Something weird is happening with the buses...

Last night I was making my way home, your average commute from the city. I emerged from the subway tunnels into a world enveloped with a deep blue sky. I smiled, drinking in the calm of the bus station. I didn't wait long before a bus came along, snagging a prime spot by the window.

Slowly people filled it until it chugged away. We hadn't travelled far when the bus stopped- and didn't start again. For a while I was oblivious, engrossed in choosing the perfect playlist on my mp3. Then the other passengers started to get restless. A few jumped off, choosing to walk instead. It was fifteen minutes before the bus started up again. We trundled slowly by, and out the window I saw two other stalled vehicles. One bus heading south, completely darkened and abandoned. Another with occupants, like mine, frozen in the left turning lane.

Night had fallen deeper when the bus turned a corner and stopped once again. The riders started calling home, telling their friends and family's that they would be late. In a few minutes the driver told us all to exit via the back doors and catch the bus on the sidestreet.

An empty bus, seemingly waiting for us sat in a small street perpendicular to our route. We piled onto it, at first hesitantly, then in a mad dash to grab the good seats. The two drivers conferred, then switched buses. Finally we were on the move again. This second change of events drew a pall over the group, a sense that something was wrong. Several blocks down the line we had to switch buses again. Was this it? Was this all some mad plan, years in the works to exact revenge on the passengers that tormented the TTC so much? Was one of these buses doomed to die?

Were we on the doomed bus?

I boarded the new bus taking care to give a quiet, "good evening" and smile to the driver before taking a seat. Here was a new set of people, most of which had never been on a stopped bus. Happily I departed after two blocks, afraid to risk staying on any longer.

Something strange was going on, and I am glad to have survived it. I can only hope I still survive after passing on my plight to you. Godspeed, my readers.