Dark Inside Read Free

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    “Hey!” Colin yelled out, but he didn’t move to help. He was frozen. Sara stood beside him, her mouth wide-open, but no sounds came out.
    “Seven, six, the cities are collapsing around us. Five!” the man said. “Game over! Four! Hear the screams. Feel the power! Three!”
    The bus lurched, rising up over the top of something, and then crashed back to the ground. People fell forward in their seats. There were screams as several people slammed about in different directions. Colin staggered against Sara, sending her down the aisle and crashing against an old lady with groceries. Mandarin oranges rolled away, and a bottle of spaghetti sauce exploded. The strong smell of spiced tomatoes filled the air.
    But Aries and the insane man didn’t move. His eyes were fixed on her. She looked right into them.
    She expected his eyes to be bloodshot. Crazy people always had bloodshot eyes in books and movies. It was the standard insanity cliché. But his weren’t. They were something else.
    The veins in his eyes were black.
    “Two.”
    The bus lurched again, the driver slammed on the brakes, and more people screamed. They came to a sudden stop in the middle of an intersection, and other cars honked their horns in protest. A sophomore girl was thrown forward, her purse dangling from her shoulders. Her back cracked against the metal railings. People surged out of their seats and onto the floor, trying to get free. But the doors weren’t opening. Men banged their fists against the glass windows.
    Still Aries and the crazy man didn’t move.
    “One.”
    The ground exploded.
    The bus staggered forward. The road beneath them began to break apart; pieces of concrete vibrated and scattered as if alive. A fire hydrant burst, and water surged upward, raining down into the intersection. Power lines swayed until wirestore and flayed violently. The lights from the businesses and street surged and went dark. Cars hit their brakes and crashed into one another. Through the window, Aries watched people trying to climb out of the wreckages, while others ran for the safety of the parking lot and sidewalks. Beside the intersection a grocery store rocked on its foundations. Glass shattered, sending tiny projectile missiles in all directions. People covered their heads with their hands to avoid being sliced apart. They fell over one another as they tried to keep their balance on the shaking ground.
    A moment ago people were frantically trying to get off the bus. Now they turned and started pushing their way back in. The ground kept vibrating, and the bus groaned and heaved; a giant chunk of concrete smashed into it from behind, forcing the back of the bus up into the air several feet.
    Aries could hear Sara calling her name, but she couldn’t see her through the confusion. People were all around her, crawling along the floor, climbing over the seats, banging against the glass to try to save themselves.
    “What’s happening? What’s happening?” Someone kept repeating the words over and over. Another person was calling for help. Others were screaming. Over the noise, the crazy man began shouting something that sounded foreign. She couldn’t tell if he was laughing or crying.
    Somewhere in the distance there was a loud explosion. The bus windows shattered, forcing Aries to cover her head and duck down between the seats. Bits of glass rained down on her, catching in her hair and bouncing off the backs of her hands. The crazy man had released his grip. She no longer heard him, but he was close. She could still smell the scent of sour milk.
    A delivery truck sped through the intersection and crashedinto the side of the bus. The collision was powerful; it rocked the bus, which tilted over onto its side. Aries grabbed hold of the seat and held on tightly. Bodies crashed against her. For a brief second she saw Colin’s face pressed up against her leg, but he disappeared quickly in the sea of struggling bodies.
    The ground continued to