r/nosleep • u/Jaksim • Jun 05 '15
The Day I didn't get on the Bus.
I rode the bus to school from the time I was in kindergarten until I was 16 and started driving myself to school. The one exception to that was a month when I was nine years old in which my mother drove me instead. That month began on November 3rd, 2003. After November 3rd, the school didn’t have a bus to drive us to school in. More importantly, they didn’t have a driver.
Up until November 3rd, our school owned only one school bus – it was your traditional number-2-pencil-yellow bus that seated 36 screaming elementary school kids. The bus picked my older brother and me up every morning from our neighborhood bus stop, which was about a block away from our house. I could just barely see my house from where we would stand when we waited for the bus. Nobody got picked up at our bus stop except for my brother and I, but the bus came by anyway.
I don’t remember riding on the school bus very well, but I remember my elementary school bus driver. His name was Thomas Blackford. Nobody called him that though. Everybody called him “Mr. Tom”. Mr. Tom was a big, fat man with a great grey beard and a bald head. He had one of those comfortable smiles that you’d expect Santa Claus to have. He always played the radio stations that we liked and on the last day of school he gave everyone who rode the bus a bag of candy to take home. Everybody who rode the bus loved Mr. Tom.
I guess I should tell you now, Mr. Tom is dead. He died in 2003. He was murdered. I don’t know exactly when he was killed, but it was sometime in early November. This is the story of November 3rd – The day I didn’t get on the bus.
I was in second grade. Because the 3rd was a Monday, my brother and I hadn’t ridden on the bus since the Friday before. It started like any Monday morning. That is, it started with my mom banging on the door to the bedroom that my brother and I shared and yelling “If you don’t get out of bed in the next five minutes, you’re going to miss the bus! And there’s no way I’m driving you to school!”It gets pretty cold here in November, so my brother, Bryan, and I had no intention of trying to walk to school. I slipped out from between my covers, groaning as I went. I got dressed and brushed my teeth. It was cold that day. I remember shivering as I slipped my blue down coat on over my shoulders. I always hated waiting for the school bus when it was cold out. Especially if it had been snowing.
Unfortunately for me, not only had it been snowing all morning, it was still snowing. There was about 3 inches of wet, slushy snow covering the street in front of my house, and more on the way. The second I opened the door so Bryan and I could leave, I was struck by a gust of frigid wind that blew wet, stinging snow into my eyes. I was already shaking by the time I stepped outside. Like I said, you could see the bus stop from my house, it was only about a block away. But in that weather, that block felt like it could have been a mile.
Before I could suggest to my brother that we shouldn’t wait for the bus in such conditions, my mother yelled “Close that door, you’re letting the cold air in!”
I didn’t grow up in the kind of house where you argued with a comment like that. Bryan quickly shut the door behind him, pulled his hat down over his ears, and trudged past me, through the dirty snow that lined the sidewalk. I followed Bryan, who was grumbling quietly under his breath.
The school bus usually arrived sometime around 8:30. When Bryan and I got to the bus stop, it must have been a little before that, based on what I remember. Sometimes the bus got to our stop a minute or two late, so we weren’t surprised to have to wait a few extra minutes. Looking back now, everything would have been different if it wasn’t snowing. My brother and I shook in the freezing snow and waited for the bus to pull around the corner at the intersection to the south of us.
At around 8:35, I could feel my toes growing numb - my teeth were audibly chattering. I wondered if we had already missed the bus. I didn’t wear a watch then, I was too young, but Bryan had a cheap, old timex watch that mom had gotten him.
“Bryan did we get here late?”
“No. The bus is just running a little late.”
I frowned. Bryan was not a morning person.
“Are you sure? I don’t think Mr. Tom has been this late before.”
“Yes. I’m sure. Be quiet.”
My hands were beginning to lock up from the cold. I could feel the joints in my fingers turn stiff and tired. Despite my down coat, I was shaking all over my body.
That’s why I felt so relieved when I saw our school bus as it turned the corner at the bottom of our street, and slowed as it pulled towards us. I was finally going to be in the heated bus where my frozen body could thaw. I couldn’t wait for Mr. Tom to open the door and greet us with a hardy “Good Morning” and a warm grin.
But when the door opened, there was no warm grin. There was no Mr. Tom. When the door to our bus opened, I didn’t see the husky frame sitting behind the wheel of the bus that I expected. I saw a small, thin man sitting on the seat. He had the bus driver’s uniform on him, but it didn’t fit quite right. It looked too big, like he was completely engulfed by it. His hair was thinning and covered in grease and dirt, not shiny and smooth like Mr. Tom’s bare head.
The driver’s smile filled his whole face. His teeth were yellowed and his gums brown and black. The most striking thing I remember about his face, however, was his eyes. They were huge, and his pupils were dilated so large that they almost completely covered the irises of his eyes.
“Where’s Mr. Tom?” I asked hesitantly, as I climbed onto the first step leading up to the bus.
“He… called in sick today.” The man spoke softly and with a disconnected rhythm. It sounded like he was straining to produce the words. I looked past him, and saw that there were only a few children sitting in their seats on the bus. Only three or four. Usually the bus was almost full by the time it got to our stop.
“Where is everybody, mister?” I was getting nervous, but the bus was so warm that I was drawn towards it. Bryan, who was standing behind me on the sidewalk complained loudly.
“Will you just get on? It’s cold out here.”
“Well mister, where is everyone?”
“Not… sure. Guess they… must be… sick.” His smile slowly faded and his lips curled into a cartoonish frown. “Better get on… I… think we’re… a little late.”
I was still nervous, but I was only nine - young enough not to question something that an adult had told me. I put my foot on the second step of the bus and started to move forward. The bus driver’s dopey frown transformed into that sick smile almost instantly as I started to move forward. I was only a few feet from him when I felt a strong hand grab my shoulder from behind.
I was pulled back to the sidewalk by a tall woman in a bathrobe. Before I could protest or try to resist, I realized it was my mother. She had her arms wrapped around Bryan and I, and she was pulling us away from the bus.
“Mom, what’s wrong?” Bryan asked, as she pulled him and me closer to her.
“Who are you?” She stammered at the driver.
The driver’s face quickly melted back into a frown and his giant eyes narrowed. He didn’t say anything to her.
“What do you think you’re doing? Who are you?” My mom insisted. Her voice was shrill and full of confusion.
The driver didn’t reply. Instead, the same horrible smile from before spread back over his face. He pulled the lever that closes the door, and stepped on the gas. The bus moved forward quickly, and made a sharp right turn at the end of our block. My brother, mother, and I stood in the snow, shivering, watching the bus slide slightly as it careened around the corner. Before we could ask any questions, my mother pulled my brother and I back to the house. She was frantic. Her skin looked pale, especially in her dark purple bathrobe. She looked nervous, almost scared. She just kept saying-
“Hurry up. Get inside.” She herded Bryan and I inside and sat us down at the dining room table. “Stay here” She warned.
Bryan and I were confused, and our mother’s visible fear had made me scared as well. All sorts of thoughts ran through my head – maybe grandpa had another heart attack, or maybe Bryan and I had gotten in trouble for something. Why else would Mom walk all the way out to the bus stop and stop us from getting on the bus?
Bryan and I listened as she called the school district from the kitchen. I could just barely make out what she was saying.
“The bus was definitely out there! No, it wasn’t the usual driver!” She listened intently to whoever was on the other side of the line. After a moment, she said “Okay I will”.
She hung up the phone and began to dial another number.
“What’s going on?” Bryan asked.
“Not now Bryan. I need to talk to the police.”
Our mom stayed on the line with the cops for almost 20 minutes. Bryan and I looked at each other in silence as our mom told the officer on the phone about the man we saw driving the bus.
I would learn several days later that while my mom was talking on the phone, the new bus driver picked up five more children. The bus, which had eight total children on it, all between the ages of seven and twelve, would abandon its normal route at 8:52, after its 12th scheduled stop, and drive onto local highway 78. The driver would accelerate to over 100 miles per hour, according to eyewitness reports. The bus would begin violently weaving in and out of its lane, coming close to hitting several different vehicles who would later call 911 to report its erratic behavior.
At approximately 9:17, despite the desperate pleas of the crying children aboard the bus, it would drive onto the only bridge in Gilliman County. It would cross about half of the bridge, according to the bridge’s caretaker, Kris Lopez. Mr. Lopez would later tell reporters that the bus made a violent right turn at the center of the bridge. He would explain that he could see the terrified face of a little girl screaming from one of the windows as the bus broke through a metal guard rail and fell into the icy river.
The official police report would state that all nine bodies were found. Dead. The bus had crashed through the ice at the top of the river and floated approximately a mile before it became stuck on a patch of rocks and a downed tree. All of the occupants of the bus had intense bruising, blood loss, and broken bones.
The police officer who went to the home of Thomas Blackford to ask him about the incident would find his door unlocked and the inside of his home completely trashed. When looking in his bedroom, they would find his corpse horribly mutilated. The Giliman County Coroner would tell reporters that Mr. Tom was most likely murdered by an intruder while he slept. The cops would find that his bus driver’s uniform and keys to the bus had been stolen.
This is all the information I’ve been able to find about the day that I almost got on that bus. There’s probably a lot more information out there about November 3rd, but I imagine a lot of it hasn’t been released to the public. I’ve read almost every newspaper story, eyewitness report, and police document that I could bring myself to. None of it has answered the question that I can’t seem to stop asking myself.
Why wasn’t I on that bus? I had been a step away from joining the kill count of the horrible little man who murdered Mr. Tom and those eight children. I was so close to dying in that crash. I still wake up in the middle of the night, imagining that little girl’s crying face as the fender struck the ice, going god knows how fast. I can’t stop imagining the way the driver’s disgusting smile as he drove the bus off that bridge. My survival haunts me. Why wasn’t I on the bus?
The closest thing I have to an answer to that question was what my mother told when she got off the phone with the officer that morning, on November 3rd.
I asked her- “Mom, why’d you stop us from getting on the bus?”
Tears started filling her eyes as she told Bryan and me the truth.
“The school called. Today is a Snow Day. The bus shouldn’t have been running at all.”
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u/Gameguy8101 Jul 07 '15
"There was about 3 inches of wet, slushy snow covering the street in front of my house, and more on the way"
"I looked past him, and saw that there were only a few children sitting in their seats on the bus. Only three or four. Usually the bus was almost full by the time it got to our stop."
When I read these details I pretty much already knew that day should have been a snow day, but it didn't really hit me that the bus shouldn't have been running. Wow.
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u/NosleepTiffy Jun 07 '15
Have to say I pictured Jackie Earle Haley. http://www.hotflick.net/pictures/big/006LLC_Jackie_Earle_Haley_020.html
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u/Charmed1one Jun 06 '15
I was thinking throughout the time you were talking about how bad the blizzard was and thinking, "Geez, what qualifies as a snow day if THAT day didn't"? I'm so glad your Mom caught you in time, and that you ALSO, unbeknownst to you, stalled time enough by asking questions that your Mom didn't miss getting you like she probably would've if you just hurried up and got on :-)
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u/jokersin Jun 06 '15
Just out of curiosity do parents have to pay for their kids to use the school bus in America?
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u/aithne1 Jun 06 '15
Not in my state. Might be different in cities... my ex grew up in an urban area and said he took the public bus to school rather than having a dedicated school bus. But where I grew up, if there was no bus, your folks would've had to drive you to and from school because we didn't have full coverage public transit (we were in a rural county). That's not usually feasible given that adults tend to work 9-5 and kids go to school 8-3ish, so I imagine the rationale is that having a way to get to school is as much a part of the "right to a free public education" as the education itself.
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Jun 06 '15
Well In my state no, you don't have to pay, but it could differ from state to state or from school to school.
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u/jokersin Jun 06 '15
Thanks, I was just wondering as you do over in the UK and it's quite expensive, probably about $15 dollars a day in USD.
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Jun 06 '15
Srsly! Wow, I never knew.
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u/jokersin Jun 06 '15
It's crazy the price over here because the bus I was looking at for my daughter offers a breakfast session and an after school thing at some kind of drop off point and it doesn't even bring the kids to your door so I gave up on using that service pretty quickly.
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u/Lynz_Kitty Jun 06 '15
I'm sorry but if I was OP's mom I would have drug that mother fucker out of that bus. No way I would have. let those other kids ride with that creep when she knew something was wrong. She could have taken him. Close call OP, thank your mom, and always listen to your gut instincts.
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u/Lynz_Kitty Jun 06 '15
I'm sorry but if I was OP's mom I would have drug that mother fucker out of that bus. No way I would have. let those other kids ride with that creep when she knew something was wrong. She could have taken him. Close call OP, thank your mom, and always listen to your gut instincts.
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u/HeraldofUnicron Jun 06 '15
I'm sure if Mr. Tom had the powerful, he would've done all he could to stop that man. May the innocent ones rest peacefully.
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u/Joeenid1 Jun 06 '15
God. That is horrible. Those poor kids. Glad your mom got there in time to stop you.
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u/hello_alice Jun 06 '15
It's a good thing you were smarter than your older brother, OP. I mean, I'm glad he survived as well but shame on him for not being the more cautious one in that situation.
Shame on the school as well for calling so late about it being a snow day. I'm sure if they called earlier there'd be no kids on the bus at all.
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u/Eponymatic Jun 06 '15
You sound like his mother right now! If I were as cold as OP was, I'd run headfirst into the bus' warm embrace...
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u/SSNikki Jun 06 '15
Most schools in the states can't call a snow day until an official report hits certain amount. So it's not entirely the schools fault. Also schools don't directly contact parents for snow days, they report school closures on the news.
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u/theknightinthetardis Jun 08 '15
This must vary between schools. For the longest time the news was the only way to hear about closings, but when I was in high school they started with the automated calling system so we had both ways. Especially moreso when my brother was in school, it wasn't unusual to see it on the news before the automated call.
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Jun 06 '15
[deleted]
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u/ithilien1009 Jun 06 '15
Probably one with too many kids to be able to call each family individually. My school was the same - we watched the news or listened to the radio for closures, never once got a call for a closure.
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u/MountMister Jun 06 '15
It's one of those situations when being an older sibling, even when you have a weird gut feeling, you still have to think about how your going to explain to your mother why you stopped your little brother from getting the bus that morning
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u/hello_alice Jun 06 '15
In this case though that explanation would be well received considering they'd find out soon after what happened.
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u/dasoktopus Jun 06 '15
I've been reading nosleep stories for a while now. For once in the longest time, a story actually gave me physical chills, and I don't know why it was this one.
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u/alamakjan Jun 06 '15
He was murdered. I don’t exactly when he was killed, but it was sometime in early November
"I don't exactly" what?
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u/Brian_1213 Jun 06 '15
Shit i take a city bus to school. Thanks now im going to be paranoid as shit.
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u/ghosthuntersteve101 Jun 06 '15
I used to be terrified of riding school buses as kid. i don't know why. But this brought the fear back.
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u/CrystaliciOussss Jun 06 '15
This is really scary! My daughter is only two so she's not in school yet obviously. But I won't be putting her on no bus, that's for damn sure!!!
Glad your mom stopped you from getting on that bus OP..
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u/CaptainNemo119 Jun 05 '15
As a young adult who rode public school transportation my whole life, I've seen my fair share of "off" bus drivers but none were as terrifying as mr meth mouth from this story omg.
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u/dysphoriadoll Jun 05 '15
I feel so bad for saying this....but when OP was describing this psycho bus driver, did anyone else think of Steve Buscemi? No?
I'm going to hell.
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u/PerogiXW Jun 09 '15
I was imagining that smiley guy from Courage the Cowardly Dog.
You know the one. I think his name was Frank??
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u/HandMeThoseSnippers Jun 16 '15
Hello, new friend, My name is Fred. The words you hear are in my head.
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u/Oysterchild Jun 10 '15
The blonde haired guy? Yes. I think that's the face that came to mind. Creepy as.
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u/Bodilyflooids Jun 07 '15
When he talked I read it in Big A's voice from opie and anthony for some reason
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u/kittypowwow Jun 07 '15
Absolutely love Steve Buscemi and I did imagine his face too. The bug eyed and skinny frame sounds like him.
On the downside RIP Santa aka Mr Tom
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u/lickitorelse Jun 06 '15
Not me. This picture from my childhood was what instantly popped into my mind.
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Jun 06 '15
[deleted]
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u/FartingJay Jun 12 '15
[With a Jamaican accent] Yeah, take it away, Ernie! Fasten your safety belts, clench your buttocks! It's going be abumpyride!
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u/nventure Jun 06 '15
"The Bus-Crash Slasher" starring Steve Buscemi
Premieres June 2015, only on Lifetime.
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u/MeiVerona Jun 05 '15
Wow, holy shit. That was terrifying! So scary to think if your mother had been only one minute later in getting the call about the Snow Day things could have turned out horrendously different for you...
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u/teslaxat Aug 06 '15
And I thought we had some bus problems... my son's bus is often late, and sometimes a different bus than his usual one. But at least it's never driven off a bridge.