in an accident.” “What?!” Jayme replied in shock! “How? What happened?" Robin choked back tears, “We don't know the nature of the accident, all we know is nobody survived it,” Jayme's eyes began tearing up as well. “Darling,” she didn't know what to say. She just held her wife tightly in her arms, trying to comfort her. After a while, they all got into Jayme's car and left. Jayme dropped Burke off back at his house and continued back to her and Robin's house. When they arrived home, Robin went straight to bed. She was exhausted, but couldn't sleep. She just sobbed into her pillow. The next day, Burke called into the bus garage and informed the dispatcher that he would not be in that week. He didn't tell her why at that moment. He just said, “I have a family emergency." Burke had a neighbor take him to the bus garage to pick up his vehicle. He drove down to the police station and inquired more about the accident that killed his son and daughter-in-law. They let him know where it happened and gave him the number to that town's police station. When Burke got back to his car, still in the parking lot of the police station, he called the police station of the town where the accident had occurred. When the dispatcher answered, Burke, explained who he was and was transferred to a detective who was in the process of investigating the crash. The detective instructed Burke to come to the station as soon as possible. That station was a little over three hours away. Burke agreed and hung up. He didn't want to make that drive by himself. Not in the emotional state he was in. He drove to his granddaughter's house to see if she'd be willing to ride along or drive. He arrived at Robin's house and rang the doorbell. Jayme answered. “Oh, hi Grandpa!” she greeted him. “Morning, dear,” Burke replied. “Is Robin awake yet?” Jayme shook her head. “No, not yet,” she said. “How are you doing this

morning?” Burke shrugged. “Not so good, as you may imagine,” he sighed. “I need to take a three-hour drive, the detective investigating the crash wants me to come into the station. It's about three hours away, I was wondering if Robin could come along." Jayme nodded. “Give me a moment, I'll go get her.” She had Burke step inside as she went to her and Robin's bedroom. When she entered, Robin was sound asleep. “Hun,” Jayme softy said as she tried to gently shake her wife awake. Robin opened her eyes and glared at Jayme. “What?” “Your grandfather is here,” Jayme softly said. “He wants to know if you will go with him to the police station in the town where the accident occurred. It's three hours from here.” Robin rolled over, looked at the clock, and let out a deep sigh. “Yes, just give me a few minutes.” She got out of bed, grabbed some clothes, and went into their bedroom's on-suite to get ready. After a good half hour, Robin went into the kitchen where Jayme had already made her a thermos of coffee to take along with her. “Thank you, my dear,” Robin said as she kissed Jayme on the lips. Robin hugged Jayme, picked up her thermos of coffee, and walked out with her grandfather. Robin and Burke decided that it would be better for Robin to drive that long distance. Burke was nearing eighty and had a difficult time handling long drives. They got into Robin's car and took off down the road.

III Meanwhile, back at the accident scene, the wrecked bus was finally back on the road! The entire rescue team was exhausted! They ended up having to call in a couple more tow trucks to assist in the effort. They got one of the flatbed trucks lined up to the bus and dropped it down, so they could load up the bus while a few officers gathered up the debris that was scattered around the mountainside. One of the tow truck drivers, Lewis, climbed on board the bus to help guide the bus onto a flatbed by steering the steering wheel as it was being pulled up onto Garth's flatbed truck by a chain. It was difficult and Lewis had a difficult time gaining up the nerve to place his hand on the blood-drenched steering wheel. It took a good forty-five minutes to get the bus loaded onto Garth's truck. Once it was loaded, the officers loaded up all the debris onto Lewis's flatbed truck. They covered the debris and the bus up as best as they could with a tarp, and Garth lead the way as Lewis followed. They proceeded to a local junkyard that was at the base of the mountain. While traveling down the mountain, Lewis noticed something was off about the bus. He knew all the victims were removed from the wreckage! He watched as the paramedics placed them into the ambulances! However, he could have sworn he saw someone look out the rear exit door of the bus at him! When the trucks arrived at the junkyard, which was also an auto repair and used cars sales lot, Lewis rushed over to Garth's driver's window. “There's someone still on there!” He panicked! Garth looked at Lewis with a strange look in his eyes. This man has lost his marbles! He thought. “I promise you, nobody is on that bus," he reassured Lewis as he climbed out of his truck. “Someone looked out the rear door at me!” Lewis insisted! “I swear!” Inside, the owner of the auto shop and junkyard, Dick, could hear the two men arguing outside and rushed out to see what was going on. Dick, was not pleased by the unannounced delivery. “What the fuck is this?” he asked.

Garth reached into his truck and grabbed the accident report papers in his hand. “This bus was involved in a gruesome accident just a few miles away. Here,” he said as he handed over the accident report, the bus's registration, and insurance. “I was informed that I need to instruct you to keep this bus in your garage along with all the parts on that other truck.” Dick was appalled! “I can't give up one of my stalls!” he snapped. “I have a business to run here!” Garth nodded in agreement. “I understand sir, but this bus needs to remain in the garage while the crash gets investigated.” “Were there any fatalities?” Dick asked. Lewis nodded. “Seven,” “How many people were on the bus?” “Seven,” Lewis responded, his voice showing no emotion. Dick walked over to the back of the tow truck and stared at the bus. “Why wasn't it taken to the police lot?” he asked. “It's not big enough,” Garth informed Dick. Dick rolled his eyes. “Fine!” he snapped. “But I'll only give a stall up for a day!” Garth got in Dick's face. “This is why you only have a one-star review!” He snapped back. “You're an ass-hole!” Lewis could tell things were about to get ugly, so he stepped between Dick and Garth to break up the argument. “Okay! Break it up!” He snapped. He looked at Dick with anger. “Trying to pick fights with us tow truck drivers again?” he asked. “He's making me give up one of my repair stalls!” Dick replied. The tow truck drivers busted out laughing. “Not like you use them!” Garth replied sarcastically.

Dick had a reputation in town. Not a good one. People would take their vehicles to his shop to get repaired. Their vehicles would sit in the garage for months, nothing being done to them. Dick would ignore vehicles that needed repairs and would give his full attention to his used car sales instead. He was a very shady man to do business with. Dick crossed his arms over his chest, “If you don't like me, why did you bring that piece of shit to me?” he asked with a smirk. “We were instructed by the police to bring it here! Now, you shut up and open that damn garage door!” Garth screamed! Dick glared at the two tow truck drivers, pivoted on his heel, angrily marched to the building, opened a garage door, and Garth backed his truck up to the open stall. Garth gently dropped off the bus into the stall. “Keep it in here until you are told you can remove it!” He instructed. “FINE!” Dick snapped. The two tow truck drivers finished unloading their trucks and took off. As they were pulling out of the parking lot, Dick picked up a rock from his parking lot and chucked it towards the trucks. He turned back around and glared at the bus that was now taking up space in his garage. “Damn thing!” he snarled as he walked back into the building. An hour later, Robin and Burke arrived at the police station. They met up with the detective that was leading the investigation of the crash. “So nice of you to get here so soon," the detective said as he held out his hand for a handshake. “I'm Detective Hugo,” he introduced himself. “I'm Burke,” Burke responded as he shook Hugo's hand. “Owner of that bus and father or the driver. This is my granddaughter, Robin. Her father was the driver and mother was one of the doctors on board that bus.” Hugo hung his head, “My apologies for your loss,” he somberly stated. “So, what happened?” Robin asked. “The bus plowed through a guard rail and rolled multiple times down the side of a mountain,” Hugo informed them, “That's all we know right now. We did take

some toxicity tests on the driver. We found no drugs or alcohol in his system so we already ruled out impaired driving.” “My son went through vigorous drug testing for his job,” Burke informed the detective. “Random testing, I assure you I already knew that wasn't the cause.” Hugo nodded. “We know that now, sir,” he responded. “This is an active investigation.” Hugo motioned for them to follow him. “Come to my office.” The three of them walked through a secured door and down a long hallway towards the detective's office. When they got inside, they all took a seat. The detective pulled up a map onto his computer along with some photos from the crash site. He turned his screen around with a warning first. “These photos may be difficult to see,” he warned. Burke and Robin took a deep breath and looked through the photos. Hugo made sure the photos of the victim's bodies were not included in the set of photos he was showing to Burke and Robin. Burke began to tear up. “That thing looks horrible!” “Were there any mechanical failures that you can think of?” Hugo asked Burke. “It was a brand new bus!” Burke replied as he wiped tears from his face. “I had it less than 24 hours before my son took it for its first run.” “We did have a massive thunderstorm here that day,” Hugo told them. “It was bad, but if everything was working properly on that bus, then, they should have been fine. Visibility was low, but anyone could have seen more than a hundred feet in front of them," Hugo stated. He paused for a moment, “That is only if they had proper wiper blades.” Burke thought for a moment. How good were those wipers on that bus he just bought? They were thin and skimpy. He was planning on putting on thicker more durable wipers onto that bus but never got around to doing so. “Oh no,” he said resentfully. “No, sir, the wipers were not the best. They were factory standard.” Hugo sighed. “Alright,” he responded. He got up, picked up a few bags off the floor, and handed them over to Burke and Robin. “We believe these are Casey and Eva's belongings.”

“Can I see my parents?” Robin asked. “My dear, I don't think you'd want to,” Hugo softly said. He had seen the bodies of the victims at the crash site. He had a strong stomach and has seen a lot in his forty-year carrier, but seeing the victims of the bus crash made him vomit! “Please let us see them.” Burke pleaded. He knew his granddaughter had a strong stomach and could handle things. “Okay,” Hugo sighed. He got up from his chair and instructed them to follow him to the local hospital. When they arrived, Hugo flashed his badge to the security guard and took Burke and Robin down to the morgue. He typed in a special code and the three of them entered. “This is the room where autopsies are done,” Hugo informed them. “We have medical professionals trying to determine if Casey had a medical emergency behind the wheel.” They walked over to a table that had a body covered up by a large sheet. Hugo placed his hand on the edge of the sheet and looked both Burke and Robin in the eyes. “Are you sure you want to see this?” He asked. “Positive," Burke replied. Hugo slowly uncovered Casey's body. His head was laying alongside his dead cold body. Eyes still open. Both Burke and Robin turned away from the table and rushed out of the room as quickly as possible! They both began gaging! Hugo recovered Casey's body and walked out to see where Burke and Robin had run off too. He found them hunched over a trash can. "There you are,” Hugo said. “It was bad, as you could see.” He put a gentle hand on the back of Robin's shoulder, trying to comfort her. She was very distraught by what she had just seen. “If you changed your mind about seeing your mother, I completely understand." “No,” Robin stated. She took a deep breath, maintained her cool again. She stood back up and looked Hugo in the eyes. “I want to see my mother one last time,” Robin felt guilt for not saying goodbye to her mother that morning she

left to go on that fateful trip. They walked into a different room and the officer pulled open one of the body drawers. Burke and Robin stared at Eva's body. Her arm was torn off in the crash. Robin was tearing up. “Can I have a moment,” she told the two men. “Of course,” Hugo replied as Burke and himself left the room. When they got out, Hugo watched from a small window in the door. Inside the room, Robin held her mother's cold, lifeless hand. “I'm sorry I never said goodbye that morning,” she grasped her mother's hand even tighter. She talked to her mother's dead body for ten minutes before letting go of her mother's hand and walking out. Hugo went back into the room by himself and placed Eva's body back in the cooling drawer. Once he exited, the three of them went back upstairs and into the parking lot. Hugo pulled Burke aside and informed him that the police had already submitted a report to his insurance company on his behalf. Burke smiled. “Thank you,” he stated. “What should I do?” “You got a lot on your plate right now,” Hugo softly said. “Take care of your family, your insurance will you when and if they need anything.” “Thank you, sir,” Burke replied. The two men shook hands and Burke proceeded to Robin's car. Robin was already sitting in her driver's seat on her phone. She was on the phone with Jayme. Burke sat quietly in the enger seat as his granddaughter was sobbing while she was talking to her wife. He reached over and grabbed ahold of Robin's right hand that was resting on the center console. She was on the phone for a half-hour before the conversation ended. “Will you be okay to drive?” Burke asked her. “I'll be fine,” Robin replied. “How about we just get a hotel room for the night,” Burke suggested. “I believe we both need it.”

Robin agreed and started up the car. She drove around town and found a quaint Victorian house that was turned into a bed and breakfast. She pulled off onto the side of the road and parked. “I'll go in and see if they have a room available,” she told her grandfather. When she walked inside, there was a man dressed in old clothing, probably from the mid-1700s era, standing at the front desk. “Good evening, sir,” Robin said. “Would you happen to have any rooms available?” The man stared blankly at Robin. Then vanished! It was the same spirit who visited the spirits of the bus crash! Robin was petrified! She ran as quickly as she could out of that building, got into her car, and sped off! “Whoa!” Burke yelled as he held on for dear life! “What happened in there!” “Nothing!” Robin replied. She didn't want to tell her grandfather that she just saw a spirit! She didn't want him to think she was crazy. “Just a strange front desk worker that gave me the creeps!” They drove around for a few more minutes before they found a large hotel instead. “There we go!” Robin stated. “Hopefully no ghosts in this one!” “Ghost!?” Burke asked in shock! “Is that what happened at the last place?” Robin pulled into the parking lot and parked. She looked at her grandfather and nodded. “The front desk clerk at the other place vanished right in front of me!” “Oh shit!” Burke responded. “I wonder what the history of that building is,” “Don't know,” Robin responded as they exited the car. The two of them walked into the hotel, got a room, grabbed their bags from the car, and proceeded to their room. After they were in the room, Robin called Jayme and let her know that her grandfather and herself were spending the night. Jayme thought that was a good decision. She knew Robin was in no condition to make the long drive home that day. Once Robin was off the phone with Jayme, she tried looking up the history of the bed and breakfast.

She was on her phone for an hour trying to dig up information. She couldn't find anything. She put her phone down and sighed. “I'm going out,” she told her grandfather as she put her shoes back on and left the room. She walked outside and found a man standing by the main door of the hotel smoking. She stood alongside the man. Who was staring straight ahead. “Excuse me, sir,” Robin said. “Can I bother you for a smoke?” Robin didn't smoke, but she needed one at that moment. The man looked at her. He had to be in his seventies. He was wearing a white doctor coat. His eyes were hollow. Almost lifeless it seemed. He slowly turned his head and looked at Robin. He didn't say anything. He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out his pack of smokes and handed Robin one along with a lighter. Robin thanked the man and lit up. The man began walking away and he vanished as well! Robin's jaw dropped! She quickly dropped the smoke and put it out. She quickly turned around to enter the hotel again and the man from the bed and breakfast was standing directly behind her. “Robin,” the ghostly man said. Robin let out a bloodcurdling scream and ran inside! She rushed back into the room and slammed the door behind her. “We can't stay in this town!” she panicked! Her grandfather was sound asleep on his bed when Robin returned to the room. The slamming of the door woke him up. He sat up and panicked, “What's wrong?!” “This whole damn town is haunted!” Just then, they both heard a knock at their door. “I'll see who it is,” Burke said as he got up from his bed. He peered through the peephole in the door. He jumped back. His face lost all color. It was the man with the white doctor's coat Robin had just seen outside. “Who is it?” Robin asked. Burke gulped. “It's your great grandfather, your mother's grandfather,” he stated. “He died on your parent's wedding day,”

“What?!” Robin was shocked! “Was he a doctor too?” she asked. Burke nodded. “He was once a surgeon at the hospital your mother worked at,” he informed his granddaughter. Burke took a seat on the edge of his bed. “Massive heart attack, I found him laying on the floor of the men's room during the reception.” “That's horrible!” Robin replied. “How did my mother take it?” “Not so good,” Burke softly stated. “She tried to resuscitate him but, it was too late," he sighed. Robin sat down next to her grandfather and put her arm around him. “Why do you think his spirit is here?” she asked. “What do you think he wants?” Burke shrugged and held his granddaughter close. “I Don't know." “Do you think my parents are happy where they are now?” “Oh, definitely!” Burke replied with a smile. “They are in a much better place now.” Little did Burke and Robin know, the nature of the crash that killed Casey and Eva came from a dark place of revenge! Every one of the victim's souls of that horrific bus crash had now become imprisoned within that bus and were unable to move on. “Let me see if he's still out there,” Burke said as he got up and made his way back to the door. He looked through the peephole again, and the man was gone. “Phew!” Burke said in relief! “He's not there anymore!”

IV The next morning, Dick arrived at his shop only to find a bunch of accident investigators and an insurance agent waiting for him by one of the garage stall doors. “Oh, wonderful!” Dick said cheerfully as he got out of his truck and walked over to them. “Are you all here to get rid of that bus for me?” One of the investigators gave Dick a disgusted look. “No, we are here to take a thorough look at that bus," she informed him. “Now, open that garage door!” She demanded. Dick let out a huff and unlocked his shop. After a moment, he opened the garage door to the stall where the bus was sitting. The investigators and the insurance agent entered and began taking notes on their clipboards. Dick stood aside leaned up against a wall, arms crossed. “Make this quick!” he demanded! Dick kept checking his watch with every ing minute. “Ugh!” he complained. “You all are taking forever!” Only five minutes had ed by that moment. Another investigator glared at Dick. “Seven people died in this bus!” he snapped. “We are trying to give the families some answers! HAVE SOME HUMAN DECENCY FOR ONCE!” Everyone around that area had no respect for Dick, unfortunately, he was the only auto repair shop for miles! Dick rolled his eyes and stomped out of the garage. He was someone who cared for nobody, but himself. When he got into his office, he slammed the door behind him. Back in the garage, the investigators and the insurance agent were inside the bus looking around. They all covered their faces and gaged as they stepped onto the bus. The smell was brutal! The smell of stale blood and death was overpowering! Out of nowhere, they all got the sensation that the bus was traveling at a high

rate of speed! They were all perplexed by the experience because the bus was sitting completely still! They all quickly took a seat and held on tight! That sensation lasted ten minutes. During that time, they could hear a bunch of people screaming, but the only ones on the bus were them! They didn't see anyone else. “Fuck this!” The insurance agent said as they rushed as quickly as they could off the bus and out of the building. Dick noticed the insurance agent high tailing it to their car and speeding off, leaving a large cloud of dust. “What happened there?” he asked himself. He got up and began to head over to the garage. On his way over, he was nearly knocked to the ground by the investigators who were rushing as quickly as they could to their vehicles. “What's going on?!" Dick panicked! “Just junk that possessed bus!” one of the investigators demanded. They all got into their vehicles and sped off down the road. Dick turned around and stared at the bus sitting in his garage. He slowly walked towards the bus and got a mischievous idea! “I bet I can fix you up," he said as he gently rubbed the side of the bus. “You're going to make me a good profit!” He walked out of the garage and let out an evil chuckle. Over at the hotel, which was only a few miles away from Dick's garage, Robin and Burke was getting ready to make their trip back home when they received a knock on their door. Robin walked over to the door and peeked out the peephole, terrified it might be another ghost! To her relief, a housekeeper was standing outside of the door. “Oh, thank goodness," she sighed as she opened the door. “You're Eva's daughter? Right?” the housekeeper asked. Robin's jaw dropped! How did this lady know who she was?! She wondered. “Why do you ask?” The housekeeper entered the room and looked around. You're going to come into a lot of money soon, the lady informed Burke. Robin and Burke were appalled! How did this lady know so much? The night before, Robin and Burke had a deep conversation about Burke putting his bus company up for sale. He was getting old and managing the company was

becoming too much for him to handle. Robin glanced around the room. “This room isn't tapped is it?” “Tapped?” the lady asked. “What do you mean by that?” “Tapped,” Robin responded. “You know, hidden cameras, recorders.” The lady smiled. “I know more about you and your future than you will ever know!” That remark freaked Burke and Robin out! Who was this lady?! They both wondered! Then, right before their eyes, the lady transformed into the male front desk clerk who had vanished right in front of Robin at the Bed and Breakfast the night before! “My six-time great-grandson is a piece of shit!” the man informed them. “Watch out for him!” The mysterious man glanced over at Robin. “My sincere apologies little lady, I didn't mean to frighten you back at the … um,” he paused for a moment, snapping his ghostly fingers. It was evident to Robin he couldn't think of the words he was looking for! “Bed and Breakfast?” Robin asked. “No thank you,” the man replied. “I'm not tired or hungry.” Robin and Burke looked at each other strangely as the man continued talking. The man told them that the Bed and Breakfast used to be an old orphanage. He explained to them that he had children who were taken there as infants and he keeps hoping to run into them someday there! “But, as luck would have it, I was also waiting for you, Robin,” the man stated. “Why me?” Robin asked. The man smiled. “You'll soon find out," he warned. “Just , don't trust my six-time great-grandson!”

The man turned away from them and vanished. Burke and Robin stood in shock! Trying to piece together in their minds what just happened! They couldn't take anymore! They picked up their bags and rushed out of that hotel! They tossed their bags into Robin's back seat and speed as quickly as possible out of that town. Vowing to each other to NEVER return to that town! During their long drive home, they both couldn't help but wonder, who was that ghostly man talking about? They didn't know at the time that the crash that killed Casey and Eva was not an accident! “I wonder what that man was trying to tell us?” Robin asked. Burke shrugged. “I don't know,” he responded as he stared blankly out the window at the scenery flying by. “Grandpa,” Robin started to say when Burke began snoring. “Never mind,” she sighed. For the remaining two and a half hours of the drive, Robin couldn't help but wonder what it was those two spirits they encountered were trying to tell them. It had to be something important! Against her best judgment, she turned the car around and headed back. Once she was back in that town, she pulled into a gas station to fuel up her car. Since she was there, she decided to go inside and grab a few snacks. She noticed a male worker stocking the shelves and a young lady was working at the counter. “Oh, wonderful!” Robin sighed in relief. “Hopefully she isn't a ghost too!" She got up to the counter and placed her purchases onto it. “I take it you're not from around here, are you?” the clerk inquired. “No, I'm not,” Robin responded. “Why do you ask?” The clerk smiled. “This is the only gas station for miles and I've never seen you in here.” “No offense,” Robin said, “but this is a very strange town!” The young lady chuckled, then got serious and asked, “You can see me?” Robin's jaw dropped, then she laughed believing it was a joke!

Meanwhile, the male worker got done stocking the shelves and noticed Robin standing at the counter talking to herself. “Uh, ma'am?” he asked. “Is everything alright over here?” Robin turned, looked at the man, and nodded. “This lady is hysterical!” she replied as she pointed behind the counter. The man had a very confused look on his face. “What lady?” When Robin turned back, the lady was gone! “What?!” she panicked! “The lady that was just standing there!” She began pleading with the man. “Please tell me this is all just a joke!” Then she began describing in great detail what the lady looked like to the man. The man's face got really pale. Five months ago to that day, that man's wife was murdered by an armed robber! Right in that spot! Robin just described his wife to a ‘T.’ “That was my wife,” he replied. “She lost her life here five months ago,” “Oh no, I'm so sorry,” she sincerely said. “I'm in town because my parents were involved in a horrible accident just outside of town here.” The man looked at Robin and asked “Was it that bus accident that occurred in the mountains?” “Yes, it was,” “I probably shouldn't say this, it's probably confidential, but a few investigators came in here earlier and rushed to the restroom.” He told her. Robin looked confused. Why would that information be confidential? So what if a few detectives came in to use a gas station restroom? “That's import, why?” “They were talking to each other on the way out, and I overheard them.” “What were they talking about?” “They were talking about the bus that was involved in that crash that killed your parents.”

Now, this man had Robin's full attention! “What did they say?” “They are claiming that bus to be possessed,” he replied. “They believe the victim's spirits are still on board that thing!” It was all making sense now! That's what the two other spirits were trying to tell her! That her parents have not moved on yet! “Where is that bus now?” The man shrugged. “How should I know,” he responded. “Thank you for that information!” Robin said as she rushed out of the gas station, leaving her unpaid for purchases on the counter, and rushed back to her car. She got inside and Burke was wide awake. “Are we almost home?” he asked. “We haven't got out of this town yet,” “Well, wake me up when I'm back home,” Burke instructed his granddaughter as he fell right back asleep. Robin felt at a loss. She didn't know what to do now. She wanted to leave that town as quickly as she could, but on the other hand, she wanted to try to locate that bus! Then again, if she found the bus, what was she going to do? She knew nothing about helping spirits to the other side! “Ugh,” she sighed as she started up her car and pulled out of the gas station, and headed back home. Back over at Dick's garage, Dick began the task of fixing up the severely damaged bus. He called his brother, Marcel to come over and help him out. When Marcel arrived he took one look at the bus and said, “you have to be out of your mind! We can't repair this thing!” Marcel's repair shop is more than twenty miles away. He was much older than his younger brother, Dick, and had eight more years of experience doing bodywork on vehicles. He crawled underneath the bus and checked out the frame. He noticed the frame was bent and snapped almost in half! “We can't fix this thing!” He shouted from under the bus. “Yes, we can!” Dick replied with confidence! He was bound and determined he was going to make a profit on that bus! Come hell or high water!

Marcel crawled out from under the bus. “Have you looked at the undercarriage?” he asked. “No,” “Take a look for yourself!” Dick let out a disgusted huff and crawled under the bus. For the first time, he took a good look at the frame. “Oh, this is nothing!” he laughed. “We can fix this!” He got out from under the bus and stood up. “Nothing to it!” Marcel raised an eyebrow at his brother. Has he lost his mind?! He wondered. “How on earth are we going to fix that!?” He snapped. “It's a mess!” “I have a junked dump truck in the junkyard,” he smiled. “It's the same length of this thing. All we need to do is remove the two bodies from the frames and switch them!” He explained to his older brother who was staring at him as if he had two heads. “And how do you suppose we're going to do that?” he asked. Dick patted his brother on the back of the shoulder. “You'll figure it out,” he smiled as he walked out of the garage and into his office. Marcel followed Dick into his office. “What do you mean by I'll figure it out?” he asked very displeased. “You're not going to make me do this on my own? Are you?” “Don't worry,” Dick replied. “I'll help, just you figure out how we're going to accomplish such a task. I have other work I need to do.” “Fine!” Marcel snapped as he stormed out of his brother's office. He walked outside and made his way behind the building to the junkyard. When he got to the dump truck his brother was talking about, he looked it over. The entire thing was gutted out. He crawled underneath and the frame was still in great shape! Now he just had to figure out how to get that truck up to the garage! He walked back to his brother's office and went inside. Dick was on the phone with a customer. “I understand you need your truck back, sir,” he said. “But I need another week or two to finish it,” he explained.

“I dropped my truck off two months ago!” the customer snapped. as Dick held the phone away from his ear. “It was only a headlamp that needed to be changed!” It was only a headlamp that needed changing, but Dick was a shady businessman. “We detected a wiring malfunction in that light's connections," he lied. "We are getting that fixed because it is a fire hazard,” he explained calmly. “Why wasn't I informed of this?” the man snapped. “I thought one of my other workers called you about that?” Dick lied again. Dick didn't have any other workers there. He didn't like sharing his profits. “No,” the man replied. “Sorry for the inconvenience, Sir,” Dick said, “I'll make sure your truck gets to the top of our priority list. I'll personally drop it off at your house when it is completed.” “How much is that going to cost me?” the customer asked. “No more than $750. I'll drop it off free of charge.” “Fine!” the man snapped. “I better have it in my driveway no later than next week or my lawyer will be getting involved!” The man hung up the phone on Dick. “Guess I need to put in a light bulb,” Dick sighed. “What about the wiring?” Marcel asked. Dick laughed. “There's nothing wrong with the wiring in that man's truck!” he stated. “I just forgot to do it." Marcel glared at his brother. “You're one piece of shit!” he scolded. “Giving our family a bad name!” “What do you want?” “I need the keys to your tow truck.”

Dick pointed over to a bunch of keys hanging by his office door on a pegboard. “It's the top left corner.” “Thanks,” Marcel took the tow truck keys and went out to his brother's tow truck. When he got the tow truck behind the building, he had to back it to the old dump truck. There was just no space to turn it around in the junkyard. When he got to the dump truck, he carefully attached the chains to the dump truck's frame and eased it out, and backed it up to the garage. Once he unhooked the dump truck from the tow truck, he found a steel cutter and began cutting the body away from the frame. “I have no clue what I'm doing here,” he said to himself. A few hours had ed, and Robin was finally dropping her grandfather off at his house. “Thanks for the ride!” Burke said as he exited his granddaughter's car. “See you later grandpa,” Robin replied. A few minutes later, Robin arrived back home. Jayme already had dinner on the table. Robin took a seat and didn't say a word. “Hello to you too,” Jayme said sarcastically. “Oh,” said Robin. “Hello,” Robin just stared down at her plate of food, picking away at it. Jayme could see her wife was very upset. “Do you want to talk?” “Not right now,” Robin softly replied. She sat back in her chair and let out a deep sigh. She looked up and stared at Jayme, quietly thinking. Jayme was a bus driver also, one of her grandfather's employees. She hated to imagine what if she was the one driving that bus? She couldn't withstand the thought of losing her wife the same way she just lost her parents! “I think you should give up being a bus driver,” she said with a tear running down her cheek. “Alright,” Jayme replied. She could see in her wife's eyes she didn't feel comfortable anymore with her being a bus driver. Not after what just happened to her parents! “Just let me find another job first, one that will pay me at the same rate or more."

Robin smiled, got up, gave her wife a tight hug and a kiss on the lips. “I appreciate that,” she said. The next morning, Burke came over to Robin and Jayme's house and asked Jayme if she'd be interested in taking over the business, she wasn't. So Burke put out an ad putting his company up for sale! For the next month, Burke received a lot of bids for his company. He decided to sell it to a man who owned a few travel agencies across the area. The man, Luke, seemed to be well informed about the transportation industry and would be a great fit! Luke offered Burke a whopping six million dollars for his company! Burke took that money and paid off all his business and personal debts and was able to finally retire comfortably. Jayme, on the other hand, was not impressed with her new boss and kept trying desperately to find another job that met up to her standards.

V During that last month, Marcel and Dick worked tirelessly on the bus that had been involved in the accident that killed Robin's parents, along with five others. They were putting on the final touches one morning when Marcel asked, “What do you plan on doing with this thing?” “I'm going to sell it!” Dick smiled. “This thing is going to make us a pretty dollar!” “How?” Marcel asked. “Nobody in their right of mind will buy any vehicle that they knew was in a fatal accident!” Dick laughed. “Oh, my dear brother,” he chuckled. “I'm not going to tell anyone it was involved in a horrible crash!” “Are you going to warn them about the spooks?” Marcel asked. Over the past month, both Marcel and Dick had experienced multiple paranormal experiences while working on that bus. There were many times Marcel wanted to through in the towel and quit fixing it, but his younger brother, Dick, kept promising him lots of money if he continued to help him. They experienced lots of voices, apparitions, and their tools vanishing! They just wanted to get that bus done as quickly as possible so they didn't have to step inside of it ever again! “I'm not telling anyone that it is haunted!" Dick snapped. “I'd like you to take one of those price tags and put this bus up for fifty thousand dollars,” he instructed. “Fifty thousand?” Marcel asked. “This thing isn't worth even a thousand!” “Just do it!” It was early Saturday morning, and Saturday was Dick's busy day for car sales. He was hoping if he got that bus out on the lot that morning, he'd be able to sell it quickly and get it off his hands!

Marcel wrote out the price sticker and stuck it to the windshield. He got inside and tried starting the engine. The engine just cranked but wouldn't start. “You have got to be kidding me!” Marcel snapped. He kept trying to start the bus but it just wouldn't crank over. “What is wrong with you?!” he asked. “I just put a new starter, battery, and engine in you yesterday!” Aggravated, he stomped off the bus and into his brother's office. “That damn thing won't start!” he stated in anger as he slammed open Dick's office door. “What won't start?” “That damn bus!” Marcel was livid! He put so many hours into that thing for it and was aggravated that the bus wouldn't start! Even with a new engine and starter! Dick got up from his chair, “Let me take a look at it,” he calmly said as he began to make his way to the garage. He got into the driver's seat and played around with the key in the ignition switch. The engine would crank, but wouldn't start. He tried turning the key again and hitting the accelerator. Nothing. “Why won't you start,” he asked aloud. “You're not doing it right,” an unseen Casey replied. “Marcel! I know how to start a fucking vehicle, okay!” Dick snapped. “Don't tell me I'm not doing it right!” Marcel walked over to the bus's driver's window. “I didn't say anything,” he said with confusion. “If you didn't,” Dick paused for a moment. “Who did?” “Turn on the windshield wipers, then turn on the headlights,” Casey had now appeared in the seat directly behind the driver's seat where Dick was sitting. “Turn the windshield wipers on full speed first, then turn on the headlights while you turn the key and hit the accelerator. Do those last three things simultaneously!” Casey demanded. “That is ridiculous!” Dick laughed nervously. Then his face became pale. He slowly glanced over to the mirror to monitor the enger area of the bus. To his dismay, Casey's spirit was sitting directly behind him! He was so frightened, he couldn't even scream! Frozen in fear!

“Do it!” Casey demanded! Shaken, Dick did exactly what Casey instructed him to do. To his amazement, the bus started right up! “Who'd knew?” He turned to thank Casey's spirit behind him, but Casey had vanished. He let the bus run for a few minutes before backing it out of the garage, and into its parking spot on the sales lot. “There we go,” Dick grinned. “You are going to make me some good money!” He turned off the bus and went back into his office. Another month went by and Jayme was still having no luck finding a new job. Nor was Dick having any luck selling that bus. Or any vehicle off his lot! Customers were getting scared away by the spirits trapped within the bus! “I need to get rid of that thing!” Dick said to himself. He decided it would be best for himself and his company if he just pulled that bus into his junkyard and let it rot. He couldn't afford to lose any more customers! Dick relentlessly grabbed the bus keys and slowly made his way to the haunted bus. He got into the driver's seat of the bus and fired it up. Angrily removing and ripped up the price sticker from the windshield. “I should've junked you!” he snarled. “The only trash in this bus is you!” Irwin snarled back. “You aren't any better, Irwin,” Casey responded. Dick was frozen! He slowly turned his body to look at the seats behind him. “Who's in here?!” his voice was quivering. The bus was empty. He turned back around. His heart was pounding out of his chest! The bus was empty, but he knew he wasn't alone. He put the bus into gear and proceeded to pull the bus out of its space. Before he could get the bus halfway out of its space, he noticed a man walking in his direction. Dick stopped the bus, turned it off, and went over to greet the man. “How may I help you, sir?” he asked. “I'm Dick, the owner of this establishment.” “I'm Luke,” Luke replied. “I'm looking for a vehicle for my son,” he informed Dick. “A pickup truck to be exact.”

Dick smiled. “You've come to the right place!" The two men walked alongside each other as Dick attempted to show Luke all the pickup trucks in the lot. “This one here has only fifty-two thousand miles on it, no accidents, one owner!” He noticed Luke wasn't paying much attention to him. “Are you listening?” he asked. Luke was in a trance, staring across the lot at the bus. “Actually,” he said as he began to walk towards the bus. “Can I take a look at that bus?” Dick was surprised! “Of course!” he said with enthusiasm! This made him thrilled that someone was interested in taking a look at that bus! “Maybe I will make a profit on that thing!” he thought to himself. When Dick and Luke got to the bus, Luke began asking him tons of questions! Especially when they stepped on board and Luke noticed a few blood stains on the ceiling. “Are those bloodstains?!” Luke was startled! Dick looked up. “Oh, no,” he lied, fearing to lose another customer. “We had it tested. It's not blood,” he lied again. He was starting to become nervous. Kicking himself for not trying harder to remove those stains from the ceiling! “Has this bus ever been involved in an accident?” “Accident-free,” Dick lied again. “As far as I'm aware,” “How many miles?” Dick didn't know that answer off the top of his head. He sat down in the driver's seat and started up the bus. Luke noticed all the steps Dick took to get the engine to start. The diesel engine roared! Luke covered his ears. “IS THIS THING ALWAYS THIS LOUD?” he asked loudly trying to talk over the noisy engine. “GIVE IT A MINUTE!” Dick answered, yelling over the engine noise. After a minute, the diesel engine noise became quieter. “There we go, see?” Luke was a bit suspicious. “What was all that nonsense you did there to get the thing to start?” Dick chuckled. “Oh, that?” he said. “Just a little manufacturer defect! That's why this bus's original owner got rid of it," he wasn't going to tell a potential buyer

the truth of why that bus was the way it was. “You never answered my question,” Luke stated. “What was it again?” “How many miles are on it?” Dick looked at the odometer, and replied, “It has a very low 250 miles on it.” Luke was even more suspicious. It just didn't make any sense! How could a low mileage bus be in such horrible shape? “I'll have to think about this,” he told Dick. “Alright,” Dick replied. “Just don't think about it too long, this bus isn't going to remain on the lot for long.” Luke sighed. “How much is it?” “How much are you willing to offer?” “Twenty-five thousand?” Dick laughed at the offer. “Twenty-five thousand?” he replied. “This bus is practically brand new!” He shook his head. “I'm sorry, sir, but I can't accept such a low amount for this bus.” “How about seventy thousand?” Luke sighed. “Seventy-five,” Dick countered. “Seventy-two thousand. Take it or leave it!” Luke countered back. Dick reached out his hand for a handshake. “Deal!” Dick smiled. “Come to my office and we'll take care of the paperwork!” After a couple of hours, all the paperwork was complete! Dick faxed over information to the auto bureau. Moments later, someone called Dick. It was someone from the auto bureau. They noticed the VIN matched the bus's VIN that was involved in the horrific crash on the mountains.

“Good afternoon, sir, this is Sally from this auto bureau," the lady on the phone greeted. “Good afternoon, Sally,” Dick covered up the phone. “Can you give me a minute?" he asked Luke. “If you could, could you just step out into the hall for a moment? My apologies, I've been waiting for this call for a while and I need to take it.” “No problem,” Luke said as he got up and walked out of Dick's office. “Alright, how may I help you?” Dick asked Sally. “Dick, it appears that you are attempting to sell a vehicle that had been classified as a total loss!” “That bus was not totaled,” he told Sally. “The frame is still road safe, and all it needed was a little tender loving care! The bus is like new now and drives like a charm!” Dick never actually took the bus out on the road for a test run after the repairs. “Ugh,” Sally huffed! She had enough of Dick making profits off of vehicles that had been totaled out! “If I get any reports of that bus being reported as totaled again in the next month, I will have the police after you!” she threatened. “If it doesn't, then you owe me a date!” Dick replied. Secretly, he had the hots for Sally, but Sally despised him! “We'll see about that!” Sally snapped. “I'll have the tags ready shortly,” she said as she slammed the phone back on its receiver. “You can come back in now!” Dick yelled. Luke entered back into Dick's office. “My apologies again,” Dick stated. “Important business call I've been waiting for. They call at such bad times!” He offered Luke a cup of coffee and the two men sat and chatted for fifteen minutes. “When can I pick up the bus?” Luke asked.

“As soon as I come back from the auto bureau with the tags,” Dick replied. Luke smiled. “Perfect!” he said. “I'll call my wife and son to come and drive my vehicle back! It'll take them three hours to get here,” he informed Dick. Dick was appalled! “Three hours?!” he asked. “Why so long?” “We live three hours away,” Luke replied. “Yes, I could've shopped closer to home, but for some odd reason, I was drawn here.” Luke looked confused. “I have no idea why,” he said as he looked into Dick's eyes. “I never heard of this place!” Dick thought to himself, could that haunted bus have something to do with Luke coming to his sales lot? He turned around and looked out his office window at the bus sitting outside. “You are more powerful than I can ever comprehend,” Dick softy said towards the bus. Luke overheard Dick, “What?” he asked. “Nothing,” Dick turned around. “Come with me when I go pick up your new bus's tags!” He grabbed his jacket, his car keys and the two men exited the building. While they were walking towards Dick's vehicle, Dick's brother, Marcel, pulled in. “Give me a moment,” Dick asked Luke. “This is my brother." He walked over to Marcel's vehicle and Marcel rolled down his driver's window. “Hi, Dick,” Marcel said as he handed over two vehicle tags. “Hi,” Dick responded. “What's this?” he asked as he took the tags out of Marcel's hands. “Sally at the auto bureau gave these to me to give to you when I was there,” Marcel stated. “I had to renew my tow truck's registration.” Dick was disappointed. He wanted to go to the auto bureau to pick up the tags! Not that he enjoyed doing business there, he just wanted to see Sally! “Why must you always ruin things for me?” “Ruin things?” Marcel asked. “I was only trying to,” he paused. Then laughed.

“I get it now!” he laughed even harder. “You have a crush on Sally, don't you?” “Absolutely not!” Dick got defensive! “Now go back to your shop!” Marcel laughed and pulled away. “I guess we don't need to go pick up the tags anymore,” Dick stated. “I'm going to put these on the bus, if you want, there is a nice diner about two miles down the road, if you want to get some food while you wait for your ride.” Dick didn't want Luke hanging around his establishment for too long. He was afraid that if he hung around, he would find out that the bus he just purchased was haunted before he pulled it off the lot! Luke nodded. “I am a bit hungry, thank you," he said. “See you after a while,” Dick replied as Luke headed to his car and took off. For the next three hours, Dick tried tirelessly to try to remove the stains from the ceiling. He got most of it out, but he was unable to get it all out. “Alright, you spirits,” he said. “You better not scare this man!” Casey manifested himself right in front of Dick. Dick stood in fear as he stared at the ghostly man! His legs and hands trembled in fear! “Don't hurt me,” he pleaded! “There's a reason Luke bought this bus,” Casey informed Dick. “We won't be scaring him away!” Casey winked and vanished. Dick ran off that bus as quickly as he could and rushed back into his office. A few minutes later, Luke returned and stood outside waiting for his wife and son. Dick came out to greet him. “Have a good meal?” he asked. “Wonderful!” Luke replied. “Thank you for telling me about that place.” “When is your family coming?” “Any minute now.” The two men made small talk as they waiting for Luke's wife and son to arrive.

After ten minutes, Luke's wife, Georgina pulled in. “There they are!” Georgina parked their car and she and Myles, their son, Myles, came running over to Luke full of enthusiasm! “Which truck is mine, father?” he asked. Luke put his arm around Myles' shoulder and began walking with him. “You know son, there are going to be moments in your life where things don't go the way you wanted,” Myles interrupted his father. “You didn't get me a truck, did you?” “I'm sorry, son,” Myles pulled away and began shouting at his father. “You are so selfish! You never get me anything!” He screamed! He rushed back over towards his mother. Georgina gave her husband a degusted glance. “I thought we agreed you were vehicle shopping for Myles!” she snapped. “What exactly did you buy?” Luke smiled and pointed at the bus. “That!” “You bought a bus?!” Georgina snapped. “Doesn't that bus company you just bought have enough buses?” Luke shrugged. “Always good to have a spare,” he replied. Georgina rolled her eyes. “You're impossible!” she snapped. “Come on Myles, you can drive my car home," she said as she handed her son her car keys. “I'll drive your idiot father's car home!” “Hey!” Luke snapped. Dick was getting uncomfortable with the tension going on between Luke and Georgina. “I'm going back inside, it was a pleasure to meet you all,” he softly said as he walked away. “Let's just go!” Georgina snapped. As she stomped off to her husband's car. Luke deeply sighed. He got on the bus and started it. Doing exactly what Dick

instructed him to do. Once they were all in the vehicles they were driving home, they left Dick's sale's lot. It was a long drive home. They decided the quickest way would be to travel through the mountains. When Luke approached a sharp turn, the same turn where the bus had crashed, he felt the bus begin to pull towards a newly replaced guard rail. He had to use all his strength to keep that bus in his lane! Once he got past that spot, the bus stopped pulling to the side. “That was odd!” he said to himself! The rest of the ride was uneventful. He managed to get his newly purchased bus to his bus garage and had his wife take him home. She was still angry with him!

VI That weekend, Jayme was pondering rather or not to return to work on Monday. She tried to find another job, but there wasn't much opportunity out there that would pay her as much as she was making driving a bus! “It's pointless!” she sighed as she scrolled through her phone trying to search for a new job. “Nothing interests you?” Robin asked her wife. Jayme shook her head. “Nothing,” she responded. Robin reached over and took her wife's phone out of her hand. “Give it a rest, my dear,” she said. She took a seat next to her on the couch and cuddled up close. “How about a movie?” she recommended. “Sounds good!” Jayme replied with enthusiasm! She needed to get her mind on something else! Robin turned on the television and they searched through all the movies that were on at that moment. “Alright, comedy, romance, or horror?” “It's been a while since I've watched a good horror movie!” Jayme smiled. Robin selected one of the horror movies and they began watching. For the next couple hours, the two young ladies jumped in horror, screamed, hid under a blanket, and held each other close! When the movie ended, they glanced at each other. The movie was a bit more terrifying than they were expecting! “Sleep with the lights on tonight?” Robin asked. “Definitely!” The next morning, Jayme went to work at the bus garage. When she pulled into the driveway she said to herself, “I don't want to be here," as she sat in her vehicle in the parking lot. She got out of her vehicle and went into the dispatch building.

“Good morning, Jayme!” Alma said cheerfully. “How's Burke doing?” Alma has been the dispatcher to that bus company for ten years. She was upset when Burke retired and sold the company, but she knew it was for the best. She too didn't like the new owner, just like Jayme. “He's doing alright,” Jayme smiled. “He's taking a vacation in Paris right now!” “How wonderful!” Alma replied. “Here's your bus keys, tell your lovely wife I said hi!” “I will!” Jayme took her keys and made her long walk to her bus. “How can I quit?” she thought. Yes, she disliked Luke, the new owner, but she loved coming to work and seeing Alma. She always had funny stories and good advice! She got to her bus and began her morning run. Over at the mechanic shop of the bus company, Luke was showing Blake the bus he just picked up. “I need this bus ready to go by this afternoon!” Luke informed his mechanic. “I need you to get the lettering on this thing and give it the number, 340.” Blake nodded, “Absolutely, sir,” he replied. He opened the driver's door and tried starting the bus up, but it wouldn't start. “Um, sir!” He yelled over to his boss. Luke huffed and walked over to the driver's window. “What is it?” “It won't start!” “Get out,” Luke instructed. Once Blake was out of the bus, Luke climbed in and showed Blake what it takes to start that bus. “Pay attention!” He snapped. “First, turn the windshield wipers on full speed, then turn the key partway, wait for that light on the dash to turn off. Turn the key the rest of the way, hold down the accelerator and turn on the headlights simultaneously.” Blake gave his boss a confused look. “Is this a joke?” he asked. Luke shook his head. “I'm serious,” he responded in a serious tone. Blake could tell his boss was not joking around. He glanced at the new addition to the fleet. There had to be some sort of wiring issue with it! “Did you happen to get the full-service report on this bus?” he asked.

“Full-service report?” Luke chuckled. “This bus had only 250 miles on it when I bought it!” Blake got nervous. He was starting to recognize the bus. He noticed the fadedout areas of the side of the bus, where lettering had been peeled off. He got an ill feeling in his stomach. This can't be the same bus that Casey was driving on that fateful morning! He thought to himself. He shook off the feeling and reinsured himself that was impossible! He saw the photos of the bus after the crash! There was no way anyone could've repaired that thing! “Alright, sir,” Blake said. “I'll have this bus ready by this afternoon!” “Good,” Luke stated. “I need to use it this afternoon, Jayme's bus is being taken for its annual inspection.” For the next couple of hours, Blake installed all the lettering and numbering onto the bus. When he went to program the CB Radio and test it out, he was taken aback when he discovered that the radio was already programmed to the right channel for that particular bus company! “How is that even possible?” he asked himself. In the back of his mind, he kept telling himself that the bus he was working on was the exact bus Casey was driving when he crashed in the mountains! Again, he shook off the thought. “Luke must've programmed it already,” he told himself. That afternoon, when Jayme returned to do her afternoon run, Alma greeted Jayme with even more cheerfulness in her voice. Jayme smiled and laughed as she approached the window to get her keys. “Someone spike your coffee with gin again I see.” she laughed. “Oh no,” Alma replied. “Then, what's the bad news?” Jayme knew that Alma only got that cheerful when she was drunk, needed a favor, or had to deliver bad news. “We had to take your bus for its annual inspection,” Alma informed Jayme. “We're giving you our newest addition to the fleet for the next week. Just until your bus comes back.”

“Ugh!” Jayme grunted. She hated driving the spare buses with a ion! “Alright, but only for a week!” Jayme grabbed the keys from Alma and walked out. “340, 340,” she said aloud to herself quietly as she searched the yard for that bus. “There you are!” she sighed as she finally found it! She got into the driver's seat and tried starting it. Nothing happened. She noticed a note sitting on the dash. It read: How to start the damn thing! Jayme raised an eyebrow as she read the absurd instructions. “This must be a joke!” she laughed. Blake was always a practical joker! She tried starting the bus the normal way repeatedly, still nothing. “Why won't you start?!” she scolded! “You're not doing it right,” Casey replied. Jayme looked around in a panic! She recognized that voice! That sounded like my father-in-law! She thought to herself as she began to feel the hairs on her arm stand up on end! She decided to follow the instructions on the note. To her amazement, the bus started right up! “That's odd,” she said to herself. She got out of the bus and began her pre-trip inspection. Everything checked out to be okay with that bus. Not perfect, but still safe to drive. She got back into the driver's seat and proceeded to drive the bus out of the bus yard. There was nobody on that bus, besides her, yet she kept hearing the sound of seatbelts buckling up and unbuckling. She pulled over on the side of the driveway, got up, and looked around. Nothing was out of the ordinary. She shrugged it off and got back into the driver's seat. Before she got get the bus back into drive, she felt a firm tap on her shoulder! Out of the corner of her eye, she could see a male figure standing alongside her! She slowly and fearfully turned her head to see who just tapped her. “You're in my seat,” Casey's spirit calmly stated. Jayme's jaw dropped to the floor! She was terrified! Yet, at the same time, amazed that she was interacting with the spirit of her father-in-law! “This has to be a dream!” she told herself, trying not to believe she was interacting with a spirit! “I'm just dreaming, this is not real!” she kept saying to herself. “This is no dream!” Irwin stated with a laugh. Jayme quickly turned around and faced Irwin who had manifested in the seat

where he lost his life. “Who are you?!” she panicked. “Name's Irwin,” Irwin replied. “Who are you?” “Jayme, I'm Casey's daughter-in-law,” Jayme replied. “Daughter-in-law?” Irwin asked. “Eva, you didn't tell me you had a son too!” Eva manifested herself behind Jayme. “I don't, she's my daughter's wife,” she informed Irwin. “Wait,” Irwin laughed. “Your daughter is a lesbian?!” “Do you have a problem with that?” Casey snarled. Jayme sat in the driver's seat, speechless. She couldn't believe her eyes! Then, all four of the patient's spirits manifested right in front of her eyes! “Fight! Fight!” Royce chanted. “I'm not going to sink to his level,” Casey stated. “Coward!” Irwin teased. Frank began rocking back and forth in his seat. Nibbling on his ghostly fingers. Jayme pointed at Frank and asked, “Is he alright?” “Him?” Veronica scoffed. “He'll be fine." “Would you all just shut up already!” Cissy snapped. “I'm trying to take a nap! Wake me up when we get to the new hospital!” Veronica got up and smacked Cissy across the head. “You idiot!” she snapped! “We're dead! We're never going to arrive at that new hospital!” “What do you mean we're dead?!” Cissy panicked! Jayme couldn't take it anymore! She quickly turned the bus around, parked it, and ran as quickly as she could back to the dispatch building!

Casey glared at all his engers. “Great!” he said with disappointment. “She was our only hope and you all had to scare her away!” Irwin rolled his eyes, “and you had nothing to do with it?” “She knows me!” Casey snapped! Casey was hoping none of the other victim's spirits would manifest at that moment so he could try to convince Jayme into helping them get off that bus! He knew that if she saw all of them at once, she'd probably get too frightened to ever step foot onto that bus again! “I hate to say this,” Casey stated, “but I think you all blew our chances of getting off this damn bus!” Meanwhile, Jayme slammed open the door to the dispatch office and stormed up to the dispatch window. “I'm not driving that bus!” she snapped at Alma. “It's a piece of shit!” “You have to," Alma replied in shock! This was the first time she ever had Jayme refuse to drive any of the buses on the lot! "That's the only bus we have for you!" Jayme knew there were plenty of other buses in the lot she could drive, besides bus 340. “I want a different bus!" She firmly demanded! "What about bus 329 or 303?” “Other drivers are taking them later this afternoon," Alma informed Jayme. “Well, I'm not driving 340!” Jayme snapped. “If you won't let me have another bus, then I'm going home!" she was furious! "Find someone to cover my run until my bus gets back!" She glanced around the room at the sixteen standby drivers. "You got plenty of standby drivers!” She said with anger as she marched out of the building, slamming the door behind her. When Jayme arrived back home, Robin had just returned from work herself. She was surprised to see her wife home so early! “Did you quit?” Robin asked. Jayme shook her head. “No, I'm just not feeling well,” she told her wife. She hugged Robin. “I need to lay down,” she softly said. Robin looked at Jayme. She was pale and didn't look good at all. “Do you want anything to eat?” she asked.

“No, I just need rest,” she replied as she entered their bedroom. Later that night, Jayme woke up from her long nap and went out to sit next to Robin on the couch. “I saw your parents today,” Jayme informed Robin. “You are sick!” Robin stated. “Darling, are you alright?” She was concerned for her wife. “Maybe watching that horror movie last night was a bad idea.” Jayme looked into Robin's eyes. “I'm serious,” she said. “Here! I'll prove it!” She jumped up off the couch, pulled Robin up by her arm, and pulled her towards the door. “What has gotten into you!?” Robin frantically asked as Jayme quickly put on her shoes, grabbed her wallet and car keys. “Get your shoes on!” Jayme demanded. “We're going to the bus garage!” “It's eleven at night!” Robin snapped. “Come on!” “Fine,” Robin said as she reluctantly put on her shoes. They got into Jayme's car and drove to the bus garage. Jayme didn't want the security cameras at the bus garage to pick up her vehicle in the parking lot, so she parked her car in a dirt driveway a half-mile away and they got out and walked to the bus garage sneaking through the woods. “This is tresing!” Robin nervously said. “What if we get caught?” “If we get caught, I'll just tell them that it is my bus, and I left my cell phone on it,” Jayme reassured her wife. They made the long walk through the bus yard. Trying to locate the bus. “Where is it?” Robin asked. “How should I know where the other driver parked it?” After ten minutes of searching, they were about to give up when they noticed lights coming from behind the garage that was not there before! “Hold on,”

Jayme said. “Follow me.” The lights were going from low beam to high beam. When they turned the corner, they found bus 340 parked behind the repair garage. “There it is!” Jayme stated. “What's with the possessed headlamps?” Robin asked. “I don't know,” Jayme replied as she opened up the bus and they stepped on board. Robin didn't like the feeling that the bus gave her. She looked around and choked back tears. She knew right away, that was the bus her parents lost their lives on. “How is this even possible,” she asked herself as she sat down in the aisle seat behind the driver's seat. She put her head down and began to sob. “I saw the photos of the bus after the crash!” she stated. “This can't be the same one!" She tried telling herself, even though, deep down in her gut, she knew it was! “My darling,” Eva softly said as she manifested and placed her ghostly arm around her daughter Robin's shoulder. "This is the same bus.” Robin jumped to her feet in disbelief! “Mom!” she yelled. “Is that really you?” Eva smiled at her daughter. “Yes, my dear, it is me,” she said. “I'm here too,” Casey stated as his spirit manifested right in front of them. Robin was confused, why were her parents still on the bus they lost their lives in? Yes, she was thrilled to see them again! However, she was upset that they hadn't moved on. “Why are you still here?” she asked. “We can't get off of this thing,” Casey replied looking around the bus. “Trust us, we've all tried!” “Can you just go through walls now?” Jayme asked. “Or use any of the doors?” Just then, Irwin manifested with a chuckle. “Do you really believe we'd all still be on this bus together if we could leave that easily?” Robin jumped back in fear! “Who are you?!" “That's the other doctor,” Eva told her daughter. “There are seven of us trapped

on this bus,” she informed her daughter. Robin and Jayme looked at each other. They both knew by looking in each other's eyes that they needed to try to do something to help. But how do you help spirits move on? Neither one of them knew how to do that! Robin looked at her father and asked, “Is there any way we can help?” Casey smiled. “I thought you'd never ask!” He tried hugging his daughter, but his arms went right through her! He pulled back in disappointment. “We all have unfinished business, and we can't move on or get off of this damn bus until we complete our unfinished business,” he informed Robin and Jayme. “Unfortunately it has been impossible for us to complete our tasks on our own because we can't get off this bus!” “Would you want us to help you all complete your unfinished business?” Jayme asked. Robin looked at her wife in shock! She wouldn't mind helping her parents with their unfinished business, but she had no clue what they were getting themselves into with the other doctor and the four mental patients! “Jayme,” she quietly whispered in her wife's ear, “are you sure about this?” “Positive!” Irwin grinned a sinister grin. “Just know, once you start helping us, you can't escape us until the entire task is completed!” Robin sighed. “Alright, when do we start?” Casey got into the driver's seat and placed his hand on the ignition switch. A bright glow came from his ghostly hand, almost blinding Robin and Jayme! The bus started right up, without a key! “Right now!” Casey stated as his ghostly foot floored the accelerator and they went speeding out of the bus lot. “Whoa!” Robin and Jayme yelled as they fell to the floor! They got to their feet and looked around. “Where can we sit?” Jayme asked. “I would prefer not to sit on a ghost's lap!” Irwin laughed. “Then you better sit on the floor!”

“Irwin!” Eva scolded. “You two can sit right behind me, nobody was sitting there when we crashed.” Robin and Jayme took a seat behind Eva and buckled up tightly. Casey took the bus and pulled onto the interstate. When he got to the tollbooth, he rolled down his window and grabbed the ticket with his ghostly hand. The tollbooth operator stood frozen in fear and disbelief as she watched the bus pull away! She took a step back and said to herself, “I need a vacation!" The bus traveled down the highway at a high rate of speed as Robin and Jayme held on for dear life! “FATHER!” Robin shouted! “Slow down! You're going to get us all killed!” Irwin laughed. “Why should we care?” he said. “We're already dead!” “We're not!” Jayme snapped back. “Trust me,” Casey chuckled. “I'm a professional!” Irwin rolled his eyes. “Yeah, okay, you couldn't even control this thing in the mountains!” “Irwin!” Eva snapped. “Shut up!”

VII The next morning, Luke and Blake were making their rounds of the bus lot checking for any damages that might have been caused by vandals overnight. While Blake walked behind the repair shop, he noticed that bus 340 was missing! “BOSS!" he shouted! Luke walked behind the garage and found his mechanic, Blake having a panic attack! “Blake!” Luke snapped. “Pull yourself together,” his voice became calm. “What is it?” Blake pointed to the rear garage door. “I parked bus 340 here last night! After I had to rescue it from the side of the road after it stalled!” Luke was beginning to panic now! He ran as quickly as he could to the dispatch office and discovered the keys were still there. “It has to be here,” he said to himself. “A bus just doesn't drive off on its own!” He walked back over to the repair shop and went inside. Blake was sitting at his desk having his coffee. “Keys are still here,” Luke informed Blake. “That bus has to be here!" Blake shrugged as he sipped his coffee. “I don't know what to tell you,” he said. He had mixed emotions about bus 340 going missing. For one, he was relieved. He didn't like the strange feeling that the bus gave him. Common sense was telling him that wasn't the same bus Casey was killed on, but his gut was telling him that it was! Yet, on the other hand, this made Blake nervous that bus 340 went missing! Was there someone out there stealing buses? “I'm calling the police,” Luke informed Blake as he picked up the phone, his wife Georgina barged into the repair shop. “There you are!” she proclaimed as she rushed over to her husband, wearing high-heals and a short dress. Blake's eyes grew wide! Why was his boss's wife dressed so fancy at five-thirty in the morning?! He wondered. “I need to borrow your credit card,” Georgina told Luke.

“Why can't you used your credit card?” Luke scoffed. Georgina put her hands on her hips and snapped back at her husband, “because I've reached the limit on mine!” Luke couldn't believe it! His wife just got that credit card a month ago and she already reached the fifty thousand dollar limit?! “What the hell did you buy this month?!” he snapped! “You know what, we'll have this conversation later, I need to call the police!” “Are you calling the police on me?!” Georgina was appalled! “No,” Luke sighed. “One of my buses was stolen overnight,” he informed her. “Oh, my,” Georgina said with concern. “Which one?” “340.” “Huh?” Georgina responded. The bus numbers didn't mean anything to her, all the buses looked the same to her. “Which one is that?” “The newest edition to the fleet,” Blake told Georgina. Georgina shook her head. “The one you bought when you were supposed to buy our son a vehicle?” she snapped at Luke. Blake could feel the tension rising between Luke and Georgina. He looked around nervously. “I'll leave you two be,” he said as he walked out of the garage. “I can't deal with you right now!” Luke snapped as he picked up the phone. “I need to call the police now!” “Give me your credit card and I'll forget all about you buying a bus instead of a vehicle for our son!” Georgina snapped back as she held out her hand. “Why do you need my credit card?” he asked. “Also, how the hell did you go through fifty-thousand in one month!?” Georgina smiled. Luke's birthday was in a few weeks and she bought him a new

cabin-sleeper boat. She needed his credit card so she could pay for the registration of the new boat. She wasn't going to tell him about it though, it was supposed to be a surprise. “I assure you,” she calmly said, “I believe you're going to love what I got you." Luke's ears perked up! “What did you get me?” “I'll be a surprise,” Georgina said as she kissed her husband on the cheek. “I just need your card, I just need to get something that goes with your other gift." Since Luke knew his wife was getting something for him, he gladly handed over his credit card. “Now, please, I need to call the police.” “Go right ahead,” Georgina said as she ran out the door. As she got outside, Blake was standing by the door. “Is everything alright?” he asked. “Perfect!” Georgina responded as she ran past Blake. Inside the garage, Luke was on the phone with the police reporting his missing bus. A few minutes later, a couple of officers who were nearby pulled into the bus lot. Luke took them into his office and they searched the security cameras from overnight. The two officers and Luke tirelessly stared at the multiple camera angles on Luke's computer screen for a good hour before they caught something out of the ordinary. The security camera from the main dispatch office door caught flashing headlights coming from behind the garage. “What is that?” One of the officers asked as she paused the video. “We parked the bus that went missing behind the repair shop last night,” Luke stated. “Driver complained of electrical issues, they stalled out yesterday afternoon." They decided to focus on the camera behind the garage. They noticed two ladies boarding this bus. “Do you recognize either one of them?” the male officer asked as he paused the video.

Luke leaned in close to the screen and squinted. “Actually, yes,” he said. “One of them is one of my drivers, Jayme, I think her name is,” Luke wasn't too sure, he never cared to learn who his employees were. He only cared about making a profit! They continued watching for a few more minutes when they watched the bus speed away! They switched over to the dispatch building's exterior security camera and paused it when the bus's driver's side was in the frame. Luke zoomed in on the still image and all three of them were in disbelief! “WHAT IS THAT!?” The male officer shouted! Neither one of them could believe their eyes! They watched two ladies enter the bus, but the person driving the bus was a male! Luke's face lost all color. He recognized that man! His eyes got big in horror! “Hold on a moment,” he told the two officers. He got up from his chair and went out into the break room. Hanging up, they had a memorial of Casey right by the dispatch window. He carefully pulled it down and took it into the office. “I know who that driver is,” Luke stated, his voice trembling. “Who is he?” the female officer said. “We'll find him and get him arrested!” Luke took a deep breath. He placed the picture of Casey down on his desk. “It's Casey,” he said. “I never met him, he was killed in a horrible bus crash in the mountains." The two officers were shocked! How can this be? They both wondered. This was their first time in their career that they were going to be in search of a ghostly suspect! They didn't know what to do! Just then, Alma knocked at Luke's office door. “Luke,” Alma yelled through the door. “Come in Alma,” Luke said. Once Alma was in the office, he filled her in on what was happening. “Bus 340 went missing,” he told her. “The keys are still here,” Alma said. “How was it stolen without the keys?” “Watch this,” Luke told her. He went back to the footage of the two ladies

approaching the bus. “Recognize these two?” he asked. “Yes, that's Jayme and her wife Robin,” she replied. “Robin was Casey's daughter.” “Aright,” Luke said. “Now watch this,” he played the footage of the bus speeding by the dispatch building and paused it. “Who is driving?” Alma took a close look. When she noticed who was driving that bus, her heart sank! She couldn't believe her eyes! “That's Casey!” she yelled. She had to take a seat, her eyes began to tear up. “It can't be though,” she said softly choking back the tears. “He's dead!” “What should we do, officers?" Luke asked. “We'll do some investigating,” the female officer responded. “Please do what you can,” Alma said with concern. “Yesterday, that bus scared the crap out of Jayme. She didn't tell me why, but now I can see why!” Alma knew Jayme wouldn't go back onto the bus if it was the last thing she did! Someone or something had to have forced her to do so. She also believed that Jayme and Robin may have been taken against their will. “Honestly, who would be willing to be on a bus with a ghost?” she seriously asked everyone. “You have a point,” the male officer stated in agreement. He looked at his partner and said, “alright, let's get going and get to work!” They all stood up and shook each other's hands. “Thank you, officers,” Luke said. The two officers left the bus company and began patrolling the streets, in search of the missing bus. Meanwhile, on bus 340, they were already a few hundred miles away from the bus company. “What happened that day?” Robin asked her father. “I lost my breaks going down the mountain,” Casey replied.

Frank rolled his eyes. “Your father also failed to turn on the wiper blades during a torrential downpour too!” he snapped. “I couldn't see where I was going!” “They weren't working!” Casey snapped back. “Well, they stopped working for just a moment." Irwin scoffed, “Just in time for you to miss taking that curve!” “Shut up, Irwin!” Eva scolded. Irwin glared at Eva. His ghostly eyes were beginning to glow red. “Is that all you have to say to me now?” he asked. “After all we've been through?” “Why are you being such a jack-ass?” Eva asked. Robin and Jayme looked at each other in shock! Robin leaned in close to Jayme and whispered, “I don't trust Irwin," “Neither do I,” Casey chimed in. Irwin's jaw dropped! “Why doesn't anyone trust me?!” He lifted his head and got a smirk on his face. “I'm a doctor!” He stated with confidence! Laughter came from the middle of the bus. It was Veronica. “Then why did you let us all die then?” she asked. “Some doctor you are!” “Yeah, Eva,” Irwin said. “Why did you let us all die?” Eva was appalled! “How dare you!” In a way, she wasn't that surprised that Irwin was pushing the blame on everyone, except himself about the crash. All this time being trapped on the bus, all the victims of the crash were beginning to see Irwin's true colors, and it wasn't pretty! Back at the police station near the bus company, they put out an alert for all neighboring areas to be on the lookout for bus 340. Multiple patrol cars were dispatched to help with the search. “Attention all officers!” the dispatcher radioed. “Be on the lookout for a stolen vehicle! This is considered to be a hostage situation! The suspect,” she paused for a moment, and read the report in disbelief. The suspect is a male ghost!? None of the officers would believe her! She took a deep breath. “The suspect,” she continued, “is a white male, age…

dead…” One of the officers picked up his CB mic and quickly responded. “What do you mean by dead?!” He panicked! The dispatcher sighed. “Alright!” she responded. “The suspect is a ghost!” “That's a good one!” another officer chuckled in response. “You had us going!” The captain was hearing the whole radio transmission. He picked up his CB mic in his office. “This is the captain speaking,” he said. “This is serious. A bus has been stolen and two ladies could be in danger!” “Wait,” said the officer who chuckled at the call before, “the suspect is actually… dead?” “Affirmative,” responded the captain. All the officers made a sigh of relief in their patrol cars. “Oh good!” another officer responded. “At least now we know when we catch up with the bus there won't be any confrontation.” “The bus is being driven by a ghost!” the male officer who went to the bus company earlier snapped! One by one the other officers got on the CB and began mocking him. They found it humorous! The captain tried making a radio call but he couldn't get through because the officers wouldn't stop mocking their fellow officer. He finally managed to get a turn with the radio and he was furious! “He's right!” the captain snapped! “The bus is being driven by a ghost! I saw the footage,” he said. Now, every officer was on edge! They all looked at their partner in disbelief! They know how to arrest people, but they didn't know how to arrest a ghost! How would you arrest a ghost? They wondered. A few officers that were on patrol at that moment ended up quitting on the spot! Hours ed and nobody had any luck trying to locate the missing bus. Luke was getting anxious! “How hard can it be to locate a bus?!” he snapped as he

paced the floor of his office. Luke was starting to become furious that he hadn't heard anything back from the police yet. “I'm sure they will find it,” Alma assured her boss. Just then, Georgina and Myles entered Luke's office. “Hey, darling!” Georgina said cheerfully! “Any news about your bus?” “I'm glad it's gone,” Myles stated sarcastically. “Maybe next time, buy me a vehicle instead of some stupid bus for your stupid business!” “Myles!” Georgina snapped at hers and Luke's son. “Nothing,” Luke sighed. “Except,” he paused for a moment. How was he going to tell his wife who stole the bus? She'd never believe him! “Except what?” Georgina asked. Luke didn't know how to explain, so he took the picture of Casey that was still on his desk and showed it to her. “Here's our suspect,” he said. Georgina looked at the picture. She noticed that had two dates on it, 1958-2018. It was now 2019. “How can a dead person steal a bus?” she asked. Luke went over to his computer and pulled up the still photo they pulled from the security footage. “Take a look for yourself,” he told her. Georgina and Myles took a close look at the photo on Luke's computer screen. “I don't believe this,” Georgina responded in shock! There was no doubt that the man driving bus 340 out of the bus yard was the same man pictured in the memorial her husband just showed her. The only reasonable explanation she could come up with was, “Did Casey have a twin brother?” Alma was the only person in that room that personally knew Casey. She never heard of him mentioning having any siblings. Nor has she ever heard her old boss, Burke, mentioning other children he had. As far as Alma knew, Casey was Burke's only child! “I don't believe so,” Alma replied. “I'll try to get ahold of Burke and find out.” “The worse part is,” Luke chimed in, “two ladies are being held hostage by that

ghost.” “WHAT!?” Georgina yelled! “Luke! Do something!" “I did!” Luke said. “I have all authorities around here looking for that bus!” “Karma bit you hard this time, father,” Myles stated with sarcasm. Luke glared at Myles. “You are one spoiled little, low-life, no-good little punk!” he snarled pointing a finger in his son's face. “Just for that remark, get yourself a job and buy your own damn vehicle!” “But father,” Myles said in a pleading way. “I can't get a job if I don't have a vehicle!” Luke chuckled. “Oh yes, you can!” “Then I'm using your car!” “Oh no, you're not!” Luke stated. “You'll walk to your first job! Just like I did when I was ten years younger than you!” “I'll be in the car!” Myles snapped as he stormed out of his father's office. Luke took a seat at his desk. “I don't know what else to do,” he said. “Georgina, Alma, you two can go home, I'm just going to sleep here.” “Why?” Georgina asked. “You need a good night's rest after today!” “I can't go home, I won't go home!” Luke responded. “I won't be able to rest until that bus is found!”

VIII Later that evening, Robin and Jayme were getting restless. It had seemed like an eternity since they stepped foot onto that bus to begin this duty! Their legs were getting stiff from all the sitting. “How much further?” Robin asked. Casey stared straight ahead at the dark highway in front of him. “Just a few more minutes,” he told them. He pressed his ghostly foot down harder on the accelerator and the bus began traveling at a much higher rate of speed. Robin and Jayme gripped onto their seats as their bodies got forced back! “How fast are you going?!" Jayme panicked! “I don't know,” Casey responded. “I broke the speedometer needle off!” “You're going to get a ticket!” Robin snapped! Casey laughed. “I would love to see someone catch up with me," he responded as he quickly swerved the bus between the traffic. Up ahead, Robin and Jayme noticed a sharp curve with a steep downgrade on either side! There was no way they were going to make that curve if Casey didn't slow down! They thought. They both began to sweat with fear. “Hold on!” Casey yelled as he gripped the steering wheel as tightly as he could and drove the bus straight down the steep embankment! The bus bounced and rattled with every bump they hit! The ground opened up, revealing an enormous crater that Casey drove the bus right into. Bus 340 plummeted down the deep dark crater at a high rate of speed! “Keep your seat belts on everyone!” Casey demanded. Irwin looked at Robin and Jayme, then over at Casey. “What if we don't?” “You'd instantly be smashed against the ceiling,” Casey responded calmly. Irwin got a sinister smile on his face and snapped his fingers. At that exact

moment, Robin and Jayme's seatbelt came unbuckled and they went smashing up against the ceiling! The force of the bus's plunge kept them pressed hard against the ceiling! As Irwin laughed hysterically at them. “What the fuck!” Eva snapped at Irwin. “Why the hell did you do that?” Irwin shrugged. He looked at Casey and asked, “Is there any way for them to get down from there?” “When we land,” Casey got a distraught look on his face! He knew the landing would be excruciatingly painful for his daughter and daughter-in-law, but there was nothing he could do now to prevent them from slamming onto the hard floor below them. “They will smash into the floor,” he cringed. Robin and Jayme closed their eyes tightly and waited nervously for the hard landing. The bus continued to plummet for the next five minutes! Until the bus slammed down in front of an old run downed farmhouse, causing Robin and Jayme to fall from the ceiling and land face-first on the floor below! Robin ended up landing on top of Jayme. “Thanks for breaking my fall,” Robin stated painfully as slowly got to her feet and back to her seat. Jayme rolled over to her back. “Don't mention it,” she grunted to her wife. She grabbed the edge of the seat that was next to her and struggled to get up. A ghostly hand reached over and Frank said, “let me help you,” in a soft gentlemanly tone. Jayme looked up and Frank was standing in the aisle in front of her holding out his hand. She smiled and took Frank's hand. “Thank you, kind sir,” she smiled, appreciative of the assistance. Frank helped Jayme up and immediately pressed the front of his body against the front of her body. “Mm,” he said ionately as he pressed his freezing nose against her neck. “You smell amazing!” “Excuse you!” Jayme snapped, as she tried to pull away! Robin jumped up from her seat and tried to help her wife out. She tried grabbing

Frank by the back of his collar but her hand kept going right through him! Before she knew it, Frank had rushed Jayme to a back corner of the bus in the wheelchair area. He had her wife pressed against the wall, trying to make a sexual move on her! She wasn't going to put up with this! Robin stomped to the back of the bus, anger raged through her eyes! She wasn't about to let anybody treat her wife that way! Dead or alive! She had the perfect plan, or so she thought! She got right behind Frank, took her foot, and kicked as hard as she physically could right into his groin! Of course, her foot went right through his ghostly body. Robin ended up kicking Jayme in the groin instead. Jayme's eyes crossed and rolled into the back of her head as Robin and everyone else on the bus cringed. Frank jumped back and quickly returned to his seat. Jayme laid on the floor sobbing in pain. “Why did you do this?” she cried. Robin was horrified. “I wasn't meaning to kick you!” she tried explaining. “I was trying to kick Frank!” Jayme was furious with her wife! “HE'S A FUCKING GHOST!” She snapped! “Did you really think your foot wasn't going to go right through him?!” “I'm sorry,” Jayme got up and limped to her seat. “Where are we?” she asked Casey. “This is my old house,” Cissy stated. “I can't move on until my girlfriend moves on too.” “You're a lesbian too?” Jayme asked. “I'm a bisexual,” Cissy responded. “My girlfriend was a transgendered woman.” Robin walked over to Cissy and asked, “What happened to your girlfriend?” “One night,” Cissy began. “I was working the graveyard shift as a security guard. While I was at work, a group of men broke into our home and stole all of our valuables.” Cissy took a deep breath and continued. “The most valuable thing they took from me was my girlfriend. I found her murdered by the robbers when I got home from work.”

“That's horrible!” Jayme stated. Cissy nodded. “What's even more horrible is I know she didn't move on,” she stated. “Every time I would try to tell people she was still in the house, they thought I was crazy! That's how I ended up in the mental hospital, to begin with!” Robin looked at her mother, and asked, “Mother, did you think Cissy was crazy?” “Yes, I did,” Eva replied. “I didn't believe in anything of the paranormal, I believe in it now." “What is it you need us to do exactly?” Jayme asked. “I need you to move my girlfriend on,” Cissy replied. Jayme and Robin looked at each other. Neither one of them knew if they could do such a task! “Do you want to do this one or should I?” Robin asked. “I'll do it,” Jayme replied not knowing what to do. “Thank you,” Cissy replied. Jayme got up and walked towards the front of the bus. Casey opened up the door and Jayme stepped off the bus. She approached the old farmhouse slowly, cautiously, as intense anxiety came upon her. The house was massive! It had a severely damaged covered front porch that extended the entire length of the house and then continued down the right side to the back. The large windows were smashed and cobwebs draped from the ceiling of the porch and the railings. She got cautiously walked up the broken porch steps and grabbed the rusty door handle. She turned it slowly and pushed the door open. The door let out an earpiercing screech. She stepping inside the house and looked around. The entry was huge! Tall cathedral ceilings, large archways into the other rooms, and a grand curved staircase directly in front of her! “Wow!” Jayme stated. “This must've been a beautiful house in its glory days!” She slowly walked through the main floor of the house. Searching for Cissy's girlfriend. She couldn't find anyone or anything.

Jayme made her way up the stairs and found the master bedroom. She walked into the empty room and looked around. It had a different feeling in that room than in the rest of the house. She stood in the middle of the room, nervous, as she slowly turned around. Rattling noises came from behind her. She quickly turned around, only to discover that the door handle to the closed closet was rattling violently as if someone was trying to open a locked door! She walked over to the door slowly. What am I doing?! She wondered! Jayme got the cold sweats, and her body was trembling in fear! Then, to her surprise, the closet door busted open and a pitch-black beast charged out of the closet right at Jayme! Jayme let out a bloodcurdling scream as she ran as quickly as she could out of that bedroom! Back at the bus, everyone heard Jayme scream from within the house! “She must've encountered the demon,” Cissy calmly stated without care. “A demon!?” Robin panicked! She jumped to her feet, rushed out of the bus and towards the house. The front door was wide open and she charged towards it! When she got inside, she stopped and looked around. She couldn't hear her girlfriend screaming anymore. She yelled Jayme's name as she ran through the extensive main level of the house. Meanwhile, upstairs, Jayme was being pinned down on the hallway floor by the demon! It was a pitch-black beast with a body of a cougar, bear-like paws, and a head like a gargoyle! It let out a bone-chilling growl as it showed its razor-sharp fangs! Its eyes glowed a deep blood red as blood and saliva oozed out of its mouth and onto Jayme's face! Jayme immediately projectile vomited directly into the demon's face! This angered the demon! The demon grabbed ahold of Jayme and picked her up! It stood on its hind legs, used all its force, and chucked Jayme across the hallway and into the plastered wall! Robin heard the loud thud and felt the entire house shake! She rushed upstairs to see what just happened! To her relief, the demon was nowhere in sight! She slowly walked down the hallway and was horrified when she found her wife pressed face-first into a wall! “What the hell happened to you?!” Robin panicked!

“A degusting horrifying beast chucked me across the hall!” Jayme shouted. Her voice was muffled and Robin couldn't make out a word she just said! “I'm sorry, dear,” Robin said. “What did you say?” Just then, the demon re-appeared behind Robin, unbeknownst to her. With all its force, it lifted Robin off the floor without touching her. She dangled three feet off the floor for a moment before she too got chucked into the wall right next to Jayme. “Ugh!” Robin grunted. She tried to peel herself loose, but she was stuck! The demon let out a sinister laugh and vanished. Moments after the demon vanished, the entire house began to violently shake! Robin and Jayme could feel the wall they were stuck in begin to move backward. What they didn't know was, the wall behind them was moving towards them! They were both at a loss as to what to do! Then, Cissy's girlfriend finally appeared! She tried her best to get the walls to stop closing in on the two strangers in her house! She knew she didn't have much time before Robin and Jayme were to become human pancakes against her wall! She jumped up, anchored her ghostly feet flat on the wall, gripped the backs of Robin and Jayme's shirts, and gave a great tug! Robin and Jayme were pleased to be free from being stuck in the wall, but were horrified when they turned around to notice the wall from the other side of the hallway was closing in on them! They found the nearest door and had to quickly side-step towards it! To their dismay, the door was locked! Jayme turned around and looked at her wife in horror! “I think this might be it,” Robin cried. “Robin, my love,” Jayme said, “If we're going to die right now, I want to be kissing the woman I love.” Robin forced a smile and squeezed between Jayme and one of the walls. The two women made out ionately as they got pressed closer and closer together by the walls closing in. They were now so tight together, neighed one of them could budge a muscle! They just kept their mouths locked together as they could hear and feel their bones begin to crunch. The walls would not stop moving closer

together. Jayme and Robin were now pinned in a ten-inch space between a wall and a door! They were in excruciating pain by that moment! They both had multiple fractured bones in their body from being crushed. They both ed out from the pain. Lips still locked together as the walls continued to close in tighter on them! The door behind Jayme finally broke off its hinges from the force, causing Jayme to fall backward and Robin to fall on top of her. “Ugh,” they both grunted. Robin rolled off of her wife and tried standing up. She couldn't. Both of her legs were broken. “Do you need a hand?” a voice asked from the corner of the room. Jayme and Robin looked over and noticed a ghost standing in the corner. “Are you Cissy's girlfriend?” Jayme asked. The ghost smiled and nodded. “That'll be me, my name is Alec. how is Cissy?” “Cissy's dead too," Robin said. Alec was shocked! “Dead too? Who else is dead that I know!?” she panicked. Robin and Jayme glanced at each other. That's why Alec hasn't moved on yet! She doesn't realize she's dead! “Take a seat,” Jayme sighed. Alec sat down on the floor next to them. “How can I say this,” Jayme began. “you're dead.” “I am?” Alec responded with a sarcastic chuckle. “No, I'm not.” It was evident now that Alec knew she was dead, just didn't accept it. “You must move on and leave this place!” Robin demanded. “What if I don't want to leave this place?” Alec snapped. “Then Cissy's soul will be trapped on that bus for all eternity!” Jayme snapped back as she pointed towards the window.

Alec walked over to the window and looked down at the bus sitting in the driveway. “You mean, she's in that bus right now?” “Yes,” Jayme replied. “She is,” At that moment, Alec vanished. Robin and Jayme stared at each other. “Where'd she go?” Jayme asked. Robin shrugged. “Maybe she went to the bus,” she replied. Jayme rolled over to her stomach and pulled herself across the floor to the window. She painfully pulled herself up with the windowsill and looked down at the bus. “Yes, Alec is down by the bus,” she stated. “We should get back down there,” Robin stated. “How?” Jayme asked. “We can't walk!” “We'll have to crawl," Outside at bus 340, Cissy stood in the doorway of the bus and was having a conversation with her girlfriend Alec. They agreed to move on to the other side together. A blinding flash of a white light blanketed the area and filled the inside of the house as well. A blast of air shot through Robin and Jayme as they struggled to get down the stairs. “What was that?!” Robin panicked as she frantically looked around. Suddenly, both Robin and Jayme's bones were no longer broken. They were able to get to their feet again and were able to rush out of the house. They ran as quickly as they could back to the bus. When they got back inside, they looked around. “Where's Cissy?” Robin asked. Casey smiled. “She's moved on, her girlfriend and her made to decision to make that journey together.” Robin and Jayme were relieved. yet quite confused. “Father,” Robin said. “We had received multiple broken bones in that house, we could barely move!” She informed her father. “All of a sudden, they're not broken anymore, how did that happen?!"

Eva placed her hand on her daughter Robin's shoulder and said, “Alec told us,” she informed Robin. “They must've healed you two before moving on.” “We are capable of almost anything now,” Irwin chimed in. “Except getting off this bus,” he snarled. Casey rolled his eyes. “When is it your turn to get off this bus?” Casey was getting tired of Irwin and his remarks. “I'll decide when It's my turn!” Irwin snapped. “I just like tormenting you!” Irwin knew he could get off the bus at any moment, he just had to say one thing, but he was too frightened to do so. Casey shut the door to the bus and began backing out of the dirt driveway. Robin and Jayme were exhausted from their ordeal in that house and fell sound asleep within moments of closing their eyes.

IX The next morning, in Alabama, officer Kate walked into the police station to begin her shift. Her captain pulled her aside. “Kate,” he said, “we're promoting you to detective!” Kate was thrilled! “Thank you so much, sir! What an honor!" “Don't get too excited,” the captain told her. “You have pack up and move to New Hampshire, today.” “Today!?” Kate panicked! “Why the urgency?” The captain put his hand on Kate's shoulder. “Kate, you are by far one of the best officers in the south! You have a great gift for finding missing people. You have brought so much happiness to many families,” he told her with a smile. “As you know there is a nationwide search for a missing bus with two young ladies being held hostage on it,” he continued. “Yes, I'm aware of that,” Kate responded. “This is why you are being promoted to the lead detective position in this case,” the captain continued. “Your gift for finding people is phenomenal!” He patted Kate on the shoulder, “Now go home, pack, and get on this flight," he handed Kate 2 tickets. "It leaves later this evening.” “What?!” Kate panicked. “I'm sure your wife, Mandy, would understand," her captain stated. Kate rushed home and barged in the front door. “Mommy!” Alex and Henry yelled simultaneously as they rushed to hug Kate. Mandy walked out of the kitchen holding a bunch of toys in her arms. “You're home early,” she said. Then she noticed the distraught look on her wife's face. “Oh no, what's wrong?” “I got promoted today,” Kate responded. “To detective.”

Mandy smiled, dropped the toys in her arms, and gave her wife a huge hug! “That's amazing!” she said as she kissed Kate on the lips. “Why are you upset about that?” Kate sighed. “I'm also being relocated. To New Hampshire,” she informed Mandy. “We have to move.” Mandy's jaw dropped as Kate pulled the two airline tickets out of her pocket. “I have to leave later today, there is a missing bus with a couple of hostages on it. It's urgent!" “Why do you have two tickets?” Mandy asked. “My captain gave me two,” Kate replied. “I knew he thought maybe you could use one, but, we have two children!” It was a difficult year for Kate, her brother, James was killed trying to chase down a suspected wanted to an armed robbery months earlier and her mother, Sally, suffered a heart attack and ed away after receiving news of James' death. “I'll be right back, I'm taking a walk,” Kate said as she walked out the door. She made the long walk in her officer uniform the scorching hot sun to Mandy's parent's house. She stepped up onto the porch and rang the doorbell. Mandy's father, Lee, answered. “Good morning!” He cheerfully greeted his daughter-in-law. “May I come in?” Kate asked. “Need you ask?” Lee laughed. He stepped aside and let her in. “Barb!” Lee yelled. “Make an extra cup of coffee!” “Oh, that's not necessary,” Kate said. “I just came to tell you that, I got promoted to detective.” “That's wonderful news!” Barb cheerfully stated! “I guess,” Kate sighed, “the bad news is, your daughter and I have to move to New Hampshire. I'm leaving on a flight later today.”

Lee was shocked! “What!?” He panicked. “Why didn't you tell us this sooner?” “I just found out,” Kate replied. She pulled the two airline tickets out of her pocket. “My captain gave me these this morning. Mandy can't come up with me right away, we have Alex and Henry!” “Do you want me to fly up there with you?” Lee asked. “I can help you find a good home, while you are busy doing your detective work.” Kate smiled. “I'd love that, father,” she said. Later that day, Mandy drove her father, Lee, and her wife, Kate to the airport, while her mother, Barb stayed at her place and watched Alex and Henry. When they got to the airport, Mandy kissed her wife on the lips. Years ago, that would have infuriated Mandy's father. Now, Lee just smiles. A couple of hours later, Kate and Lee boarded their flight and took off on their non-stop to New Hampshire. On the flight, Lee and Kate had a good long talk. “You know,” Lee said, “I'm not going to miss you." Kate looked at her father-in-law in shock and anger! “Excuse me?!” Apparently, he hadn't changed like everyone thought! Now Kate was happy to move away from him! “Let me finish!” Lee pleaded. “I'm not going to miss you because Barb and I will be moving up here too!" He said with excitement! “Seriously?!” Kate was thrilled! “But why? You hate the snow!" Lee nodded. “Yes, I do. But I'll hate not seeing my grandchildren even more!” Kate smiled and hugged Lee. Their flight landed a few hours later in New Hampshire, where an officer was waiting for them. They got into the officer's patrol car and went directly to the station. Lee sat in the lobby while Kate was getting briefed on the situation. “The bus was last seen at a toll booth. Oh and I should let you know the bus is being driven by a ghost."

Kate couldn't believe what she was hearing! “Sir, with all due respect, I'm exhausted, it's late and I've had one long flight! Can we continue this briefing in the morning? I need to find a hotel room.” The captain smiled. “Certainly,” he said. “We do have a room reserved for you for the next month or so until you find a place of your own.” “Thank you, sir,” Kate said. Another officer gave Kate and Lee a ride to the hotel. When they got to their room, there was only one bed! Kate and Lee looked at each other. “Don't pull any funny moves,” Kate stated. “Absolutely not,” Lee stated. “You are my daughter!” Kate smiled, hearing Lee call her his daughter made her feel loved and accepted. “If you want,” Lee said, “I can sleep on the couch.” Kate shook her head. “No, I'll take the couch.” “You need the rest more than I do,” Lee stated. “Your job takes a lot out of you.” “But your old,” “HEY!” Lee snapped with a little chuckle. “We can share the bed,” Kate stated. They got ready for bed, and they both laid in the bed next to each other. As they were laying there trying to fall asleep, Lee laid on his back, staring at the ceiling with a smile on his face. “This is the first time I've been in bed with a lesbian," he softly said. Kate sat up and gave her father-in-law a dirty look. “Please don't tell me you're one of those guys!” “Definitely not,” Lee responded. The next morning, Kate got up and took a cab to the police station. She sat down

with the captain and received more information on the bus's disappearance. The captain informed her again that the bus was stolen by a ghost! Kate sat back in her chair, confused. How could a ghost steal a bus? She wondered. Once the briefing was completed, Kate was given an unmarked police car to drive to the bus garage. When she arrived at the bus garage, she met with Luke and discussed her plans on how she planned on locating the missing bus and bringing the two young ladies back home, as safely as she could! Luke was pleased to hear that the police were taking this situation seriously and got the best of the best to work on his case. Kate informed Luke that based on the information she has, it may take longer than usual to find the bus, considering it was stolen by a ghost! Once Kate finished her meeting with Luke, she walked around the bus lot trying to come up with any leading evidence. Through a forest of trees, she noticed a vehicle abandoned on a dirt road. She carefully cut through the woods and approached the suspicious vehicle. She wrote down the license plate number, went back to her car, and ran the information to figure out who's vehicle it was. She discovered that it was ed to Jayme, one of the young ladies who was being held hostage on the missing bus! Meanwhile, back at the hotel, Lee was busy looking online at available homes for sale in the area. He came across a beautiful small home that had been on the market for quite a while. House appeared to be in perfect condition and the price was right! A four-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bath craftsman sitting on two acres of land all for three-hundred fifty-five dollars! He got on his phone, ed the real estate agent, and set up a viewing of the house for the next day. Back at the police station, Kate sat in her new office and began calling businesses around the area requesting them to give her any security footage they may have from the night the bus was stolen. She sat tirelessly watching the tapes. Nothing. Until she noticed something speed past one of the cameras! It was big and white! She rewinds the tape and played it back frame by frame. She managed to pause it in the right spot! “There it is!” she proclaimed.

Kate figured out which direction it was traveling and continued watching other businesses ' security footage. She watched the bus enter the interstate and from there, she checked the traffic cameras from that night. She followed the bus using the cameras to the sharp curve. She watched in horror as the bus drove right off the road! “GOT IT!” She said with excitement! She picked up her CB on her desk and radioed the local police from that area to investigate that area. The police rushed to the scene, expecting to find the wreckage of the bus. Instead, they were baffled! They found tire tracks that suddenly vanished! “How is this possible?” one of the officers asked. They took a bunch of photos and emailed them to Kate. When Kate received the photos, she couldn't believe it! She thought for sure she had located the missing bus! “How can a bus just vanish?!” she said to herself in disbelief! Suddenly, a bunch of static sounds came over her CB radio on her desk. She could barely hear what that call was! It was broken up and hard to understand. She picked up her mic and said, “Please repeat.” “Let…us…be,” Casey said over the radio. “Who is this?!” Kate asked. “Let us be,” Casey repeated. A chill filled Kate's body. She stared at her radio. that voice almost didn't sound human. “Please state your name!" she demanded. “Casey,” the voice replied before the radio completely cut out. “Casey?” Kate asked herself. She looked down at the file on her desk and read that the ghostly driver's name was Casey! Her heart sank! She realized she just got a radio call from a ghost! That our someone was playing a dirty trick on her! She picked up her mic and asked “Did anyone just say Casey over the radio?” The captain picked up his radio and replied, “I didn't hear anything." Nobody, except Kate, heard that radio call! She sat back in her chair in disbelief! Then

she tried ing the bus again. “Bus 340 come in,” she called. The captain got on the radio and asked, “what are you doing?” “I'm trying to see if I can the missing bus,” she replied. “Not on this frequency,” he stated. Kate tapped her fingers on her desk and looked at the report. Then she had a brilliant idea! She picked up the phone and called the bus garage. Alma answered and Kate asked to talk to Luke. When Luke got on the phone Kate gave him the update on his missing bus. She told him she was able to track it down, but it vanished without a trace! Luke was appalled, yet pleased. Kate had uncovered more information in the past 24 hours than anyone else! “What do you mean the bus vanished without a trace?” he asked. “I followed it using traffic cameras,” Kate replied. “I watched it drive off the road and had the police in that area check out the scene. When they got there, the tire tracks just ended. No bus and it did not enter back onto the interstate.” They continued talking for a while over the phone. Kate gave Luke her step-bystep plan to try to locate his missing bus, and bring Robin and Jayme back home safely if it wasn't already too late. She then asked to get the radio frequency the bus was channeled to. Luke gladly gave Kate that information. When they got off the phone, Kate looked at her CB radio on her desk. She knew she wouldn't be able to use that one for this experiment. She had to keep it on the radio frequency it was on, just in case an officer had a lead on the investigation. She got on her radio and told her Captain she was heading out into the field. She got onto the interstate and stopped at the first truck stop she came to and purchased a CB radio. Later that night, in the hotel room, Kate set up and programmed her new CB radio to the same radio frequency of bus 340. “What are you doing?” Lee asked.

“I have an idea!” Kate stated with enthusiasm! “Here goes nothing,” she took a deep breath and pressed the mic button. “Bus 340, do you read me?” Kate and Lee sat quietly for a moment. Kate tried calling again. “Bus 340, come in." Casey could hear Kate calling him, but he wasn't responding. He glanced down at the radio and turned it off. “Wait a second!” Veronica yelled! “That's my ex-girlfriend!” Veronica jumped out of her seat and ran to the front of the bus! She turned the radio back on and yelled, “Go straddle a porcupine!” “Whoa!” everyone on the bus replied. Back at the hotel, Kate and Lee's jaw dropped at that remark! Kate was even more appalled! “I recognized that voice!” she told Lee. “That's my ex-girlfriend, Veronica.” She walked over to the bed and sat down. “I believe there are more than two hostages on that bus,” she stated. As far as everyone knew, there was only one spirit and two females on that bus. Nobody involved in the investigation was aware of the multiple spirits on that bus. Nor was Kate aware that her ex-girlfriend was dead! “I need a moment, I need to call Mandy,” she told Lee. Lee nodded. “That's fine,” he said as he stepped out of the room. Kate called Mandy and told her how things were going. She didn't give out any information about the missing bus, except that she heard her ex-girlfriend, Veronica. The two ladies talked for an hour, while Lee sat down at the hotel bar and had a drink. Early the next morning, Lee got a cab and went to meet with the real estate agent to look at the house he was interested in buying. He took a bunch of photos and sent them to his wife Barb. Barb loved it! Lee and the real estate agent went back to the office and filled out paperwork to apply for a mortgage. What he didn't know was, that house he was buying used to be Casey and Eva's home.

X Later that morning, Robin and Jayme woke up to the bus traveling down a long country road with farm fields on either side. It was a nice sunny day without a cloud in the sky. The ride was smooth. “Have a good sleep?” Eva asked. “Pretty good,” Robin stated. “Considering it was in a bus seat.” She unbuckled and got up to stretch. “I could go for some coffee though,” she said. Casey smiled. “Coffee it is!” He hit the accelerator to the floor and sent Robin falling onto her ass! “Whoops! Sorry dear!” he apologized as a fire-red vortex appeared out of nowhere in the middle of the road! Casey gripped the steering wheel tightly with his ghostly hands and yelled. “HOLD ON TIGHT!” as he entered the swirling vortex. Inside the vortex, the bus began spinning. Robin and Jayme held on for dear life. Especially Robin because she was not buckled in! Robin gripped onto her seat as Jayme helped her wife get buckled back in. All the spinning around didn't phase the spirits on the bus. Except for Frank, he was having too much fun with it! They were only in that vortex for a mere thirty seconds, but it felt much longer than that to Robin and Jayme! “Here we are!” Casey said as the bus was suddenly in front of a coffee shop in Paris. “Where are we?” Jayme asked. “Oh! Paris!” Eva said with enthusiasm! “Casey! I always wanted to go to Paris!” Eva got up from her seat and was about to run off the bus. “Where do you think you're going?” Irwin laughed. “You can't get off this bus!” “Oh, damn your right!" Eva sat back down and had a disgusted look on her face.

“Some husband you are!” “What do you mean by that?” Casey asked. “Taking me to Paris when you know I can't enjoy it! Jerk!” Casey laughed. “I know you can't drain our bank this way!” Irwin nodded in agreement. “For once, I agree with something Casey did!” “Father,” Robin snapped “Why are we in Paris, I don't have any Euros on me!" Casey smiled and snapped his fingers. Like magic, a large cup of coffee appeared in Jayme's, Robin's, and Casey's hands. “How did you do that?” Jayme asked. Jayme and Robin looked at each other in amazement! As Casey tried taking a drink of his coffee. Of course, the coffee went right through him! “Oh hell!” Casey said with disappointment! Irwin rolled his eyes. “The moment I start to think you might have brains, you do a stupid move like that!” Robin and Jayme laughed. Outside, Burke was walking by on the sidewalk. The bus caught his eye! There was something oddly familiar about it. He attempted to approach the bus, but before he could reach it, Casey yelled, “Hold onto your coffee's girls!” Nobody noticed Burke. “Oh great,” Robin sighed. “Not again!” Robin and Jayme made sure they had a good grip on their coffee and held on for dear life. They closed their eyes tightly, bracing themselves for the vortex again! “Almost there!” Casey said as the bus was suddenly traveling down that same country road as before.

Robin and Jayme opened their eyes. “Did we go through that vortex?” Jayme asked. The return ride seemed to be much less intense than the ride to the Paris coffee shop! “No,” Casey said. “I took a different way back.” Robin was disgusted. “Why didn't you take that way, to begin with?” She asked her father. Casey shrugged. “Wasn't it fun though?” he laughed. “NO!” Robin and Jayme simultaneously shouted! “Where are we going now, father?” Robin asked. “We're going to the cemetery where Royce's boyfriend is buried,” Casey informed them. He glanced in his mirror back at his engers and focused his attention on Royce. Who was staring blankly out the window. Royce was responsible for his boyfriend's death and hasn't been right since. He lived with the painful guilt every day! A sinister grin came upon Irwin's face when he found out where they were heading next. Even though the victims of the crash's spirits were trapped within the bus, they were still able to manipulate things outside of the bus, such as their dead bodies. Irwin knew his body was buried just a few graves away from Royce's boyfriend's grave. He let out an evil laugh. “What was that for?” Eva asked. Irwin quickly looked over at Eva. He didn't realize he had accidentally laughed out loud! “Nothing,” he quickly said. “I just thought of something funny.” “That laugh sounded a little evil!” Eva snapped. “What do you have up your sleeve?” “Nothing." As they were getting closer to the cemetery, dark storm clouds began to roll in. The sky became dark, just like it had on that fateful morning when the bus rolled down the side of the mountain! Thunder began to rumble as the bus continued to

speed down the road between lightning strikes hitting the pavement. The rainwater poured like a waterfall down the windshield! Casey turned on his wiper blades and didn't slow down! “Hard to see!” he stated. “Shouldn't you slow down a little?” Robin asked. Casey shook his head. “We'll be fine,” he reassured his daughter. Before they knew it, they were parked in the driveway of a cemetery. The storm had lightened up a little, but not by much. “Alright,” Irwin said. “Who's going to be helping Royce?” Robin got up from her seat and volunteered to take this one. “I'll do it,” she said. She watched Jayme help Cissy complete her unfinished business and now it was her turn. Robin looked at Royce and asked, “What is your unfinished business anyway?” “I killed my boyfriend,” Royce responded. “I can't move on until I know if he forgives me or not. So, if you could, could you please have him come to the bus so I can talk to him?" Robin nodded and stepped off the bus. The cemetery was massive! “How am I going to find the right grave?” she asked herself. She turned around and asked, “Which one is it?” Casey told his daughter that it was right down the row they were parked by, thirty-eighth headstones in. Robin walked carefully through the row of tombstones, counting each one as she went. When she stepped on the thirty-first grave, a decaying boney hand shot out of it, gripped tightly onto Robin's right calf, and began to pull her into the grave! Back on the bus, everyone was startled by what they were watching! Except for Irwin, he was laughing hysterically at the entire situation. Casey jumped out of the driver's seat and tried running out the enger door, shouting “LEAVE YOUR DISGUSTING HANDS OFF MY DAUGHTER!” He

managed to get down to the last step before some unseen force lifted him and tossed him to the back of the bus! “WHAT WAS THAT!?” Jayme asked! “Told you,” Irwin said. “We can't leave this bus!” Jayme looked back at her wife who was struggling not to get pulled into the grave! She took a deep breath and ran off the bus to try to help her wife! By the time Jayme got to Robin, her right leg was already pulled into the grave up to her knee! Jayme grabbed onto her wife from behind and began to pull back as hard as she could! An angry growl came from the grave beneath them as thick thorny vines shot out of the ground unbeknownst to them behind them! The vines wrapped tightly around Robin and Jayme, squeezing them tighter and tighter together! The thorns, like needles pierced into their bodies drawing blood! Jayme and Robin struggled and Robin ended up falling face-forward onto the ground, causing Jayme to land on top of her. The vines began to suck them into the grave as the decaying hand let go of Robin's leg and grabbed ahold of Jayme's right leg instead! Jayme let out a blood curtailing scream as the corpse's other hand grabbed her leg, and began to forcefully pull her into the ground! “This hurts!" Robin grunted as her body was being pressed into the ground! “I'm sorry!” Jayme cried. “So this is it? This is how we go?" Jayme asked. “My entire body is throbbing!” Robin complained. “Mine too," Jayme said. Back in the bus, Irwin continued to laugh hysterically as Casey and Eva cringed. “This is priceless!” Irwin laughed. “Why are you getting such enjoyment out of watching my daughter and her wife in that state?!” Casey snapped!

Irwin rolled his eyes and looked out his window. He wasn't telling anyone that it was his corpse causing all the ruckus! He telepathically told his corps to let go of the two ladies. Within a second later, the vines unwrapped from around Robin and Jayme, and Irwin's corpse's hands went back down into the grave! Robin and Jayme got back to their feet and brushed themselves off. “That's something I don't ever want to do again!” Robin complained. “Agreed!” They continued down the row of graves, with great caution with every step they took. When they got to the thirty-eighth grave, they saw a man sitting by a tree nearby. “Robin,” Jayme whispered. “Why is there a man sitting there?" Robin looked over. The man looked alive. A young man in his mid to late 20s. “Maybe he's homeless?” she said. They turned back and looked at the tombstone in front of them. “Now what do we do?” Robin asked. Jayme shrugged. “I have no clue, I've never had to talk to someone at their grave before,” she replied. Robin took her hand and knocked on the tombstone. “This isn't some door!” Jayme snapped! “Have a better suggestion?” Robin snapped back! As she continued knocking on the tombstone. The man sitting by the tree got up and walked towards the two ladies. “Would you keep it down!” the man snapped. “People are trying to sleep!” “Sorry, sir,” Robin apologized. “We need to talk to this man Martin, who is buried here,” she informed him. “Then start talking,” Martin said. “I'm him, and I've been expecting you.”

Robin took a deep breath and said, “You're boyfriend, Royce, is on that bus. He needs you to come over to the bus so he can talk to you.” Martin's eyes narrowed with anger. “I have nothing I want to say to him!” he snapped! “He took my life away from me!” “But sir,” Jayme pleaded. “His soul is trapped on that bus! He can't move on until he talks to you!” “Then I guess his soul will just have to,” Martin stopped himself. “Hold on, his soul?” He had no clue his boyfriend was now dead also. “What happened?” “My father's bus rolled down the side of a mountain, and Royce was one of the engers," Robin replied. Martin chuckled. “Guess he got his payback,” he said. “My father and mother were killed on that bus too,” Robin quietly said back. Martin's eyes grew softer. He felt terrible for Robin! “My deepest condolences,” he said. “Anything I can do to help? I know it won't bring your parents back.” “Actually, yes,” Robin said. “Go talk to Royce.” Martin shook his head. “No can do,” he said. “I will not do such a thing!” “Please, sir,” Jayme begged. “Do it for us, you see, we can't escape that bus either until we help every single one of the victim's spirits move on.” Martin sighed. “Fine,” he said reluctantly. “But I'm doing this for you two ladies! Not for him!” The three of them made their way to the bus as Royce watched nervously from within. Royce got up out of his seat and made his way to the bottom step of the bus, and waited. “It's nice to finally see you again, Martin," Royce said with a smile. “Make it quick,” Martin said. The last thing he wanted to do was talk to Royce ever again! Especially after what Royce did to him many years ago!

“I'm sorry for what I did,” Royce stated. “I wasn't in my right of mind that night. Can you ever forgive me?” he softly asked. “Forgive you?” Marin scoffed. “Why would I do a ridiculous thing like that!” he laughed. “I didn't mean to kill you!” “Oh, sure you didn't!” Martin responded sarcastically. Robin and Jayme stepped aside and took a seat on a large boulder. They watched as the two men screamed at each other! “I told you, you were too drunk to drive that night!” Martin snapped. “I was fine!” Royce snapped back! He tried turning the blame on Martin by saying, “if I was so drunk, why didn't you take my keys from me?” Martin was becoming angrier! “I tried and you got irate with me!” “What did I miss?” A spirit said as they manifested next to Robin and Jayme on the boulder. “OH SHIT!” Jayme and Robin shouted simultaneously in fear! As Royce and Martin continued screaming at each other. “Finally!” another spirit proclaimed with excitement! “Some entertainment!” the spirit looked at Robin and Jayme and said, “most of the time, this is a very quiet neighborhood.” Jayme and Robin looked at each other in disbelief! “I made a mistake!” Royce stated. “You pulled in front of a semi!” Martin snapped! “I told you there wasn't enough room for your turn and you told me to shut up!” “Can you forgive me?” “No, I can't,” Martin stated with great disappointment. “You took my life away from me because you were too drunk and stubborn to listen!” He turned away

and began walking back to his grave. “Wait!” Royce yelled. “I'm done talking to you!” Martin snapped. Royce let out a deep sigh, went back to his seat, and sat back down. Robin and Jayme got up from the boulder and walked back towards the bus. “Hold on,” one of the spirits said from the boulder. “That's it? Horrible! I was just getting into it!” “Party's over everyone,” Jayme told the spirits who came out to watch the argument between Royce and Martin. They got back on the bus and took a seat. “We're sorry, Royce,” Jayme apologized. “We really tried.” “It's alright,” Royce responded. “I've gotten used to being stuck on this bus.” He let out a deep sigh of disappointment. “Why are you upset?” Casey asked. “I wasn't able to complete my unfinished business,” Royce responded. “Martin didn't forgive me.” Casey smiled. “Try stepping off the bus,” he instructed Royce. “I can't,” “Just give it a try,” Royce got up and made his way to the bus steps. Slowly he walked down the steps. Using caution with every step. When he got to the threshold of the enger door, he hesitated. “I can't do it,” he said. “Yes, you can!” Casey reassured him. Royce closed his eyes and managed to get one foot onto the ground successfully. He slowly put his other foot onto the ground. He stood in disbelief for a moment

before turning around to face Casey with a big grin on his face! “I did it!” he cheerfully proclaimed! “How is this possible?” he asked in confusion. “He didn't forgive me!" “Didn't you say that you needed to know if he forgave you or not?” Eva asked. “Yes,” Royce softly said. “There you go,” Casey said. “You found out that he didn't forgive you, but you still found out.” Royce put his head down. “I was hoping he would've though,” he said with disappointment. “It's time for you to move on,” Casey told Royce as he shut the door and began driving the bus away from Royce. Robin and Jayme turned and watched out the back window as Royce's spirit stood in the middle of the cemetery driveway and slowly vanished behind them. Jayme got up and opened the first aid kit on the bus and pulled out the box of bandages. There were only ten bandages in the box. “This isn't going to be enough,” she sighed. Both she and Robin were still bleeding from the thorns piercing into their bodies. “How bad is it?” Eva asked them. Robin and Jayme lifted their shirts part way. Both their bodies were covered with bloody scratches and spots of blood. “Oh damn!” Eva proclaimed. “Hold still!” She took her hand and waved it over the wounds. A blinding glow filled the bus for a moment! When the light faded, Robin and Jayme looked at their wounds. To their amazement, they were gone! “How did you do that!?” Robin asked. Eva smiled and said, “I can do anything I want now… except getting off this damn bus!" Casey rolled his eyes. “Would you all just stop with that!” he snapped!

XI Later that day, when the sun was beginning to set on the long country road the bus was traveling down. Robin and Jayme quietly sat in their seats wondering what was next. The first two tasks they had to do, something terrifying happened to them! They didn't know if they would be able to continue to fulfill their promise and make it out alive in the end! Robin suddenly had a brilliant idea on how to make a break for it! “Father!” she shouted! “I have to use a bathroom! NOW!” she said with urgency! “Hold on!” Casey yelled. Suddenly, the bus was sitting in a parking lot of a fastfood establishment. “Here you go,” he said. “How about you both get something to eat while you are in there. Get some nourishment.” “Thank you, father,” Robin said as she and Jayme got up and exited the bus. When they got inside the bathroom, Robin pulled Jayme aside. “Listen, now's our chance!” “To use the bathroom?” Jayme asked. “I know, now let me go so I can.” Robin shook her head. “No, now's our chance to make a run for it!” “Can I at least use the bathroom first?” Jayme asked. Robin nodded. Once they were done and washing their hands, Jayme looked over at her wife. She was surprised she wanted to throw in the towel on the promise they made to the victims of that horrific bus crash. She understood the reasoning behind it, but her wife's parent's spirits were still trapped. “What about your parents?” “I know,” Robin sighed. “But how much more can we take?!” She panicked! “Who knows what will happen to us next!” Jayme nodded in agreement. “You have a point."

“Let's get our food, and sneak out the other door,” Robin suggested. “Sounds like a plan,” Jayme agreed. Back on the bus, Irwin was getting frustrated. “What is taking them so long?” he snarled. “They are getting something to eat!” Eva snapped. “Give them a moment!” Inside, Jayme and Robin were waiting for their order when the manager recognized them from a missing person's flyer! He told the cooks to take their time on their orders. He walked up to the counter and told them it'll be a few extra minutes on their food. Jayme and Robin told the man that was fine. The manager went back to his office and called the police. There was a patrol car in the area and it rushed to the establishment. Casey heard the sirens coming. “Oh great!” he snapped! He wasn't going to get caught! He didn't want the bus to get towed back to where they started. “They are not going to mess up my route!” he stated. He made the bus vanish into thin air. Robin and Jayme looked out the window and noticed the bus was gone! “Where did it go?” Jayme asked. Robin was nervous. How were they going to make a run for it now if they couldn't see the bus? Just then, the police showed up and rushed in! Robin and Jayme breathed a sigh of relief! “Are you two Robin and Jayme?” the officer stated. Robin and Jayme nodded. “That's us,” Robin stated. “Are you taking us back home? …Please,” she pleaded. The officer nodded. “Indeed I am,” “Thank you!” Robin replied.

The manager handed Robin and Jayme their food. “Here's your order, ladies,” he said with a smile. “Thanks!” Jayme stated as she took the bag. The officer and the two young ladies exited the building and began walking towards the police car. What they didn't know was, Casey had parked the bus between the building and the police car, but he had made the bus invisible! Robin and Jayme were walking a few steps ahead of the officer when they suddenly vanished! The officer stopped in his tracks! He could not comprehend what he just witnessed! The next thing Robin and Jayme knew, they were buckled back into their seats on the bus. “How the hell?!” Robin snapped! As the bus pulled away, Irwin began to laugh. “Did you think you could pull that fast one on us?” He got up and went back to Robin and Jayme's seats. “Looks like you brats need a little more supervision! CASEY! Open that door!" he demanded. “Why?” Casey asked. “Just open the damn door!” Casey opened the door and Irwin's corpse boarded the bus. “Recognize him?” Irwin asked Robin and Jayme. Robin and Jayme were horrified! Not only did they have to deal with spirits, they now had to deal with zombies!? “Keep an eye on them!” Irwin demanded his corpse as he pointed towards Robin and Jayme. Irwin's corpse snarled and walked over to Robin and Jayme. He stood facing them. Staring them down. Robin gripped her wife's hand tightly in fear! The two ladies trembled as Irwin's corpse leaned down and roared in their face!

“How did he get here?!” Casey asked. “I teleported my body here,” Irwin smiled. The next few hours were intense for Robin and Jayme. Neither one of them wanted to shut their eyes, they feared Irwin's corpse would do something horrifying to them while they were sleeping. They stared straight ahead, holding each other's hands, afraid to move a muscle! “Is this really necessary?” Eva asked Irwin. “Eva!” Irwin snapped. “They tried to make a run for it! They are the only ones who will be willing to help us all out! We can't let them get away! If you don't like how I do things then get off this bus! You know you can at any moment!" Eva put her head down. She knew Irwin was right about that. She also knew that she could have moved on a long time ago, all she has to do is confess to her husband what went on between her and Irwin, but she was not willing or able to yet. She wanted to have that deep conversation with her husband when they were alone. “Wait,” Robin chimed in. “You can get off this bus mother?” “Not until I do my unfinished business,” Eva replied. “Come on,” Irwin said. “Tell us all!” “Not right now!” Eva snapped. “Why not?” Robin asked. “Why don't you want to get off this bus?” Eva sighed, “I do want to get off this bus,” she said. “I can complete my unfinished business at any time, it's just,” she paused for a moment. “I'm staying on here to protect you and Jayme during this task you are on.” Robin smiled. “I understand, mother.” Robin stood up and was going to try to hug her mother when Irwin's corpse slammed her back down onto her seat! Irwin's corpse snarled and grunted at her.

This angered Casey! He quickly slammed on the breaks, which caused Irwin's corpse to propel towards the front of the bus! Irwin's corpse smashed out of the windshield, bounced off the hood of the bus and onto the road in front of them. Casey quickly hit the accelerator and ran over Irwin's corpse, as the windshield magically repaired itself Irwin rushed towards the back window and looked out in horror! There was his corpse lying in the middle of the lane behind them! He turned and walked back to his seat. “How dare you!” He snarled. “How dare you treat my daughter that way!” Casey snapped back! Back in Robin and Casey's hometown, the local police station received a call from the police officer who tried rescuing the two young ladies earlier that day in Alabama. He informed the lead detective on this case, Kate, what he experienced. “Thank you for that information, officer, I will the information around on the missing bus's last known whereabouts.” Kate hung up the phone and scoffed to herself, “I just moved from Alabama!” She looked over and looked at her family photo on her desk. She was missing her wife and children, but she knew they were expected to arrive the next morning. This made Kate happy! She picked up the phone and called Luke. She let him know that his missing bus was last seen in Alabama and that Robin and Jayme seemed to be alright. Except, they vanished right in front of the officer who tried bringing them back. Luke was stunned! “Vanished?!” he asked. “Are they ghosts now too?!” Kate wasn't sure, but it made her think for a moment. How can two people disappear into thin air if they were still alive? Her heart sank. For the first time in her career, she feared she wasn't able to save them in time. “I'm not sure, sir,” she replied. “I'll keep you posted on our progress.” “Thank you,” Luke said as he hung up the phone. Luke walked out of his office and stepped outside to get some fresh air. “Buying that bus was a huge mistake!” he complained to himself. He sat down on a bench and began to tear up. His worse fear seemed to be a reality now. Alma noticed Luke beginning to sob outside. She stepped out and sat on the

bench next to him. “Any update?” she asked. Luke nodded as he wiped the tears from his face. “I think Robin and Jayme might be dead,” he said. “It's all my fault!” Alma couldn't believe her ears! Her heart sank! “Are you sure?” she asked. “Did they find their bodies or something?” Luke looked at Alma and replied, “An officer watched them vanish right in front of him!" Alma didn't want to believe that! “There has to be some explanation!” “Have you been able to get ahold of Burke yet?” Luke asked. “Not yet, I believe he is still in Paris.” “Keep trying, he should know his granddaughter is missing.” Back on the bus, Irwin was still angry with Casey for running over his corpse! “I can't believe you did that to me!” he snarled. “Your corpse should learn to keep his filthy hands off my daughter!” Casey snarled back! Irwin got up from his seat, his eyes were glowing with rage! Eva could sense Irwin was about to do something to her daughter and daughter-in-law! She turned around in her seat and told Robin and Jayme to “RUN!” Robin and Jayme quickly jumped out of their seat and rushed to the back of the bus! Irwin held up his hands and two straitjackets appeared in his hands, along with rope! He approached them slowly as they struggled to get the rear emergency door open. The latch was stuck! “It won't budge!” Jayme grunted. Irwin grabbed ahold of Robin and forcefully put one of the straitjackets on her, then he put the other one on Jayme. The two young ladies squirmed on the floor

trying to break loose! Irwin chuckled at the sight! “Now, where should I tie you two up?” he asked. He looked around the bus for the perfect spot. Then he got a brilliant idea! He took the rope and tied Robin and Jayme together back to back, and shoved them into the wheelchair securement area. He snapped his fingers and the four floor straps instantly installed themselves. Irwin rolled the two ladies to their side and attached the wheelchair securement straps to the straps of the straitjackets. “You two aren't going anywhere!” “LET US GO!” Robin demanded. Irwin laughed hysterically! “Do you really think I'm that stupid?” “Yes,” Jayme quietly chimed in. Irwin quickly focused on Jayme. His eyes were full of anger! “Are you calling me stupid?” Jayme didn't answer. She knew she just made a huge mistake! Her heart began to pound out of her chest as Irwin crouched down beside her. Irwin eyed Jayme from head to toe. “What shall I do to you?” he asked. “DON'T HURT HER!” Robin snapped! She was getting exasperated with Irwin! “Lay a hand on her and I will -,” she paused. She was going to threaten to kill him, but he was already dead! “You'd what?” Irwin chuckled. “You can't do anything to me! So, that means I can put your wife through intense torcher, as you watch and can't do anything about it!” Irwin snapped his fingers and in an instant, Jayme's back was being pressed against the wheelchair lift! The same thorny vines from Irwin's gravesite appeared and wrapped around the lift and Jayme. Then forty rats appeared and rushed towards Jayme! Jayme let out a blood-curdling scream as the large rats began climbing up her body, and up her pant legs! She cringed as she felt the slimy silk fir of the rats against her skin!

Eva, Veronica, and Frank all jumped onto their seats and screamed! They were all terrified of rats! “STOP THAT!” Robin screamed at Irwin! Robin squirmed on the floor trying to break free! Irwin laughed hysterically at the entire thing! “Oh, you want one?” he asked Robin. “Want one what?” Robin asked in a disgusted tone! Irwin walked over to Jayme and pulled one of the rats off of her. “These!” he stated as he pulled the waistband of Robin's pants forward and dropped the rat down the front of her pants! “NO!” Robin cried out as the slimy, large hairy rodent squirmed around in the front of her pants! Casey glanced in his rearview mirror and yelled, “WHAT IS GOING ON BACK THERE?!”He quickly jumped out of the driver's seat and rushed to the back of the bus! Bus 340 continued to speed down the road by itself! “WHO'S DRIVING THE BUS?!" Jayme and Robin panicked simultaneously. Casey lifted his hand and tossed Irwin back to his seat. “STAY THERE!” he demanded! He rushed over to Jayme and magically made the rats, the straightjacket she was wearing, and the thorny vines vanish, which caused Jayme to flop to the floor. “Ugh,” Jayme grunted. She picked herself up and brushed herself off. “Go help your wife,” Casey calmly said. “I need to get back to driving this bus.” Jayme nodded and walked over to Robin. She crouched down and untied the rope that was around her. Then she proceeded to un-hook the wheelchair securement straps from the straightjacket, and finally, remove the straightjacket from her wife. The two young ladies got up and made their way back to their seats. “How dare he put a straightjacket on us!” Robin snarled.

“I know!” Jayme agreed. “I'm more of a homo-jacket type!” Robin snickered at her wife's little joke! “That's why I married you, you always find a way to make me laugh!" Bus 340 continued traveling down the road into the sunset, as Robin and Jayme drifted off to sleep.

XII The next morning, Casey pulled into the driveway of Kate and Mandy's old house in Alabama. The house was dark and empty. “That's strange,” Casey mentioned. He picked up his hand and a paper appeared. He took a close look at it, it was his route sheet. “It says this is Kate's house,” he stated as he doublechecked the address. “Who's Kate?” Jayme asked with a big yawn. “Kate's my ex-girlfriend!” Veronica scoffed. She glanced up and noticed they were not at the right house. “Where are we? This isn't the right place!” “We're in Alabama,” Casey stated. Veronica chuckled, “Oh, no-no-no! Kate lives in an apartment building in Minnesota!" It had been years since Kate and Veronica have spoken, and she had no clue that Kate was now married, had two children, and has moved a few times since! Casey looked back at his route sheet, and the address had magically changed to his old address! “That's odd,” he said under his breath. “My mistake!” He quickly teleported bus 340 in front of his and Eva's old house. There were a couple of moving trucks in the yard with a group of people taking boxes and furniture into the house. Robin and Jayme were shocked! “What are we doing at yours and mother's house, father?” Robin asked. A deep sigh came from a couple of rows behind Irwin. It was Veronica. “I told you an apartment in Minnesota!” she snapped! "Does this look like an apartment building to you?!" Little did she realize, they weren't even in Minnesota, but instead, they were in New Hampshire. Just a few miles away from the old mental institution where that fateful ride started. “This is not the right place!” she scoffed. Just then, Veronica caught a slight glimpse of Kate carrying in a box from one of the moving trucks. “Wait a minute! KATE!” she yelled as she jumped out of her

seat and rushed for the door! Outside, Kate thought she heard someone calling her name. She turned around and looked. She didn't see anything because Casey had made the bus invisible so others wouldn't see them at that moment. Kate was bewildered. She could have sworn she just heard Veronica's voice behind her! She shrugged it off and walked into the house. “NO! Come back,” Veronica pleaded. Jayme got out of her seat and walked up to Veronica. “What is your unfinished business?” “I've stolen so much from her,” Veronica replied. “I cannot rest or move on until I make things right.” Jayme nodded. Finally! She thought. She was hoping that this one would be easy, until, Veronica told her exactly how much she had stolen from her ex. “I stole seventy-five thousand dollars worth of money and valuables from her,” Veronica stated. She reached out her hand and touched Jayme's hand. "Give her this, please," she asked as a backpack appeared dangling from a strap they were both holding onto. “What's this?” Jayme asked. “Open it,” Veronica instructed as she let go of it. Jayme set the backpack down and slowly opened the large zipper. Inside was a bunch of cash! “Whoa!” Jayme said in shock! When Veronica was alive, she had no qualms about stealing from those she was close to. She'd steal little amounts here and there, just so nobody would notice. When actually, Kate would notice but wouldn't say anything. Veronica also felt guilty for wrecking Kate's vehicle after a heated argument they had once. The one that caused their break-up. She didn't mean to crash her ex's car, she just ended up being in the wrong place at the wrong time. “I don't feel right moving on without paying Kate back for what I had stolen from her,” Veronica stated. “How much is in this bag?” Jayme asked.

“The full seventy-five thousand dollars,” Veronica replied. Jayme smiled and nodded as she picked up the bag and exited the bus. She walked up the driveway carrying the backpack full of cash. Everyone was busy carrying in boxes from the trucks and didn't notice Jayme walking towards them. Jayme stood back a little from everyone for a moment. She didn't know who Kate was! Then a man noticed her, it was Lee. “Can I help you with something?” he asked suspiciously. “Yes, actually,” Jayme responded. “I need to talk to Kate." “Hold on, I'll go get her," Lee said as he walked away. Moments later, Kate approached Jayme. She stopped suddenly, in disbelief! “Kate?" Jayme asked as Kate began to back up slowly. Kate recognized Jayme as one of the hostages of the missing bus! Based on the last sighting report, Kate assumed that Robin and Jayme were deceased! “Yes," she responded nervously. Jayme reached out the backpack towards Kate. “This is from Veronica, your ex,” she stated. “It's all the money she's stolen from you.” Kate was even more confused! Slowly, she backed away. Still believing she was interacting with a spirit at that moment. “How do you know Veronica?” she asked. Her nerves were beginning to get the better of her as a cold sweat came over her entire body! “She's on that bus with me,” Jayme replied pointing towards the bus. “What bus?” Kate asked. Jayme could see that bus, but Kate couldn't. Casey knew that Kate was the lead investigator trying to bring bus 340 back to the bus garage, and he wasn't about to let them get caught! Not until everyone was off! However, he knew at some point he'd have to bring the bus to her.

“It's right there!” Jayme stated. Kate was even more confused. She didn't see any bus parked where Jayme was pointing. “What's going on?” she asked suspiciously. “Veronica can't move on until she pays you back for everything she had stolen from you when you two were dating.” Jayme set the backpack of money down on the driveway and stepped back. “All that money in that bag is yours.” Kate slowly, and with great caution approached the backpack and slowly opened it. When she noticed the bundles of cash inside of it, she was in shock! “How much is in here?!" “Seventy-five thousand dollars,” Jayme replied. Taken aback, Kate teared up a little. That money was going to help out a lot! “I don't understand,” she stated. Then she got to wondering, what did Jayme mean by Veronica couldn't move on until she paid her back? She hadn't heard that the missing bus she was trying to locate was involved in a fatal crash or that her ex, Veronica, was one of the victims! “What did you mean by Veronica can't move on?” “Veronica was killed in a horrific bus crash,” Jayme replied. “The same one my wife's parents were killed in.” She motioned to Kate how she and her wife volunteered to assist the victims of that crash with their unfinished business, so they can move on. Kate was faced with a difficult decision. She was transferred there to be the lead investigator in finding Luke's missing bus and the two hostages. Now, she realized that Jayme and Robin got onto that bus voluntarily, and she didn't feel right getting in the way of them trying to help the trapped souls. However, something still didn't make sense to Kate! If a bus was involved in such a horrific crash that killed seven people, how could it possibly still be on the road today? Things didn't add up to her! She knew she had to dig down deeper into the history of that bus company, and the history of the missing bus! She glanced down at the money sitting in the open backpack on the ground. “Thank you, for this,” Kate said to Jayme. She looked back up and suddenly she could see bus 340! “Where did that come from?!” she panicked!

Jayme turned around, looked back at the bus, and smiled. “That's the bus, it's been parked there the entire time,” she informed Kate. Kate slowly walked towards bus 340. As she got closer, she could begin to feel an intense sense of pain, dread, anger, and sadness overcome her. She stopped, turned around, and looked back at Jayme who was following behind her. “Why do I feel this way?” she asked. “You're feeling what the trapped sprits are feeling,” Jayme informed Kate. “My wife, Robin, and I have grown accustomed to that feeling.” Jayme and Kate continued to slowly approach the bus. When they got to the door, Casey opened it, smiled, and said “I hope you love my house!” to Kate. Kate jumped back in horror! In utter disbelief that a spirit was talking to her! She quickly turned and grabbed ahold of Jayme's shoulders! “This is one of the victim's houses!?” she panicked! “Two,” Jayme replied. “The driver and one of the doctors,” Jayme explained to Kate that her in-laws were the most caring, loving, most funny people when they were alive and if they were to come to visit their old home in the future, she should have nothing to worry about. Kate felt a little relieved, but not completely. “Come aboard!” Casey welcomed. Kate looked at Jayme again, looking for some comfort and advice. For once, Kate, a tough nothing scares me type of woman was now petrified! Jayme smiled and told Kate, “It's alright." Jayme and Kate stepped onto the bus and Kate couldn't believe her eyes! All five of the remaining trapped spirits were sitting right in front of her along with Robin. Kate's eyes locked onto her ex-girlfriend's eyes as Veronica got up from her seat and approached her. Slowly, Kate backed up until she bumped into Jayme. Veronica reached out her hand towards Kate and said, “It's nice to see you again.”

Kate turned around, embraced Jayme tightly, and closed her eyes. “Make this all go away!” she panicked! “We're trying,” Jayme stated. “Kate,” Veronica said softly. “I will not hurt you again, I promise,” Kate opened her eyes and slowly turned back around. Her ex, Veronica was now holding her arms open for a hug. “We parted on a bad note in our relationship,” Veronica stated. “I will not feel right leaving this world without knowing that I've made up for my terrible mistakes.” Kate looked back at Jayme looking for help. “Just hug her,” Jayme instructed. With caution, Kate took a few steps towards Veronica and put her arms around her ex. Memories of the good times she had with Veronica flashed before her eyes! All the hatred she had towards Veronica vanished from her mind, and a great sense of peace filled her soul! A bright flash of blinding white light filled the air! Kate closed her eyes, and when she opened them, Veronica was gone! “Where'd she go!?” she panicked! “She's moved on,” Robin smiled. Kate sat down on one of the empty bus seats and began to cry, happy tears into her hands. Casey turned around in his driver's seat and looked at Kate, “It was nice to meet the new owner of my home,” he stated as he snapped his fingers. At that moment, Kate looked up from her hands and she was suddenly sitting on the front steps of her new home. She looked up confused! How did I get back here?! She wondered! Her wife, Mandy, approached her carrying a box. “Are you alright?” she asked. She sat down the box and took a seat next to Kate. Kate tried explaining what just happened. She told her wife that she just saw the spirit of her ex-girlfriend, Veronica! She mentioned how Veronica had finally paid her back the value of everything she had stolen from her while they were in

a relationship! Mandy, however, was questioning everything Kate was telling her. She didn't see any bus parked out in front of the driveway! “You're under a lot of stress, my dear,” she softly said. “Maybe it was just your imagination?” “NO!” Kate snapped! She got up from the step and ran over to the backpack sitting on the driveway. She picked it up and brought it over to Mandy. “Look inside!” She pulled open the backpack and Mandy looked inside the bag. To her amazement, Mandy saw the bundles of cash in the bag! “How much is in here?!” she asked. “Seventy-five thousand dollars!” Kate smiled. “The value of everything Veronica had stolen from me!” She told her wife how she was having some misgivings about continuing the search for the missing bus now. She knew now the bus was missing for good reason, and she wasn't going to interfere. “The spirits of the victims can't move on until they complete their unfinished business,” she informed Mandy. Instead, she told Mandy she was going to focus on finding out why that bus was put back into service instead of being junked! “I'm not going to try to interfere with what those two young ladies are doing,” she stated. Mandy agreed that was a good choice. Back on the bus, Casey breathed a sigh of relief! “Got that one out of the way!” he said. “That wasn't so difficult,” Jayme stated. “I was trying to put that one off,” Casey replied. “That one scared me.” Jayme and Robin looked at each other in confusion. Why would a simple task like that scare Casey? Neither Jayme nor Robin knew that Kate was leading the investigation to try to find them! “What was so scary about this one?” Robin asked. “At least neither one of us got hurt!” Eva turned around and quietly informed Robin and Jayme who Kate was. They

were afraid that if Kate got a glimpse of them, she'd take them, Robin and Jayme, into custody! If that would've occurred, then the remaining trapped spirits on bus 340 would never be able to move on!

XIII Later that day, bus 340 was traveling down a curvy road that cut through a dense forest. The road was rough, filled with potholes. The ride was very uncomfortable for Robin and Jayme! The rough road didn't faze the remaining spirits on the bus. Casey sped up the bus and maneuvered the curves with ease while Robin and Jayme tried their hardest to ignore the hard bumps they were enduring! Irwin was becoming impatient and bored with the ride. He looked around trying to figure out a way to amuse himself. His eyes locked onto Robin and Jayme as a sinister grin came upon his face. “Enjoying the ride?” Irwin snickered. He could tell they were uncomfortable with the rough road! “Just leave them be,” Eva replied. She turned only her head completely around and faced her daughter and daughter-in-law. “Just ignore him.” Robin and Jayme were completely freaked out by Eva's ghostly head-turning completely around. “I have to pee,” Jayme whispered to Robin. Robin looked around there was nothing but trees on either side of the road. She got up and walked up to Casey. “Father,” she said. “We need a pit stop.” Casey nodded and pulled the bus over to the side of the road. “Here you two go,” he said as he opened the door. Robin and Jayme glanced at each other, then out at the trees. “Uh, what is this?” Robin asked her father. “Just go in the trees,” Casey instructed. “I can't make any more detours. I have a schedule to keep!” The two young ladies shrugged and stepped off the bus. They began to walk a few hundred feet into the woods. “How far are we going?” Jayme asked. “Just want to be out of sight of the bus,” Robin replied. “I'd like a little privacy!”

“Agreed,” They found a spot that was out of sight of the bus. Once they were done and got their pants back up, they began to make their way back to the bus. Back on the bus, Irwin watches as Robin and Jayme make their way back to the bus. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he notices a strange cryptid run through the woods! He adjusts himself to get a better look at this strange cryptid! The cryptid was running on all fours, and it was the size of a coyote! Running from behind tree to tree as it was on the hunt to attack Robin and Jayme who had just tresed on its territory! Robin and Jayme suddenly heard the strange cryptid behind them, and they stopped. “What was that?” Robin asked. Slowly, they turned around only to see the strange cryptid making a pounce at them! They let out a blood curtailing scream as they watched, frozen in fright, this half-human half-animal was coming down upon them! The cryptid pinned Jayme and Robin to the ground and let out a beastly roar into their faces! The thing was skin and bone, yet extremely heavy. At least five hundred pounds! It was covered in course dirty gray fir and had a human face with horns jutting out of its head! Fresh blood dripped from its fangs from its previous victims, a family of black bears! Irwin sat on the bus and watched the attack quietly with a grin on his face. “Don't look now, but I believe your daughters are about to become someone's bedtime snack!” Casey and Eva quickly jumped out of their seats and looked out of the bus! To their dismay, they saw Robin and Jayme pinned to the ground by this unknown cryptid! “NO!" Eva panicked! There was nothing they could do to help them! All they could do was hope for the best, which they knew was unlikely. Eva turned around and embraced her husband. “I can't watch!” “Anyone have a straw?” Irwin asked. “A straw?” Casey asked confused. “Why the hell do you need a straw?”

Irwin laughed. “Not for me!” he replied. “I was going to toss a straw out to that thing so it could suck the juices out of Robin and Jayme easily.” “YOU'RE A SICK MONSTER!” Casey snapped! Robin and Jayme squirmed under the cryptid trying to break free from its grasps, but they were unsuccessful! The cryptid scooped them up in its arms, got on its two hind feet, and carried them deep into the woods! “Where is that monster taking my babies?!” Eva panicked! “Babies?” Irwin scoffed. “I thought you only gave birth to Robin, and she is how old?” “Robin maybe my only biological child,” Eva snapped, “but Jayme became my daughter too when she married Robin!” Back deep into the woods, the cryptid took Robin and Jayme to its cave. Once inside, the cryptid tied Robin and Jayme together facing each other, and squeezed them into an extremely tight crevice! “Don't move!” the cryptid chuckled. “I need to get the fire going! I'm having roasted human!” the cryptid licked its chops and walked off. Once the cryptid was out of ear-shot, Jayme and Robin began to try to figure a way out. “How are we going to get out of here?” Jayme asked her wife. “I don't know,” Robin sighed. She tried shifting her body towards the opening, but it was too tight of a squeeze. “Ugh! It's no use!" “We are not going to become some disgusting creature's dinner!” Jayme snapped! She took a moment to think. “Do you think we can try to squeeze out the other way?” she asked noticing that the crevice they were jammed into went deeper. “What if there's no way out from that side!?” Robin snapped! “What if it gets tighter? I love you Jayme, but I can't tell which body parts are mine and which are yours right now!"

“Let's just try!” Jayme suggested. “I would rather die being squashed against the woman I love than to become whatever sick meal that thing is planning on making with us!” “You're right,” Robin sighed. “Alright, let's try it.” The two young ladies slowly inched their way sideways deeper and deeper into the crevice. It got darker and unfortunately slightly tighter every few feet. “This would be so much easier if we weren't tied together!” Robin complained. “I know,” Jayme grunted. Back on the bus, Casey and Eva were a nervous wreck! They ed the aisle of the bus impatiently waiting for Robin and Jayme to come back. At least, they were hoping they'd come back! “I can't stand this!” Eva snapped! Meanwhile, Jayme and Robin continued to squeeze themselves inch by inch deeper into the crevice. With every inch they moved, they could start to feel the rope that was tying them together loosen up. “Hold on,” Jayme said. She gently shifted her position, “okay, let's continue.” After five painful minutes, the rope became untied! Robin and Jayme were elated! “Alright, you shift yourself ahead of me,” Jayme instructed her wife. Slowly, Robin squeezed herself ahead of Jayme. “OUCH!” Jayme yelped! “What?!” Jayme began laughing, “nothing,” Robin glared at Jayme. “Not funny!” she snapped as she got past her. Once they were no longer pressed against each other, they found that they had a lot more room between the cold, damp stone walls of the pitch-black crevice! They slowly continued onward, still hoping there was a way out the other side! A half-hour later, to their dismay, the ground below them was no more! They felt their bodies slip down and frantically got themselves so they were facing each other again. That way, they were lodged between the crevice walls again, at least everything from the waist up. Their legs dangled down and they were trapped!

“Now what?!” Robin asked frantically! “I don't know,” Jayme replied hopelessly. Five thousand feet below them was a large cast-iron pot with boiling water heating up over a raging fire! Jayme and Robin looked down and noticed the cryptid stirring the pot and adding the guts from the bear family it had devoured earlier! They carefully managed to pull themselves up so that only below their knees hung down. “Do you think it'll see us?” Jayme asked frantically. “Let's hope not!” Robin replied. They used all the strength they had in their arms to help move themselves along the tight space. “Parts are throbbing I didn't even know I had!” Robin complained. “I know,” After a tiring ten minutes, Jayme and Robin noticed a light in the distance! “Oh good!” Jayme said with excitement! They rushed to the light as quickly as they physically could and very painfully squeezed out of the crevice and found themselves feet from the side of the road! “Ugh,” Jayme grunted as she brushed herself off. “I love you, but I don't want to be that close to you for a while!" she told her wife. “Same to you!” Robin snapped back! “Why did we have to take the long way?” Jayme glared at her wife, “Nobody's perfect!” They got to the road and looked around. The bus was nowhere in sight! “What happened to the bus?” Robin asked. “I don't know,” Jayme replied. They had no clue where they were nor which direction they should start walking! It was now dark and the road didn't have any street lamps. Also, Robin and Jayme feared that the cryptid may come looking for them!

“Let's go this way,” Robin suggested pointing left. “If we don't find the bus after a couple of miles, we'll go the other way.” “Sounds good,” Jayme replied as they began to walk down the road. The two of them walked slowly down the side of the road, checking over their shoulder every couple of seconds for the cryptid! The sound of crickets and owls filled the night air. The night was calm until they heard an angry guttural growl coming from the woods beside them! They stopped in their tracks and slowly turned to see what made that noise! They didn't see anything, but they heard something running through the woods! Crunching leaves and snapping branches! Robin and Jayme looked at each other with terror in their eyes! They began running as quickly as they could! The adrenaline from their fear made them run faster than they had ever before! Then suddenly, BAM! They ran smack into the back of bus 340, which Casey had made invisible again! “Ugh,” Robin and Jayme grunted simultaneously as they fell back onto the road! Inside the bus, everyone felt the jolt from them running into the bus at breakneck speed! “What was that?!" Eva asked. “I'm not sure,” Casey replied as he got out of his driver's seat. He walked towards the back of the bus and looked out the back window. “OH NO!” He panicked as he noticed Robin and Jayme laying unconscious on the road behind the bus! “WHAT?!" Eva panicked! She got out of her seat and rushed to see what Casey was so upset about. “Oh, no,” During all this, Irwin sat in his seat and laughed hysterically! “You just had to make the bus invisible again? Didn't you?” He chuckled. “Irwin, shut up!” Casey snapped.

“Look on the bright side, Case,” Irwin began saying. Casey rolled his eyes, “don't call me that!” “At least they weren't torn limb for limb, their guts pulled out of them and made into a scrumptious stew!” Irwin stated. “Mm,” he added as he licked his chops. Casey and Eva looked at Irwin in horror! “Don't say that about my daughters!” Casey snapped! “Oh! No,” Irwin chuckled. “I just 'mm'd' for the stew part, I loved me some homemade beef stew! Especially the one my papa made! He added chili peppers!” “Alright,” Casey said. “Eva, how are we going to get them to come to?” Irwin got up from his seat and walked to the back of the bus. “You two are helpless!” he scoffed! He opened the back emergency door and put up his hand. Slowly, Robin and Jayme's unconscious bodies levitated off the road! The cryptid was closing in on its prey! Once Robin and Jayme were at the right level to enter into the rear emergency door, Irwin eased them into the bus and gently laid them on the floor of the wheelchair area, and shut the door. “There we are!” Irwin said. “Hold on,” Eva said. “You just did something kind!” Irwin smiled, “I'm not always an asshole," he replied. “You should know!” He walked back up to his seat and sat down. “Casey, you should get back to driving this thing! Don't want the cryptid to come aboard!” Casey knew Irwin was right! He rushed back to the driver's seat and sped off down the road! Eva stayed back in the rear of the bus to tend to Robin and Jayme. It was only a matter of minutes before they came too. They opened their eyes and looked around in confusion. “What happened?” Robin asked. She tried sitting up, but Eva placed her hand gently on her daughter's shoulder. “Shhh,” Eva said softly. “Lay back down, you'll be alright.”

Robin laid back down and curled up in pain. “Everything hurts!” she complained. “I know, my dear,” Eva said. She looked over at Jayme who was hunched over on her side. “How are you doing?” “I'm in a lot of pain!” Jayme replied tearfully. Eva sat down between Robin and Jayme and rested her hands gently on their chests. “Everything will be alright,” she softly said. Moments later, Robin and Jayme's bodies began to glow a bright light as a dark mist escaped their bodies! Suddenly, they were not feeling any pain anymore! “How did you do that?!” Robin asked relieved that the pain was gone! “Never mind. I know,” she continued with a smile.

XIV The next morning, Robin and Jayme awoke to find themselves traveling through a suburban neighborhood. The iconic white picket fence charming neighborhood! All the homes were beautiful with children and dogs frolicking in the front yards! Frank looked around and smiled. “I've missed this place," he stated. Jayme turned around and asked, “what is your unfinished business, Frank?” He looked at Robin and Jayme. “I know who you two are,” he said. “The moment you two stepped on this bus, I recognized you both!” Irwin turned around in shock! “How?!” he asked. Frank smiled. He asked his doctor if he ed coming into his room and taking his binoculars away from him the morning they left the old hospital. Irwin nodded. “Yes, I ,” he replied. “You were intently watching two young ladies having,” he paused for a slight moment. “Wait a minute! It was them you were watching?!” he snapped pointing at Robin and Jayme. “What ?” Jayme asked. “This pervert watched you two have sex!” Irwin snapped! Robin and Jayme quickly turned back and glared at Frank! They were appalled! “How could you?!” Robin snapped! “Easily,” Irwin laughed. “He's a pervert! Oh, and maybe next time, don't park so near a public building when you decide to steam up some windows." “I told you that was a bad spot!” Jayme snapped! “I couldn't help it!” Robin snapped back! “Let's just get focused on what is happening right now," she requested. “Frank, what is your unfinished business and what do we have to do?”

Frank smiled at the two young women. “I messed my marriage up by being a peeping tom,” he stated. He explained to Jayme and Robin that once his wife became pregnant with their first child, he didn't find her attractive anymore because he couldn't get what he wanted from her, whenever he wanted. “I am ashamed and I kick myself every day for hurting my lovely wife!” his ghostly eyes began to tear. “Her name is Lilly.” “I made a huge mistake!” he stated. “No real man should ever cheat on the one he loves! No real man should ever cheat on, nor disrespect the woman who brought your child into this world!” He got up and rushed over to Jayme and Robin. He dropped to his knees and pleaded with them. “Please, I need to make things right with my wife!” he stated. “Well, ex-wife, she filed for divorce after she walked in on me and her best friend having sex." “What do you want us to do?” Robin asked. “Just ask her what she wants,” Frank replied. “Ask what needs to be done to make her forgive me, just for a moment even. I just want to meet my child!” Moments later, the bus pulled into Frank's old driveway. Robin and Jayme agreed they'd take on this one together. They stepped off the bus, walked up to the front door, and rang the doorbell. A woman, who appeared to be around Robin and Jayme's age opened the door. “May I help you?” the woman asked. “Are you Frank's ex-wife Lilly?” Jayme asked. Lilly glared at Jayme and Robin. “Yes, why is that any business of yours?” she snarled. “How did you manage to stay looking so young at your age?” Jayme complimented. Robin gave her wife a funny look, then explained to Lilly that Frank was killed in a horrific crash and that his spirit can't move on until he completes his unfinished business. “He asked us to ask you what needs to be done to have you forgive him, all he wants is to meet his child,” Robin stated. A disgusted Lilly eyed Robin and Jayme from head to toe. “Where is he?”

Robin pointed back at the bus sitting in the driveway. “He's in that bus,” she replied. Lilly glanced at the bus, then back at Robin and Jayme. “I don't believe you two!” she snapped as she slammed the door in their faces! “Now what?” Robin asked. “We are not going to give up!” Jayme replied. She took a deep breath and pounded at the door. Lilly answered the door again, this time she was holding a baseball bat! “What do you want from me!?" She pleaded. "Hasn't that man caused me enough pain?” “Listen!” Jayme snapped. “Let me make this clear, if you don't help us help your ex move on, then we will be stuck on that bus for all eternity too! Help us!" she pleaded as she dropped to her knees and begged. “We would do anything!” Lilly stood in the doorway and looked down at Jayme who was fake crying at her feet. She thought for a moment, then said, “Actually, there is something we can do. It won't make me forgive him, but it'll give him a taste of his own medicine!” she snickered. Jayme looked up and pretended to wipe the tears from her eyes. “What would that be?” Lilly picked Jayme up by the collar of her shirt and pulled her close. “Have sex with me,” she whispered as she pressed Jayme's body against hers. “Have sex with me and have him walk in on us! Just like when I walked in on him and someone else!” Jayme was appalled! “Wait, what?” Her voice quivered as the woman reached her arms around Jayme and groped her rear-end! Jayme turned her head and her eyes pleaded with her wife Robin to get her out of this situation. “Excuse me,” Robin chimed in. “That's my wife!” Lilly quickly pulled away from Jayme in horror! “Oh dear,” she said apologetically. “I'm so sorry!”

“Isn't there anything else we could do?” Jayme asked. “No,” Lilly replied. “He needs to experience what I experienced!” “That won't work,” Jayme stated. “He is trapped on that bus. If we were to go inside and have sex, then he would never be able to walk in on us!” Lilly stopped to think for a moment. Then she smiled. “Okay, then come here!” She grabbed Jayme and Robin by the arms and rushed over to the bus. “What are you doing?!” Robin panicked as the three of them boarded the bus! Once onboard, the woman stopped suddenly. She was frozen in fear as she was standing face to face with four of the remaining spirits! “I can't do this!” she panicked! She turned around and ran into Robin. “Move!” she demanded. “No!” Robin snapped! Her and Jayme have come this far in helping the trapped spirits to have anyone prevent them from helping any of them! “You are going to help us!” Robin scolded as she walked towards the back of the bus, forcing Lilly to backup. Robin managed to get Lilly backed against the wall in the rear corner of the bus. “Now just pretend to make out with me,” she whispered. Robin and Lilly began to make fake realistic-sounding kissing noises. Lilly wrapped her arms around Robin and pulled her close. For everyone watching, it looked like they were ionately making out, but in reality, they were just kissing each other on the cheek! Everyone couldn't believe their eyes! Frank was feeling the heartbreak of watching his ex-wife make out with someone else! Jayme was having a difficult time watching especially. She didn't know that Robin and Lilly were just faking it! Rage came upon Jayme! She rushed up behind them, pulled her wife away from Lilly, and pinned her wife, Robin, against the wall of the bus! “WHAT THE FUCK WERE YOU DOING?!” she snapped! She took her knee and swiftly kneed Robin in the groin! Robin's eyes rolled back into her head as she grasped herself and fell to the floor! “We weren't really making out!” Lilly yelled. “We were only kissing each other on the cheeks!”

Jayme's jaw dropped! “Seriously?” she asked. She looked down at her wife on the floor in shock! She quickly knelt and put her arm around Robin. “Is that true?” “Yes!” Robin stated. “Ugh! You got me good,” she complained as she rolled on the floor in agony! “Darling, I'm so deeply sorry!” Jayme began pleading with her wife for forgiveness. “I seriously believed you were making out with her!” “How's Frank?” Robin grunted. “His heart looked broken,” “So it worked?” “Yes,” “That's good,” Robin stated. “I need ice!” Lilly knelt by Robin and told her that she'd run into her house and get her some ice. “Thank you,” Robin replied. While they waited for the woman to come back out, Casey and Eva glared at Jayme. “I can't believe you just kicked my daughter in the genitals!” Casey snapped. “I said I was sorry!” Jayme stated. “I got angry because I thought she was actually making out with another woman!” “It did look pretty realistic,” Eva stated. “Honestly, if I would have thought you were making out with someone else in front of me, I would've kicked you in the same area, Casey!” Eva got up and walked back to her daughter. “How bad is the pain?” Robin looked up at her mother. Her eyes were glazed over with tears. "It's a throbbing, burning pain!" she complained.

Moments later, Lilly came rushing back onto the bus with an ice pack. “Here you go,” she said as she handed the ice pack to Robin. Frank got up and walked over to his ex-wife. “I now know how I made you feel that night,” he somberly said. "What I did was wrong, I know you may never forgive me, I'm sorry for what I put you through. “May I meet my child now?” he kindly asked. Lilly sat down on one of the bus seats. “You've already met her,” she informed him. A smile came upon Frank's face! Yet, he was confused. He didn't recall ever meeting his child! But he was pleased to find out it was a girl! “When did I meet our daughter?” he asked. His eyes lit up, only for a moment. He thought of all the father-daughter dances he missed out on, walking his little princess down the aisle at her wedding! Lilly looked over at Jayme. “Jayme is our daughter,” she stated. “Whoa!” Jayme snapped in disbelief! “Hold on!” She pointed a firm finger at Lilly! "You wanted to have sex with me before!” Lilly nodded. “My mistake, I didn't realize you were who you were until I went back into my house to get the ice.” she began to laugh hysterically all of a sudden! “I DON'T FIND THIS FUNNY!” Jayme snapped in fury! “Pardon, I just ed the man's face in the house when the freezer opened by itself and the ice pack floated across the room,” Lilly began to laugh even harder! “Then the front door opens on it's own and the ice pack float out the door!” Everyone on the bus thought of that scenario for a moment and began cracking up as well! “He crapped himself!” Lilly was laughing so hard she could barley get the words to come out! She took a deep breath, and told them that Jayme's adoptive parents sent her photos of Jayme until the age of eighteen.

She wouldn't look at the photos much because it made her depressed that she had to give Jayme up as an infant. She'd look at each photo once, then toss them away! “I couldn't afford to take care of you,” she said. “It wouldn't have been fair to you.” She told Jayme how suddenly, something clicked in her mind! “I ed the last photo I received of you, your graduation photo. Your eyes have the same twinkle!” Lily smiled at Jayme, you have my father's eyes! That's when I knew you were my biological daughter! Lilly reached out and tried giving Jayme a hug, but Jayme pulled away. “I think I'm going to be sick,” Jayme stated. She ran up to the wastebasket on the bus and hurled! “I'm sorry!” the woman pleaded. “I seriously didn't realize you were my daughter!” “Hold up a moment!” Frank interrupted! “All I wanted to do was meet my child and she was on this bus the entire time?!” he tossed his arms up in disbelief! “I could have gotten off at any moment during this entire trip?! What kind of sick nonsense is this!?” He snapped as he glared at Casey, Eva and Irwin. “We didn't know Jayme was your daughter, Frank,” Casey responded. “I knew,” Irwin said under his breath. “I was the doctor who delivered Jayme.” “What?” Eva asked in shock! “You're a psychologist, not an obstetrician!” Irwin nodded. “Indeed, I'm not an obstetrician,” he stated. “However, many years ago, I was stuck in a traffic jam and this lady was stuck alongside me." He told everyone that the woman's father was driving her to the hospital so she could have her child. “I noticed she was in distress in the enger seat. I rolled down my window and honked to get her attention.” Lilly smiled at Irwin. “So, you're the doctor who helped me that morning?” Irwin nodded. “I am,” he replied. He continued telling the story of how they knew she wasn't going to make it to the hospital in time before the baby arrived. They managed to get off at the next exit and found a nearby parking lot. “Ten minutes later, you were born, Jayme,” Lilly smiled. “Thanks to him!”

Frank was still in disbelief! “Wait, she's my daughter?” “Yes,” Lilly nodded. Frank glared at his ex-wife. “We'll see if you are telling me the truth or not!” He slowly began walking towards the enger door of the bus. He looked back and said, “moment of truth!” Carefully, he took each step down, paused with each step. He carefully stuck his right foot out the door and onto the driveway. Then his left. The second both his ghostly feet touched the driveway, he was gone! “Oh fuck!” Jayme stated as she grabbed ahold of her nauseous stomach, and sat down. “Frank was my father,” she said in disbelief! Robin got up off the ground and sat down next to her wife, “are you okay?” she asked. Jayme nodded. “I'll be fine,” she replied. “I think,” Frank's ex-wife, Lilly, looked at everyone on the bus. “Thank you for this,” she said. “It was nice to finally meet my daughter again," she smiled at everyone and stepped off the bus. As they watched her walk back up the driveway, the woman vanished! Robin and Jayme's eyes widened, and their jaws dropped! “What just happened there?!” Robin panicked! An eerie chill cut through Robin's bones! Her face turned pale, her eyes stared blankly into space. A nauseous sensation came upon her at that moment! Her chest began moving rapidly in and out, as her breathing became louder! Jayme noticed her wife was having an anxiety attack! She reached over and wrapped her arm around Robin. “Are you going to be alright?” She asked. Robin was speechless! The shock of the realization that she was just faking making out with a ghost hit her hard! “Robin, my dear,” Jayme softly said. “Answer me!”

Suddenly, Lilly appeared sitting in the seat that used to be Frank's. “Give her a moment,” she said. “It's not everyday you get kissed on the cheek by a ghost!” she laughed. She got up and walked over to Jayme. She gently placed her ghostly hand on Jayme's shoulder, and said, “there is one more thing I need to tell you.” Jayme looked up at her mother and asked, “what is it?” "The man I cheated on with frank left me, and he got me pregnant a few months after I had you," Lilly stated. "He left me the moment I became pregnant. My parents forced me to give both my daughters up for financial reasons! I was miserable and disoriented from the drinking habit I picked up. One night, when I was around your age, I walked in front of a train! Whops! My mistake!” Then she vanished again! “I have a sister?” Jayme asked. “Half-sister,” Robin replied. “I have a sister?” Jayme asked again. Jayme was having a very difficult time comprehending everything that just happened! Nothing really scary happened with this task, it just took a hard hit to Jayme's heart! She always wondered why she was given up by her birth parents, now she knew why! She sat back in her seat, her mind was spinning! She glanced over at Robin, and grabbed her hand tightly. “Are you going to be okay?” Robin asked her wife. “Yes,” Jayme replied. “I'll be fine, I just wonder how my mother was able to do all that stuff even though she is dead!” She looked at Robin and asked, “how was she at kissing?” Robin rolled her eyes. “didn't feel a thing," she replied. Then it really sunk in! “Oh shit!” Robin stated in shock! “I was making out with a ghost!” Eva laughed, “we are more powerful than you know,” she stated.

“But how does she still own that house?” Robin asked. “If she's dead?” “She doesn't,” Casey laughed. “Those poor homeowners put up with her hauntings every single night!” Eva looked out of her window of the bus an noticed the male homeowner pacing back and forth on his phone in the front yard. “Does he know we're here?” she asked Casey. “Not at all, I made the bus invisible again!” Casey replied. “As for the engine noise, he can't hear it, he's completely deaf.” Robin and Jayme glanced at Casey in confusion. “Wait,” Jayme said. “When you made the bus invisible to us in the past, why didn't we hear the engine?” She asked. Casey smiled, “I had my reasoning's," he stated.

XV Meanwhile, back in Kate's office at the police station, Kate was busy trying to figure out why that bus was placed back into service! She ed Detective Hugo, who had investigated the crash. Hugo emailed Kate all the photos from the crash site and faxed over the original accident report. Kate was sickened and appalled by the photos! The frame was completely snapped in half! “There's no way this bus could've been repaired!” she said to herself! She read over the accident report and found out where the bus was taken to after the crash. “Okay, Dick,” she said. “I believe I have to pay you a little visit,” she snapped! She printed off the photos, grabbed the accident report, and headed off on her long drive to Dick's auto shop. Kate drove through the mountains and when she approached the site where the crash occurred, a lump formed in her throat! She noticed how the guard rail was much newer than the other sections. She pulled over her car and got out. Slowly, she walked over and looked down. Small scraps of the bus still littered the side of the mountain. A long trail of crushed brush still laid flat where the bus rolled over it! “That bus rolled pretty far,” she stated. She turned around, walked back to her car, and continued down the road. A few minutes later, she arrived at Dick's auto shop. The place was locked up with an “Out to Lunch” sign on the door. Kate looked around and decided to search the junkyard behind the garage. She noticed a stack of junked vehicles on top of a severely damaged truck-like frame. She crouched down and tried to get a good look at it. It was obvious, that frame was the bus's frame! But why was it there? And what was used to replace the frame on the bus? She wondered. She pulled out her phone and began snapping photos of the frame, as best as she could. Then, she continued to walk through the junkyard. Against the back fence, she spotted an old gutted-out truck. She slowly approached it, and discovered the frame was missing from it! Just from looking at the truck, she

knew it was around the same length as the bus, and the tires were in the same location! “Gotcha!” she stated! She took her camera out again and took a bunch of photos of that truck. Kate knew the evidence she had against Dick was compelling and undeniable! She walked back to her police car and drove to the local police station. During her drive, a strange transmission came across her CB radio. It was full of static and hard to make out, but she clearly heard a male voice say “Kate!” Kate slowly picked up her mic and replied, “please repeat,” she asked. She waiting for a reply, but nothing happened. “I must be out of range!” she said. “Have to be!” She put her CB mic back onto its hook and continued driving. Then she began to wonder. How did my radio work out here in the first place?! Also, who knew my name?! “Kate!" the same man's voice said from the backseat! Kate panicked and quickly pulled over her police car! She turned around to see who was in her backseat! She couldn't see anyone! Her heart began to pound fiercely, as she broke into a cold sweat. “Who's there?!” she panicked! “Are we going to get a move on here or what?” the male voice asked. Still, Kate couldn't find anyone in the backseat! She slowly turned around, and when she did, she noticed a ghostly man in a white doctor's coat, the same ghostly man Robin encountered on her trip to the same town, sitting in her enger seat that wasn't there before! She let out a blood curtailing scream and grabbed ahold of the door handle! She tried her hardest to escape from her police car, but the door wasn't opening! “Come on!” She panicked! Suddenly, the ghostly man let out a guttural growl at her! Slowly, Kate turned her head to look at the ghostly man in her enger seat. He had transformed into an evil-looking creature! Kate glanced down at the man's feet that had turned into hooves!

Complete terror came upon her, as she slowly looked back up at this horrifying creature! “Who are you?” she asked nervously. “Devil,” the creature responded. “What do you want?” “Stop with this investigation!” he demanded! The devil reached its hand over and tried placing it on Kate's neck! Frantically, Kate quickly pulled out her late brother, James's old religious necklace that she always carried with her in remembrance of her deceased brother. She held it between the devil and herself and shouted, “I DEMAND YOU TO LEAVE ME ALONE!” The devil laughed at Kate. “Did you really believe you can get rid of me that easily!” he asked. “I'll be back, I promise you!” Then, just like that, he was gone! But for how long? Kate took a deep breath and continued onto the local police station. When she arrived, she met with detective Hugo. Hugo could tell Kate was shaken up by something. “Is there something wrong?” he asked. “Oh, nothing,” Kate responded. She wasn't about to tell this man she just met what had occurred to her on her way over! Especially when she had a reputation to keep! “Alright,” Hugo said. “You just look like you just saw a ghost or something.” Kate looked at Hugo and gave him a nervous smile. “You do have a strange town here,” she stated. “Follow me to my office,” Hugo instructed. While they were walking down the long corridor to Hugo's office, Hugo mentioned something to Kate that was fascinating! “This town is cursed,” he stated. He told her that there was a story of a man, Eli Irwin Gibbs, who was killed during the American Revolution. “It was a tragic

death,” he said. He told Kate that it has been rumored around town that Eli collapsed on that mountainside while trying to run away from battle! “He laid there weak and dehydrated for weeks before someone finally found him! When they did, it was too late, he was already dead and his body was half-eaten by some demonic creature!” “That's horrible!” Kate responded. “But how does that make this town cursed?” They arrived at Hugo's office and entered. “Take a seat,” Hugo instructed Kate. “They found a note in his pocket,” he said. He told Kate that the note had some strange symbols on it with a message that read, “Every time a storm erupts upon this area, a tragic death will occur within thirteen miles!” Hugo locked his eyes onto Kate's, his voice became stern, yet slightly somber. “It was storming when that bus crashed!” Kate's jaw nearly hit the floor! “So, are you saying the curse caused the crash?” she asked. Hugo shrugged. “Who knows," he responded. “What I do know is, I've lived in this town my entire life! I'm nearing retirement age now, and every single time we have a massive storm, someone either gets killed or tragically loses their lives in a horrific accident!” “That is freaky!” Kate stated. “What do you have for me?” Hugo asked as he glanced at the bag in Kate's hands. Kate placed the bag on Hugo's desk, pulled out her camera, and showed him the photos she took from Dick's junkyard. As he scanned through the photos Kate took and compared them to the photos from the crash site, Hugo could tell, without a doubt that the frame at the bottom of the stacked junked vehicles was that of the bus that was involved in the crash in the mountains! He was appalled that Dick fixed that bus up! “It was supposed to be junked!” he snapped. Then he got serious. “Did you have a search warrant?" He asked Kate. “Well,” Kate responded. “No, but I didn't come all this way to not get any

evidence!” She explained to Hugo that she operates to a different standard than the normal. That's how she'd been able to find many missing people in her career! “If someone is guilty of something, or is hiding something, they may not be willing for you to look around," she stated. She told Hugo that she was quoteon-quote “scavenging” through the junkyard. Hugo smiled, “good one!” He looked back at the photos Kate had taken at Dick's junkyard. “I will get the arrest warrant printed and we will pay him a little visit!” A half-hour later, Detective Hugo, Detective Kate, and four police officers pulled into Dick's auto shop. The four officers stood by the garage and back doors while Kate and Hugo stood by the front door. The place was surrounded! Kate made sure she was geared up, in case of any confrontation! She opened the door and walked in. Dick's office door was open and he was sitting at his desk. Kate slowly approached Dick's office and knocked at the door. “Dick?” Kate asked. “Good afternoon!” Dick cheerfully greeted! “Looking to buy a vehicle today?” He paused, “officer,” “Detective,” Kate corrected as she flashed her badge. “Sir, you're coming with me!” She pulled handcuffs off of her belt and approached Dick. Dick quickly jumped from his chair! “Hold up, what is this all about?” “You tampered with evidence of a fatal bus crash that occurred a few miles up the mountain!” Kate snapped! “You put a dangerous vehicle back onto the roadways and have put many lives in danger!” “You can't prove anything!” Dick snapped. “You're just a silly girl!” “Sir, you are under arrest!” Kate snapped. Dick looked around and barged past Kate, knocking her to the floor! Quickly, Kate picked herself up and began chasing Dick through the repair shop! Dick tried to escape, but all the exits were guarded! While they were running between the vehicles in the garage, Dick knocked over a stack of tires!

“Whoa!” Kate exclaimed as she hurtled over a tire that came barreling at her! She gained her composure back and looked around the garage for Dick. “You're only digging yourself in deeper!” she shouted! She bent down and looked under the vehicles. At the opposite side of the garage, she noticed his feet behind a wheel of a vehicle. She smiled and slowly approached him. When she got to where she saw his feet, she was stunned to find that he had taken off his shoes and placed them there as a decoy! Furious! Kate looked around the garage again. She didn't see any sign of Dick! “That bastard!” she huffed! She walked back into the office part of the building and noticed the men's restroom door shutting. A grin came upon her face and she walked into the men's room. Inside, Dick had locked himself in a stall and was standing on the toilet. “I know you're in there!” Kate scolded! “You can't be in here!” Dick yelled! “This is the men's room!” Kate took a deep breath and kicked the stall door right off its hinges! She blocked Dick's only way out! Dick was hopeless as he looked around. “I did nothing wrong!” he snapped! Kate grabbed her handcuffs and placed them on Dick and read him his Miranda Rights. “This is ridiculous!” Dick snarled as Kate grabbed his arm and walked him outside. One of the officers opened the back door of their police car and Kate eased Dick into the backseat. Dick was taken to the local jail where he awaited his trial. “Good work!” Detective Hugo complemented Kate. “Just doing my job,” Kate replied. “Now, if you'll pardon me, I have a long drive back home!” The two detectives shook hands and Kate headed to Luke's bus garage.

A few hours later, Kate arrived at the bus garage and went into Luke's office. She could see he was exhausted. Bags under his eyes. “You should go home and get some rest, sir!” Kate instructed. “I can't,” Luke replied. “I won't! Not until all this is done!” Kate sat down and showed Luke all the photos she had taken from Dick's auto shop. “The bus you had purchased should not be on the road! It isn't safe!” She told him that once his missing bus is recovered, he should immediately get rid of it and cut his losses. She also mentioned that she was able to find out that Robin and Jayme were not in any danger, that she was aware of! However, she didn't mention that bus 340 was just at her house the other day! “I'm glad they aren't in any danger!” Luke said relived. “How do you know?” “Sightings,” she responded. “I'll keep you updated if I have any more information.” Kate gathered up her evidence folder and left. Later that evening, on bus 340, Jayme was still trying to comprehend everything that occurred at Frank's house. “My birth mother wanted to have sex with me?!” she asked Robin. Robin shrugged. “She said she didn't recognize you as her daughter,” she replied. “How?” Jayme asked. “I sincerely don't believe that! She was dead too! She had to have recognized me!” Robin knew her wife had a good point! There was something a little odd about Jayme's biological mother! “I don't think money problems were the only reason you were given up,” Robin softly stated to her wife. “I think you're right,” Jayme replied. She pulled out her cell phone and the battery was dead! “Great," she sighed. “Can I use your phone?” “Nope,” Robin replied. “My battery died the second we stepped onto this bus, and I had a full charge!”

Jayme wanted to try to her old foster parents to try to figure out the real reason her parents gave her up. “She gave me the creeps,” Jayme stated. “She was a bit, odd,” Robin itted. “Horrible kisser!” Jayme glared at Robin, “I thought you two were only kissing on the cheek!" “We were,” Robin stated. “Honestly, I wasn't feeling anything during it! Nothing, her face was chilly, which was strange!" She looked Jayme in the eyes, and said, “imagine my horror when she vanished and I realized I was pretending to make out with a ghost!” Jayme laughed a little. “The look on your face was priceless!” Later that evening, Kate, Mandy, Lee, and Barb sat around the table and played cards together. It was evident that Kate was disturbed by something. “What's on your mind, my dear?” Lee asked. Kate was having a difficult time trying to get the photos of the bus's accident scene and the photos of the victim's dead bodies out of her mind! It was the most gruesome thing she has ever seen in her years of being in law enforcement! “I wish I could talk about it, but I can't,” she replied. “Don't be so down,” Lee said. “You are brave, strong, and one of the best people I know!” He smiled trying to cheer his daughter-in-law up, “Thank you," Kate replied. “it's just I seen something today that will probably traumatize me for the rest of my life!” She took a deep breath and told them that she has seen the photos from the accident scene that involved the missing bus she was in search of. “It was sickening!” Kate described the photos in great detail as everyone sat in horror! “The driver's body was strapped in the driver's seat, but his head was in the rear of the bus!” she panicked! “That bus was drenched in blood!” “Kate,” Mandy interrupted, “I think you need some rest, you had a difficult day.” Kate agreed and left the table and went to Mandy and her bedroom. She didn't bother to change into her nightclothes. Instead, she laid in bed in her uniform

and stared at the ceiling with the light on. When she was assigned to this case, she wasn't expecting it to have such a personal connection with her. She flashed back to that night Veronica and she had that argument and Veronica took her car and crashed it! Oh how she wished her brother, James was still alive so she could call him and talk to him officer to officer for advice! Kate took a deep sigh, leaned over, and turned off the light on her nightstand. She closed her eyes and was awoken by a man's voice in her room. “Talk to me, sis,” the man said. Kate opened her eyes to see her brother, James sitting on the side of her bed! She sat up quickly and asked, “Is that really you?!” James' spirit nodded and smiled. “Yes, sis, it's really me!” He told her that he has been protecting her during this entire case and that everything will turn out okay in the end! “Are you sure?” Kate asked. “Have I ever steered you wrong?” James asked his sister. Kate shrugged, “Well, there was this one-” James cut her off, “besides that time I told you the rose bush was edible! We were kids!” “Then, no,” Kate replied. “When this case is over,” James continued, “you will endure a much more difficult case," he warned. “But I know you can handle it!” Suddenly, James vanished. Kate quickly turned on the light and began to hyperventilate! What did her brother mean she was going to endure a much more difficult case?! She wondered! Wasn't going up against a bunch of ghosts hard enough? You can't arrest ghosts! For the rest of that night, Kate was unable to sleep!

XVI Early the next morning, before dawn, Irwin had the look of guilt on his face. He stared straight ahead at the road in silence as Casey made his way to the accident scene. As they got closer, a massive storm brewed in the sky above! Just like the one on that fateful morning. Robin and Jayme were awoken by a loud clap of thunder, that echoed within the bus! They looked out their window and large rain dropped pounded against the bus! The wind slammed against the side of the bus pushing it towards the side of the mountain! Robin and Jayme pulled their seat belts tighter until they were almost cutting off their circulation! Casey sped up bus 340 as he got closer to where the bus had crashed! “HOLD ON!” He instructed! Robin and Jayme were in a panic! “FATHER! SLOW DOWN!” Robin screamed! She and Jayme turned and held each other tightly in their arms and closed their eyes tightly! Eva could tell at the rate of speed Casey was driving, they were undoubtedly going to plunge down the side of the mountain, again! “CASEY!" Eva snapped! “SLOW DOWN!” “I got this!” Casey smiled! While their eyes were shut tightly, Robin and Jayme had flash images play out in their minds! They were experiencing the accident occurring! They heard the screams of the engers, as the rain battered against the fiberglass roof! Then they could feel the force of the bus rolling down the mountainside! The sound of crunching bones and the eerie sound of steel being twisted, which sounded like a loud squeaky door opening! Robin and Jayme held other in fear as their bodies got tossed around! They felt their bodies lift from the seat they were sitting in! They began choking on the

taste of blood that filled their mouths! It all seemed too real to them! They thought for sure the bus was rolling down the mountainside, again! Suddenly, when Casey got within an inch of the guardrail, the bus came to a screeching halt! Robin and Jayme's bodies kept moving forward from the momentum of the sudden halt of the bus. The seat belt tightened and pushed them back into their seats! In disbelief, they opened their eyes, and let go of each other. “See, this bus was more than capable of stopping and avoiding going over the edge!” Casey stated. “That is, of course, if the breaks were working!” He turned around and glared at Irwin. “Irwin,” Eva said. “Is there something you need to tell us all?” Irwin looked around at everyone. Their suspicious eyes were glued onto him. “ I didn't do anything!” he lied. He looked out his window and tried to ignore the blame Casey was putting upon him. Casey got up out of his driver's seat and walked back to Irwin. “I don't believe you!” he responded with anger! “This was a brand new bus that morning! How did the breaks suddenly fail?” Eva sat back in her seat and thought for a moment. She recalled that strange male spirit that came onto the bus moments after the crash! What did that man mean by an evil thing was done? She wondered. Nobody seemed to know who that man was. “I think you had something to do with the crash, Irwin!” Eva accused. “I'm sure that ghostly man in those old clothing knew you had something to do with it!” Robin began to recall the mysterious man she encountered standing behind the reception desk at the bed and breakfast, then later on somewhere else. She flashed back to the man saying, “My six-time great-grandson is a piece of shit!” She unbuckled and jumped to her feet! “I know who that man was!” She shouted! “You do?” Casey asked. “You weren't here when that man came to us!” Robin pointed at Irwin. “It was his six-time great grandfather!” She went on and

told them that he had come to her as well! She explained how she encountered that same mysterious man a couple of times while she, and Burke, her grandfather were in the town where the crash occurred trying to get more information about the crash! She glared at Irwin, “he was right, you are a piece of shit!” Irwin took a deep sigh. “Alright!” he yelled! “I tampered with the breaks!” He looked at Eva and Casey who were furious with him! “Why would you do such a thing?!” Casey asked. Irwin explained that on the morning of the crash, something made him angry and made him want to seek revenge! He didn't tell them what it was that made him angry, but Eva knew. He mentioned how he purposely dropped his pocket knife under the bus so he had an excuse to crawl under the bus. “You should never crawl under a bus!” Casey snapped. “Shut up!” Irwin snapped. “I never liked you!” Irwin told them that his main goal was just to kill Casey, he never meant for anyone else, let alone himself become a victim too! “That's why I panicked when I awoke to find us driving through the mountains!” he stated. “I knew the breaks wouldn't withstand the stress of the downgrade!” Robin was appalled! “Why would you want to kill my father?" she asked. Irwin looked over at Robin. “Jealousy,” he stated. “jealousy is an ugly monster!” He told them that he fully regrets doing what he did, however, everyone could see right through Irwin! They all knew he wasn't truly sorry for what he did. He was only sorry that he lost his life as a result of his actions as well! However, he didn't mention why he was jealous of Casey. He then confessed that he had summoned the thorny vines that wrapped around Jayme and Robin back at the cemetery! “Don't you realize how much pain you put us through?” Robin asked. “Emotionally and physical?”

Irwin chuckled a bit. “The looks on your faces were priceless!” Casey's ghostly face turned red with fury! He quickly slammed open the enger door and shouted demanded, “get off my bus!” “Don't lose your head over this!” Irwin laughed. “Oh, wait…you did!" “Irwin, go away!” Eva snapped as she reached her hand up and tossed Irwin out of the bus! Irwin's spirit landed halfway down the mountainside. Casey walked over to the door and glared down at him. "Hope you enjoy the view from down there!" he shouted. “Why?” Irwin yelled back. “I secretly placed a curse on this land, as I approached it just now! You will spend all eternity there now! Nobody can save your soul now!” Casey laughed as he got back into the driver's seat, closed the door, and continued down the mountain. “WAIT!” Irwin shouted as he tried to chase after the bus! He got as far as the guard rail and his spirit was tossed back down the mountain! “This is bullshit,” he sighed. He took a seat on the ground and looked at the tiny fragments of the bus that was still scattered around him. Then, he heard a grunting sound coming from the road above. He carefully approached the road, keeping his distance from the guard rail. He noticed his corpse was staggering down the road trying to catch up with the bus! An evil grin came across Irwin's face. “This isn't over yet,” he laughed. He turned back around and looked at the debris that the people cleaning up the accident scene missed. “What a mess!” he complained! Just then, Irwin's six-time great grandfather manifested nearby. He was sitting on an old stump with his legs crossed. “Why should you complain about the mess?” he asked his descendant. “You're the one who made it!” “What do you want from me?!" He shouted!

Irwin's ancestor chucked and shook his head. “How ironic, my six-time greatgrandson finally comes and visits me,” he stated. He pointed over to an old damaged tombstone that laid right where the bus landed after the crash. “Take a look,” he instructed Irwin. Irwin got up and walked over to the old tombstone. It read, “Eli Irwin Gibbs, Born 1756, Died 1776.” Irwin looked up at the man. “Are you Eli?” he asked. Eli nodded. “I am,” he stated “Why were you buried on the side of a mountain?” Eli shrugged, “beats me,” he responded. It was evident that Eli didn't know the reason why he was buried in an odd spot! Although, he did have one minor explanation. “I wasn't liked too well when I was alive,” he stated. “I was a drifter, and I fell in love with a young woman whose father despised me!" Eli went onto telling Irwin that he got called up to fight in the revolution, just after he and his girlfriend found out she was pregnant! “I never got to meet my children, I died an hour before they were born,” he said. “Two boys and a girl!” “How do you know it was two boys and a girl?” Irwin asked. Eli chuckled, “oh Irwin, you've been a spirit for how long now and you ask such an absurd question?” Irwin's spirit was speechless as he stood in disbelief as his six-time great grandfather stood and talked with him for the next few minutes. “Well,” Eli said, “I'm going off again!” He turned and began walking down the mountainside. “Wait!” Irwin yelled after him! “Where are you going?” Eli stopped and turned around. “I'm going down to scare people in the town just at the base of this mountain," he replied. “It's quite entertaining!” He chuckled and continued down the mountainside. Meanwhile, back on bus 340, Casey could sense Irwin's corpse was following them! He sped up the bus to try to keep their distance from Irwin's corpse!

“What's the hurry?” Eva asked. Casey looked in his side-view mirror. He could see Irwin's corpse closing in on them, but he didn't want to startle anyone! “Nothing,” he said. He focused back onto the road. Suddenly, Robin's cell phone began ringing! Robin pulled her phone out of her pocket, she stared at it in shock! “The battery was dead!” she stated. “How is it ringing?!” She looked at the number and it was her grandfather, Burke. “Hello?” Robin answered. “Where are you?” Burke asked. “You were supposed to get me from the airport an hour ago!” “Oh crap!” Robin panicked. “I'm sorry grandpa! It's just been a crazy few days!” She told him that it was a long story and that she's on her way to the airport! “Alright, dear, see you shortly!” Burke replied as he hung up the phone. “Father, I need to go to the -" Before Robin could finish saying what she was saying, Bus 340 was suddenly sitting in the enger pickup lane at the airport. Right in front of Burke. Leaving Irwin's corpse in despondency behind! Burke was in shock! So was everyone else! No one was expecting a bus to just magically appear right in front of their eyes! Casey opened the bus's enger door and yelled, “father!” Burke was taken aback! He could have sworn he just heard his son, Casey! That's impossible! He thought. His son was dead! He cautiously approached the bus and looked inside. Casey looked over and gave a big smile at his father. “I've missed you!” he stated. Burke began to hyperventilate and ended up collapsing!

“Grandpa!” Robin yelled as she rushed off the bus to attend to her grandfather. Jayme rushed off the bus as well to assist! “Someone get security!” Jayme shouted! A man who was standing nearby witnessed Burke collapsing and came rushing over. “I'm a doctor!” The man stated. He knelt and began giving Burke R. After a few seconds, Burke came to. He tried sitting up but the doctor told him to remain laying down for a few minutes. “What is going on?” Burke asked Robin. “Don't worry,” Robin stated. “Everything is going to be alright." Burke glanced up and stared at the bus in front of him. “That's impossible!" He panicked! The doctor looked over to the bus, he couldn't see Casey sitting in the driver's seat because Casey picked and choose who could see him! “What's impossible?” “My son is driving that bus!” Burke stated. “He's dead!” “Sir, I think you need to go to the hospital," the doctor suggested. “NO!” Burke snapped! He got to his feet, grabbed his bag, and got onto the bus. Robin and Jayme looked at each other and shrugged. They gave their sincere thanks to the doctor, gave him a fifty-dollar bill as a thank you gift, and got back on the bus. The second they were back on, the enger door shut and the bus vanished! Leaving the helpful doctor in utter shock! Moments later, the bus was in Burke's driveway. “Okay, father, you're home!” “Son,” Burke said. “What is going on?” Robin and Jayme pulled Burke aside and told him what they were doing. They explained that after the accident occurred, all the victim's spirits were trapped on the bus and how they were helping them all move on, or at least be able to leave the bus!

Burke then asked them if they happened to be in Paris at any time during this task they were on. Robin nodded. “Yes, only for a couple of minutes,” she replied. “I thought I saw you,” Burke replied. “Well father,” Casey said. “It was nice seeing you again, but we need to get a move on.” Burke smiled. “Absolutely, son," he replied. He got up and gave his son one last hug goodbye. “I'll miss you,” he said with a tear. “Don't worry, father,” Casey reassured Burke. “Once I'm able to get off this bus, I'll visit you. You'll know it's me when I do.” Burke nodded and got off the bus. He walked up to his front porch and watched as bus 340 backed out of his driveway. The moment the bus began driving down the road, it vanished. As they drove down the road, Robin couldn't help but think that her time with her parents was running low. “You know,” Robin began saying, “once this is all over, I'm going to miss doing this!” Jayme looked at her wife in shock! “You can't be serious?!” she asked. Jayme couldn't believe that her wife was going to miss all the terror they've endured during their time on that bus! “You're going to miss being tied up by thorny vines, almost getting pulled into a grave, getting chased by a demon, and almost eaten by some degusting creature?!” she asked in disbelief! “Oh, no!” Robin replied. “I'm not going to miss that stuff at all!” She explained that she was going to miss traveling around with her parents and helping the spirits get off the bus. “I'll it, I may not be able to sleep for weeks after this!” “I'll be sleeping with the lights on, for sure!” Jayme stated. “That's fine by me!”

XVII The next morning, Dick was standing trial for his unlawful business of selling an unsafe bus! Kate gave the prosecuting attorney the folder of all the evidence. Which included the accident scene photos and the photos she took at Dick's shop. “Your honor, my client claims that the bus he fixed was not in fact, the same bus that was involved in that crash that occurred up in the mountains!” The defense attorney argued. “Objection!” the prosecuting attorney yelled! The judge looked at the prosecutor. “What's your objection?” “Your honor, I have here in this folder compelling photo evidence that he did indeed sell that same bus!” He picked up the folder and handed it to the bailiff. The bailiff grabbed the folder and handed it to the judge. The judge opened the folder and examined the photos closely. “There is no proof in these photos that this man repaired that bus,” the judge stated. “Where are the photos of the bus now?” she asked. Kate was sitting next to Hugo a couple of rows behind the prosecutor. “What!?” Kate whispered. Dick leaned back in his chair and grinned. “This can't be right!” Kate said under her breath. She knew more documents in that folder proved he sold that bus! Kate knew that photos of the bus now wouldn't prove or disprove anything! Especially since that bus was and is part of a fleet where all the buses look identical! She stood up quickly and yelled, “look through all the other papers!” She knew the identical VINs on the accident report and the new registration form would prove it was the same bus! The judge glared at Kate, “who are you?” Kate flashed her badge. “I'm the lead investigator of a case that involves that

bus! It has gone missing and there are two hostages on board!” Kate knew Robin and Jayme were not hostages of that bus, she just had to try to make it sound good for the judge. The judge looked back down at the folder and began examining the other documents. She found the accident report which contained the bus's VIN. Then she found the copy of Luke's registration for that same bus. She compared the VINs from both documents. “These VINs are the same,” she stated as she looked up and glared at Dick. “Care to explain this?” “I did nothing wrong!” Dick cried out! “The bus you sold, I would consider based on the accident scene photos was totaled!” “Nobody totaled it out!” Dick argued. “At least, nobody told me it was totaled!” “And why not?” The judge asked. Dick looked around the courtroom, then he leaned over the table in front of him. “It's haunted,” he whispered. “Pardon?” the judge asked. “Speak up!” “Your honor, the defendant said it's haunted," the prosecutor stated trying not to laugh. The entire courtroom became silent for a second before everyone, except for Dick, Hugo and Kate erupted in laughter. “That's the most insane excuse I've ever heard!” The prosecutor stated. Even the defense attorney was cracking up! “It's true!” Dick argued! He turned around and pointed at Hugo who was sitting next to Kate. “Ask him!” He demanded. The judge slammed her mallet down, “Order!” she tried yelling trying her

hardest to stop laughing. She looked over at Hugo, “Detective Hugo, could you please come to the stand?” she asked. Hugo nodded, got up, and made his way over to the stand. “Yes, your honor?” “Detective Hugo, while you were investigated the crash, did you ever encounter any ghosts on that bus?” Hugo shook his head. “Personally, no I didn't experience any ghosts on that bus.” He stated, which was true. Hugo had sent his group of investigators to Dick's auto shop to check over the wrecked bus. Hugo never personally stepped foot onto it. "Thank you, detective," The judge said. “You're welcome, your honor,” Hugo stated as he headed back to his seat. “Sir,” the judge addressed Dick, “based on the evidence I have in front of me, it is without a doubt you are guilty of selling a bus that is no longer highway-legal! I should sentence you to at least six months in prison, however, based on what appears to be a poor mental state you are in, I'm sending you to a new mental hospital a couple of hours away from here!” “I'm not crazy!” Dick shouted! “That bus has ghosts on it!” He became frantic as he began telling the judge some of the experiences he had while working on the bus! He turned around and located his brother, Marcel in the audience. “Marcel! Tell them about the ghost!” he pleaded! Marcel's eyes widened! “I didn't see any ghosts on it,” he lied even though he had his fair share of paranormal experiences while working on that bus! The judge glared at Marcel. “Did you help this man repair that bus?” Marcel became nervous, “no,” he lied. “I'm not a shady businessman like my brother is!” he snapped! Dick turned and glared at his brother! “How could you?!” he snarled! “If you believed that bus had ghosts on it, why did you sell it?” the judge asked.

Dick looked at his attorney for help. “Come on! Say something!” “Sorry,” Dick's attorney apologized. “You fucked yourself over when you didn't remain silent!” The bailiff walked over to Dick and walked him out of the courtroom, took him to a holding cell, and awaited transport to the new mental facility. Later that day, when the sun was beginning to set, Robin, Jayme, Casey, and Robin began talking about old memories. They talked about the day Robin and Jayme tied the knot! “That was one of the happiest days of my life!” Casey said happily. “Next to the day, I married you, Eva." Eva gave a little grin, but she wasn't feeling very happy at that moment. She knew she was the next one to move on. Yet, she wasn't ready to move on. Nor was she ready to complete her unfinished business. She knew what she had to confess before she'd be able to move on would put a major damper on hers and Casey's relationship. “I just wonder what made Irwin so jealous of you!” Jayme said to Casey. Casey shrugged. “Beats me!” Robin got up from her seat and sat down in Irwin's old seat next to her mother. “So, mother, what's your unfinished business?” she asked. Even though Robin was not looking forward to saying her final goodbye to her mother, she was eager to help her! Eva looked over at her daughter. She ran her ghostly hand through Robin's short hair and smiled. “You've grown into a beautiful woman,” she complimented. “I'm proud of you,” she said. Eva was trying her hardest to avoid the topic of her unfinished business. “Thanks,” Robin replied. Casey continued driving until they reached a long dirt driveway. He carefully drove the bus down the narrow driveway until they reached a small secluded

pond. “ this place?” Casey smiled. “No,” Robin replied. “I wasn't talking to you,” Casey laughed. “Eva, ?” Eva smiled, got up, and hugged her husband. That spot had a special meaning to Eva and Casey. That was the spot where they snuck away and had their first date! Eva's parents were not too keen on their daughter, Eva, dating a man who wasn't in the medical field. “Yes, I this place," Eva replied as she kissed Casey on the lips. Casey pointed over to a tree, “See that tree over there?” Casey asked Robin. “What about it?” Robin asked. “Under that tree is where you were conceived,” Casey replied with a smile. “Oh! Gross!” Robin yelled! Eva, Casey, and Jayme laughed. “I that night, it was the morning of one of our wedding anniversaries!” She told Robin that they had set up a tent near that tree and camped out there, like old times! “It was a bit rough on the back though,” Eva complained. “Also, when we got done and opened the tent, a Robin was sitting by our tent!” “That bird," Casey chuckled. “What a perv!” “That's why we named you Robin, my dear,” Eva told her daughter. Jayme smiled. “Awe,” she said while holding her heart. “How beautiful!” She got up and sat next to her wife again. She put her arm around Robin and gave her a tight hug. “I know where you get your romantic charm from now!” “I've trained her well!” Casey bragged. “How?” Robin asked.

Casey shrugged and replied, “genetics.” All this was making it even more difficult for Eva to build up the courage to make her confession so she could get off that bus! She looked at her husband, daughter, and daughter-in-law. They were all smiling and laughing! Just having the time of their lives! Eva faked a smile and sighed. “What's wrong mother?” Robin asked. “Oh, nothing, my dear,” Eva lied. She turned and looked out of her window. Jayme leaned over and whispered into Robin's ear, “what is wrong with her?” she asked. “I don't know,” They sat in that spot for an hour and soaked in the scenery. Eva, however, was not enjoying herself. “Can we move on?” she asked. “Not until you complete your unfinished business,” Casey stated. “I know you love this spot, and I want your last steps on earth to be in a place you love!” “I can't,” Eva softly said. “Yes, you can," Robin reassured her mother. “What is your unfinished business?” “I just have something I need to say,” Eva replied. “It's difficult.” “Come on, darling,” Casey said. “Tell us, we'll understand.” Eva looked around nervously and took a deep sigh. “I know why Irwin was jealous of you, Casey,” she stated. “Why?” Casey asked. Eva took a deep breath, “this is going to hurt, I know it will" she said. Eva began telling them that she was having an affair with Irwin for years at work! She confessed that she never told Irwin about Casey or Robin. She hid them from him.

Casey and Robin were in disbelief and heartbroken! “Why would you do such a thing to me?!” Casey snapped! “I thought you loved me and our daughter!” “I do!” Eva replied defensively. “Then why did you cheat on father, and keep me a secret?” Robin asked Eva. Jayme got up quickly and opened the bus door. “I'll leave you be for a while!” she stated as she rushed off the bus. She could tell things were about to become heated in there! Eva didn't know how to respond to her daughter. She could tell by looking in Robin's eyes that she had lost all trust in her. Robin's eyes were filled with hatred! “I was going to tell him eventually!” Eva stated. “It just happened much sooner than I expected!” Casey scoffed, “that explains why you were less than thrilled to see me that morning when I pulled up with the bus!” Eva tried her hardest to explain herself and try to make things right, but she knew it was too late! Nothing she could say now would make her husband and daughter forgive her. “I'm sorry, I made a mistake,” she said. “A mistake that ultimately took yours and my father's life!” Robin snapped! “Goodbye,” she said angrily. “Robin,” Eva pleaded. Robin turned her nose up. “I have nothing left to say to you!” “Eva,” Casey said. “Yes, my dear?” “Get off my bus!” he demanded! Eva put her head down and walked off the bus. Jayme was sitting by a nearby tree and watched Eva's spirit walk by. She could tell Eva's spirit was distraught as Eva's spirit vanished into the pond.

Jayme got up and got back onto the bus. “Everything alright?” she asked. Casey and Robin were quiet, and it was evident, they were devastated about Eva's confession. Jayme took a seat next to her wife. “Do you want to talk about it?” she asked. “I just need to be left alone,” Robin replied as she moved to a different seat. Casey gave a deep sigh and began to carefully back the bus back out of the narrow dirt driveway. Once they were back on the road, Casey began heading back to the bus garage.

XVIII For the next hour, neither Casey, Robin nor Jayme said a word to each other. They were still in disbelief that Eva had cheated, and for so many years! Casey stared straight ahead at the dark road in front of him. His heart was shattered! Robin couldn't stand the silence any longer. “Are you alright, father?” she asked. Casey sighed deeply and didn't respond. He heard his daughter but wasn't ready to talk about it. “Father,” Robin softly said. “Please talk to me, we don't have much time remaining with each other.” she pleaded the tears began to drip down her cheek. Jayme reached down and grabbed her wife's hand to try to comfort her. She knew it was only a matter of time before they had to help Casey with his unfinished business. After that, he'd be gone too! “I don't want to talk about it,” Casey stated. “You think you know someone,” he began saying softly. He pulled the bus over on the side of the road and parked for a moment. He was furious! Robin and Jayme have never seen him in that state! “Then you find out everything you thought was true about them, turns out to be a lie!” he snapped! He put the bus back into drive, entered back onto the road, and continued driving down the road. “Jayme,” he said. “Don't you ever hurt my daughter the way my wife just hurt me!” he demanded. “I would never,” Jayme replied. “I promise!” “Good,” Casey replied. “Father,” Robin said. “What is your unfinished business?” Casey didn't respond. He just kept driving. Robin and Jayme knew, even though the time they had left with Casey was limited, now was not the right time to try to talk to Casey. Robin and Jayme decided to close their eyes and try to get some rest.

A few hours later, Jayme heard the backup alarm beeping on the bus. Jayme opened her eyes slowly and noticed they were backing into bus 340's parking space at the bus lot! She gently shook her wife, Robin, awake. “Wake up, my dear,” she softly said. Robin opened her eyes and noticed they were parked between two almost identical buses. Robin was groggy “Where are we?” she asked. “We're back at the bus garage,” Casey stated. Robin and Jayme looked at each other confused. Then they looked at Casey. “What about you?” Robin asked. “We haven't helped you with your unfinished business yet!” Casey smiled and chuckled. “Get off my bus you two!” he opened the door and stood up from the driver's seat. He noticed Robin and Jayme were in no hurry to get off his bus! Frankly, Casey was in no mood to spend another second on that bus! He reached one of his arms out towards his daughter and daughter-in-law. With a swift twist of his ghostly whist, Robin and Jayme's seatbelts unbuckled. The two young ladies looked down at their lap in slight disbelief. However, not much surprised them anymore! While Robin and Jayme were looking down, trying to comprehend what just happened, Casey moved his hand quickly from right to left in a rapid motion. Robin and Jayme were lifted from their seats and tossed out of the bus! They landed in a heap just outside of bus 340's enger door. “Whoa!” Robin snapped! Casey closed the enger door and got off the bus. He approached Robin and Jayme. “My apologies,” he stated. “I couldn't stand another moment on that thing!” Both Robin and Jayme were confused! How was Casey able to depart bus 340?! They didn't help him with his unfinished business yet! Or so they thought! “How did you get off?” Jayme asked. “We haven't helped you with your unfinished business yet!” Casey grinned. “Oh, you've been helping me the entire time!” He explained that a good, professional bus driver never leaves their bus until every enger has

reached their destination! He told them that he was not able to move on until every one of his engers stepped foot off his bus and moved on. “Thank you, for all your help,” he said to Robin and Jayme. He turned around and glanced over bus 340. “Oh, how I hated being on you!” he said to the bus. “But, I'll miss you.” He patted the bus 340's hood. Then he looked back at Robin and Jayme, “take care of yourselves,” he said as he vanished into thin air! “That's it?” Jayme asked in disbelief! Jayme and Robin picked themselves up off the ground and brushed themselves off. Jayme noticed Robin beginning to tear up. “Are you okay?” “I'll be fine,” Robin replied as she wiped the tears away. “I just miss my parents,” she said. Jayme embraced her wife tightly in her arms. “I know,” she said. “Just , they're always with you now.” Robin smiled and nodded. “You're right.” They began walking through the bus lot towards the woods where they had parked. As they got near the dispatch building, Jayme noticed Luke's car parked outside. “What's he doing here?” Jayme asked. She was surprised that her boss, Luke, was still at the bus garage at eleven o'clock at night! “Who?” “My boss,” Jayme replied as she began to walk towards the dispatch building. She and Robin walked up to the door and rang the bell that was for after-hours. Inside, Luke was awakened by the bell. He was sound asleep at his desk. He looked around for a moment. He was groggy and confused. Then he heard the bell ring again. He looked over at the clock on his wall. “Who could that be so late at night?” he asked himself. He got up, walked out of his office, and walked to the main door of the dispatch building. As he got closer, he noticed Robin and Jayme standing outside the door! He stopped suddenly in amazement! He couldn't believe his eyes! He rushed over to the door and quickly unlocked it, and opened it!

“Where have you two been!?” he panicked! He wasn't angry with them. He was relieved to see that they were not harmed in any way! “It's a long story, boss,” Jayme stated. The three of them went back into Luke's office and Luke said he was informed to call the police if there were any updates on the investigation. His call got transferred to Kate's cell phone. Kate was in bed, snuggled up with her wife, Mandy. “Hello?” Kate answered. “Sorry to have called you so late,” Luke said. “But, I have Robin and Jayme in my office right now!” “I'll be right there!” Kate responded as she hung up and quickly jumped out of bed! Mandy sat up and asked, “What's going on?” Kate was standing by their closet changing into her officer uniform. “The owner of the missing bus just called me, the two young women who were on that bus are in his office right now! I have to get over there!” “Alright,” Mandy replied as she laid down and drifted back to sleep. While Luke was waiting for Kate to arrive, he called Alma, Blake, and his wife, Georgina. All three of them rushed to the bus garage as quickly as they could! All relived that Jayme and Robin were safe! All four of them arrived at the same time and rushed inside! Alma barged past everyone and ran up to Jayme and Robin who were standing next to each other. She grabbed them both and gave them a tight embrace! “I've missed you both!” she stated. Jayme laughed. “Thanks,” she said. “Glad to see you back,” Blake stated as he took a seat. Blake was still in his pajamas. Hot pink with butterflies all over them. “Nice jammies,” Robin chuckled.

“They're my husband's,” Blake replied. Kate looked around at everyone and asked them all to take a seat and be quiet. She walked up to Jayme and Robin and smiled. “Well, do you want to explain where you two have been?” she leaned down and whispered to them, “don't worry, I already know, but they don't,” she said with a wink. Robin and Jayme told everyone in that room the entire story. Beginning on that fateful morning when the bus had left the old mental hospital and ended up rolling down the side of the mountain, killing all seven people on board. They explained how they were assisting the trapped souls of the victims to complete their unfinished business, so they could move on. They told about the horrific experiences and the wonderful experiences they had while on that bus! “I don't know how you two did that!” Georgina stated. “You are both very brave!” “There were moments where we thought we were goners, for sure!” Robin stated. “Some of the tasks were easy, and some were downright terrifying!” Kate had a serious look on her face as she listened to every word Robin and Jayme were saying. Then, Robin mentioned the confession Irwin made on the bus, and Kate's ears perked up! During the investigation, Kate changed her focus on looking into why that bus was put back into service after the horrific crash it was involved in. Nobody seemed to know why that bus rolled down the side of that mountain on that fateful morning! “One of the doctors, Irwin, confessed to us that the crash was no accident!” Robin stated. “He told us he tampered with the brake line because he was angry that my mother, Eva, was married to the bus driver, Casey.” She continued telling everyone how Irwin thought that his tampering with the breaks wouldn't cause any issues until a few days later, at least! However, Casey took the bus through the mountains as a shortcut to the new hospital. “All the breaking going down the mountain, plus the poor visibility during the rainstorm that morning, caused my father to use the breaks excessively.” “So, you're saying that the crash was a murder attempt?” Kate inquired.

Robin and Jayme nodded. “Precisely,” Jayme stated. Kate looked at Luke and demanded that he'd get rid of bus 340 immediately! Luke nodded in agreement. “First thing in the morning,” Luke agreed. Everyone got up and left the bus garage, including Luke. He had not left that place since the search began for his missing bus and Jayme and Robin. “It's going to feel good to lay in my bed again,” Luke stated to his wife, Georgina. Georgina reached over and placed her arm around her husband's shoulder. “It'll be nice to have you back home again,” she said. Kate got back into her car and turned her headlights on to light Robin and Jayme's way back to their vehicle. As she sat there, she couldn't help but wonder what her brother meant by she would encounter a much more difficult task. Wasn't this one difficult enough? She wondered. Jayme and Robin cut through the trees, got to Jayme's car, and got in. Jayme started it up. She carefully turned her car around, pulled out of the long dirt driveway, and started heading back home. Once Kate knew Robin and Jayme were safely back to their vehicle, she headed back home. While Robin and Jayme were driving home, they noticed a horrific gaging smell coming from the backseat! A rotten meat sort of smell, which caused their eyes to water! Robin quickly rolled down her window! “Oh damn!” she snapped as she pulled her shirt up over her nose! “I think an animal got into your car while we were gone and died!” Jayme opened up her window as well. “I'll take a look in the morning, and try to figure out what is causing that stench!” Both of them were trying not to vomit from the gagging stench! Little did they know, Irwin's corpse had been following them the entire time and managed to lay on the floor of the backseat of Jayme's car and was following them home!

to be continued…

Conclusion By the end of their journey, Robin and Jayme were relieved that they were able to help all the victim's spirits move on and get off the bus that was keeping them imprisoned! They stayed brave and survived even the most daunting tasks they've encountered! Everything from a demon chasing them through a run-down home to a corpse trying to pull them into its grave, to a cryptid trying to make them into its supper! There were many moments where Robin and Jayme were ready to give up! However, this mission held a special meaning to them. Robin's parents were two of the seven victims and they were not going to quit until they at least helped them! No matter what it took! Casey had a difficult time himself, especially when it came to helping Veronica, one of the patients. He knew he would have to bring the bus to Kate, the lead detective trying to find them, for Veronica to move on. He feared that if Kate caught sight of them, she'd surely put an end to the task at hand and prevent the remaining spirits from being able to move on! While they were at Kate's home, Jayme and Robin explained to Kate what was really going on. Kate was understanding and decided to change the focus of her investigation to figuring out why that bus was placed back into service after being involved in such a devastating crash! Kate manages to receive the accident scene photos from the township the crash occurred in from the leading crash investigator, Hugo. She examines the photos from the crash and then travels a few hours to investigate Dick's auto shop and junkyard. She discovers that he undoubtedly make some shady repairs to that bus! She gets all the evidence she needed and an arrest warrant was made to arrest Dick! During Dick's trial, the judge is appalled when she looks through the compelling evidence against Dick!

Dick ends up making a fool of himself in the courtroom and gets charged with insanity and illegally selling a vehicle that was, or should've been ruled as a total loss! Jayme ends up having a major surprise during this journey! She finds out that her biological father, Frank, was one of the victims too! However, she doesn't discover that until she is helping him! Frank's unfinished business was he wanted to make things right with his ex-wife so he could meet his child! Once he found out that Jayme was his daughter, and Irwin knew it the entire time and never told him, he was a little furious! Furious because he realized that he could have gotten off that bus much sooner! Once all the victim's spirits, aside from Robin's parents were off the bus, Robin and Jayme thought it would be smooth and easy! They didn't think that helping Robin's parents would be one of the most difficult tasks, but it was. Nothing was more painful than the heartbreak Robin endured when she discovered her mother had cheated on her father and kept her a secret! Deep down, Robin believed her mother was ashamed of her! In reality, Eva's affair was the main cause of the crash! If Eva would've told Irwin that she was married and had a family, then the affair might not have occurred in the first place. Nor would have the crash because Irwin wouldn't have had anything to be jealous about!