by Shannon Cook
Introduction
Some say, once your life is over your spirit moves on to the great unknown! But what happens when the soul becomes trapped? Unable to move on due to some sort of unfinished business or as a result of a tragic sudden death!
One day, in a small town in New Hampshire, two doctors received a notice that the old hospital they were working at was going to be closing its doors for good! A ginormous 150-year-old building that only had one corridor with patients still in it. The mental corridor, which only had four patients who still resided there.
Doctor Eva and Doctor Irwin were assigned by the director of the hospital to travel with their mental patients to make sure they got comfortably settled into their new hospital, without issues.
Little did they know, that ride to the new hospital would be their last! The bus they were traveling in was involved in a horrific crash on the way to the new hospital! Everyone lost their lives in it!
Moments after the victim's spirits departed their battered-up bodies, a mysterious male spirit comes to the wrecked bus. He informs the victims that an evil thing had occurred there and that all the victims of the crash were now under a curse! None of the victims could leave that bus until their unfinished business was complete!
The bus was a complete wreck after rolling down the side of a mountain! Totaled! It gets taken to an auto shop with a junkyard in the rear for safekeeping so that investigators could try and determine the cause of the crash. Once the investigation was complete, the bus was supposed to be scrapped!
However, the investigation didn't get very far, due to the spiritual activity that was on the bus! The investigators were too petrified to continue to try and find out the cause of the crash and gave up! The bus was never officially totaled out by the insurance agent!
The owner of the auto shop/junkyard, Dick, decided that he was going to make a profit off of that bus! He and his brother worked tirelessly day and night and managed to get the bus fixed and put it up for sale.
The bus sat on Dick's sales lot for a long time, he was about to through in the towel on it, and cut his losses! Then as luck would have it, an owner of a bus company, Luke, happened to stop by looking for a vehicle for his son! Dick tried his hardest not to let Luke go anywhere near that bus! He knew the trapped spirits on that bus had scared away too many customers in the past, and he wasn't about to let them scare away Luke as well!
The mysterious bus caught the attention of Luke, and he was fascinated by it! Dick was a nervous wreck when Luke heads over to the bus! He thought for sure he was going to lose another customer! To his surprise, Luke ended up purchasing it! Little did Luke know, that bus he just purchased had been involved in a gruesomely fatal crash! Also, that the bus came with seven spirits, free of charge!
Of course, Luke's wife, Georgina, and their son, Myles, were not pleased with Luke buying a bus for his company instead of a vehicle for Myles.
Once Luke's new bus was put into service, it got assigned to two of the victim's daughter-in-law! Coincidence? Maybe? Maybe not!
It didn't take long for Jayme to discover that her newly assigned bus was haunted! Almost immediately, Jayme encounters the spirit of the driver who happened to be her father-in-law! She goes into a panic and rushes back to the dispatch building at her work!
She goes home early that day as she refuses to drive that bus! Her wife, Robin, the daughter of two of the victims, didn't want to believe that her parent's spirits were trapped on that bus when Jayme told her. She tried brushing it off as just Jayme's imagination.
However, Jayme was bound and determined to prove to her wife, that she was not imagining things! So, in the dark of night, Jayme dragged Robin to the bus garage!
Once they were there and located the bus, they boarded it. Immediately, the bus gave Robin a chilling eerie feeling! She wanted off! Then, to her dismay, the spirits of her parents manifested in front of her! Along with the other spirits that were trapped on that bus! Robin was horrified! Yet, slightly happy to see her parents again. Even if it was in spiritual form.
The spirits explained their situation to Robin and Jayme and asked them if they'd help them complete their unfinished business, so they can get off the bus that was holding them captive!
The two young ladies agree to help out the trapped spirits, and off they went with Casey mysteriously driving the bus without a key!
The next morning, the new owner of the bus, Luke is baffled when he discovers his newly purchased bus went missing overnight! Even more so when he watched his security footage and discovered it was stolen by a ghost!
Luke reports his bus missing and the local police searched the entire United States to try to find the best person for the job!
They ended up locating a young female officer who had a great skill in finding missing people. They promoted officer, Kate, from Alabama to detective and she ends up having to uproot her family. Moving them to New Hampshire so she could lead the investigation.
During Robin and Jayme's time helping the victim's spirits of the horrific bus crash, they endure some terrifying experiences and in some cases, almost lose their lives in the process!
Will they stay brave and be able to complete their task of helping the trapped spirits, or will fear get the better of them?
I
The storm clouds rolled in over the mountains making the late morning skies appear to be dark, like a moonless night. Casey's knuckles turned white as he struggled to keep his brand new bus under control as he tried maneuvering down the winding mountain roads! He fought the high wind gusts that battered the sides of his bus! Raindrops the size of marbles began pounding against the windshield making it almost impossible to see.
Casey could barely see past the hood of his bus! His heart pounded as he continued to keep driving, for he knew he had no other choice, but to try to get down that mountain because there was no shoulder to pull off onto.
His passengers, all tightened up their seat belts and held on tight. Casey was transporting four mental patients, along with two doctors to keep an eye on the patients. One of the doctors was Casey's wife, Eva, to a new hospital six hours away from the old hospital that had just shut down that morning.
This trip was all unplanned for Casey, it was supposed to be his day off. Earlier that morning, Casey stood in his and Eva's driveway and see Eva off as their daughter Robin and her wife, Jayme, came over to drive Eva to the mental hospital so she could ride along with her patients.
During the ride to the hospital, Eva didn't say a word. That hospital was her place of employment for over 20 years. But the government decided to shut it down because they had built a new facility that was more high-tech and could meet the growing needs of the area.
The old hospital was enormous and built in the late 1860s as a prison originally. The building was costing the small town too much money to maintain. Eventually, it became so run down that only one floor was habitable!
Even though the old hospital was run down, and shutting down, that wasn't the only reason Eva was upset, but she wasn't going to tell anyone, especially her daughter what the other reason was. Unbeknownst to her husband and daughter, Eva was having an affair at work with one of the other doctors, Irwin. She never told Irwin she had a family.
When they arrived at the hospital, Eva told her daughter to stop at the end of the driveway. “I'll get out here,” Eva said as she unbuckled and grabbed ahold of the door handle.
Robin stopped the car and looked at her mother in shock! “But, it's over a thousand feet to the door!” she said. “Let me just drive you up there,”
“NO!” Eva snapped.
Robin and Jayme looked at each other appalled. Then Robin looked at her mother. “I was just trying to be n
ice," she softly said.
Eva realized her outburst was uncalled for, she apologized and got out of her daughter's car. No goodbyes, no nothing. Robin made a three-point turn in the driveway and headed down the road.
Meanwhile, back at Casey and Eva's house, their phone began to ring. Casey panicked and picked up the phone quickly. Nobody calls at 4 am unless it is an emergency! “Hello?” Casey answered fearing something had happened to his wife, daughter, and daughter-in-law.
“Good morning Casey!” a cheerful old man replied over the phone. It was Casey's father and boss, Burke.
“Oh, hello father,"
“Listen, Pete never showed up to do that charter run that was scheduled for today, will you be up to doing it?”
Casey thought for a moment, and asked, “Is this the six-hour one taking patients to the new hospital?”
“12 hours,” Burke replied. “Six hours each way, but yes it is.”
“My wife is one of the doctors on that trip, will that be a problem?”
Burke laughed. “Oh not at all! Just no making out while driving there sonny!”
Casey was appalled! “Father!” Casey replied. “Please, I am a professional!”
“I know,” said Burke chuckled. “That's why I am trusting you to do this long run. Last night I just picked up a brand new bus that I'm going to let you break in on this trip!”
Casey smiled. “I'll be right there!” He hung up the phone, got dressed for work, and left.
Back at the old mental hospital Irwin and Eva were franticly trying to get their patients to hurry up and finish packing. “Why isn't this stuff packed up yet?!” Irwin scolded the patients. “Why didn't Dr. Walton have you do this last night?”
One of the patients, Royce chuckled. "That old loaf? All he does is sleep with his head on your desk!"
“Ew,” another patient, Veronica, cringed. All of the four remaining mental patients at the hospital knew what went on in that office with their doctors, Eva and Irwin. They all knew that Eva and Irwin would have sex on that desk almost every shift they worked with each other.
Irwin cringed a little at the thought of old Dr. Walton, who was at least in his late 70s napping where he and Eva made love many times! Irwin shook his head and snapped out of it! “Alright, everyone!” he shouted, “you got ten minutes to pack! Whatever isn't packed up, you are to leave behind!”
That got everyone in a panic! They didn't have much and didn't want to lose anything more. Eva peaked into Cissy's room because she heard a lot of grunting coming from inside. “Is everything okay- what are you doing?!” Eva asked. To Eva's surprise, Cissy was attempting to shove a bloodstained pillow into her small suitcase. “You do know they will have brand new pillows for you at the new place, right?” Eva asked.
“I know, but I've had this pillow for thirty years,” Cissy replied.
Eva gagged a little. “Cissy, that pillow is stained,” she said. “What about all the new ones we've been giving you?”
“I just give them to the other patients,” Cissy replied. “This one is special.”
“What's so special about that one?”
“It just is, it was my girlfriend's. It was the last pillow she rested on before she passed.” Cissy stuck her nose into the pillow and took a deep whiff of it. “Ah, still smells like her!”
Eva raised an eyebrow in disbelief. “I doubt it does.”
“GET OUT OF MY ROOM!” Cissy snapped.
“Alright, meet you by the door in five,” Eva said as she walked out.
“Let's get a move on people!” Irwin shouted as he opened the secured door to let all the patients downstairs. Everyone was rushed to the door except for one patient, Frank. “Ugh,” Irwin scoffed. He closed the door and marched down the corridor to Frank's room.
When he walked in, he noticed Frank was holding a pair of binoculars and was staring out his window towards the woods. “What's out there?” Irwin asked as he tried seeing what Frank was intently watching.
“Two ladies parked their vehicle over there, and they are steaming up the windows of it!” Frank replied with a grin!
Irwin snatched the binoculars out of Frank's hands. “Give me those!” he snapped. “This is why you are here! Until you learn to stop this sick behavior, you will never go home!” Irwin tossed the binoculars into the wastebasket, grabbed Frank by the arm, and pulled him out of his room. “Come on! We're late!”
All four patients and the two doctors walked down the old stairs of the hospital for one last time. They all got outside and waited for their bus to arrive.
Time slowly passed by and the two doctors kept checking the time every few minutes. “What time was that bus suppose to arrive?” Eva asked Irwin.
“A half-hour ago,” Irwin was disgusted! He knew the later that bus was, the longer the trip would take! “What could be taking that jack-ass so long?”
“Traffic?” Eva said.
Irwin laughed, “It's 5:30 am, how much traffic could there be?”
“Maybe the driver overslept.”
Irwin rolled his eyes at Eva as Casey turned into the driveway with the bus. “There we go!” Eva said as she pointed towards the bus.
The bus pulled up to the curb and Casey opened the door up for the passengers. Eva's heart sank when she saw Casey. She wasn't expecting her husband to be the driver!
“Hey, darling!” Casey cheerfully proclaimed as he hopped out of the driver's seat, ran over to Eva, and gave her a passionate kiss on the lips.
Irwin watched in anger as Casey began passionately kissing his girlfriend right in front of him! He grabbed Casey by the back of the collar and pulled him away from Eva. “What's the big idea?!” he snapped! “You arrive more than a half-hour late and then you begin making out with the doctor?”
Casey gave Irwin a dirty look. “She's my wife!” Casey snapped back. “We've been married for 35 years!” Casey walked away and began loading everyone's bags onto the bus.
“Eva!” Irwin snapped. “There is something you need to explain to me! Right now!”
Eva sighed deeply, “Yes, yes there is," she looked over at the patients waiting to board the bus.
“Eva,” Irwin's voice was stern as he tried to get her attention back on him. “Is he your husband? Or is this some kind of sick joke?”
Eva nodded. “Yes, he's my husband and we have a 32-year-old daughter.”
“I don't believe this!” Irwin huffed as he walked towards the bus and waited to get on board. While he waited, he stared at the bus alongside him. Then he got an idea! An evil smirk came across his face. If I can just get rid of that driver, then I can have Eva all to myself! He thought to himself. He reached into his pocket, pulled out a small pocket knife, and casually dropped it under the bus. He carefully crawled under the bus and began slicing away at the break line. Not all the way through. He didn't want the breaks to fail while he was still on the bus! Just enough where it would wear out eventually. Maybe in a few days.
“Get out from under there!” Casey shouted as he noticed Irwin's feet sticking out from under his bus!
Irwin carefully crawled out from under the bus. “My apologies, I dropped something.”
“If you drop something, let me know and I'd get it!” Casey replied. “Now, can you just get on so we all can get going?”
Irwin sat down in a seat across from Eva who was sitting directly behind her husband. Casey slammed the door shut, and they began pulling out the driveway.
“You better have a good excuse as to why you were so late!” Irwin snared at Casey.
“The driver who was assigned this run never showed,” Casey explained. “I was called in and I wasn't about to come to work in my pajamas!”
“Fair enough,” Irwin replied as he leaned back in his seat with an evil smirk on his face.
Eva quickly noticed Irwin's facial expression, and she didn't trust it! “What have you done?” she asked.
“Nothing,” Irwin said. “Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to take a nap. I advise
you do the same.”
A few hours passed when all the passengers were roused by a loud clap of thunder echoed within the bus! Irwin looked out his window to see where they were. To his dismay, they were traveling through the mountains! “Why are we going through the mountains?!” he asked Casey in a panic! Irwin knew that the break lines he tampered with would not withstand all the breaking that would be required to get down the steep winding downgrade at the opposite side of that particular mountain.
“This is the quickest way,” Casey replied.
“What about the breaks?!” Irwin panicked.
Casey laughed. “This bus is brand new! The breaks will be just fine!”
Irwin leaned back and tightened up his seat belt. He looked over at Eva, and back at all the patients who were sitting behind them. He gripped on tightly to the armrest. His face was pale.
“Are you alright?” Eva asked.
“I think I might be sick,” Irwin replied as he glanced out the window as heavy rain began pounding against the bus.
The storm grew heavier and heavier. The wind began whipping the bus from side to side as the bus began its descent of the mountain. Casey had to constantly hit the breaks to keep control of the bus during those difficult driving conditions!
“Stop hitting the breaks so much!” Irwin panicked knowing the breaks could fail at any moment now!
“If I don't slow this thing down, we could fly off this mountain!” Casey explained.
Irwin began to panic even more now! He knew right at that moment that there was now a slim to none chance he or anyone else on that bus would make it down that mountain alive. He looked at everyone in silence, but he couldn't look a single one in the eyes.
Casey noticed a very sharp curve coming up ahead and began breaking to prepare for it. He put his foot on the brake and the brake pedal sunk right to the floor! The bus lost no momentum. “What on earth?” Casey asked himself in confusion. He frantically tried to get the bus to slow down. “This is a brand new bus! Why are the breaks failing!?”
Eva glared at Irwin who had been acting strange this entire trip. “You wouldn't happen to know why the breaks are failing,” she asked in an accusing tone. “Would you?”