The Rust Show

 

 

 

henrietta higglbottom set forth down the street where the house she had claimed as her own stood in sore need of repair - it looked as if it might collapse at any moment which is probably why she didn’t have to fight anyone for it

 

she was of school age but exactly how many years she had roamed the planet was unknown even to her

 

since all the people who normally control a child had perished in the plague she had decided quite wisely that she didn’t wish to return to the decrepit school house where they told people what to do all the time even when to go to the toilet

 

the people at the school had come looking for her at first but gave up when she hid in the attic or pretended she was an old old lady that had already finished school

 

she was moderately happy and quite often sang songs or made pictures or made up stories and poems and spoke them out loud to all her imaginary friends

 

that day in the windy city while she was walking slowly through a quiet mist a big square bus came chugging down the street approaching her 

 

the bus’s lights were twinkling and it looked a little unreal like it might have appeared out of the mist from another dimension

 

it wheezed to a stop and henrietta watched as an old very tall and very thin man unfolded himself from the drivers seat and pushed a lever that opened a door on the side of the bus away from henrietta and stepped down

 

hulloooooo he called out

 

henrietta wasn’t sure what to say or do -- the old man did not seem threatening to her and she trusted her own instincts

 

she waited quietly to see what would happen next

 

would you like to go on an adventure the old driver said in a booming voice

 

henrietta finally spoke what do you call that thing you ride in?

 

why don’t you know, its the ominous bus

 

the ominous what?

 

the ominous bus and i am the driver

 

well that’s fairly obvious what kind of adventure?

 

the old driver took off his bus driver’s cap and scratched his head

isn’t that the point of adventures? you can’t really say what kind they are ahead of time…… now can you?

 

henrietta thought about this for a minute and then nodded

 

i probably should go pack some things

 

take your time take your time -- we don’t have anywhere to be right now but at the stroke of midnight we must be on the road.

 

the old driver took out an enormous pocket watch and held it up for her to see

 

it had beautiful silver numbers and hands on a shiny onyx background -- the funny thing was it seemed to have more than 3 hands - it was hard to say how many maybe 12, 13, or 24. she could see though that she didn’t have much time so she ran back to her crumbling house and packed a suitcase and a backpack with clothes, books, her paint box, a small teddy bear, a toothbrush, a hairbrush, and a very small toy piano

 

she ran back to where she had left the ominous bus and the driver and found the driver behind the wheel and the door open

 

she climbed up the silver stairs and found a seat in the front where she could see and talk to the old driver and he pulled the door closed and the ominous bus set off down the street as the church clock chimed midnight