Safe Than Sorry

On the 25th of May, Reema, Dilip and Sneha along with their class took a class excursion to Goa.

Excitement was buzzing in the air. Everyone couldn’t wait to reach Goa and have a good time unaccompanied by their parents. Just the 10th grade students, two teachers and the driver.

Unfortunately, for them, the bus broke down on the way, making a spluttering sound. Sneha, being the baby she was, burst into tears, sobbing and wiping her snot on Dilip’s shirt.

Reema being the mature, smart person she was, stepped out of the bus to determine where they were. But all she could see was pitch-black. It was night and all the streetlights were switched off. Looking at her phone, she realized that there was no signal making it impossible to contact anyone. She entered the bus, a little scared and quietly told Dilip, her twin brother about the situation.

Dilip being the brains of the family, decided to take a small group of students and scour the surroundings in hopes of finding a clue to where they were. Most students were reluctant to come, but he managed to round up a few. Turning on the flashlights on their phones, the group started the search. But all they found was sand. There were no trees, no water bodies and absolutely no sign of life.

Defeated, they walked back to the bus and let everyone in on the situation. Sneha, whose sobs had succumbed to silent tears, now began wailing uncontrollably and begging everyone to run away with her. On top of that, the 2 teachers and driver who had come with them were nowhere to be seen.

Thankfully, everyone had carried pillows and blankets for the journey and thus were able to get somewhat comfortable and sleep. Suddenly, a distant rumbling sound could be heard. The students simply passed it off as the rumbling of a distant plane far way and went back to sleep. But Dilip sensed that something was wrong. The sound was slightly different from that of a plane. And boy was he right! Because the next minute, a piercing shriek could be heard. Everyone got off the bus, a little hazed and surprised, confusion clouding over their faces. Some looked scared, clutching their pillows to their chests. An aura of fright surrounded them.

After doing a headcount, as a precaution, they discovered that one of them was missing. Reema was gone!

Unable to sleep, she had sneaked out of the bus to try to find a solution to their problem. Her mind racing, trying to figure it out. However, she wasn’t very successful.

While everyone was stressing out, Sneha saw something that would scare her for the rest of her life. But she kept quiet and silently left the bus, running as far away as she could. Then suddenly, they heard that rumbling sound again. But this time it was slightly louder.

Dilip didn’t know what came over him, but he ran all over the place, trying to find his beloved sister. He screamed her name until his voice went hoarse, but to no avail. Then, looking far right, he noticed something that looked like a body. He ran towards it as fast as his legs could run, only to notice that it was a dead body. Reema’s dead body with blood gushing out of her head. Multiple broken bones left her body and limbs contorted. Her skin was cut open in many places. Her head was half- severed and her face like the rest of her body was a contorted, unrecognizable mass of mangled flesh.

And that’s when he saw it – a stone probably as big as an elephant, hurtling towards him and the bus at rocket speed. He had no time to run. The stone crushed his body the same way it had killed his sister. He was also left a deformed mass of flesh and bones like his sister.

That is when he realised what the rumbling sound was. It was the sound of the stone rolling down the hill. Whether the others survived or not, he would never know. But he knew one thing – it’s better to be safe than sorry.

They should have listened to Sneha.