It started with the wrong bus.
Mia hated the city. She hated its smell—burnt coffee and wet concrete. She hated how people bumped into you and didn't say sorry, like everyone was stuck in fast-forward. And yet, here she was. Two weeks into her first semester at Westbridge University and already counting down the days to winter break.
She tugged her hoodie tighter as the wind picked up, swirling leaves around her boots. Her phone buzzed in her pocket, but she didn't check it. Probably her mom, again, asking if she was eating enough or making friends or using the pepper spray. Mia exhaled sharply, stepped onto the bus, and only realized something was off when she looked up and didn't recognize a single face. She hesitated.
The driver gave her a bored glance in the rearview mirror.
"You getting on or what?"
Mia nodded and dropped her token. She sat near the middle, earbuds in but no music playing. Just a barrier. Her eyes flicked from window to window, scanning the unfamiliar route. Where the hell were they going?
The city blurred into industrial zones and chain-link fences. She should've gotten off. But something made her stay.
Maybe it was him.
He got on two stops later. Tall. Lean. Worn leather jacket. A single dimple appeared when he smirked at the driver like they shared some inside joke. He scanned the seats, then chose the one across from Mia. Not next to her. Not too far. Just close enough.
Mia looked out the window. Acted like she didn't notice. But she noticed.
He had a book in his lap. Not a phone. An actual paperback. Yellowed pages. Bent spine. That told her something. She didn't know what, but it felt important.
Ten minutes passed.
"You're not from here," he said without looking up.
Mia blinked. "Excuse me?"
He turned a page. Still didn't look at her. "You've been watching the streets like you're hoping they'll make sense."
She almost smiled. Almost. "Maybe I just like chain-link fences."
That made him look up.
His eyes were hazel—green if the light hit right. Curious. Not arrogant. Just… curious.
"I'm Liam."
Mia hesitated. "Mia."
A beat.
"You know this bus doesn't go back downtown, right?"
Her stomach dropped.
He chuckled, but not in a mean way. "You're headed straight into East Hollow."
That meant nothing to her.
"Is that bad?"
He didn't answer right away. Just gave her a look. Like he was debating how much to say.
"Depends. You scared of ghosts?"
She snorted. "Only the ones in my GPA."
He laughed. A real one.
The bus jerked to a stop. Three passengers got off. No one got on. Outside, the buildings looked abandoned. Paint peeled like sunburned skin. Broken windows. No lights. It was barely 6 PM, but it already felt like midnight.
"I should probably get off," she said, standing.
Liam's voice stopped her. "Wait. Just—wait one more stop."
Something in his tone. Not desperate. Just… serious.
The bus moved again. Mia sat back down. Her phone buzzed again, and this time she checked it.
1 New Message: Unknown Number
Don't trust the boy with the book.
Her breath hitched.
She looked up. Liam was watching her now.
"Everything okay?"
Mia forced a smile. "Yeah. Just my mom."
He nodded slowly, eyes lingering like he didn't quite believe her.
Outside, the last bit of sunlight faded. And the bus kept going.
---
The air inside the bus changed—subtle, but heavy. Like the kind of silence that follows an argument, or precedes a storm.
Mia shifted in her seat, suddenly too aware of the worn fabric under her fingers. The buzzing fluorescent lights above flickered, just once. The driver hadn't said a word in miles.
She leaned closer to the window. There were no more shops, no traffic, no other cars. Just long stretches of nothing. Trees swallowed the sidewalk. Streetlights blinked, then vanished.
"How long is this route?" she asked, keeping her tone light.
Liam glanced up. "Not long now."
That wasn't comforting.
"You live out here?"
"Sort of."
"Sort of?"
He closed the book. She noticed now—it wasn't even a novel. It looked handmade. Bound in leather. No title on the cover.
"What is that?" she asked.
He paused, thumb resting between the pages. "Family history."
"You write it?"
"My uncle. Mostly. He's... into that kind of thing."
"And ghosts?"
Liam tilted his head. "Maybe."
That weird silence filled the space again. This time, it felt like they were the only two people left in the world.
Another buzz. Mia's phone lit up.
You shouldn't have stayed.
Same unknown number.
She turned the screen away from Liam.
"Alright, seriously. Are you messing with me?" she snapped.
His brows pulled together. "What?"
"These texts. Is this some kind of freshman hazing thing? Because it's not funny."
Liam looked genuinely confused. "I don't even have your number."
Before she could respond, the bus screeched to a stop.
They both jerked forward slightly.
The doors opened. No one got on. But the driver turned around this time.
"End of the line," he said.
Mia stood slowly. Looked outside. It wasn't a bus stop—it was a cul-de-sac surrounded by trees. A single streetlamp flickered overhead.
"Where are we?" she asked.
The driver didn't answer. He just stared.
Liam rose beside her. "Come on. I'll walk you back to town."
"Wait," she said. "This doesn't make sense. There's no one here. No cars. No signs. Nothing."
But he was already stepping off.
Mia hesitated. Looked back. The driver had turned again, eyes fixed on the rearview mirror, like he was watching something behind her.
She turned and followed Liam into the dark.
The bus pulled away.
---
They walked in silence. Trees loomed like sentinels. The only sound was the crunch of gravel beneath their shoes.
After a while, Mia broke the silence. "You said your uncle wrote that book?"
"Yeah."
"What's in it?"
Liam paused. "Stories. Warnings. Things people forgot to believe in."
She stopped walking. "Like what?"
He looked at her then, serious in a way that made her stomach twist.
"Like people who take the wrong bus... and never come back."
Mia stared at him.
"Relax," he added quickly. "Joking."
But his smile didn't quite reach his eyes.
She walked faster.
Somewhere behind them, something snapped.
A twig. Or a bone.
They both turned at the same time.
But the path behind them was empty.