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 ^{(it's beta!)}

A crisp October chill was whisked through the air by wisps of wind blowing through the air. David Villar sighed, watching his breath cloud up in front of his face. His friends were some time late, and it was almost getting dark. Impatient, David checked his watch.

"Three forty-seven..." Narrowing his eyes, David tugged his scarf tighter around his neck and pulled off his hood. Thick black hair, now revealed, stuck up in an unruly fashion. David shook his head, getting his hair out of his eyes. As he did so, his friends appeared just over the hill, waving.

"Yo, David!" They ran up to him, grinning madly. It occurred to David, once again, that he had weird friends as he stood, waiting for the inevitable thumps on the back and the quiet acceptance among them.

There was the taller one that had shouted out to David. He was known as Fritz, and had been called that for so long that not many people remembered his real name. Fritz was named for his luxuriously curly, bright red hair that accented his pale skin and brought out his deep green eyes. Although he was tall, and perhaps stronger than many of the football players at their school, Fritz was shy and submissive. David smirked slightly; Fritz had been that way at first, but as they got to know each other, the teenager had cut loose and relaxed---perhaps a little too much.

Than there was Blank. Blank's real name was Joseph Santilly, but no one ever stopped talking long enough to find out his name at all. Blank was a meek guy, quiet and organized. He spoke so rarely that many believed he couldn't speak at all. That, though, did not stop the girls. Most of them tried to ask him out, frightening him slightly because they tried so hard. In those female's minds, he was perfect. Wonderful wavy golden hair framed Blank's face, and his sparkling gray eyes were like deep pools of still well water splashed with sunlight. His grades were well above any one person at their school, too, which pushed people to think Blank is perfect. Which, of course, as David knew, is wrong.

Though, it did make him feel plain walking next to them. David was the background boy, the one who never got involved and hadn't gotten to get to know so many people that his name was well known. David wasn't even endowed with a nickname, as so many people he knew were. He was just...David Villar.

Oh well. The thought echoed in his head as if there were no ideas or knowledge to obstruct its path through his mind. Might as well enjoy life in the now.

"David, dude, wake up! Where'd you say we were goin'?" Fritz leaned forward to look down at his friend. It made David feel even shorter than he really was.

"To something cool that I found. You'll like it, I swear!"

Fritz's eyebrow went up, like eyebrows in the movies. He had been practicing at it for a long time for no apparent reason at all, and to be honest, he was pretty good at it. "Is it...haunted?"

"Who knows? I just found it on Wednesday."

"Mmm."

Blank tapped on David's shoulder. "Could it be that bus that I keep hearing about?" Blank's voice was quiet and kind of rough, like air going through a long tunnel, but it somehow possessed the charm to make girls go weak at the knees.

"Yeah...how'd you know, Jo?"

"I just figured..."

The gray eyes flickered for a second, making David wonder if the eyes were truly windows to a person's soul. It certainly seemed to reveal Blank's thought processes. Fritz suddenly prodded David's shoulder as they reached the edge of the trees.

"We...goin' in there?"

"We...goin' in there?" The trees whispered with the wind, leaves blowing up and around. The trees seemed to creak their old trunks, leaning forward to shoo them away from their home. David grinned widely.

"Where else could we be going, Fritz?"

"Burger King?"

Blank chuckled slightly as David rolled his eyes. "Come on, man. We only have an hour of sunlight left before we get stranded in the dark." Fritz frowned deeply, doubt creeping into his stare. But he sighed, closing his eyes. The red-haired teen turned to David.

"I just thought of a nickname for you, David."

"Yeah, what would that be?"

"The Serial Killer. You're killing me, dude."

David stared, bewildered for a moment. "...Right. C'mon."

The three boys walked into the forest and were barely on their way when the sounds of their neighborhood faded away and they were enveloped in a muffled silence, consistently broken by the boy's heavy breathing and crunching over dried, decaying leaves. A grayish-white lump seemed to loom up in the distance, and as they got closer, the shape of the bus could be seen. Fritz felt chills go down his spine as his eyes scanned the deserted bus. The rust had permeated nearly every surface of the bus, and dirty, old cans of beer stuck up in various places around it.

Blank coughed slightly, pointing at the windows. They were cracked and broken, several looking suspiciously like bullet holes. The tires were flat and one even had a nest of who-knows-what living in the rubber. David circled the bus, not discouraged by the neglected nature of the vehicle. The state inspection sticker on it showed the bus was rather old; from 1969, in fact.

He placed a gloved hand on the door, pushing it open. The bus's frame groaned slightly and several insect corpses dropped down from the top of the door.

"Ew, do you expect me t' go in there?" Fritz grimaced as he leaned forward into the bus, looking left and right. The first step into the bus was missing, leaving a wooden support where it used to be. David shrugged, testing the strength of the wooden support.

"I'm going in. Blank?"

Blank sighed. "I'd come back when it's warmer, David."

David stuck out his tongue, jumping up into the bus. "That's when the ticks are out, man! I don't want them nasty lil' bloodsuckers climbin' up into my clothes!" He turned to stare into the rest of the bus, noticing the driver's seat was missing.

Blank patted Fritz on the back. "He'll be out soon. We'll get something from the BK down the street as soon as we get out of here, all right?"

Fritz nodded. "Thanks, Blank...you're paying, yes?"

"Sure, just this once."

As they lapsed into silence, David strode through the bus's aisle. There were small animal cages left off to the side, small animal pellets littering the floor, and small four-fingered handprints all over the bus. Everything was small. There was a relatively new light bulb hanging in the ceiling, suggesting the bus was wired for electricity. David ran a finger across some old leather seats, which were covered with the four-fingered handprints. Dust and mold stuck to his glove and he held it up to his face to smell it. As he did so, a scuffling came from the plywood covering the ceiling of the bus. David glanced up, the scuffling right above him.

Eyes big as dinner plates, David dashed out of the bus and into Fritz, who stumbled slightly but managed to support them both.

"Dude, what just happened? Ya freak out?"

David grinned. "Uh...no, not at all. Let's come back tonight, kay?"

Fritz shook his head. "Nah, I'm gonna be up on the 'net tonight. I have some essays to type up."

David looked expectantly at Blank, who shrugged his shoulders. "I might...we'll see what comes up. Call my cell when you're ready, and I'll head to your place."

David rocked back and forth on his heels, waiting for Blank to show up. He had gathered a warm coat, a flashlight, and a camera, and he was quite excited for the night's excursion. Gritting his teeth, he checked the clock hanging above his front door. It read ten minutes 'til twelve. Impatience got the better of him and he dashed out and towards the forest.

Upon his arrival, he glanced back and forth along the edge of the trees. With a grin, he strode into the forest. After several long minutes, the silence was overpowering. Noises began to grow in volume and trees looked ominous on the edges of the flashlight's beam. David could feel chills up and down his spine, but ignored it. He wanted photos of the bus so the guys wouldn't think he was chicken.

Suddenly, the bus loomed up out of nowhere, its form completely twisted in the dark. David stuck his flashlight in his mouth while he armed his camera, frequently glancing around in paranoia. As soon as he got his camera out, he switched it to night time shots and aimed in front of himself. With a few clicks, he grinned and his confidence took an incredible jump. David crept closer to the bus, and as he took yet another picture, a crack sliced the silence behind him.

David jumped and turned, his eyes searching the trees. He sighed and relaxed. 'It was probably a squirrel.' He crept closer to the bus and snapped some more pictures. Creeping closer to the bus, David snapped more pictures, grinning happily. He felt eyes burning holes into his back and whirled, camera aimed in front of him.

Click.

Click.

Click.

There was nothing there but trees. No eyes, no movement, just...trees.

David shrugged and stepped onto the bus, flashing pictures all around the vehicle. As he reached the back of the bus, he heard something tapping on the metal flooring of the bus. He whirled around, snapping photos all the while. A shadow seemed to materialize in front of him, flickering. David took pictures, his mind attempting to come up with a plausible conclusion.

Eyes seemed to flicker in the shadow as it stepped closer to him. David, frightened, continued to click photos over and over again. Scratching noises started up in the ceiling above him and tiny four-fingered creatures were slipping in through windows.

Click.

Click.

Click.

David lost track of the shadow.

Click.

Click.

Click.

He heard breathing in his ear and whirled, snapping pictures.

Click.

Click.

Click.

A great maw opened up and blackness was all that awaited David.

Blank arrived at David's house, later than he figured he would have imagined he could be. About twelve thirty-ish, anyway. He knocked on the door, humming slightly to lighten the mood. David's mother opened up the door.

"Oh, Joseph! Where's David?"

"I'm coming here to pick him up..."

"I thought he was...!" David's mother's eyes grew larger. "Where is he?!"

Blank hesitated, but sighed. "He's in the woods, by the bus."

"The...bus?! Didn't your mother tell you not to go near that bus?"

Blank shook his head as Mrs. Villar pulled on her coat, mumbling to herself. She grabbed her flashlight and her cell phone. Turning to Blank, she gave him a stern look. "Come. We're going to get a few more people."

As soon as she had gathered a search group, they ventured into the forest, shouting for David. Blank could feel the anxious atmosphere closing in on him, making his heart thud nervously. It became more and more apparent that they weren't going to find David, no matter how hard they tried.

The group neared the bus, avoiding spreading out too far from each other. Blank hopped onto the bus and saw the beam from a flashlight under the back seat of the bus. He bent and picked it up, and as he did so, a slight glow caught his eye. Snatching it up, Blank bit his lip. There was the bus, darkness filling up most of the picture. Blank turned to the first picture and flicked through...

There was an undeniable sequence of events. Something had happened...something unnatural.

Crying was heard all around, and whispers and rumors milled together. The funeral was filled with friends, family, and people who simply wanted to know what happened. Voices loomed in the corners, muttering their stories, lies, all discussing the same subject.

"Did you hear about the Ghost Boy?"

"Yeah."

"I hear he shows up by the bus at midnight."

"Really?"

Fritz and Blank stood in the back, gritting their teeth against tears. David, the background boy...now his true name was lost to rumors and whispers, legends and stories.

Lost to his new name....The Ghost Boy.