Internet 24

My head whipped to the side so fast I almost cracked my neck. There's no one behind me., No one's around the car, then BANG! My calf tightens as I brace myself for impact. There is none. The noise was the guy in the car banging on his window and shouting.

GUY IN SUIT

Get away from my car now!

Am I going crazy, but it feels so real. Wait, there's someone across the lot. They're small, probably a kid, and they need to get out of this.

GRANT

Kid! What are you doing out here alone?

Are your parents in one of these cars?

The kid doesn't respond. It's too dark to get a good look at them. It gets harder to move as I feel the temperature continue to drop. The wind blows harder as I can hear my bus shake. Still, I must keep moving. A kid shouldn't be out here all alone.

GRANT

Kid! You need to get out of this-

I stop walking when the kid turns to me. I need to stop saying kid because whatever is staring at me isn't some lost child. It is small and has a humanoid shape, but it's not human. I couldn't tell in the dark, I thought my eyes were hazy from waking up, but I can see it clearly now.

GRANT

...Storm.

Its body is made of pitch-black clouds. Its eyes are two small holes. Little bright white lights are floating in there. Small lighting crackles light up parts of its body as sparks shoot out. Small chunks of ice float from a floating around orbiting its round head. Its mouth is filled with sharp icicles, the same kind that form long talon nails. Below its feet, the asphalt is frozen.

The soft, mumbling voice from before, I hear it all around me; it's not alone.

MANY

You're here. You're here. You're here.

You're here. You're here. You're here.

I turn, and they have already surrounded me. They crawl out from under the cars, the shadows between streetlamps, and the darkest area of my peripheral vision. They stand are cars, freezing the roofs, but the people inside look fine. Some are crouching right in view of the driver's seat, but no one bats an eye, just me.

I.. I don't move. They stare at me as they creep closer. Staring at their eyes is like finding the full moon in the gap of a hurricane. Lighting bounces from the floating light and into the clouds. My lungs are filled with frosting wind as I hyperventilate. I want to run; my brain is screaming the signals to the nerves in my legs. Run! But I can't.

I hear now only a single mumble.

MANY

You're here.

The one I saw alone walks up to me. I don't move, I want to, but God, I can't. Its hand pulls on my sweatpants. A rush of cold hits me, and the fabric in between its sharp fingers freeze. This was the boost I needed as my legs finally worked, and I turned to run. I don't look back, but a gust of mighty wind hits my back as I can hear the screams of one of those monsters. Then the sound of all of them chasing after me.

One makes it in front of me. I am too close to the bus; I can't stop. I'm bigger, so I go to ram this thing down and push forward. I don't knock it down. Instead, I go right through it. Parts of my clothes are frozen, and exposed skin areas have ice chucks forming on them. The cold burns as my body grow tense.

I make it to the bus's door, knowing they are about to pounce. I pull, but the door is frozen together. No, it can't be closed. I muster all my strength as I pull and pull on the door and weaken the ice on the hinges until, BAM! The door opens. I slammed the door shut behind me and latched every security lock on my bus.

The door opens, and Grant makes it inside, slamming the exit behind him. I turn on the key in the ignition, and it coughs but doesn't turn on. The mumbles grow louder as they pound on the door and crawl on top of the bus.

MANY

You're here! You're here.

Open. Open. OPEN!

They are everywhere, but the engine won't start. Come on, Come on! Turn on! Yes! The engine turns on! I change gears, and I slam on the gas. I burst out of the parking lot. I don't check for oncoming traffic as I jump on the highway. A car honks as I barely avoid it.

After a few seconds of driving, I finally take my first breath. I made it out. I don't know what those things were, but I'm glad I...

MANY

Open. Open. Open!

No, that's impossible. They can't. I see one clinging to the side of my bus, icy talons clinging to the metal. Behind that one, the sky is dark, filled with black clouds. On the highway, they all chase after me.

The way they run; they are like an animal running on all fours. I'm going 70 mph, but they are keeping up. Their eyes shine bright as I see the lighting crackle harder. Their bodies jerk as they run, and their joints move in both directions. They jump from the trees and cars.

The scary part of it is that they move in between lanes, on top of cars, but no other vehicle rushes away or reacts. Some even run over those creatures, but it gets right back up as the displaced smoke reforms, leaving the car a frozen engine, popped tire, and a confused driver.

I press my foot down harder, never letting up. I don't care if a cop chases me or a sharp turn comes up, and I rather deal with that than freeze to death or be eaten or whatever these things want!

Bam! I hop on my bus. The pound on the roof, on the windows, and at both doors. No! frost forms on the windows and my windshield. I can barely see. There's nothing left that I could do. No matter how many I shake off, they reform and jump back on. I can hear the pounding getting more brutal and the metal scream. It's close to breaking. A hinge hit the floor next to me; the front door is cracked open. I can see the smoke drift into the bus. They are in.

An orange-red light peaks through the frost of my windshield. It's warm and hits my face. The sun and the orange rays are breaking the blackened sky. At least the last sight I see is beautiful. I face forward, not wanting to see how many have entered my bus. It's freezing, and I can't feel my hands.

It's... quiet—the pounding stops. I don't see them through my side mirrors. I can feel the air get warmer, and I ease my foot off the peddle. I don't stop, though, not until I know I'm safe. It takes 2 hours hour until that feeling settles in.

I pull into a breakfast dinner on the side of the road. I could see the workers inside, and eyes widened when I pulled in. They brace themselves until they only step out of the bus. They were probably excepting a wave of kids ready to eat before their big field trip. I get mistaken as a bus driver too many times. I need to repaint my ride.

I take a seat and order the freshest coffee and the fattest stack of pancakes they have. I tore into them as soon as they were placed on the table. The waitress from a far saw me devour them like a starving animal as tears started to roll down my cheek. God, the taste is so good. They are the best-tasting stack of pancakes I have had in my life. The coffee was mid, but man, these cakes. I wipe my tears and left-over syrup off my face. I stare out the window and watch cars drive past what could be the best meal of their lives.

I wish I could tell myself it was a dream, but the melting ice on my bus tells me the truth.