Palace of Wolves

Chapter 3 --Buses

As the bus drove on through the desert the fear built up in the pit of my stomach. I'd never known this level of fear before. I'd had butterflies in my stomach before but this was a different level but this was a whole different beast -it was more like dragons where flailing around in my stomach!

"How are you feeling Sandy?" whispered Adrian

"Terrified for my life."

"Same here."

At that point, whether, to give me comfort or to quell his own fears, Adrian reached out for my hand. It was clammy with sweat and the strap of his watch dug into my skin but I grasped on to it anyway.

"What do you thinks' going to happen? Have they got our parents too?" He asked

"I don't think they've got our parents, there probably was no other bus but I don't have any idea why they took us." I said the next bit in the quietest whisper possible so the man could under any circumstances hear us. "Where going to have to fight back with whatever we have, think up a plan."

I thought of the things I had on my person. I had my phone so I could call for help if I had a signal; my camera was round my neck and was probably heavy enough to make a crude weapon. I groaned at my footwear choice, rubbery flip flops. If I had worn boots or even trainers I might have had a decent shot of kicking his face in. I took my phone out, no signal, dammit! Then I had an idea. I put on a song and turned the volume up high.

"Now we have less chance of being overheard." I said as the song started, it was one of those rock bands Josie tried to get me to like -one of the few of those I actually liked. "When we get to wherever he's taking us we use whatever we've got to hold him down then we drive the bus back."

"Alright."

The song continued to play in the background:

I wanted to laugh it off, And I want to forget that I got caught, And I wanted to laugh it off, Make a beast of myself just to kill them all.

I didn't know if I was hearing things or not, but, I thought I heard the man laugh.

My heart then dropped. I knew I wouldn't get out of this. Oh god he was going to kill us! I held my hands together, without letting go of Adrian's. I was raised Catholic, I was dragged to church on Sunday when I was younger but I had never been deep into religion and wasn't the child who prayed by their bed every night but I prayed there, I was uncertain if there was even a god but if there was, he was the only person who could help now.

"Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is on heaven"

Then I stopped, I couldn't remember the rest, and by then tears where streaming down my cheeks, chlorine and salt mixed together and they dripped from my plaits and face respectively. I whispered, between sobs under the mask of an ironically upbeat song to Adrian. "Death isn't something I've often talking about. But when I do, you know, imagine my own death, I thought I'd be an old woman -my skin wrinkled, my hair gone grey. I thought I'd die a peaceful death. I'd be in bed, surrounded by children and grandchildren. I...I would have never of thought it would end like this. Me -not adult me- fifteen years old and so very far from home." And then I bawled, I howled, I let all the pain and misery of this bus journey well out and nothing anyone could do or say could hold it back.

"It'll be okay Sandra. We'll get out." He had called me Sandra, not Sandy. I looked up and didn't see the joking boy from the pool. The terror had changed us both. "We're not going to go down without a fight, remember what you said."

Just then, all of a sudden the bus stopped. The man stood up, "Time, not long. You wait" and walked out of the bus. I couldn't see where he went. The adrenaline filled me and I wiped away my tears. I switched off the music, plunging us into silence and put my camera and phone on a seat.

"Put all the things that might be useful here."

Adrian unzipped a pocket in his khaki shorts and pulled out his phone. Then he opened a smaller one, like a secret pocket and took out a red plastic cylindrical object and a couple of brown and white tubes -a lighter and cigarettes.

"What! You smoke!"

"Now's not the time to worry about my lifestyle choices, the lighter is our most useful object."

"True, I just hate smoking."

I strode up and down the bus looking for useful objects. I reached under a seat and grabbed the handle of something, "Aha gotcha" I cried as I hoisted up the rainbow striped umbrella. I didn't stop to think about what on earth an umbrella was doing in the middle of the desert, I just examined it. "Pretty sharp metal point here; I could use this as a weapon. You found anything yet." Adrian held up a red carton."Seriously, I find a brolly and you get a carton of petrol."

He grinned, looking almost like the boy at the pool, "Told you the lighter would be useful."

The doors where locked but I easily smashed a window with the umbrella. It was only when we stepped out that I realised how dark it was. How long had we'd been gone? My parents would be back in the hotel, panicking about me, I might never see them again. The last conversation that I had with mum was about sun cream. Why couldn't I have said "I love you" or something.

"Okay," I said "Lets get started on this plan."

Adrian grabbed his carton of petrol and began to pour it in a thickly lined circle before pouring a longer thinner line to nearer the bus. When the man returned we where going to jump at him and search him for the keys, grab them, run to the bus and light the ring of fire, trapping him.

"Lets be quick with that circle we don't-"

I was cut slow by a scream, a long, agonising plea. I couldn't even tell if it was human or not. Adrian was so shocked he dropped the carton, spilling a drop of petrol. By then the sky was pitch black and the only light was that cast by the perfectly spherical moon. The scream stopped.

"Done" said adrain. "He'll be back soon, I think I hear footsteps."

I could hear it too. A small pattering. Far away. I held up my umbrella in a protective stance. Adrian held his lighter lit, like we where at some weird ghost concert.

"Ready." I yelled

"Ready."

Then I saw the figure coming towards us. It was not a man. It was a wolf.

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Sorry about that bit of a cliff hanger. This segment of the chapter became over twice as long as originally planned so I turned it into a separate chapter. I've included (or at least I'm trying to include) a drawing I did of Adrian. I prefer that method to doing cast list which I find impossible but I'm not that happy with how he came out.

I'm to dedicating this chapter to iamK_16 because she commented on the last chapter and I forgot to mention that the last chapter was dedicated to Blue_She-Wolf

Please vote and comment, even you silent reader!!! Yeah I know I do it a lot but I really need the motivation. For all those who vote and comment I'd give you all cupcakes if I knew where you live.

Edit: forgot to mention, the song is "Make a Beast of Myself" by Twin Atlantic. I don't usually put song lines in stories but I had this on in the background and I released it was just the perfect song to describe this section of story and couldn't help myself.