The Conductor

"Yeah, I heard it a while back from that guy, there the small one," Miguel said as he pointed at the jelly man.

The creature turned his head to look at the direction Miguel was pointing at. For a moment it just gazed at the little creature. Miguel wasn't clearly able to see the jelly man, but it looked like it was sweating at the moment, if it was even capable of that.

"Wheezlers! What nonsense." The creature snorted hard enough to make Miguel feel the breath coming out from its nose. It felt to Miguel like the creature was looking at the little guy as if it was a nuisance of some kind.

"It is not nonsense, I really saw him telling me about that." Miguel said. The creature must have thought that he was lying about it, so he needed to clarify it.

Meanwhile the jelly man was sweating from all over the body under the creature's terrifying gaze, such that a puddle of jelly had formed near its body.

"That is just some made up story from the kid's books, an object that can carry them all from this forsaken place. They made up the name wheezlers, because in the stories it was told, that when it came, it would make a wheezing sound, in their after path." the creature said admonishingly at the story.

'Wheezing," Miguel thought, something capable of carrying them like a car or something for that matter. But it didn't look like that this world was that advanced to have them. It might be something of a cart, right, that was used in ancient times to carry stuff and people over.

He also came upon another piece of information. A book that told them that an object capable of carrying them would come to take them away from this place. The creature called it a forsaken place. But why? He had to be sure if the sound was right. So that he could get a hint of what it could be.

*Wheezing*

Miguel made a wheezing sound. The creature looked at him as if he was mad or something. Or was it something else.

"Like this?" Miguel asked. He had to be sure, if he wanted to gather anything more about this place.

"Maybe. It could be, or it might not be." the creature said with a cryptic answer. And as it said it started to turn his head toward where it was gazing before. Miguel had to make sure if he was correct to even talk with this creature. It can't even answer one of his questions clearly. But still it was the only one, other than that jelly man, to talk with him.

*Wheezing*

"Are you trying to make fun of me?" The creature said calmly, looking at him again. There wasn't a hint of anger in its voice but the air around Miguel started to distort. Miguel could feel it all around him, as if something was trying to prison him in the infinite darkness. And in that infinite darkness, he could only see the creature's eyes, which were looking at him akin to the sun in the sky.

"What? No, no, it wasn't me." Miguel said as he started to disappear. He had to clear the misunderstanding that it wasn't him who did that. But it was getting late, the creature wasn't listening to him.

Miguel could feel himself getting lost and nowhere among the darkness. There was anger about the whole situation and the regret for not being able to see his family again. Even as he was disappearing the wheezing sound was still there but it wasn't exactly that sound, and it got louder and louder until it turned into the sound of a freaking engine? With that he was swallowed in the darkness.

It was only after a few minutes had passed that Miguel woke up to look at his surroundings. The creature was nowhere near him. The sense of sound came back. He heard the sound of something near him.

Even standing up was now difficult for him, the darkness had left his fatigued and exhausted. Being there Miguel had felt that he wouldn't be able to see his family anymore, he was going to die but somehow he had survived.

Miguel looked around to see a bus, no not exactly a bus, but it looked like a bus except that it looked like it was just fog and nothing else. The jelly man was boarding the bus at the moment. He yelled for the little guy to stop, but instead saw that it sped up and soon it had vanished into the fogginess of the object. He sped up toward the thing.

After reaching some distance away from the bus. He saw there was someone standing outside the bus, and from the getup and with a record book of some kind in his hand he definitely looked like a conductor. 'The conductor' Miguel thought between surprise. It must be the conductor the creature had told him about.

But Miguel had to hurry because the conductor had boarded the thing. It was definitely a bus, because just a moment later he boarded the bus, the engine started with a wheezing sound. It was not the usual sound a bus would make. It sounds eerily similar to how ghosts made noises in horror movies.

The bus started speeding up. "Wait." He called out from behind, but it was as if the conductor wasn't listening to him. Finally running with his exhausted legs he caught the door of the bus.

"Stop." Miguel said to the conductor looking at him in his eyes. The bus was stopped by the signal from the conductor. Miguel couldn't stop looking at the conductor, he was excited as the conductor definitely looked human in his eyes.

His reverie was broken up when the conductor asked, "Bus pass" the conductor extended his hands in front of Miguel.

"I don't have a pass. Can I buy it?" Miguel asked, even if he could buy the pass, how could he pay the money for it.

"No pass, then I am sorry I can't allow you inside." The conductor said. He was going to tell the bus driver to drive before Miguel interrupted him again.

"Wait. I don't have money, I am lost here. I don't know the way back. Can you please give me a ride?" Miguel asked with a plea.

"No." Straight no, the bus conductor didn't even consider before he said that.

"But why? I don't need a seat inside, I can stand inside the bus. Please don't leave me here." Miguel was getting desperate, it was his only lead, if he was left behind. He might not find a way back. In fact he didn't even know if he could survive the night here.

"Hah, you aren't understanding one thing. This bus is not something you can board whenever you want. Only a few people in their lifetime are lucky enough to receive the passes to get away from this place. The passes act as a protection, and even with the passes, some don't make it till the end of the journey. So tell me yourself, how can I allow you inside." The conductor said.

Miguel didn't know that this bus was such a huge deal. Only a few passes and even then they might die in the journey. It was definitely worse, if they just died inside without even reaching the place they wanted to go to. Where could he get the pass?

Miguel had lost the hope of getting inside the bus. At least he could ask something else from the conductor.

"Do you know of a place, where there are people, where I can be safe." Miguel hopefully looked at the conductor waiting for his answer.

The conductor seemed to ponder over something and then his eyes gleamed in a strange light, he even had a smile on his face as he said, "The graveyard."

"Graveyard?" Miguel's face was worse than anything. First his hope was crushed and then this conductor wanted him to go to the graveyard. He was truly mistaken about this world. There wasn't a sane person here.

"You asked for a safe place, there isn't a safe one better than that place." The conductor didn't mind Miguel's expression as he said that. Still with a strange smile.

The conductor signaled the bus to start. Miguel tried to look inside to look at anyone present in the bus, but he couldn't see anybody inside. The bus was passing by him.

"Wish you find that place. Hahahaha" The conductor laughed as he retracted his face from outside the door. Freaking maniac.

Miguel stood still. What will he do? He was confused for a moment. But it was then he smiled.

Miguel might have been scared by the bus. But he wasn't going to let the bus, his only chance to get away from this place to get away from him.