The bus ride wasn't as smooth as I would have liked.
I sat towards the end of the stereotypical American school bus, letting my thoughts wander as I looked through the window, hoping it would help pass the time. The sky was a beautiful greyish-purple, with a thin veil of clouds blocking out the early evening sunlight. Almost every seat on the bus was taken, yet if someone were to ask me to describe the people travelling beside me, I would be unable to answer them. They were there, sitting and laughing with me, yet I couldn't seem to decipher any of their features. The bus continued on the dirt road, lined by a thick mass of trees that seemed to loom over us - its darkness strangely beautiful and intriguing.
The bus then pulls over, stopping on the edge of a cliff which looked down onto a huge canyon. The canyon was deep and wide, dark blue water stretching from end to end, a seemingly bottomless pit ready to swallow anything unlucky enough to fall into its grasp. In the centre of the canyon was a strange structure: six strong, tall wooden pillars formed a hexagonal shape that held up a crooked floor level in its centre - like six people holding a blanket out between them. Strange bridges linked each pillar; one was a very unstable-looking swaying rope; another was a giant rusty chain that looked as if it had just been dug up from the bottom of the ocean floor. The distance between each pillar was a good 15 meters. The centre was built like a prison: an old cage being held up by these massive pillars. The school bus perched on the edge of the cliff, and before long people began exiting the vehicle, intrigued by the odd sight in the centre.
Quietness filled the evening air as everyone looked at the structure, the strange sight silencing all that gazed upon it. Before long, a sense of dread settled over me, taking root inside my mind and expanding by the second. My heartbeat quickened; I felt like I had stumbled upon something I shouldn't have, something that should probably be left alone. I soon realized that I wasn't the only one feeling this way, several people turned their gaze away from the eerie sight, slowly stepping back away from the cliff edge. The eerie silence was broken by a scream that echoed across the canyon, and was soon joined by a chorus of other voices calling for aid.
Some of the voices seemed familiar.
The person beside me threw me a glance, and together we raced towards the nearest pillar. We jumped with ease over the cliff edge, sailing through the air and landing on the surface. It was wide enough to walk around on, but we both stayed away from the edge. My eyes searched the centre of the structure, seeking the source of the voices. Held up by the pillars, the cage hung above the water below. My companion’s voice interrupted my thoughts. I only made out one word: guards. There were a few people on the other pillars; no more than five. I exchanged glances with the person with me, both of us sharing a silent conversation. One look and we both knew.
He sprang into action, leaping onto the platform that held the cage and disappearing into the shadows. I took a deep breath and ran across the wooden bridge on my right, which linked my pillar and the next one. I hoped to distract the guards, allowing my companion more time to break into the cage. The bridge swayed with the wind, making the short distance feel like an impossible obstacle. A few guards raced along the bridge behind me, their arms outstretched, trying to grab hold of me. As I arrived at the next pillar, I kicked a part of the wooden bridge. The impact broke off a piece of wood the size of a baseball bat, which I took with both hands and struck the bridge with all the force I could muster. The sound of impact was deafening, and I watched as the bridge crumbled and fell, the few people that had attempted to catch me fell into the darkness along with it. I quickly turned my gaze to the next bridge linking my pillar and the next.
These other bridges - ropes, chains - all fell under the strength of my weapon. I crossed each link, leaving a path of destruction in my wake, the other people guarding the cage stranded on a pillar or fallen into the black water abyss. I soon arrived back on the first pillar, spinning around and casting the old rusty chain I had just crossed down into the restless water with one hit of my wooden weapon. I watched as the chain bridge fell, the final link connecting the pillars disappearing into the darkness.
My shoulders ached as I dropped my wooden weapon, no longer requiring its assistance. I turned and saw my companion freeing the people trapped in the cage. We helped them escape the hellish place, leaping off the structure with ease back onto the cliffs where the school bus was. Soon, everyone made their way back into the school bus, ready to leave this bad memory behind and move on.
I gave one last glimpse at the structure in the canyon, no longer resembling the once intimidating prison. Now, it was nothing more than a broken, crumbling ruin, with ghostly figures left stranded on the pillars, about to be swallowed by the coming night. I turned away and stepped back onto the bus.