The Bus Stop Terrors

It's been three days and that person has still been sitting at the bus stop at the end of Nylon Street.

Why?

I first noticed them on Monday morning on my way to school. There were five more people waiting at the bus stop, but that person stood out. I don't know what it was about them. Maybe the fact that they were wearing all black with a cap on, or that they were sitting on the very end of the bench, hunched over, looking down at their feet, not looking at anyone, not socializing like everyone else was.

I ignored it and walked to school, forgetting about it the second I walked into my homeroom. On my way back home from a tiring day at school, that same person was still sitting at the bus stop in the exact same position they were sitting in from when I walked by in the morning.

Weird, I thought. Once again, I made my way back home and the person was at the very back of my mind by the end of the day. The next morning, I was sitting at the kitchen table finishing my breakfast before I left for school and the image of that person flashed through my mind. What if they were still there? No that couldn't be possible. I don't think that they'd still be there all night.

As soon as I made my way to the bus stop, that person was still there exactly how I found them yesterday. There was no way that they had stayed out there all night.

All throughout my math class, instead of focusing on sequences and series, all I could think of was that person. What were they still doing there?

I tried to think of many logical reasons, but they all ended with the same answer: since yesterday morning, that was the first time I had ever seen that person sitting there. Maybe the reason for them being in the exact same position was because that's how they felt comfortable, but it still didn't explain why I had never seen them before until yesterday.

Just as I had guessed, that person was still there. I felt scared to walk past them for some reason. What was there to be scared of? I walked past them today and yesterday no problem, so why couldn't I do it now? I stood there for five minutes contemplating whether or not I should walk past them. I had to. That was the only way to make it home where I'd be safe.

Finally, after another long minute of overthinking, I swallowed my fear and speed-walked past them. My heart rate was through the roof. I didn't look back and didn't let my pace falter until I walked through the threshold. I made sure to lock the door and went into my room, letting out a sigh of relief.

My moment of tranquility was snatched from me when I realized I'd have to do that again tomorrow if they were still sitting there. There was no if, though. I was 100% sure that tomorrow morning, they'd still be in the exact same spot.

Now on the third day, on impulse, I skipped breakfast and headed straight for the bus stop. I made sure to stay far enough to where no one would be able to see me. I was determined to wait until the bus would arrive and I didn't care if it meant receiving a tardy, I wanted answers.

The bus arrived twenty minutes later, every person who was at that bus stop got onto the bus, every person but them. The bus didn't wait for them. As soon as the last guy got on, its doors shut and they drove away.

They didn't move an inch. What was up with them? What was the point of waiting at the bus stop if they weren't getting on the bus. I doubt that person was ever going to leave that spot.

I kicked a pebble on my way back from school, not expecting anything new. As the bus stop inched closer, I kicked the pebble much farther, landing next to the strange person's feet. I went over to retrieve it but I was caught off guard as the person slowly looked up at me. They had no face. There was nothing. It was completely blank, like a mannequin.

My fight or flight response was activated. I dropped my stuff and bolted home, away from whatever that thing was. I didn't dare look back.

I ran into the kitchen begging my mom to come see what I had just seen. I needed to prove that what I had seen was true. That I really came face-to-face with a faceless person.

I dragged her out to the bus stop, telling her what I saw and how they had been sitting there for three days. When we got there, my heart dropped. The bus stop was empty. No one was there. All that remained was my backpack that I had left behind.

My mother scolded me on the way back home, telling me that I had wasted her time. I know what I saw though. I know everyone who was at that bus stop every morning saw it. They would all sneak glances at it and scoot away. They'd rush into the bus as soon as it'd arrived, not looking back at it.

There was no way it was a figure of my imagination. It was real. What frightened me more was knowing that it was out there somewhere. It knows that I know what it looks like.

I walked straight to my room but was stopped short when a pebble was sitting outside my bedroom door. I picked it up and realized that it was the same one I was kicking around. I shakily opened the door and gasped when I saw it sitting on my bed, hunched over, looking at its feet. I dropped the pebble as it slowly looked up at me.