Epocheia

[FoxTrott]

Ericken jumped up from his seat when the horn sounded. "Is there a peacock in the road or what?" he asked, not quite joking. Vince shook his head. He took a quick step back when the man charged the bus, and wished he had his gun.

"What should we do?" Vince asked, obviously unsure. Forli never had manic strangers waiting to get run over.

[Sparrow]

Just then several peacocks walk onto the path, blocking the bus.
“Man, we’re gona die.” Steve mutters worriedly.
Sparrow looks over to him,
“Don’t say that. We’ll be fine.” she says reassuringly.
Suddenly a loud scraping is heard above, it’s the sound of the metal plating being torn up.
“... Okay, maybe I was too quick in saying that...” she says in a small tone.
Quickly she turns and opens the glove compartment. Then after digging through it pulls out a shoebox sided box.
“I hope you can use these.” she says quickly handing a strange silver gun to both Ericken and Vince.
“They’re dart guns” Steve quickly mentions, taking one from the box.

[FoxTrott]

Vince took the gun, and turned it over in his hands, figuring out how it would work. Ericken quickly took one and aimed it where the scraping was coming from, readying for the incoming attack.

"All right," Vince said, gripping the gun tight, "What's--"

"How do we not die?" Ericken interrupted. Vince closed his mouth. That was essentially what he was going to say.

[Sparrow]

Sparrow looks back to the road, seeing that the peacocks are still in the way. Then looking to Ericken and Vince,
“Okay here’s the things you need to know.” she says quickly.
“One, if and when he breaks through back away and keep away from him.” she points to the ceiling.
“Two, shoot the guy right away, don’t wait around.”
The scraping becomes louder.
“Three, Don’t remove your respirators.”
The ceiling is pulled open and the manic man looks down into the bus.
“Four, don’t let him bite you.” she says quickly, moving away from the hole.
The man makes a harsh inhuman sound as he jumps into the bus.

[FoxTrott]

Vince and Ericken nodded, Ericken closely watching the spot where the metal was being torn off and Vince running a plan through his head. Both backed away from the hole, though Vince quickly jumped onto a seat to gain higher ground. Ericken stood protectively in front of Steve and Sparrow, trying not to block their shots. The two fired at the monster, and hoped their marks hit.

[Sparrow]

The darts hit their mark and the man backs away. After a second he glares at Vince, seeming to notice he was not directly in the group. The Orb makes a jotting sound to try and distract the man. After a few seconds the darts take affect and the man appears to pass out.
“That was too easy.” Steve mutters.
Suddenly outside more of the inhuman sounds are heard as more manic people approach the bus.
Sparrow looks to Steve,
“Drive man!” she says quickly.
Steve runs to the wheel and checks the road.
There are no peacocks, but seventeen crazed looking people are rushing at the bus.
With out hesitation he floors it, a majority of the people jump out of the way, four are run over. Seven jump onto the roof, but have a difficult time getting to the hole because of the slick roofing.
“Hey thanks by the way.” Sparrow says happily, looking to Ericken.
She places a knee on a seat to gain balance, but be able to move quickly if need be, however it appears her gun is jammed.
Suddenly a manic woman jumps into the bus, she appears to be a florist, do to the apron she wears. She immediately looks to Vince then just as quickly jumps at him.

[FoxTrott]

Vince took a half-step back, and exhaled. Ericken smirked. "Easy? That was cake," the latter said. He quickly fell onto the floor when the bus jolted forward. Vince managed to keep his footing.

"Don't mention it," Ericken replied, smiling at Sparrow. He stood up in time to see another crazy zombie thing jump into the bus. His smile disappeared. "Vince, look out!"

Vince turned, and was tackled by the manic florist. His gun fell to the floor, and slid out of reach. The Forlian wrestled with his attacker, doing his best to keep its head away from him. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ericken fire his dart gun. Vince bit his lip, and hoped the dart wouldn't hit him.

If it did, he would kill Ericken.

[Sparrow]

The dart hits its mark, hitting the woman in the side of the neck. The florist makes a small cry of pain, quickly pulling the dart out and dropping it to the floor while jumping back, she trips over a seat. The florist stands hazily, half glaring at Ericken. She makes a screeching sound and is about to leap at him when Steve hits her over the head with a parkingbar, thankfully K-Oing her.
Sparrow smiles in relief.
“Vince, are you okay?” she asks calmly.
The bus seems to swerve slightly, still speeding along.

[FoxTrott]

Vince scrambled to his feet the moment the woman got off of him. He supported himself by grabbing the edge of a seat. Ericken instinctively ducked at the screech, but was surprised when he didn't see it lunge at him. He calmly stood back up, giving a cheeky smile.

"I'm fine," Vince replied. He wiped a bit of manic person spittle off his face. "Just shaken."

"That's his way of saying he's bruised and probably bloodied, but still alive," Ericken translated. Vince glared back at him, and rubbed his shoulder. "But, wait..." He did a quick head count. "Who's driving the bus?"

[Sparrow]

“.... Driving the..... bus....?” Sparrow and Steve seem to say together in confusion.
Steve peers back to the windshield, he taps Sparrow on the shoulder. Sparrow turns to look. The wheel is spinning on its own and the bus swerves into a grove of vines, still maintaining speed. The remaining people on the roof are pulled off by vines.
“Oh Fugicake.” Sparrow says quickly frantically pointing to the wheel. The bus jumps off a ramp like rock, making the floor heave, and starts speeding down hill. Sparrow trips into a seat. Steve hits his head while trying to get to the wheel and becomes dazed. Up ahead a cliff can be scene. It would be a perfect postcard picture with the high view of the jungle below.

[FoxTrott]

Vince let out a medley of curses any sailor would blush at, most of them in Forlian. He ran for the wheel with Ericken hot on his heels.

"Oh crap oh crap oh crap oh crap!" Ericken exclaimed. When the bus hit the ramp, Ericken tripped, and fell right onto Vince. The two were on the ground while the bus sped down the hill.

"I always thought you'd be on top, Vincent," Ericken chided. Vince growled at him.

[Sparrow]

The bus stops bouncing and seems to stop.
“... Did we hit something?” Sparrow asks weakly, sitting up in the seat she fell into. A spindle of her hair seems to float up into the air.
“What the?” she says confused. Several items on the ground rise up.
Sparrow stands and looks out the windshield.
“Holy Tacobar!” she shouts panicked.
The bus had flown off the cliff and was in a free fall.
Everything becomes weightless, Sparrow holds onto a nearby seat.
“Emergency chute deploy!” she says quickly.
A parachute pops out of the back of the bus and succeeds in slowing it down.
Steve snaps out of his daze and looks out the hole in the top of the bus.
“Oh come on!?” he says panicked while grabbing onto a handrail.
The bus crashes into a shallow creek. The surroundings are full of bird songs and a clamor of insect noises.

[FoxTrott]

"Hey... we stopped!" Ericken observed happily. He was apparently ignoring the strands of his hair rising up.

"We're falling, idiot!" Vince growled. He scrambled out from underneath Ericken, assisted by the brief feeling of weightlessness. "Have you ever been in an airplane?!"

"I'm not a pilot," Ericken replied, sticking his tongue out. He was interupted by the bus crashing into the creek, his head slamming into the floor. There was a fine crack in his respirator mask.

"Is... is everyone all right?" Vince grabbed the edge of a seat, and stood up. He looked down after not receiving a reply from Ericken, and found him knocked out. Rolling his eyes, Vince took the much slimmer Ericken in his arms, and dumped him on a seat.

[Sparrow]

Sparrow stands shakily,
“I’m good. Steve you okay?” she asks.
She goes to Ericken’s side to check on him.
“Oh dear, is he okay?”
Steve pushes himself up and looks out the now broken window.
“I’m fine.... Aw man.” he says after a second.
“What is it?” Sparrow asks.
“We’re in the chasm...”
“What? Are you sure?”
“Look for yourself.” he says pointing to a palm tree the height of a redwood.
“Oh... This is bad... We have to find the slope.” she says worriedly.
Both of their watches beep, like clockwork they take inhalers out of their pockets and use them, then cough slightly.
“I’ll take a peek around, I’ll be right back.” he says putting his inhaler away, then climbs out the broken window, the door is apparently jammed.
Sparrow pockets her inhaler.

[FoxTrott]

"Ericken... he's fine. Just--"

"--AH!"

"--nevermind."

Ericken had fallen off the seat in surprise. To him, it felt like he was on top of Vince one moment and elsewhere the next. Though there was a large bruise on his forehead and his mask was slightly cracked, he was fine. Vince watched the two use their inhalers, and briefly wondered what they were for.

"I'll come with!" Ericken exclaimed, running after Steve. Vince would have stopped him if he wasn't already out the window.

"... Well, this is a fine kettle of fish," Vince stated to nobody in particular.