Boom!

Author’s Note: This is a short story using symbolism. When reading this piece, look for descriptive word choice that will help you visualize the story.

BOOM! A loud thunderclap made Victoria jump out of her seat. She pulled out one of her ear buds and looked out the window. It was pouring outside, and the wind was a howling monster. The sky was quickly darkening, like a spilled bottle ink covering a blank paper. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” Victoria mumbled. “No!” she yelled, “I don’t want to walk home in this.”

Other people on the bus shouted their agreements. A horrible sound snapped them out of their complaints, and they noticed that they were sliding across the road. “Everybody take cover!” the bus driver yelled.

All of the kids obeyed and crouched into the small areas where you put your feet and in the isles. For the longest time they spun and slid, until finally everyone was thrown to the front of the bus on impact.

When Victoria finally came out of shock,  all she could hear was screaming.  “Be quiet!!!” screamed the bus driver.

Everyone froze and stopped talking. “First we need to close these windows and try and move the bags to one side of the bus,” he ordered.

Everyone grabbed their bags and put them where the bus driver had shown. “Now, we all need to remember to keep calm. I know that it is scary, but it will be a lot easier to figure this out if we have everyone on the same page,” he continued. “Okay, now first let me take attendance to make sure I know where everybody is.”  

While he was taking the attendance, the rain continued to beat against the windows. Thunder and lightning were continuously going off and the wind was howling like crazy. Victoria’s thoughts wandered while the bus driver continued to call out the names of other students. Finally nearing the end of the list, the bus driver called out Victoria’s name.

“I’m here,” she called from one of the back seats.

“Well that’s a start. Everyone is accounted for,” the bus driver said with obvious relief in his voice. “Let’s try to call for help. Who here has a phone?” he questioned.

While most of the kids were trying to call 911 or their parents, Victoria was in the back of the bus having a panic attack. “I need fresh air,” she said to the group. Victoria opened the emergency exit and started running out into the rain.  

“Wait! You shouldn’t leave the bus!” someone yelled. Then Victoria’s friend Maria ran out after her.

“Wait! Victoria, come back!!!” she called. Victoria stopped and tried to make out her friend, but the distance between them and the rain was making it nearly impossible. Maria walked a little closer. Victoria saw that the bus was slipping farther towards the tree, and was taking Maria with it.

“Maria!!!” Victoria screamed. Maria didn’t move. Victoria began blindly running as fast as she could towards the bus. When she finally got to Maria, she started yelling for help, while attempting to free her friend. No one was coming, so she ran back into the bus and started yelling for help.

A group of people came out to help, including the bus driver. “What happened?” someone asked.

“Maria came out to tell me to come back,” Victoria responded without making eye contact with the person who asked.

“We need to get her out from under the bus!” she shouted as she started trying to pull her friend out from under the big yellow trap.

“Okay we’ll help, but after we get her on the bus we need to know what happened,” the drivers’ voice boomed over the loud rain. Victoria understood. Once everyone was back on the bus, and Maria was lying on a bus seat, the bus driver looked at Victoria and told her to explain what happened.

“I ran out into the rain, and she followed me,” Victoria started. “Then she called my name and I was trying to see her through the sheets of rain when I noticed the bus was slowly moving. I tried to tell her to move out of the way, but I guess it all happened too fast. So then the bus swung and hit Maria. I guess it knocked her unconscious. After I saw that she had been hit, I was struggling to run as fast as I could without falling. When I got to the bus, she wasn’t moving, so I yelled for help. No one came,” she finished with a shaky breath.

“Why did I run out there? This is all my fault,” Victoria whispered. It was completely silent except for the rain and thunder, until the bus driver broke the silence.

“Well, right now we need to focus on getting help,” he said.

“We couldn’t get enough signal, the phone kept breaking up,” one girl said.

“Can’t texts go through with low signal?” Victoria asked.

“We’re not coming up with any other ideas, so why don’t we try it,” another girl suggested.

Victoria and a few others pulled out their phones and texted a parent to see if they would respond. “Here! My mom responded to my text!” Victoria shouted. “I’ll tell her to call for help!” she added while texting.

Just in case that text didn’t send right, the other students who had gotten through to a parent also told them to get help. After the last text was sent out, all they had to do was wait. The rain still didn’t let up, and the wind got worse. It felt like forever before the angry storm was fought back by red and blue flashing lights. Everyone on the bus breathed a sigh of relief.

The medics gave out blankets, checked everyone over, and treated the injured. Everyone was then directed onto another bus. Victoria watched as Maria was loaded into an ambulance that was on its way to the hospital.

Thinking back on the afternoon, Victoria wondered why she ran out of the bus. If only I had stayed. Maria would be fine if it wasn’t for me. Other people were scared too, but they didn’t run. That should’ve been me! Victoria was overwhelmed with guilt. I can’t believe I was so careless.