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CHAPTER FOUR A PIECE OF ADVICE
The bus is somber. Night has fallen over the junkyard and all they can do now is wait and pray that the monsters have fallen for their bait. She can barely make out her companion's faces through the suffocating darkness that has swallowed the interior of the bus. Through the small gaps between the sheets of metal, Abby can see the fog that has overtaken the junkyard. The series silence has returned, and with it the inhibitions that continue to plague her mind. She sits on the ground with her knees pulled up to her chest as she leans against the wall of the bus. Lucas and Alex have long since disappeared up to the top of the school bus to keep lookout. Steve sits similarly with his legs stretched out as he clicks his cigarette lighter on and off. Max slumps in one of the few remaining red leather seats with her arms crossed over her chest as she watches Dustin who paces back and forth.
Finally, Max speaks up, breaking the heavy silence. "So, you've really fought one of these things before?" She turns her head to Steve who tears his gaze away from his lighter. He nods silently before he returns to the monotonous clink of metal against flint. "And you're like totally, 100-percent sure it wasn't a bear?"
"Shit. Don't be an idiot, okay?" Dustin snaps. "It wasn't a bear. Why are you even here if you don't believe us? Just go home."
"Geesh, someone's cranky," Max mutters as she pushes herself up from her seat. She steps onto the latter and turns back to Dustin who has resumed his pacing. "Past your bedtime?"
Steve watches as the teenager disappears onto the roof of the bus to join Alex and Lucas. He nods and wears an approving expression as he glances back at Dustin. "That's good. Just show her you don't care."
Abby furrows her brows, muttering. "What kind of shitty romance advice—"
"I don't," Dustin responds. "Why are you winking, Steve? Stop."
Dustin soon retreats to the back of the bus and Abby continues to stare out of the gap between the sheets of metal. The outside world has since faded away, she's too focused on the foggy land that lays beyond. She's waiting for a sudden movement in the sea of fog to signal that their battle has begun. Her heart is pounding despite the fact that they aren't in any immediate danger yet, but the thought is enough to keep her wary and alert and the blood pumping through her veins. She doesn't notice that Steve has since migrated from his spot to take a seat next to Abby until he speaks up.
