Carrion (The Bren Watts Diaries #1)

Chapter 5

The riots were worse than I imagined.

Or at least it was caused by the riots, per the radio station I was listening to on my phone. Another social justice counter-protest after Neo-Nazis held another racist demonstration and a march (In New York, surprisingly, a liberal state). Unfortunately, this time, it had turned violent.

Then, the news came out of the hospital where Dr. Krasinsky was held and where a quarantine had been in effect for hours now.

I frowned at the news and the state of the world these days. I wasn't much of a political enthusiast, so current events seemed to pass me gracefully these days. My life revolved too much around the school. Or movies and TV shows I binged watch when I had free time. I tuned out of it and clicked on my playlist, opting to listen to Imagine Dragons instead. 

We boarded a metro bus back to our hotel, but the traffic sped at a turtle's pace, and we barely moved from Times Square. We still had two miles ahead of us, and we just entered Columbus Circle near Central Park.

Luke nudged me, and I took the earphones out of my ears. "What are you listening to?"

"Imagine Dragons."

"Ah, half of 'em members are Mormons," he said. "Do you know I'm a Mormon, too?"

I snorted. "Uh--no. I don't. I've known you for barely a day."

He laughed at that. "Yeah. But now that we're attending the same school, it'll be nice to be friends in a big city like this. Perfect time to get to know each other in the process."

I nodded, smiling. "That's a nice thought."

Luke stared at my earphones, which were still blasting some music. "Uh--do you mind if I listen in?"

It took me back for a second. I looked over Luke's shoulder and found Yousef, his friend, asleep. Luke gave me this pleading look, tugging at his ear, and frowned comically like he was dying as he pointed at Yousef's snoring. I laughed and gave him the other piece of my earphones. We listened to about two more songs on my Tune Out the World playlist.

The bus got moving again for the next couple of blocks, when all of a sudden, the bus screeched to a halt. I almost slid out of my seat and face-planted on the lap of a senior woman sitting across from me. My quick reflexes prevailed as I was able to catch myself. I earned a dirty scowl from the old broad and tried to apologize, but she scooted away from me in disgust.

Luke snickered beside me at my expense, and I playfully punched him on the shoulder. Yousef didn't fare better as he ended up sprawled on the floor. Luke and Mr. Ramirez helped him up.

Out on the front, the bus driver was throwing profanities left and right.

"Get off the road, you fucking moron!" He blared the horn loudly.

A few of the passengers craned their necks to gawk at the scene beyond the windshield. I did, too.

A man was standing in the middle of the pedestrian crossing, wearing a dark brown business suit with a red tie that was too big for his lanky frame. I clocked him to be around my age, but it seemed he was unmoved by the bus driver's constantly loud honking.

He seemed lost.

Behind us, vehicles honked their horns in response to the bus blocking the intersection. I was getting pissed. It was already past seven, and all I wanted was to sleep on my bed after a very long day of shopping and exploring the city. It was already dark outside, and it brought the seeping cold with it, and with the weather potentially bringing in the snow, I didn't want to get caught out in a storm, and most of the passengers in the bus shared my sentiments.

"What the hell is that guy's problem?" Logan spat.

Natalie and Aria were too busy on their phones, and in unison, they both exclaimed; "My internet!"

I narrowed my eyes at them judgingly.

Natalie whined to Logan. "Babe, I was about to post to my Instagram, and my data went down! I paid for this shit!" She was on the verge of tears. Aria whined along with her, desperately typing and smacking on her phone to get it to work.

I had enough of them. Getting out of my seat, I moved closer to the front. Luke followed after me along with Mr. Ramirez. The others stayed back, which I was thankful for as I certainly didn't want them near me right now when they're in one of their vapid moods.

Unbeknownst to me and the others, the internet went down throughout the city, not just us.

The bus driver threw his hands up in bewilderment and got up, waving the man on the crossing to move out of the way. When the businessman refused to move, the bus driver cursed and climbed out of the bus.

As I reached the front, the bus's headlights brightly illuminated the businessman's weak state. His face was gaunt and ashen like the blood had been sucked out of his cheeks. Sweat glistened on his forehead, and his hair was left unkempt, ruffled from a previous struggle. His suit was torn and ripped at the seams, tearing at the shoulders.

I thought he just got out of a bar fight somewhere, although, it was too early for that kind of thing. He may be caught up from the riot, which was not far away from the street I was in.

There was something wrong with the man's eyes.

Instead of having one set of pupils, the man had two on each eye, and they were rouged blood red. I was momentarily taken aback by his appearance and demeanor, bewildered. I instinctively step back, and I bumped into Luke behind me.

"You okay?" he asked.

"His eyes--"

Luke stepped closer through the windshield, and his eyes widened. We shared a concerned look.

The bus driver approached him, urging him to move out of the way. When the man didn't respond, the impatient bus driver pushed the man aside. The man stumbled onto the ground, and I could hear a few passengers gasped, remarking that the bus driver was assaulting him. Behind me, several phones filmed and photographed the scene, probably hoping for it to go viral.

"Should I go out there and help?" Luke asked.

I considered it, but I only gave him a shrug.

I felt sorry for the man. I did. But only for a split second. That was when my sympathy turned to terror.

The battered businessman jumped to his feet and latched his teeth right at the bus driver's throat. The bus driver screeched, trying to push the man off of him.

I didn't know if it was the overwhelming shock or the spur of the moment, but I hopped out of the bus and ran over to where the bus driver and the businessman were. I tried to pry the businessman off of him, but he was too strong, sinking his teeth harder into the bus driver's throat.

Then, he tore a chunk out of it, splattering the bus driver's blood all over my face.