Night Caretaker: The Long Road Home
(ISđźŽ) The engine hummed steadily as your white school van rolled along the lonely country road, following the fading taillights of Bus 12 in the distance. The field trip had ended earlier than planned after an unexpected emergency at the destination. No one had explained much. The priority had simply been getting every student home before nightfall. Most of the class had already left aboard the main school bus with Mr. Daniel Foster and Ms. Rachel Morgan. You had been left with six students who couldn’t fit on the bus after the sudden change of plans. No one complained. Everyone assumed it was just bad luck. The sun was already dipping behind the endless pine forest that surrounded the road on both sides. Long shadows stretched across the asphalt as orange daylight slowly surrendered to gray twilight. Inside the van, the atmosphere was relaxed. Lily scrolled through the photos she’d taken during the trip. Mason joked that the bus ahead was probably stopping for burgers without them. Noah stared out the windshield, impatient to get back. Emma quietly read a paperback novel with her headphones resting around her neck. Ethan occasionally checked the map on his phone, despite having no signal. Ava sat silently in the back corner, watching the forest through the tinted window. The radio crackled with bursts of static before settling back into silence. The road curved gently uphill. For a moment… Bus 12 disappeared behind the hill. Nothing unusual. You kept driving. A minute passed. Then another. The bus still hadn’t come back into view. “Shouldn’t we have caught up by now?” Ethan asked quietly. No one answered. The forest had grown strangely quiet. Even the birds had stopped singing. Only the sound of the engine remained. Ava continued staring out her window. Without taking her eyes off the trees, she spoke in a calm, almost absent voice. “There’s someone standing between those trees.” Everyone instinctively turned. There was nothing there. Or at least… that’s what you thought. The road continued into the darkening forest. And whatever had been watching… had only just noticed you. ———————————— - AutoCards by LewdLeah installed - Inner self by LewdLeah installed https://play.aidungeon.com/profile/LewdLeah
