Chapter 10 - The Race to the Bus Loop
Marcus and Leo bolted out of the sub-basement door, taking the concrete stairs three at a time. The gymnasium was deserted, the red emergency strobes painting the basketball hoops and bleachers in crimson light. They burst through the double doors leading into the main hallway, where lockers stood wide open and abandoned backpacks littered the floor.
"The bus loop is through the double doors by the cafeteria," Leo shouted over the wailing alarm.
As they sprinted past Room 4B, Marcus glanced inside. The classroom was empty, except for Ms. Gable’s mustard blouse draped neatly over the back of the teacher's chair. On the desk, the wooden ruler lay broken cleanly in half, its varnished splinters scattered across the spilled pages of the town ledger.
They pushed through the exit doors and burst out into the crisp afternoon air. The sky above the valley was an bruised purple, and dead center in the town square, the massive stone clock tower loomed against the horizon. Its giant hands were frozen at exactly 3:14.
At the edge of the school parking lot, a single yellow school bus sat idling with its diesel engine rumbling deep and low. Its hazard lights blinked in a slow, hypnotic rhythm.
"Look!" Leo pointed toward the open door of the bus.
A small figure in a blue jacket was stepping down the metal stairs onto the pavement. Marcus stopped dead in his tracks, his breath catching in his throat. It was his younger brother, Toby, clutching a brand-new backpack and looking completely bewildered.
"Toby!" Marcus screamed, sprinting across the asphalt.
Toby turned around, his eyes wide. "Marcus? What are you doing here? Ms. Gable said we had a special assembly."
May you like
Before Marcus could reach him, a sharp, metallic click echoed from the top of the clock tower. The giant minute hand on the tower jerked forward one full notch, making a sound like a guillotine dropping into place.
---
