The bus had been on the road for several days across the wilds, pausing near sundown at a pop-up human gathering spot for so fixes. The area was near the Vedanta outpost, with several other well-known Polluted Zones, including the Erdtree’s, nearby.
This spot saw a steady stream of teams coming and going, picking up supplies and digging up relics, so it naturally beca a hotspot for temporary traders.
With the people ca various sellers looking to earn a buck. Small vendors darted among the rest stop crowd, selling everything from drinks and food to even weapons, maps, and information. It was a busy scene.
A young boy selling candies approached Kestrel, begging, "Please buy so, miss. One ashcredit for a scoop. They’re really tasty."
Kestrel glanced at the plain candies, not very interested. But the boy’s looks reminded her of Muros from the East Shore. Their ages and the sly sparkle in their eyes were eerily alike. So, she handed over two ashcredits, grabbed a small bag of candies, and barely had ti to taste them when their driver appeared from the driver’s seat, banging on the door.
"Get in, get in. I’m taking off!"
Passengers began to grumble, "What the... We’ve been jostling around for days, our backs are about to break. We just sat down and didn’t even get to take a sip of water."
"Just chill a bit longer, Mr. Driver. We’re almost there anyway."
"Hold up, I’m grabbing so food."
But the driver wasn’t up for listening. "Hop on if you want to, stay if you don’t." The engine’s roar made clear his plan to leave. The passengers had to hustle aboard. Before the last one could get a solid step on the footboard and close the door, the impatient bus sped off, kicking up a dust cloud.
"Sothing’s off," Kestrel thought. She noticed the driver up front was super tense. The usually calm and detached man now looked like he was swept up in an internal wave of worry.
His strong fear didn’t need to be felt by touch of tendrils, it was clearly bleeding into Kestrel’s thoughts.
Kestrel peeked out the window. The bus was zooming at top speed, leaving a dust trail on the narrow road.
Back at the gathering spot, so folks seed to have caught on. They hopped on their vehicles and started chasing the escaping bus, racing down the dust-choked road.
Kestrel’s eyes grew wide, looking at the sky. The sky was peaceful and beautiful, with the sun gently sinking and a blend of green and purple evening lights flashing brighter than usual.
The place was too quiet— apart from a few rushing cars, the whole wilderness was wrapped in a suffocating silence, like sothing was quietly looming.
Kestrel could see the cold sweat trickling down the driver’s neck, and the rider on a motorcycle chasing their vehicle had a look of sheer terror.
Finally, Kestrel figured out what was going on. She leaned out the window, trying to yell at the bustling crowd at the gathering spot, urging them to run. She even spotted the candy-selling boy, the one around Muros’ age, happily looking at the two ashcredits she’d given him.
But it was already too late, her voice faded into the dusty air.
Suddenly, the passengers who’d been sipping water, the kids who’d been darting around selling candy, and the vendors trading goods, seed to be swallowed up by sothing and vanished from Kestrel’s sight.
So many people, such a lively scene, and in a blink, they were all gone.
The gathering spot filled with human voices, goods, and vehicles was quietly devoured by so unseen thing. Not even a footprint was left on the ground. The road, where the car had stirred up dust, was left with nothing but empty wilderness.
So invisible creature seed to always be following the bus.
A motorcycle without enough power lagged behind. The rider had a ghostly face and stretched his hand forward in desperation. Kestrel watched in horror as his bike, his body, his head... gradually disappeared.
Kestrel blinked.
The last thing to disappear was the hand that was still reaching out for help.
The bus driver pushed the gas pedal to the floor, and the vehicle seed to take flight.
As the sky grew dark, so stars showed up. In the distance, the silhouette of a watchtower appeared. The small rooftop of the Vedanta outpost shone a faint light in the dim twilight, like a lighthouse popping up in the middle of a stormy sea.
Seeing the ’lighthouse,’ the crushing power behind Kestrel started to slowly fade.
The bus, with its overheating engine, stumbled into the outpost’s wall. The shocked passengers got off one by one.
"What just happened? I was terrified..."
"It was the Polluted Zone spreading. The people who were left behind got swallowed up."
"Swallowed up? So many people, just like that?"
"Gone, all gone."
"Thank God our bus was fast. Otherwise, we would’ve ended up the sa way. They didn’t even know what happened when they turned into monsters."
The driver hopped off the bus, slamd the door shut, and squatted alone in a corner of the road, lighting a cigarette.
"He’s so heartless?" So folks started whispering, "He didn’t even shout a warning. So many people didn’t get a chance to run."
"Yeah, why didn’t he tell everyone to run? He’s so selfish."
"He charged a ton, his attitude sucked, and he’s heartless. Duh, what a lousy man."
The driver heard these words but didn’t respond. He just kept smoking. The red glow of his cigarette lit up his cold, wrinkled face.
He’d been running this route for over 20 years, knowing every risk on the road, every possible danger, and even more about human nature.
If he’d shouted a warning earlier, the folks living at the place would’ve panicked imdiately. They would’ve rushed to block the road, and those without cars would’ve fought to get on board. Then no one would’ve been able to escape.
They could call him selfish or cold-hearted, but he ultimately got the people on the bus to safety, making their fare worth it.
Kestrel opened the paper packet she’d been holding, took out a gray candy, and popped it in her mouth.
Just as she’d suspected, it didn’t taste good. In fact, it was pretty bitter.
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