《Bus Loop ( A Modern Time Loop Story )》 Chapter 1 Only on the third ¡®incident¡¯ Emily Anderson realized something was wrong. Either she was crazy, or something strange and unexplainable by science had happened to her. Despite her innermost fears, she was pretty sure she was not mad. She was just an ordinary college girl with two siblings and a beautiful family, a cheerful personality, three or five close friends, no relationship blowback, no bullying or discrimination at school, and she felt that her future was bright and that there was no chance of her going crazy. But if things continue to ¡°go wrong¡± like this, there is no guarantee that she will not go mad. ¡ª When it first happened, Emily thought she was dreaming. There was no way to blame her for thinking that; who told her that her destination was the bottom stop of this bus line. The total duration was close to an hour, and she fell asleep every time she got on the bus. When she arrived at the bottom station, Mr. Will, who was already familiar with her, would call out to her. It turned out that the driver didn¡¯t call her, but whose mobile phone rang to wake her up. Emily is still a little miffed when she is woken up by the beautiful yet melancholic ringtone on repeat. People are most tired at one or two o¡¯clock in the afternoon, so naturally, they don¡¯t want to wake up somehow. But unfortunately, this bit of resentment did not last long before the sudden impact washed it away. It all came so fast like the kind of shock you experience with your eyes closed when riding a roller coaster. Emily had never been in a car accident since she was a child, so she didn¡¯t even realize she had been in one when her head was slammed against the back of the seat in front of her by the massive force of inertia. A splitting headache combined with a strong feeling of vomiting made her unable to think, and, accompanied by the screams of the passengers on the bus, she had just passed out. ¡ª Probably because the first ¡°accident¡± was so quick, when Emily ¡°woke up again,¡± it was only with the feeling of having just woken up from a nightmare, too dazed to believe it was real. Emily pinched herself; it hurt; she was not dreaming. She rubbed her head again. It was okay, not swollen, and not broken. She looked out the window, and the bus was well on its set route, just over the river crossing bridge and about to arrive at the terminal; everything was normal. But as she patted herself on the back and rejoiced that ¡°it was a dream,¡± the damn phone rang again! Emily almost jumped like a frightened rabbit when the beautiful yet melancholic ringtone suddenly started to play on the bus. She heard a passenger behind her whisper, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with this little girl ?¡± and felt a few strange glances directed at her with a touch of suspicion. It would have been humiliating, but Emily couldn¡¯t care less. Only one thought repeatedly flashed through her mind. Is something going to happen? Is something going to happen? Am I not dreaming? The ringing of the phone, which didn¡¯t last long from beginning to end, was like a symbol to her, pulling her into some nightmare all at once. Then the nightmare did strike once more. The bus, driving consistently, suddenly made a sharp turn. The passengers screamed, several of them not sitting still and being thrown out of their seats or hitting their heads on the front seats as she had just done in her ¡°nightmare.¡± Emily, who was standing, was no exception. At the moment of the sharp turn, she fell backward on her back, waving both hands unconsciously in front of her, trying to catch something. As Emily was about to fall, it was as if she saw an arm reaching out to her, handing it to her with difficulty. Her instincts made her want to pull at hand and clutch it tightly, yet all she saw was her arm arcing feebly in mid-air ¡­¡­ Then there was the sharp pain of the back of the head hitting the ground hard. ¡ª The third time she ¡°woke up,¡± Emily looked around in confusion. The bus runs from River Road to Brooksville, and there is a section of the river bridge in between, after which the bus terminates. There are several colleges along the route, and it was pretty crowded when she got on the bus. Still, when she woke up, there were few people on the bus, which was pretty empty. The view from the bus window shows that the bridge has yet to be reached. Because of the long journey with few stops, most people chose to do what she did, get on the bus, find a seat, and fall asleep with only a few people awake. This bus is now as quiet as a school library. But her ¡°nightmares,¡± tell her to wait until the phone rings, then these people will be woken up and ¡­¡­ The bus is in trouble. Realizing that something was going to happen to the bus, Emily¡¯s forehead and the back of her head, which had been injured in the ¡°nightmare,¡± were suddenly in severe pain, probably as a result of some stress reaction. She clutched her head with a miserable cry. ¡°Are you all right?¡± A boy around her age, with a handsome appearance although a bit nerdy, sitting next to the window, asked worriedly. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. The pain came and went like a tidal wave, and finally, everything returned to normal, as if the pain had just been a dream. The boy, who was sitting next to her, pushed up his glasses and seemed nervous, repeatedly checking to see what was wrong with the girl next to him and whether he needed to call an ambulance. Ambulance? That¡¯s right! Even though something will happen to this bus, she can warn others! Reminded by the handsome boy next to her, Emily realizes that there is a way out. Without any hesitation at all, she immediately jumped up and yelled at the driver, ¡°Mr Will¡¯s, I don¡¯t feel well. Could you stop the bus !¡± She often takes this bus route, and the driver of this line is a familiar face to her. Mr Will is a good person; one time, she lost her on the bus. instead of taking it, he gave it to her the next day instead, and never lost his temper with anyone on the bus. Usually, when she got on the bus, she would occasionally chat with the older man. If she had a sudden illness, the uncle would have let her out of the bus immediately to seek medical attention, right? ¡°Not here; there are no stops, and it¡¯s easy to hit the back when you stop.¡± The driver looked back, probably because he saw that Emily could still stand up properly, and responded, ¡°I¡¯ll drive faster to get to the next stop as soon as possible!¡± ¡°Stop the bus, stop the bus now!¡± Emily, unable to explain anymore, rushed to the door of the bus in one breath and rapped hard on the door. ¡°Hey! That¡¯s dangerous.¡± ¡°What are you doing, girl? Just wait; the bus driver will drop you off at the next stop soon.¡± The people on the bus were ¡°whispering¡± in voices that could be heard. As luck would have it, the driver hesitated when he heard the passengers¡¯ whining. ¡°You don¡¯t look too good right now ¡­¡­¡± ¡°No stopping; let me get off alone, okay? Please, Mr. Will!¡± Are you kidding me? I just looked out, and I¡¯ve crossed Middle River Road, and the next stop is on the river bridge. Waiting for the next stop and losing your life! ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you? I said no parking now!¡± Mr. Will¡¯s voice was vaguely angry, ¡°There are so many cars going by; what if you get into an accident? If you don¡¯t think about yourself, you have to think about your parents, right?¡± It¡¯s because of her parents that she wants to get off the bus, Mr! ¡°We have to stop, Uncle, something will happen to the bus !!!¡± Emily was so anxious that she cried out. ¡°What nonsense are you talking about!¡± The driver¡¯s eyes widened in surprise. ¡°Mr, this bus¡­¡­¡± Just as Emily could not contain her emotions and tears came to her eyes, the dreaded mobile phone rang once again. To this beautiful yet dreadful music, she saw her hands shaking like a sieve of flour, unable to grasp the handrail of the bus door. ¡°Mister Will, don¡¯t turn around; watch out! Hey hey hey hey hey hey!¡± She saw the handsome boy, who was sitting next to her earlier, wide-eyed and screaming desperately. The familiar and unfamiliar scene is like a replay montage, and Emily closes her eyes in despair, feeling herself being thrown back into the air ¡­¡­ After a roller coaster of weightlessness, her forehead ached, and she lost consciousness once more. ¡ª No one, no matter how thick-skinned, would consider it an ¡°accident¡± to have the exact same ¡°nightmare¡± three times in a row, especially when it¡¯s so horrible. So when Emily woke up for the fourth time and realized that this might not be a dream, she made up her mind to get off the bus no matter what. Emily noticed that every time she ¡°woke up,¡± she felt both physically and mentally weak, and she could clearly feel that her body was getting out of shape and that every ¡°nightmare¡± was having an effect on her. Apart from the previous headaches, this time, when she had just come to her senses, her hands shook like a Parkinson¡¯s patient, and it took her half a day to recover as normal. Her violent shaking even woke up the handsome boy with glasses, who was sleeping next to her. When he woke up, he looked at Emily with a shocked look, his right hand outstretched and retracted, probably because he wanted to hold her hand to stop her from shaking so much but was afraid that it would be too rude to her. ¡°Hey, hey, hey, don¡¯t think you¡¯re acting so nice that I can¡¯t see that you have ¡®Is she mentally ill¡¯ written all over your sorry face, okay?¡± Emily felt that she should be dead out of her mind and had the audacity to spit it out in her mind. ¡°Do you need help?¡± The boy with glasses finally asks hesitantly. The overwhelming fear seemed to stimulate Emily¡¯s adrenaline rush, which in turn calmed her down. ¡°No need.¡± Feeling the sensation gradually return to her arm, she rejected him quickly and stood up. Time was short, and she was in a hurry to get off the bus and had no time to climb into conversation with him. "Mr Will¡¯s, I¡¯m a bit under the weather. Can I pull over?¡± In order to prevent the driver from turning around too often and having an ¡°accident,¡± Emily simply walked up to him and lowered her voice to ask. Recalling the details of the previous ¡°accident,¡± she felt that the reason she did not get off the bus was because of the way she communicated with the driver. If she was hysterical and wanted to get out of the bus like that, she was mentally ill, and Mr Will, as he is a good person, would not have let her out of the bus in that state. So this time, Emily decided to play the role of a frail girl with a ¡°sudden illness.¡± She often took this route and got to know him well, and usually took the initiative to say hello and so on. When Emily approached her and asked to stop, the driver slowed down, looked back at her with difficulty, and said hesitantly, ¡°Ah, this is a bad place to stop; we¡¯re about to go over the bridge.¡± Emily glanced out of the bus window and immediately understood what he meant. This is where the approach bridge is located, and all the vehicles going onto it converge from all sides and are really prone to traffic accidents. ¡°Please, uncle, I have a heart condition, and my heart has been hurting since just now.¡± Emily covered her chest and approached him with a sobbing voice. ¡°Mr, can you take me to the hospital?¡± Mr. Will looked in the rear mirror of the bus. There was no need for a ¡°disguise¡± at all; think of how the bus had been in trouble the last few times and her face in the rear mirror, white as a ghost. ¡°Master driver, stop the bus, don¡¯t get into any trouble!¡± The few passengers in the carriage who was still awake overheard the conversation between Emily and the driver and began to help. ¡°OMG! Look at her pale face; hey, Mister! Please hurry up and get her off the bus. She needs to go to the hospital immediately. ¡± ¡°It¡¯s really hard for me.¡± Emily squeezed out a few tears and looked at the driver with pity. ¡°Hey, well, I¡¯m still dropping off guests here, so call a cab to the hospital yourself.¡± Mr Will¡¯s expression struggled for a few moments as the bus continued to slow down, and the steering wheel was flicked to lean to the right. The afterglow sweeps across the view out of the window, with only a few slings faintly visible in the distance across the river bridge. Great, I finally stopped before going up to the bridge! ¡°Thank you, Mr!¡± Emily¡¯s hand, which was covering her chest, crumpled into a fist in excitement. ?????? ? ? ? ? ? ? Before she could breathe a sigh of relief, however, the beautiful yet melancholic tone rang once more on the bus. Why? She turned her head incredulously to find out where the ringing phone was coming from, only to see the bus lurch forward so heavily that all the passengers ¡°flew¡± out of their seats. Emily¡¯s hands failed to grasp the railing beside the driver because she had to pretend to be ¡°holding her heart in her hands,¡± and with huge inertia and a resigned cry in her heart, she lunged forward. ¡°Next time, I¡¯ll make sure I grab something first!¡± The last image seen in consciousness was the cobweb-like windscreen in front of her. Chapter 2 No one had ever survived an incident like that, which made Emily wonder how she could still be fine. The first three ''nightmares'' had felt so bizarre that they left her in a daze, but the last time despite her attempts to intervene, she couldn''t save the people on the bus. Last time, I was just too unlucky. If I''d only been a little more attentive and clever, I''m sure I could have stopped the damn bus. She wants to save them. Every time the ''nightmares'' happen, she experiences a sudden loss of consciousness, unable to recall or understand what had just taken place apart from the spot where it happened. Was it because Mr. Will slowed down and caused a rear-end collision with the car in front? That''s what I thought happened just a few minutes ago. But it shouldn''t end in death if the bus lightly bumps another car, right? On another occasion, the bus took a sudden turn, not knowing whether a flat tire had caused it, a brake malfunction had occurred, or it was attempting to miss something. She had to be careful as she surveyed the view from the window near the bridge over the river. She knew that her time was running short. The majority of the passengers on the train continued to slumber or scroll through their mobile phones. Sitting in the next seat is a good-looking, geeky boy with his forehead pressed against the glass pane, and Emily notices that his eyeglasses reflect the light from outside. Since she could not view his eyes directly, she wondered if he had drifted off into sleep. She had attempted to persuade the driver to let her disembark, even though she was distressed. But if the other passenger voiced their desire for me to leave the bus, the driver would likely comply with what they requested. She had just pretended to have a heart attack to make the bus stop, making the other passengers panic. Thus creating such uproar that Mr. Will almost stopped the bus. Having gathered courage, Emily found herself drawn to the window. With a shaky hand, she carefully pulled back the blinds and peered outside, her heart racing with worriedness and anticipation. The entrance to the bridge over the river is now closed, and the road is flat with sparse cars. If Emily decides to get off here, she should not be in too much danger. She shifted her gaze from the window to the face of the good-looking young man with glasses, sleeping against the window in the next seat. With the discomfort gone, Emily saw where his hand was resting, bent down, swiftly reached out, and pressed his hand against her breast. Sorry, I don''t have many options left! The good-looking guy, who had just fallen asleep against the window, twisted his head in shock as his body shook. Hmm, I knew he wasn''t sleeping! Whatever! "Pervert! Someone being a pervert!" Emily jumped from her seat, hand firmly gram tightly against his so that it could not leave her breast, but her face still had to show an expression of horror, and she cried out. "Look at his what his hand doing." If she makes it out alive, she plans to try her luck as an actor! "Huh?" When he heard Emily shouting "pervert," The guy opened his eyes in bewilderment, looking like an innocent teenager who had been insulted by a sensual woman and seemed unable to associate himself with the word "pervert." When he realized what the girl was shouting, he hastily shook off Emily''s hand, took it away from her chest, and, with confusion in his eyes, "What are you doing ?" Due to Emily''s shout of alarm, passengers who were dozing or checking their phones were drawn to them and looked over with a gossipy expressions. The old grandfather looked at the young man with disappointment as he exclaimed, "You appear to be a respectable lad but to do something like this!" Another older woman in a floral shirt chimed in. "That''s right, How could you do such a things when you look so nice!" The handsome youth refuted, "No, Auntie, I haven''t done a thing!" Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. Emily shot him a look of scorn and anger, shouting, "Don''t you dare try to justify your behavior! You know what you did!" The good-looking young man, who felt wronged, is stunned when he sees her accusing him, "Y-You were the one who take my hand and press it against your..." Emily winced inside, seeing his expression, but still kept going, "You think I''ll keep quit about this because I''m young, don''t you ? Let me tell you, you''ve messed with the wrong person!" "You''re just being unreasonable ......" The handsome young man''s face flushed red with embarrassment as he was labeled a "pervert" and pointed at. He stuttered for a long while before finally managing to say, "You¡ªyou are crazy!" Emily apologized to the man in her heart and hoped that she would be able to make it up to him one day, "I''m sorry," she silently said, "but if I don''t do this, We will all be dead." Evidently frustrated by her behavior, the young man got up and changed seats. Seeing this, Emily couldn''t let the opportunity go as the time was still ticking, and she didn''t have much time left. "Where do you think you''re going!" Emily rushes to him and takes his hand, pulling him hard and walking to the front: "Mr. Will''s, this pervert here touch me inappropriately; please turn around and go down to the police station; I want to go to the police!" "Did anyone see the lad touch her ?" The driver didn''t hear anyone voice out, then looked back at the good-looking man, albeit geeky, and said, "The lad looks upright and a good person, not like someone who does this sort of thing." "I didn''t touch her in the first place! Just go, I''m not afraid!" When the good-looking young man heard he needed to go to the police station, he laughed despite his predicament. "You just touched me, you scum! Who are you trying to fool!" She felt sorry for the young man, but Emily could only glare at him and then turn her head to ask for help, "Can you all help me with my testimony? It won''t take long, I''m afraid he''ll get away without a witness!" The best outcome she could hope for was for the driver to take a U-turn and go to the police station, then all of them got out of the car and headed to the station to report the incident. Although by doing so, she risked wronging a good man, at least she saved a busload of lives, didn''t she? Even if Mr. Will didn''t turn around and only a few people got off with her and were willing to testify on her behalf, it was still better than a car full of people buried here. When the passengers heard they were going to the police station instead of continuing their journey, their support for her changed suddenly. It was almost as if they hadn''t cared in the first place. "Lady, I have to go back to pick up the children and cook dinner for the family, so I''m sorry I can''t be late." The floral-shirted aunt yelled, "Eh, okay, okay. It''s just being touched, it''s not like we''ve lost anything." Emily is astonished at her saying something like that and thoughts, Just being touched? Auntie, that''s not what you just said! Emily refocused her attention back on the matter and shifted her gaze back onto the older man, that supported her with an expectation gaze, "Excuse me, young lady," the old man said, his eyes shifting away from mine. "I was asleep and didn''t see if anyone touched you." "I can''t be a witness to that I didn''t see." "Yeah, yeah, we didn''t even see it, what if we''ve wronged the good guys?" Some people echoed. "The bar has gone so far out, how much time will it take to turn around?" More and more people are joining the chorus of disapproval. Emily''s heart grew cold as she saw the situation that had been tilted in her favor gradually take an unpredictable turn. The bridge was faintly visible ahead, and she might not have had enough time to get the driver to stop. Perhaps, this time, she will fail again in the "time loop." Do we have to try again next time? What if there is no next time? What if this is the last time she comes back to life? "Mr. Will, stop the car, I want to get off!" Emily decided to give up and just tried to leave the bus with the young man. She had wanted to save them; they were the ones who rejected it. "Young man hurry up and apologize first. Don''t take up any more time!" Some passengers are reluctant. "I didn''t touch her, so why should I apologize?" At this inexplicable request, The good-looking young man asked sarcastically in return and gave Emily an angry look. "I won''t budge when something wrong is done, and I won''t hesitate to go to the police station if I have to. It doesn''t matter if it''s a man or a woman who did what was wrong, it is still wrong! And regardless of how many people are around, justice will be served." Emily thought it was a blessing he hadn''t hit her after such an odd incident. Such a kind-hearted person she figured she''d have to thank him in person and repay the favor down the line. A voice from the back of the bus shouted out, "Oy, why don''t you just apologize, and we can move on?" Seeing that the driver was slowly slowing down and there was no traffic around, Emily finally started screaming and screaming, demanding forcefully to get out of the car. She refused to let the matter drop, and the young man is determined never to apologize that the driver finally pulled over and pressed the door button. "Yes, both of you go both of you, don''t hold up the driver!" "Exactly! They have their own business to settle in private, don''t drag a busload of people around to waste time!" "Hurry up and get yourselves down, don''t let us drive you down!" Several older men and women shouted at the driver, urging him to hurry up and open the door. Will seeing the passenger escalate into a rage, She could only let out a sigh and ask, "Stop stop stop, Emily do you need me to call the police for you ?" Boy clearly didn''t want to get out of the car for this inexplicable reason, but as soon as Emily saw the door open, she was almost eager to get out of the car, and as she did so, she took Boy by the arm and tried to drag him down the road. "Come, come with me to the police station!" It was already wrong to let this inexplicable thing happen to him, not to mention that he had shown concern for her on previous occasions and was a good person, even if she could only save this one. Seeing the young man standing in a daze, Emily could only sigh and pull him down as Will stumbled, trying to regain his balance. The bus left without a moment''s delay. No brake failures, no accidents, no mobile phone ringing; everything went incredibly smoothly. From the beginning to the end, the whole thing didn''t go how she expected, and no one wanted to get off with her, and there were even a few times when Emily thought she was going to "die" again ...... Until she stood firmly on the ground, that feeling of being in a dream still lingered around her. "I ...... I this is ......" Did she get off this easy?