Lost

Chapter 4: Missing

"You okay?" the same voice asked him.

Asim blinked. His vision was foggy. The interior of the bus slowly came into focus. A guy with brown hair and glasses was bent over him.

"Is anyone else in there?" Asim heard someone shout from the front.

"No, Professor," the guy close to him replied. "It's just him. I think he'll be alright."

"Okay," the professor replied. "Make sure he's fine. Let me know if you need help."

Asim saw the world as if through a haze. He felt dizzy. Everything seemed to spin around him, but he had to focus. He had to get up and find her, make sure she was okay. His temple seared in pain and something hot trickled down the side of his face. Asim wiped the sweat off with the back of his hand and grabbed the seat in front of him to help him stand up.

"What in the world. . !" A startled cry escape his lips as he realized the back of his hand was smeared with dark red.

It can't be . . . blood, can it? Asim thought, unnerved by the sight of it.

"You got a nasty wound there," he heard the brown haired guy. "I think it needs to get checked. Let's get out of the bus."

Asim was still a bit disoriented. He could not really understand what the bloke was saying. He felt his temple with his hand and winced when a sharp pain shot through it. Blood was pouring out from a wound he had received, and he had no idea how.

He caught sight of the window in his periphery and noticed it was broken. That is when he recalled how he had snapped open his seat-belt to go get Salma, how the bus had skidded dangerously and how he had flown head first towards the window.

Head butting a window is surely not a good idea, Asim thought. Salma would laugh at him for the rest of her annoying life.

"Salma!" Asim gasped, suddenly remembering he had not seen her yet.

He quickly got up and tried to make his way to the front. Only, to bump into someone standing next to his seat.

"Sorry mate," the guy with brown hair apologized. His hair was disheveled and his glasses askew. He fixed his glasses and stared at Asim through them. "Let me help you. You must be feeling dizzy."

The concerned brunette reached out for Asim as he struggled against a spinning head.

"I'm fine. I'm alright." Asim replied, his words coming out slightly jumbled. "Have you seen Salma? I mean, my sister."

"No mate, but you need to get out here. Everyone rushed out and you've been left in the bus unconscious. You should let someone check that -"

What? Why didn't Salma come and get me? Asim frowned.

"No, I need to find my sister!" he insisted as he made his way forward through the empty bus. "You must have seen her, you know, she is different, very different. She's - the bag, she's the girl that made the bag fly -no, I mean it flew and she went after it. She -"

"Mate, you are not making much sense right now," the boy replied, "but I think I know who you are talking about. Everyone is outside, you'll find her. C'mon!"

The guy helped Asim out of the bus. He only slightly took notice of the fact that the door of the bus was absent. The first thing he saw outside was students sprawled all over the place; all shaken, crying, or holding onto one another for support and comfort. The kind bloke with brown hair left to console a girl who was silently sobbing nearby.

The sky outside was getting dark. Asim's feet sunk deep into at least a foot thick layer of mud as he stepped out of the bus. He had trouble taking two steps without tripping. The bus had skidded away from the road, into a muddy layer on the side, with its hind side smashed into the mountain. The deep layer of mud had slowed its speed, and the impact with the side of the mountain resulted in the crazy ride of the bus to come to a halt. The students sitting at the back of bus were all injured and Asim was hoping none was too serious. They were all grouped together and a few people were tending to them. He made sure Salma was not one of them, even though he knew she was not seated at the back of the bus.