ImagiNation Chapter 1 part 2 *The Accident*

ImagiNation Chapter 1 part 2 *The Accident*

*Recap* “I’ll see you soon, Rayne!” he said gently before dissolving into the air. The trees released their grip and she stood up, shocked. She was so much shocked by his human-like ability to be, even falsely, kind, than she was that he knew her name. What was he, some kind of stalker? Her name echoed over and over in her mind. Rayne, Rayne, Rayne. The echo grew louder, as if someone very far away yet right next to her was calling her name.

“Hey, Rayne, wake up!” The voice was familiar. Rayne’s eyes fluttered open and suddenly she was in a completely different world. Her best friend Amy was right next to her, poking her repeatedly.
“Wha-?”
“You fell asleep. Ten points for laziness!” she smiled. The bus hit a large bump, causing Rayne to grab onto the seat in front of her so she didn’t fall out of the one she was already sitting in. “How can you even sleep on this bumpy bus anyway?” Amy gave Rayne an odd look. Rayne shrugged.
“When I’m deep in dream, nothing can disturb me. Except maybe the dream itself. They can get pretty disturbing sometimes.” She said. Amy just looked at her.
“Rayne- you’re weird.”
“Really? -Gasp-! What shocking news!” she pretended to be amazed, then laughed. Amy joined in laughing. Rayne pulled out her iPod from the bag at her feet and flipped through the playlist until she found a song worth listening to. Awake now, but still somewhat drowsy, she leaned against the window and gazed at the grayish-white sky blanketed with clouds. Outside, wind whipped the treetops. It looked as if it might storm soon. She closed her eyes, thinking about the demon’s words: “You’ll blood will be mine… You will come to us soon!” The ominous words echoed in her head over and over again.
“Oh my God!” Amy shook Rayne’s shoulder frantically. She was staring at the front of the bus in blank-eyed terror.
“What?” she leaned over to see what Amy was so scared of and instantly wished she hadn’t. A large 18-wheeler was dodging in and out of traffic- going the wrong way. The bus driver swerved right to avoid it, just as the 18-wheeler swerved to their left. Once again, they were on a collision course. The other kids on the school bus were screaming in terror. Fearing the worst, Rayne squeezed her eyes shut tight.
It happened in slow motion. Two forces met, creating a shockwave, a domino effect. The people in front received the worst damage, but as each row behind it were crushed and twisted, they knew that they were next. Then, time resumed its normal speed they were careening into oncoming traffic. Rayne caught a glimpse of bystanders staring in awed shock, a few of them with their cell phones out taking video. For a moment, she her mind wandered to how “typical” it was that all they could do is take pictures with their phones. Then, her mind was pulled back into the present and another car rammed into the bus, sending them in a totally new direction. For a split second, she thought that was it was over, but then she felt a plummeting dread, similar to the kind you feel on a roller coaster. The tiny yellow box they were all trapped in spun around and around, hitting rocks and the ground before finally coming to a full stop. Only one thing could’ve happened- they bus had been pushed off the road by the second car and down a steep hill, coming to rest in a ditch.
Rayne held her breath, not daring to move a muscle, waiting for something else to happen, but al was still. Slowly, she opened her eyes. The scene that greeted her was different than what she’d imagined. They were, indeed, at the bottom of a steep, rock-dotted hill with the road above them, but inside the bus it was a different scenario. The bus itself was twisted and dented like an empty soda can, the seats torn, the windows shattered. The clouds had gone, and afternoon sunlight slanted in through the window-holes. Dust motes danced in the golden rays. As she began to focus on what was in the bus, she heard soft sobbing coming from the back of the bus and someone’s whisper of “Shh… It’ll be okay…” People were beginning to stir, getting up, moving around, and checking on their friends.
“Rayne!” Amy shook her arm.
“Huh? What?” She’d forgotten about herself as she’d watched the bus slowly come back to life.
“Rayne! You okay?” Amy asked. Rayne looked at her arms and legs –a few cuts, nothing serious– and nodded.
“I have a headache…” she complained.
“Wait. Turn you head.”
“Why?”
“Just do it!” Rayne turned her head to the side like Amy had instructed. “Yeah. There’s blood here.”
“Huh?” she was a bit confused.
“Blood. You probably managed to hit your head or something. It looks kind of deep.”
“I guess.” Now that she thought about it, Rayne did remember hitting her head on the window several times as the bus rolled down the hill, both before and after it’d broken.
“Hey, look. Someone opened the escape hatch back there. Let’s go.” Amy pointed toward the back of the bus, where a few other kids were climbing out.
“Okay.” Rayne undid her seat belt. Amy stood up. Rayne carefully unfolded her legs from the awkward position she’d somehow managed to get herself into. Slowly, she stood, using the seat on front of her as support. When she finally got to her feet, something didn’t feel quite right. She felt very lightheaded. Dots swam before her eyes, flicking just out of her vision if she tried to look at them. The colors contrasted too much; it was really bright, almost white, where the sun fell on objects, and extremely dark elsewhere. She shivered, a chill running down her spine.
“I feel… –” Like I’m falling, flying through the air, landing, the ground is jarring me. Immense pain shooting through my mind, so incredibly excruciating that I am numb to it.
“Rayne? Rayne!” That word echoed faintly, far, far away. It seemed as if she should know its importance, that it should mean something to her. Her mind struggled to comprehend it, grasping at that one tiny word, but it slipped away. Suddenly, it didn’t matter. Nothing mattered as darkness embraced her and all sound, all sense ceased to exist.