Chapter (43):the Elderitch bus part 1
In a forest of faces outside the factory, there was a fog of smoke outside the factory gate that had been shattered by the impact of something. Two things emerged from the fog.
"Waaaaaahhh! Damn!" Emma screamed.
"Damn this Talos! To send me a bus, of all things, just to annoy me and kill me. Is he a child or a machine?"
"Hey Smiley! Where are you?!" Emma shouted.
"I'm here!" Smiley's voice came from within the smoke.
"Are you okay?" Emma asked as she groped towards the source of the voice.
"Better than ever!" he spoke and rose from his body half-buried in the ground.
"Good to know you're okay."Emma replied
"By the way,where's the bus?"smiley asked
"What are you talking about? It's definitely stuck inside. A bus couldn't fit through the end of the passage; the ceiling is too low for it," Emma spoke confidently.
"Really? But I saw it coming out when the explosion happened," Smiley said, scratching his head.
"What did you just say!?" Emma screamed, placing her hands on Smiley's shoulders.
Grrrrrr....
From a distance, both Smiley and Emma saw, after the smoke had completely cleared, the truck in front of them, about five meters away.
Emma looked towards the school bus in shock, her face pale.
"Fu*k! Smiley, let's get out of here! Immediately___"
Boooaahhh
"????"
The bus was spewing large chunks of blood mixed with oil and emitting thick black smoke from its engine, eerily.
"Why is the bus doing this weird thing?" Emma said.
"Maybe it's sick?" Smiley asked.
"Maybe it malfunctioned and got damaged when it tried to force its way out while chasing us," Emma said, looking in another direction. She grabbed Smiley's hand and pulled him away. "We need to take this chance and get away from it before___"
Bang!
Without warning, the tires exploded and flew off.
"Huh? What was that just now?" Emma said, looking towards the bus.
"The tires flew off like flying saucers," Smiley said, pointing his finger towards where the tires were.
"What? Why would the tires come off___"
While Emma was speaking, something appeared, something terrifying in place of the tires.
From one of the tires, something like a large, very long metal spear emerged, piercing the ground. Then, many more spears emerged from the bus. Emma watched what was happening now in shock.
"You must be....."
The bus rose using those metal spears as if they were spider legs, and stared at them with its metallic lights while its distorted metallic mouth dripped more blood mixed with oil.
"Rooooaaaaarrrrrr!"
"Kidding me..."
After it roared, Emma fell silent, her shoes glowing, while Smiley was.....
"I can't believe this..... Now it's like a dog. I get it because it has limbs! Haha... Are you still in shock?" Smiley asked.
"Smiley," Emma replied silently.
"What? What's wrong with a little joke?"
"That doesn't matter anymore."
"Huh? Why?" Smiley asked.
"Because we're screwed up."
....
Somewhere in town...
Marcus and Niles were sitting and drinking coffee in a restaurant for a break.
"So, Marcus, why were you distracted when Gustav was giving his speech?" Niles asked.
"I was thinking about what Emma said," Marcus spoke.
"What did your daughter say?" Niles asked.
"She asked me if I had seen the criminal in person or not," Marcus said in a monotone voice.
"What did you tell her then?" Niles replied.
"I told her I couldn't see him," Marcus said.
"Did she want to know the bastard's last moments?" Niles replied.
"No," Marcus answered.
"Then what's the problem?" Niles asked.
"The problem is that wasn't the real question," Marcus said.
"Huh? What do you mean?" Niles asked, raising his left eyebrow.
"The real question is, did I see him with my own eyes or not? Did I see the truth or hear the lie?"
"What are you talking about, man?" Niles asked with strange suspicion.
"She asked me if I saw the real criminal or the fake criminal, because the one who died was a fake," Marcus said.
"Marcus, I didn't realize you and your daughter were conspiracy theorists," Niles said sarcastically.
"I mean, think about it. Initially, this criminal killed his victims without a pattern, and it took us years to track him down. And now he was caught just one day after those two girls died."
"And immediately after that, Gustav showed up with a special team out of nowhere, and these guys were like they were from black ops," Marcus said.
"Thinking about it, you have a point. Those guys had scars," Niles replied.
"I feel like there's something manipulating what's happening here without us knowing," Marcus said seriously.
"I don't know, man. The longer I work as a detective, the more strange and crazy things I see. And you realize this more than anyone, don't you?"
"Yeah, you're right about that," Marcus said, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it with a lighter.
"Do you remember the case of that woman named Andrea, where her sister was killed by a judge, and then the charges were dropped after he bribed her with money? Man, that was one of the times we doubted ourselves, and—"
"Yeah, remind me, what happened to that woman after that?" Marcus asked.
"She went to Europe, started a new life, and married the man who was previously her sister's husband."
"Wow," Marcus replied.
"And do you remember the Anderson family case? And the case of.... Hey, what's happening outside?"
"What do you mean?" Marcus asked.
"Everyone is leaving and filming outside."
"Let's check it out," Marcus said, getting up from his chair.
"What's happening here?" Niles asked one of the passersby.
"It's the crows," the person replied.
"Crows?" Niles asked skeptically.
"Just look up."
Both Niles and Marcus looked up and saw a rare sight.
A large number of crows were circling and migrating in the sky. There were several people filming.
"This is a rare sight we don't see every day. Usually, we see swallows or pigeons, but crows? This is something new."
"Hey, where did all these crows come from?" Marcus asked with a bad feeling.
"They're from the forest of faces. All of them were flying away from there for some reason."
"Niles, the car," Marcus said in a trembling voice.
"Yes?" Niles asked.
"Get in the car now!" Marcus said.
"Hey, hey! Marcus, calm down," Niles said, catching up to Marcus.
"My daughter is in danger while we're talking!" Marcus said angrily, heading towards the car.
"Do you really think the crows have something to do with Emma?!" Niles said in an angry tone.
"I don't know, but I'm sure she's not safe!" Marcus said while pulling out the car keys.
"Did you forget that Gustav's men are nearby? Even if something happens, they'll handle it. We shouldn't interfere. Did you forget what Gustav said?"
"I know that!" Marcus replied.
"Then why are you insisting on this?" Niles asked seriously.
"I feel like this is related to Emma." "I feel like she...is in great danger."
.....
Somewhere in a forest of faces
Thhhhooooommmmm! Booooom!
Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!
"Dammit in My life! Damn for everything!" Emma screamed as she ran for her life.
Graaahhhh!
A bus monster was chasing Emma, trying to kill her by any means possible—using its long spider legs, which were huge metal spears, or opening its terrifying mouth to eat her alive.
Although her shoes were working well, it didn't mean she could run at the same speed as in the factory. She was now running in the forest, where obstacles slowed her pace, making it a struggle to keep running.
"So, what's your plan, Emma?" Smiley asked, completely ignoring the situation they were in.
"Do you think I have a plan in the middle of all this?!" Emma asked while running and quickly dodging another metal leg.
"Yes, exactly," Smiley spoke naturally as he avoided attacks.
"And why?" Emma quickly moved away from the monster's spear-like leg and dodged while focusing on it. "How about you help me first, you— damn it!" Emma saw the bus lunging its terrifying face toward her.
Emma quickly retreated and moved away swiftly as the bus surged forward like a high-speed train.
Boooom!
It made a powerful explosion sound, and the bus dug deep into the ground. When the monster rose again and looked around, it saw that Emma and Smiley had disappeared from its sight. This made it extremely angry, and it began to rampage through the forest.
While Emma and Smiley were hiding nearby, Emma sat down, removed her metal mask, and sighed heavily, panting intensely.
"Damn, I feel like I just ran a full marathon," Emma whispered.
"What's the plan?" Smiley asked, as if asking when they would arrive.
"Seriously, Smiley, why do you think I have one?" Emma asked with some anger, sitting and panting.
"Well, because if you didn't have a plan, you wouldn't be running in circles for no reason," Smiley spoke, focusing his attention.
"Alright, maybe I do have a plan," Emma said, hiding and watching the monster destroy trees around it while searching for her.
"So, what are you thinking?" Smiley asked.
"Do you remember when you tried to hack that bike's system?" Emma replied.
"Oh, I did that back then— oooh, I see what you mean!" Smiley said, pointing to what happened to the bike and how it exploded.
"Shhhhh, lower your voice! It'll hear us. But yes, that's what I intend to do. But to get to it, I think I need to enter the bus, reach its device, and try to hack it."
"Isn't it easy in that case?" Smiley spoke confidently.
"But you need to distract this thing somehow so I can get there. Plus, stop it from moving once I'm inside," Emma said.
"Not a problem for me. I can easily distract it," Smiley replied.
"Smiley, I'm not joking. Be careful. This is an Eldritch bus, more dangerous than anything we've faced so far!" Emma whispered, looking toward the monster.
"Eldritch bus? Is that what you called him? Nice name! You actually have talent in naming those guys!" Smiley replied.
"One hit from it is enough to kill you once and for all. Don't let your guard down at all," Emma answered.
"Jeez, girl, it's just a bus with weird legs," Smiley said casually.
"And that's what I'm cautious about. It's a bus with legs and a huge mouth. This isn't an ordinary enemy, not to mention we've never faced a monster this size before!" Emma spoke in a near-whisper.
"Girl, you're exaggerating. It's just a bus!A BUS" Smiley scream.
"Smiley, why did you screaming!? If you scream, it might—"
When Emma looked back at the monster, she knew it was too late. The monster was staring at them, its headlights fixed on them threateningly for a second before it roared.
Grrrreaaaaaaahhhhhhh!
It let out a roar worthy of a huge monster as it charged toward them with its spider-like legs, running toward its prey like a spider chasing its target.
"Oh, damn!" Emma screamed in terror.
The bus repeated the same motion, destroying several trees in its destructive surge. Both Emma and Smiley quickly moved away from the spot where they were resting, as it turned into ruins within seconds.
"Smiley... just remember the plan!" Emma said wearily.
"Roger!" Smiley said, staring at the Eldritch bus.
The Eldritch bus was focusing on Emma as if it had locked onto its target. But as it aimed at her, something was thrown at high speed toward one of its headlights, hitting it directly. The light shook slightly, and when it looked toward who threw it—
"Hey! Bug bus! Helllloooo! I'm here! Come closer and face me, the happy clown!"
When Smiley saw it, he didn't waste time and attacked it directly. But Smiley dodged the attack by a hair.
"Oops? Looks like you missed."
When the first attack didn't work, it attacked again, and if that didn't work, it kept trying. Despite this, it never succeeded in harming Smiley, who always dodged at the last second.
Bom!
"Try again!"
Baaam!
"Not even close."
Booom!
"Noob."
Bam!
"Looosseerrr~"
"Graaaagahhaaggah!"
The monster seemed to lose its temper due to Smiley's constant taunting, pouring all its focus on Smiley and completely ignoring Emma.
This was the moment she had been waiting for. Emma surged forward, using her fairy shoes, and jumped toward one of the Eldritch bus's legs. She slid along it and finally reached the bus's body, grabbing onto the door.
Finally, she had reached—
(Clock) (Clock)
Oh damn, the door is locked!... Damn it! Why did I think the door was open? Did I assume it was like a normal bus because of its appearance? How stupid of me! Emma thought.
When the Eldritch bus felt something on its body, it did something unexpected—it rolled its entire metallic body. Smiley was completely surprised by this move.
"Oh, holy!" Emma screamed.
In the moment it rolled, Emma ran quickly and moved along its side as it turned. It was a risky move, and Emma ran while dust and gravel flew at her back. When it stood up again, Emma stopped running and nearly fell but grabbed the bus door once more.
"Damn it! If it won't open, I'll force it open!" Emma said, pulling a gun from one of her pockets and firing.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Wwwing!
(Step!)
Finally, I entered. Now all that's left is to go to—
When Emma turned to the right, she saw a golem, but its body wasn't human. Instead, it was a semi-cyborg monkey body sitting on a steering wheel that seemed covered in blood, with glowing things visible inside. Aside from the terrifying things inside, the monkey looked at Emma like a wolf that had found its prey and moved toward her like a madman.
Ki!kikikiki!!!!!
"Oh, for God sake! Isn't there anything easy here!"