Chapter One - A (Rather Expensive) Ticket Out of Hell

[Language Warning] Chapter one of my book "One Way Out." You do not have my permission to use my work, so please do not use it. Thank you.

Chapter One

A (Rather Expensive) Ticket Out of Hell

It was the first day of a new year, which meant that I was going to experience many new things. Generally, I’ve always hated change, but I was going to let it slide since this was a special occasion.

“Where to?”

I looked up from my bags and faced the bus driver. “Austin, Texas.”

He looked at me like I was going insane. Typical.

“I’ll pay double the price.”

“Get in here.”

I nodded and shuffled up the metal steps, my feet clanking loudly against them. I almost slipped, but I caught myself before I lost the ground’s grasp. The bus driver held his hand out. Greedy, I know, but we’re all humans.

I used a free hand to pull out my savings and counted the money out, and then I handed over the $1,340 that I owed. “Whoo-wee, young lady! Where’d you get all of that cash?” He stuffed the money in his pocket without even checking to make sure if it was the right amount.

I realized that I could’ve gotten by cheaper, and a curse almost pierced through my lips. I swallowed it, though. “Long, depressing story short, I found a purpose in life. I started to save whatever I could to get there, and you, sir-” I nodded towards him, “-are taking me to my one and only dream. This is simply a ride that I will never forget, so I thank you, kind sir, for going out on a limb and taking me there.”

He rolled his eyes and turned back to the wheel. “Stop it with the gushy stuff, woman. Do you wanna go to Texas or not?” Swallowing yet another curse, I helplessly stumbled down the bus’ metal pathway to take a seat.

The cleanest one was right in the middle of the bus - there were four rows ahead of it, and four rows behind it. I tossed all of my lousy luggage onto the seat across from me and plopped down onto the blue leather. I felt like I was sitting on an old man’s pointy chin.

“Comfy?” The bus driver called, grinning.

“Define comfy.”

“When you feel right at home - everything’s peaceful, and there are no worries.”

“My only worry is that you won’t actually drive me out of here. Besides, I won’t feel like I’m home until I get to Texas. That’s where my home is.”

He shook his head, but the smile on his face didn’t fade one bit. I could tell I was going to like this guy. “So, is it a nice little house you’re after?” He reached his chubby arms over and started the bus.

“Nope. Well, sort of… I’m looking for something that’s inside a nice little house.”

“Oh! Let me guess. You’re some sort of thief or something.”

“No!”

“Just kidding. But really, I wouldn’t be surprised if you were, considering all of that cash that you’ve got.”

“Could you please stop thinking about my money and just get on with it?”

He tipped his hat and placed his hands onto the wheel. “As you wish your majesty.”

The ride started out very slow, and the rubble on the roads made the vehicle jump. I held onto my stomach and hoped that it would quit hopping with the bus. The man was quiet now.

I’m not a very patient person - so, yeah, this driver was very lucky to have a passenger like me going somewhere that’s 1,180 miles away -  and I quickly became bored. After all, I was the only one besides the driver that was in the vehicle.

Not many people could afford a bus ride nowadays. Actually, a bus driver was a pretty damn good job. A few years back, before the economy collapsed - again - a job as a bus driver wasn’t considered to be anything like genetic engineering. We can’t say the same thing about that job today.

They got paid a whole five bucks more than the teachers... what’s left of them, anyway. This bus smelled like depression. Oh, come on. Surely you’ve smelt sadness before.

It’s everywhere in Charlotte now. The sunshine smells like raindrops, whenever it does peek through the gloomy clouds. Even then, the sun doesn’t even look like itself. It looks like the moon.

Not that I’m complaining. After all, the moon meant almost as much to me as my dream did. In fact, in a way, the moon was my dream.

Anyway, it was raining outside, as per usual. The lifeless fluffs in the sky cowered around in a large group, keeping the beautiful sunshine to themselves. I swear... sometimes the sky is so grey it makes me angry.

The raindrops looked like acid racing down from the fallen skies. The world above us all finally realized how painful it is to cry. Tears can easily turn into fire if you don’t suck it up.

Then, if you don’t know how to put up with it, you’re just stuck there… burning alive in your own mistakes. Pain is literally a living hell, and it lives in us all. It spreads like a highly infectious disease. There’s no antibiotic. There aren’t any vaccines.

Human kind will never know how to accommodate our greatest illness - and that, my friend, is a promise.

“You got a name, miss?” The driver was talking again. So much for an observation. But, then again, it was nice to hear a friendly voice every now and then, especially at times like this.

“What is this, a job application?”

“You should be glad for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity like that.”

“True.” I paused. “How did you become a bus driver?”

“My old man used to be one, but he just happened to pass away around a month ago.”

“Oh.. I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Me too. I was hoping the society would take me in and work for me, but I got this stupid job now, and I’m stuck working for them.”

“Well, it can’t be that bad. You get to see things outside the city - you get to travel.”

“The city isn’t the only place that’s suffering, kid. The whole world is experiencing a pandemic of depression.”

I liked where this was going. This here was a man of metaphors. Truly, he was a genius.

“Do you believe in a cure?”

“A cure? For what? Depression isn’t even a bad thing. It’s just a way of living.”

“Life is a side effect of death.”

“Death is also a side effect of life. Without the end, how can there be a beginning?”

“Touché.”

The man smiled. It was a groggy, drunken-looking smile… but it was a nice one, too. I found it sad how the only thing that was holding him back from great things was the mistakes of our government. What a shame.

“Do you think we should be without a society?”

“Perhaps. I mean, we’re all under our own control. These people are pretending to be the top of the species, when really, we’re just like them. Power isn’t something you equipt... it is a myth. A stereotype.”

“And your solution for such a catastrophe?”

“Let people live their own lives. Then they won’t have to drive rich thieves to Texas.”

We shared a laugh. It was good to know that he was thinking the same way I was. About the society - not the thief thing. That was all him.

“Are you an Anarchist, sir?”

“Please, call me Sam. And… well, that’s a stereotype too, isn’t it? I am not anything in particular. I’m just a human, like you and everyone else I know.”

“So you’re saying everything we claim to be is nothing but a title that doesn’t even exist?”

“Maybe. Without our creativity and aspirations, there’d be no such thing as a director, or a bus driver, or even the human race. Our minds are special. They’re what makes us different - they make us the way we are. So, yes, I do not appreciate the fault in our government’s decisions, but who am I to judge? I wouldn’t be here without their ideas.”

“Sam.”

“Mhm?”

“You’re freaking brilliant.”

He grinned that drunken grin again. “Huh. Another stereotype. I guess we can’t live without them.”

I smiled back. “It’s what makes us human.”

Silence won the war with our voices, but that’s okay. It was the perfect time to let our minds rest. After all, we wouldn’t want to damage our only source of existence.

*     *     *

We’ve been driving for a while now, utterly silent. Charlotte was still outside my window, mocking me with its blandness. I didn’t understand why the universe knew my weaknesses, nor why it used them against me in my weakest hours.

I lost count of the miles. I don’t know how far away my dream is anymore. It can appear out of nowhere in any second, or it may take a lot longer. The feeling of not knowing was almost unbearable, but at the same time, it was thrilling. Anxious, I asked, “How long have we been driving?”

Sam looked up at the mirror so he could see me. “About an hour.”

I groaned. The ride was calculated to be around eighteen hours long, and we weren’t even halfway there.

“Don’t worry,” he said, his eyes back on the road. “I’ll be here with you the whole time. The ride would be even longer if you were alone.”

I thought too deeply about things often, and this was an example. ‘The ride would be even longer if you were alone.’ All my life, I’ve been cared for by my family members… but they never really listened to me. They didn’t try to help.

Everything was passing by slowly - I felt alone. Now, it was all a quick blur. I smiled. Thank goodness for that dream of mine.

“Yeah. Thanks again, Sam.”

“Wanna make it even?”

“I’m not giving you anymore money.”

He laughed. “I don’t want your cash, kid. I want knowledge.”

“You’re asking the wrong person for knowledge.”

“No, no. I want to know your name.”

I hesitated. I was going to make my name famous, but I had to do something big in order to do so, and that was going to take a while. My title was something I had to protect.

Titles. We wouldn’t exist without our own stereotypes. Could that mean by ignoring this request, I could hurt someone?

Finally, I gathered the courage to tell him. “You can call me TB.”

“What’s that? ‘The Booty?’”

I arched an eyebrow. I keep forgetting that this guy was like a child.

“The Bearer.”

“You’ve got more than one dream.”

“No. I’ve got one dream to reach, and I have many titles to fulfill.”

He grinned at the mirror. “And you said you didn’t have knowledge. You learn quick, TB. Really quick.”

I shrugged and looked out the window again.

“You don’t accept compliments?”

“I don’t deserve compliments.”

“How so?”

“I’m not worthy of good things.”

“And yet, you’re on your way to your one and only dream, and I’m taking you there for free.”

“It wasn’t free.”

Sam stopped the bus suddenly, and my head lurched forward. “What the fr-”

“I used to know someone like you, TB.” Sam was walking up the pathway, his eyes glued on me. Crap, I thought. This is it. I’m getting murdered.

I got up from my seat and walked backwards, my back nearing the end of the bus.

“She was a cute little girl, too.”

Okay, maybe not murdered. Just raped.

“You will not lay a hand on me,” I growled.

Sam put his hands in his pockets and stared at me with sad eyes. “Her name was Lydia. She was as young as I, but I was only a few days older.”

I tensed. Maybe he was just trying to tell me a story, but I had to keep my guard up. He could tie me up at any moment. “Hell if I care! What’s your point?”

His eyes drooped even lower with my remark. “I loved her.” This made me shut up. He had no intention of hurting me - he trusted me enough to reveal a little bit more about his past.

He continued the story. “She had a heart attack three years ago. I was going to propose to her the next time I saw her, but when I saw her the next time, she…” His eyes were still on me, producing their wet flames and sending them down to burn him. I had to save this poor man.

“She’s not gone, Sam. She’s still with you.”

“I know,” he sobbed. His hands were covering his eyes, but the flames raged on. “Sometimes, I still hear her voice in my head. Oh my God, I can’t go a day without hearing it. I’m so scared..”

He was hurting more than I’d figured. I reached my hand over and placed it onto his shoulder. “She loved you. She still loves you. You’re not getting the real message in her voice, Sam. I know she loves you because I can feel her love. It’s just that strong. Her love for you is so strong that everyone around can feel it.”

He was silent, despite his constant cries. The flames eventually flickered and died out. “...Thank you.”

I shrugged. “No need to thank me.”

“No, I’m serious. Thank you.”

His voice stood strong with all of the emotion. I’ve heard that kind of voice only twice in my lifetime - once when someone said they loved me, and the other time when someone else said they trusted me. I remember it like it was yesterday.

“I’m telling you guys this because I can trust you.”

I whipped my head around, my eyes drooped. “You… even after all that I’ve done, you still have the strength to trust me?”

He looked at me, his face so stoic that it seemed unreal. It seemed pure… completely truthful.

“Yes.”

Strong. That was the only way I can describe that voice, even after all this time. I couldn’t think of anything else.

‘I have something to protect. I have something to love. I have something to die for.’ That kind of strength was measured out beautifully in the voice, and the clearness of it was incredibly deafening.

Everything else in the world blew away. The sound of strength played over and over in my head, and damn… I listened to that sucker like it was a song on repeat.

The same thing happened a lot to me nowadays, and here I was, hearing that strong voice again. I guess you can say we’re only vigorous when we are speaking truthfully to one another.

Sam pulled his hands out of his pockets and put them together. “Give me your hand, TB.” I trusted him enough to do so. I placed my hand on top of one of his, and he placed the other one on top of mine.

When he pulled his hands away, a roll of cash was laying still in my hand. I looked up. “No.”

“Yes.”

There it was again… that voice. I took the money and put it in my pocket. There’s no way to deny the truth when it finally comes.

Author's Note

If you see a mistake (misspelled words, incorrect grammar, etc), then please tell me. However, I am only a beginner, so please don't ask too much of me if there is something you don't particularly like. ^^"

Reviews

[Meat of Dog]

I found the narrator relatable and was intrigued from the beginning, it was a nice drop in that raised questions. I liked your unique descriptions and use of words, such as this, “sitting on an old man’s pointy chin.” At first I wanted to deck the bus driver, which was funny that the narrator said she thought she would grow to like him because right about then I started to as well. I like his humor. I also liked how you subtly mentioned about the economy collapsing and jobs. The best way to do exposition, in my opinion, is to sprinkle it throughout so it doesn’t bog the reader down. I felt like they had a good banter, it was a little drawn out, but it had a lot of good commentaries about society in a postmodern kind of way.

The TPB (The Peanut Butter) was funny, I liked that. I was surprised by the sudden shift of emotion and atmosphere when TPB was worried about Sam, you created some nice tension. I was worried and eager to keep reading (I was just starting to like Sam). This is a really good start and I’m glad I read it, I’ll be sure to read on.

Suggestions:

“I used half of a free hand” Nitpick alert but this is a little confusing (you can’t really use half of your hand like that). I would just say ‘free hand’.
“As you wish, your majesty.” Coma not needed.
“you can equipt” Equip.

[iNSOMniAC]

Thank you for the review and the suggestions! I'll be sure to use them. This means a whole lot to me, since I'm actually trying to turn this into a real book and not a recycled idea. Thanks again!
(Nice username by the way.)

[Meat of Dog]

Thanks haha, all of my old accounts were DogMeat so I when I made new ones I switched it around. I'm glad I could help! I've been writing a long time, and I've been on this site a loooong time. I wish you all the luck in your journey toward completing the story. Just stick with it and avoid el deadly perfectionism (my hardest hurdle).

[A Scribbler Named Bek]

Wow, what an ending! If there were any spelling mistakes or whatnot, I never noticed. Too engrossed in the story. I can't wait for more! (Seriously....post more....)

[iNSOMniAC]

Thank you! That means so much to me. I would've never guessed that something as small as an idea could grasp readers like that. I'll start on the second chapter right away. Thanks for the review!