? |DREAMS TO REALITY| ? [SCHOOLBUSGRAVEYARD X READER]

Y/N's heart thundered in her chest, each beat a deafening drum against the overwhelming silence of terror. The creature loomed larger with every second, an unnatural abomination that defied comprehension. Its elongated body writhed as it advanced, eight grotesque, spindly legs slicing through the dirt like knives. The glow of its hollow, malevolent eyes burned into her mind, searing through the fog of her panic. It was impossible to look away, as if the very act of staring at it was some primal compulsion born of fear and revulsion.

Her stomach churned violently, threatening rebellion. She clasped a trembling hand over her mouth, but the visceral reaction wouldn't subside. The creature's twisted head hung upside down, moving in a jerky, sickening rhythm that defied every natural law. A gnarled, spined appendage twitched unnervingly, its movements unpredictable and alien. Y/N felt the air leave her lungs in a sharp gasp as the realization set in-they couldn't fight this thing.

Behind her, the group was frozen in shock, the weight of the nightmare sapping their ability to act. Logan's voice cracked the stillness, trembling as he gasped, "What is that thing?" His wide eyes darted between the monstrosity and the jeep, as if seeking some kind of reassurance that didn't exist.

Y/N's voice slipped out in a breathless stammer, her fear making her tone sharper than she intended. "I-I don't know, but it's coming right at us!"

Ashlyn's knuckles turned white as she gripped the steering wheel, the jeep bouncing over uneven terrain. "Can this thing go any faster?!" Y/N cried out, her voice edged with rising hysteria. Her gaze flicked between the dashboard and the monstrosity that seemed to gain on them with every passing second.

"I'm trying!" Ashlyn's voice cracked, raw and strained, as she wrestled with the wheel, her body tense, locked in a fight-or-flight grip. Sweat beaded on her brow, and every bump in the road seemed to push her closer to breaking.

Y/N turned her attention back to the creature, bile rising in her throat. Its misshapen form moved faster, the skittering of its many legs a maddening sound that sent a chill racing down her spine.

"...There's no way any of our lights are strong enough to do any real damage to that thing..." Tyler's voice trembled, panic threading through every word.

"We're dead," Y/N whispered, her breath shallow and shaky. "We're dead if that thing catches us." The words hung in the air like a grim truth, one she couldn't escape.

Logan clutched the shotgun, his hands trembling. "Should I-should I try shooting it?" he asked, his voice shaky but loud enough to cut through the tension.

"Not yet!" Ashlyn barked. Her eyes flicked to the rearview mirror, then to the path ahead. "We could end up attracting!"

"More?" Y/N's voice rose, panic flaring as she shot a disbelieving look at Ashlyn. "There could be more of those things?!"

The jeep jolted violently as Ashlyn veered to avoid a sudden dip in the terrain. Up ahead, the landscape shifted dramatically. Towering rock pillars loomed out of the darkness, jagged and ancient, their surfaces warped by time and weather into twisted, almost grotesque shapes. The moonlight cast long, eerie shadows across the barren ground, distorting the already surreal environment into something straight out of a nightmare.

"Ashlyn, we need to turn around! We're going to end up lost and run into more of these things!" Tyler exclaimed, his voice sharp with urgency.

"I know, I know!" Ashlyn snapped, her knuckles white as she gripped the wheel, forcing the jeep forward over the treacherous terrain. Her eyes darted to the towering rock formations ahead, her thoughts racing. "Those pillars look wide- if I were to circle around one, would it be enough to block the phantom while we turn?" The idea was reckless, but desperation clawed at her, pushing her to act.