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"Somedoors,oncesteppedthrough,canneverbe walkedback."
DanielCarterisexhaustedafteralongshift,desperatetogethome. Whenheboardsthelastbusofthenight,somethingfeels…off.The driver doesn’t acknowledge him. The other passengers are unnervinglystill.Andoutside,thestreetsseemdarkerthanusual.As t.e bus rumbles forward, Daniel realizes the route is unfamiliar twistingthroughstreetsthatshouldn’texist.
The bus stop is dimly lit, the flickering streetlamp casting long shadows over the cracked pavement. The air smells of rain-soaked concrete and distant car exhaust, but the street is eerily silent. No passingvehicles.Nopedestrians.JustDaniel,standingalone,rubbing theexhaustionfromhiseyes.
Then,thebusarrives.Itpullsupwithaslow,mechanicalhiss,its headlights cutting through the misty air. The doors groan open. Inside,adull,yellowishglowilluminatestheemptyseats.Thedriver a hunched, shadowy figure keeps his gaze forward, hands grippingthewheeltootightly.
Danielstepsinhesitantly,hisshoesechoingonthescuffedfloor.The bus feels unnaturally cold, the air thick with the scent of stale upholsteryandsomethingfaintlymetallic.Onlytwootherpassengers are inside. One is a frail old man slumped near the back, barely moving. The other is a woman in a deep red dress, sitting by the window,staringoutatthedarknesswithanexpressionthatdoesn’t quitelookhuman.
Danielshuddersandmovestowardthemiddle.Ashedoes,thedoors slamshutbehindhim,andthebuslurchesforwardintothenight.
Danielgripstheseatinfrontofhimasthebusspeedsup,fasterthan anypublictransitshould.Thestreetsoutsideblurintodarksmears, unfamiliarbuildingsflashingpastindistortedshapes.Hefrowns he’stakenthisroutedozensoftimesbefore,yetnothinglooksright.
Heglancesatthedriver,butthemandoesn’tmove,doesn’tblink. Thewomaninredturnsherheadslightly,asifsensinghisunease.
“You shouldn’t have gotten on this bus,” she murmurs, her voice barelyaboveawhisper.
Daniel’spulsequickens.Outside,thecityhasvanished.Thereareno streetlights,nointersections—justavast,stretchingblackness. Andthebusisstillmoving.
"Theworstpartisn’tbeinglost—it’srealizingyouwere