This is a work of fiction, unfortunately the events that are about to take place are not that far fetched. Everything you do has a consequence. Think about your actions. Don’t try this at home.
***
Eric Smithson exited his grade eleven math class. School was done for the day. Eric walked through the halls as if invisible. It bothered him. Not a soul had wanted to be his friend or even talk to him for a few minutes ever since he had shown up at the public high school. He had no enemies either, but even that would make things more interesting. Eric was completely lonely and the pain inside never seemed to subside. He walked past couples making out against lockers and sighed. That would never be him.
After getting his books and other necessities from his locker, Eric paused at the cafeteria. Depositing several quarters into a vending machine he retrieved a chocolate bar from the open abyss of a slot. Stuffing the sweet goodness into his pocket, Eric proceeded with the masses of other students out to the bus loop. In the middle of the line of buses Eric found route 734, the bus that had taken him faithfully from home to school and back again every day since his childhood days.
Eric boarded the bus ad sat in the seat directly behind the driver. As was customary, no one else sat with him. Pain and frustration welled up inside him. How could they not see him? He had been sitting in the same spot every day, and every day he would get passed by, even though he was in plain sight. In that moment Eric decided he would do something that would make everyone on that bus remember him for sure. He watched and waited for an opportunity as more students filed onto the bus.
The bus driver, an older man, vacated his seat to obtain some paperwork from the administrative office of the school. Eric seized his chance. He made a quick maneuver from his seat to the driver’s seat. Strapping himself in, he pulled the lever to close the doors. If there were more students that were supposed to be on the bus, it was too late for them.
Eric took a moment to examine the controls. He had just gotten his drivers license the week before. Driving a bus shouldn’t be too difficult. He was pleased with the great view afforded him by the rear view mirrors. Shifting gears into reverse, Eric backed the bus out of its parking spot until he heard a warning honk from the bus behind him. Easing the bus into the inner lane of the bus loop he passed the other buses in the loop and headed for the street amidst cheers from his fellow schoolmates. One of their own was driving the bus!
“Who is that kid?” A student asked.
“I don’t know, he must be new,” replied another.
Hearing this angered Eric. He began to drive aggressively through traffic, drifting the bus around corners, clipping other cars with the rear end. Shouts of joy changed to pain as the kids in the back absorbed each impact.
Eric enjoyed this, now the other kids were getting a taste of what he felt every day. It was time to take things up a notch. Eric found the highway and entered the opposing lane of traffic, just to scare his classmates. As if they needed anything else to fear. The blood curdling screams from behind him satisfied Eric in a strange way. without warning Eric threw the bus into a massive power slide causing everyone to fly over to one side of the bus since there were no seat belts in the back of the bus. This extra weight caused the bus to barrel roll and land back on its tires. All his school companions could do now was to collectively cry from the pain each was feeling from their individual injuries.
Undaunted, and with a smirk on his face Eric continued on to the next phase of his plan. His own pain from the stunt he had just pulled was helping him to focus. The same could not be said for the others.
Easing the heavily damaged bus onto an on ramp, he exited the highway and drove through a rural suburb until he found the spot he was looking for. Train tracks. The barricade was down but Eric didn’t care. He parked the bus along the tracks. He could hear the whistle of the oncoming train. He looked back at the high school students who were scrambling for the exits in spite of their injuries. Eric quickly opened a roof hatch above him, and then pressed a button on his console that would lock all the doors, ending his victim’s hopes of escape. Eric smiled at them all as they pleaded furiously with him for mercy. He would give them none. Soon they would feel the full extent of his pain. He exited from the roof hatch, closing it behind him, Jumping from the roof he ran to a safe distance in a nearby field to watch the ensuing action.
The train quickly approached the trapped teenagers, too quickly to stop. The collision resulted in a mushroom cloud and much fire. Eric calmly ate his chocolate bar as he watched his plan reach its full conclusion. Police and paramedics arrived quickly, but they were helpless to do anything until the fire had died down. Eric ran over to survey the damage. The bus was essentially disemboweled in a heap of twisted metal. Blood and internal organs were strewn about. The bodies too badly burnt to be recognized.
Eric identified and turned himself into police. From his Law class, Eric knew he would get a fair trial to explain himself. In his mind he had done nothing wrong. He would have his chance to let everyone know his side of the story.
***
Eric sat quietly in the court room, clad in an orange jumpsuit, as the judge read the charges against him. 127 counts of first degree murder, including everyone on the bus and train. Eric was going to be tried as an adult because of the nature of his crimes. “How do you plead?” The judge asked.
“Innocent,” said Eric.
The judge was taken a back. “May I ask why?”
“I did nothing more but repay them the same unkindness they paid me. They needed to feel the full extent of my pain. I had no life, why should they?” Eric said calmly.
“We’ll have to see if the jury agrees with you. I highly doubt that, but since this is due process we must let them come up with a verdict,” said the judge.
After a fifteen minute recess, court resumed.
“Jury, what is your verdict?” The judge asked.
A spokesperson for the jury stated, “we find Eric Smithson guilty on all counts. He should be punished to the fullest extent of the law.”
“Very well. Eric I pronounce you guilty as charged,” stated the judge. “You will be sentenced to life in solitary confinement. Not death. You need to feel the full pain of loneliness, a loneliness similar to what you have caused so many families. It’s the only way I can see that you will learn anything from this experience, and no longer be a danger to society ever again.”
Eric was immediately hauled away by two burly men who placed him in the back of a police van. He was then transferred to the local maximum security prison where he would serve his never ending sentence. He would never be heard from as part of society again.