One More Stop
Seventeen-year-old Zara glanced at the time and sighed. She had spent longer than expected studying at the library, and by the time she stepped outside, the streets were almost deserted. The evening air was cool, and the last rays of sunlight had already disappeared behind the buildings.
She hurried to the bus stop just in time to see her usual bus pulling away.
“Oh, come on...” she muttered.
The digital display at the stop flickered before showing only one remaining service for the night.
Route 13.
She had never seen that route before, but it was heading in the right direction. With no other way home, she stepped aboard.
The driver didn’t greet her.
He didn’t even glance in her direction.
His eyes remained fixed on the road as she quietly tapped her card and walked down the aisle.
There were only four other passengers scattered throughout the bus. An elderly man stared blankly out of the window. A woman sat with her head lowered, her face hidden beneath the hood of her coat. A teenage boy looked straight ahead without blinking. Near the back, another passenger sat perfectly still in the shadows.
No one spoke.
No one moved.
The only sound was the low hum of the engine as the bus pulled away from the curb.
Zara slipped into an empty seat beside the window, telling herself everyone was simply tired after a long day.
A few minutes passed.
She glanced outside.
Something felt... wrong.
Every street they drove through was completely empty.
There were no cars waiting at traffic lights.
No pedestrians walking along the pavements.
No shops with lights glowing in their windows.
Even the traffic signals seemed to change for no one.
The city, usually alive even late at night, had become eerily silent.
Zara frowned and pressed her forehead against the cold glass.
It was as if everyone had vanished.
Only the bus kept moving.
And the silence grew heavier with every stop.
