single drug in my life – I hadn’t even taken Tylenol with codeine when my wisdom teeth were removed!
“Sure you’re not,” the bus driver agreed dryly. All three men shook their heads at us. Sebastian moaned on the floor, his head beginning to toss again and his eyelashes fluttering more regularly. “I thought it was strange you two didn’t sleep last night but now I guess I know why. Grab your stuff and get off my bus,” the driver challenged, glaring at me. “You can file a complaint with head office if you don’t like it but you’re not riding with us any further! I should call the cops and have ‘em pick you up.”
A few people near the back of the bus clapped. I was too shocked to speak. The Others were nearly upon us, our only hope was to get to Toronto before them and now we were getting thrown off the only bus that would take us there… what were we going to do?
Chapter Five – Reunion
“Gracelynn?” Sebastian’s voice weakly asked. His eyes were open now and he gazed up at me from the floor. His confusion was clear but it was the kind of confusion you’d expect from someone who had awoken to that scene.
“Help him up and get ‘em off,” the bus driver instructed the two men standing beside me. They both nodded their agreement and reached down to roughly pull Sebastian up by his arms.
I could sense this was an argument that we weren’t about to win, even with Sebastian’s power of persuasion. These men absolutely did not want us on the bus – there would be no convincing them to let us stay.
I reached under our seats and pulled out our bags, stuffing our old blanket into the top of Sebastian’s with the bag of leftover food we’d bought at the gas station.
“Are you okay?” I asked Sebastian, noticing how he seemed to need the men’s support to stand.
He nodded, standing up a little straighter. “I’ll be fine.”
“Come on then, we’re getting off the bus,” I told him in a low voice that made my displeasure very clear. For some reason, the men holding onto Sebastian’s arms suddenly released him and began moving back towards their seats, refusing to meet my eye.
Sebastian calmly accepted the situation in a way that only he ever could. He paused and took in my expression, nodding slowly as if he understood. He then took his bag from me and gestured for me to go first. The bus was silent, all eyes on us as we exited.
We were deposited on the side of a fairly busy street on what appeared to be the outskirts of Toronto. For a minute we stood there, dazed and overwhelmed by the sudden noise and heat of the day, and the abrupt change in our situation. Sebastian recovered first, grabbing my arm and pulling me along the sidewalk.
“We have to keep moving – the fifth is here and the Others are on their way. They’ll be here by morning,” Sebastian warned, slipping his arms through the straps of his backpack as he spoke.
“I know.”
Sebastian lifted a questioning brow at me. I pulled my pack on and began marching down the sidewalk beside him.
“We both fell asleep and we shouldn’t have. The Others must have wanted us to get thrown off the bus to stop us from reaching Toronto. The driver thought you were high on cocaine because of your nosebleed and the way you… well, you sort of freaked out. He said he was going to call the police,” I added.
Sebastian used his black t-shirt to wipe the blood from his upper lip and nose, barely pausing in his stride as he did so. His expression was hard to read. I thought he might be angry.
“This way,” he instructed, taking the next right turn and getting us off the main road where we’d been dropped off. “We need to find a map or a phone book - or something, and figure out where we are and how far it is to your father’s house from here. If we can hitch a ride, we still might make it in time…”
It was our only hope and it wasn’t much of one. There were too many “if’s” to this plan. It all depended on if we
“Sure you’re not,” the bus driver agreed dryly. All three men shook their heads at us. Sebastian moaned on the floor, his head beginning to toss again and his eyelashes fluttering more regularly. “I thought it was strange you two didn’t sleep last night but now I guess I know why. Grab your stuff and get off my bus,” the driver challenged, glaring at me. “You can file a complaint with head office if you don’t like it but you’re not riding with us any further! I should call the cops and have ‘em pick you up.”
A few people near the back of the bus clapped. I was too shocked to speak. The Others were nearly upon us, our only hope was to get to Toronto before them and now we were getting thrown off the only bus that would take us there… what were we going to do?
Chapter Five – Reunion
“Gracelynn?” Sebastian’s voice weakly asked. His eyes were open now and he gazed up at me from the floor. His confusion was clear but it was the kind of confusion you’d expect from someone who had awoken to that scene.
“Help him up and get ‘em off,” the bus driver instructed the two men standing beside me. They both nodded their agreement and reached down to roughly pull Sebastian up by his arms.
I could sense this was an argument that we weren’t about to win, even with Sebastian’s power of persuasion. These men absolutely did not want us on the bus – there would be no convincing them to let us stay.
I reached under our seats and pulled out our bags, stuffing our old blanket into the top of Sebastian’s with the bag of leftover food we’d bought at the gas station.
“Are you okay?” I asked Sebastian, noticing how he seemed to need the men’s support to stand.
He nodded, standing up a little straighter. “I’ll be fine.”
“Come on then, we’re getting off the bus,” I told him in a low voice that made my displeasure very clear. For some reason, the men holding onto Sebastian’s arms suddenly released him and began moving back towards their seats, refusing to meet my eye.
Sebastian calmly accepted the situation in a way that only he ever could. He paused and took in my expression, nodding slowly as if he understood. He then took his bag from me and gestured for me to go first. The bus was silent, all eyes on us as we exited.
We were deposited on the side of a fairly busy street on what appeared to be the outskirts of Toronto. For a minute we stood there, dazed and overwhelmed by the sudden noise and heat of the day, and the abrupt change in our situation. Sebastian recovered first, grabbing my arm and pulling me along the sidewalk.
“We have to keep moving – the fifth is here and the Others are on their way. They’ll be here by morning,” Sebastian warned, slipping his arms through the straps of his backpack as he spoke.
“I know.”
Sebastian lifted a questioning brow at me. I pulled my pack on and began marching down the sidewalk beside him.
“We both fell asleep and we shouldn’t have. The Others must have wanted us to get thrown off the bus to stop us from reaching Toronto. The driver thought you were high on cocaine because of your nosebleed and the way you… well, you sort of freaked out. He said he was going to call the police,” I added.
Sebastian used his black t-shirt to wipe the blood from his upper lip and nose, barely pausing in his stride as he did so. His expression was hard to read. I thought he might be angry.
“This way,” he instructed, taking the next right turn and getting us off the main road where we’d been dropped off. “We need to find a map or a phone book - or something, and figure out where we are and how far it is to your father’s house from here. If we can hitch a ride, we still might make it in time…”
It was our only hope and it wasn’t much of one. There were too many “if’s” to this plan. It all depended on if we
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