A hum and the distant sound of a horn filled my ears. I slowly opened my eyes and lifted my head from the railing. I grimaced and touched my head as it began to hurt horribly. I felt something wet on it and when I looked at my hand I could see it in a blurry way as well as a large red spot on it.

I waited a couple of seconds until the ringing subsided a little as did my pain. I felt something hit my foot, upon discovering what it was I bent down and picked up my glasses. I put them on and sighed when I saw that they had broken a little.

«Great, now I'll have to buy another pair»

I got up from my seat with difficulty and felt a slight dizziness that made me stagger. I held on firmly to one of the tubes of the bus to avoid falling and looked around.

It was completely empty, there were large shards of glass on the floor and a soft, and a little eerie, light illuminated the dark place.

«Right, we entered a tunnel and crashed into...something. Maybe everyone has already left.’ I thought to myself. 'Why the hell did they leave me here?»

I was a little upset to learn that they had abandoned me here instead of taking me to a hospital. Although, I think I'm a little lucky not to have such serious injuries, my body hurts and I can stand up with some effort, but at least I'm alive and without any wounds (at least visible) that could be fatal.

I looked for my cell phone in the darkness and found it under the seat in front of mine. I bent down slowly to prevent the dizziness from coming back to me, I took it and once I stood up I unlocked it.

"No signal"

I sighed when I saw those two words in the upper corner of the screen. I was just in an accident, it hasn't been long but bad news travels fast, if Liam found out about this he must be worried so I should call him.

 «It must be through the tunnel, I'll get out of here and call him »

I put my cell phone in my pocket and just as I touched the guitar case, a sound outside the bus startled me. I turned and squinted my eyes trying to see something in the darkness.

—Hello?—I decided to talk to whoever was outside.-Is there anyone there? I was just in an accident, I'm a little hurt, could you help me?

I waited a few seconds but there was no response. I moved a little closer to the window and looked out. I could see a couple of crashed cars, one of them was the owner of the horn that was piercing my ears.

«Looks like we weren't the only ones who crashed. This is horrible. »

The sound of glass falling inside the bus made me turn around and from my place I could see a person's hand sticking out from between one of the seats. I gasped and started walking a little wobbly towards her. They probably also abandoned this person here and may be badly injured. I should help.

Once closer I began to make out that it was a man's hand.

—Excuse me sir, are you okay?

Nothing, there was no response.

«He must be passed out, it's a good thing I went to that first aid course, I'll be able to help him until an ambulance arrives »

I barely placed my hands on the seat where the man was and when I saw him my heart began to beat uncontrollably, and without being able to stop it, a scream came out of my throat. Out of surprise and trying to get away, I stumbled and fell on my butt. My breathing quickened and I felt every inch of my body shake.

In front of me was the lifeless corpse of a man with a huge hole in his chest. He was completely covered in claw wounds and blood.

I retched and, unable to hold it in anymore, I vomited. I gasped trying to catch my breath.

«Th-that, a traffic accident doesn't do that, right?» As if he had read my thoughts, something collided with the back of the vehicle, breaking the glass in its path. A horrible screech filled the place as a dark gray being with a humanoid shape and horns desperately tried to enter. Another scream came from me.

–W-What is that thing? Get away!—I yelled but that  seemed to make him more angry.

He continued screaming louder and wildly stretching his hands that ended in huge claws towards me. Then I remembered, that thing was the one that hit the bus.

«Run! I have to run»

I gave an order to my legs to get up and run away but they didn't obey me. Suddenly my entire body had lost the little strength it had acquired.

«But...can I even escape from that?» I thought as I saw his huge fangs filled with fresh blood. Then my eyes strayed to where his eyes were supposed to be and I unconsciously covered my mouth.

«H-He doesn't have eyes, if I don't make noise...he won't be able to find me, right? »

My eyes drifted to Liam's case and I remembered the katana. The only problem is that it is very close to the end of the bus, where the monster is. If I go after her I would have something to defend myself...but that thing could also catch me.

«What do I do? What do I do? »

My mind began to rapidly replay millions of scenarios about what I could do and what the possible consequences could be. And to my misfortune, in most of them things ended badly.

I closed my eyes tightly, brought my knees to my body and covered my ears with my hands, wanting everything to magically disappear...or that I could wake up from this horrible nightmare.

—This is not happening, this is not happening, this is not happening.— I repeated over and over again in a low voice, trying to convince myself.

I suddenly had fleeting memories of Liam. When we were children and played together, when we had to face the worst misfortune of our lives together and today's days when we can just sit at the table eating and chatting about our day or picking on each other.

Hot tears ran down my cheeks. We have been through so much, both good and bad. But we have always been able to get ahead because we have each other. What will happen to Liam if I die? I can't leave him alone.

A regretful wave of courage ran through my body and then I made a decision.

I opened my eyes and looked at that monster. I'm afraid, very much. But I'd rather die trying to get home than die sitting here like a coward and abandoning Liam.

He was about to lift me up and approach the end of the bus when suddenly the monster stopped trying to get in. He turned his head and letting out a loud screech ran. Surprisingly, when I lost sight of him I felt more afraid than when I was looking at him. Slowly I got up and feeling how my legs continued to tremble exaggeratedly, I leaned on one of the backs of the seats.

I looked outside and could see the monster savagely hitting a car whose alarm was on.

Using the adrenaline in my body and the little courage I had left, I quickly approached the guitar case and took it. This katana is the only thing I can hold on to if I want to get out of here alive.

I looked at the strange creature again and ,luckily for me, it continued fighting the car. I took quick but silent steps towards the front of the bus.

«I need to get out of here »

Once I was close to the door my eyes wandered to the driver's side. The seat and part of the broken windshield were filled with fresh blood. I felt a little dizzy and refused to think about what could have happened to that poor man.

I turned around and got off the bus. As soon as I set foot on the pavement I approached the nearest car as quietly as possible and hid behind it. I looked at where the horned creature was and saw that beyond it the entrance to the tunnel looked a little far away. I compared it with the exit that was in front of me and I could barely see the end of the tunnel.

The daring idea of ​​going on the side with the closest exit crossed my mind but I immediately dismissed it realizing how silly it sounded.

I took a deep breath.

«Breathe Ash, you can do it. You have to do it. » I mentally encouraged myself.

With the guitar case on my back and my body crouched, I approached another car that was close to what was now my hiding place. Once I arrived and crouched, I peeked over the edge to confirm that the monster had not heard me. I'm lucky It’s blind. I moved one of my feet a little and felt him step on something slimy and hit something. I was afraid to turn around but I couldn't help but do it.

An involuntary gasp came out of my mouth and trying to get away from the unrecognizable corpse I had touched, I fell sitting on the floor. I had to swallow to stop myself from vomiting again. The worst of all is that there was not just one, but several corpses. I felt like I was going to faint at any moment.

A loud screech not far from me echoed off the thick walls sending a chill down my spine. My survival instinct was stronger than my fear and I moved without even thinking.

I barely managed to hide behind a truck when the monster reached the place where I had been standing a few seconds ago. Without even knowing if its prey was nearby or not, it lashed out with its enormous claws and the screech of the metal of the car breaking forced me to cover my ears. He let out a blood-curdling scream as he realized I had escaped.

Angry, he turned around and started walking towards the bus.

I had to suppress the urge to let out a sigh for fear that the monster would hear me and come for me.

I continued on my way, this time quickening my pace a little more and ignoring the things around me. With every step I took, my hope grew more and more, as did the desire to run the little stretch that I had left. But the rational part of my mind that was still functioning knew that if I did it, it would be the end.

I passed by a beautiful truck that anyone would envy because of how luxurious it was, even I would stop for a few seconds to admire it if it weren't for my situation and the fact that the front of it was destroyed from having collided with something that no longer existed. As soon as I did, a screeching sound was heard behind me followed by a heavy metallic sound. My blood ran cold and my body tensed in a millisecond. With adrenaline rushing through my bloodstream, I was brave enough to turn around.

—P-please, h-help me.

Inside the once luxurious van was a beautiful and refined woman covered in blood. It seems that the pilot's door came loose due to the crash since the weak woman was able to knock it down.

Before I could even consider helping her, a bestial scream echoed in the center of the tunnel.

I couldn't see it but I knew what it was.

The beast has heard us, it has found us.