Short Story

A Wicked Day at the Bus Terminal

Anyone can be a hero

The homeless men filled the sleeping area. The rows of bunk beds stretched for several yards. The tall, grey-haired man lay still. Listening to the stirring men, muttering, and cursing around him.

“I best get moving, I want to beat the crowd and get a cup of coffee for a change.” The grey-haired man sat up and bent over to put on his shoes. He was always surprised that he still had shoes when he woke up.

They were up before sunrise

After he put on his shoes. He grabbed his backpack and blanket and headed to the shower area, stopping at a bin where he tossed his blanket. He shaved and brushed his teeth, then he headed to the lobby. The security guards. who he thought were all ex-cons, turned on the lights, and started screaming as he walked by.

“Rise and shine, we need those blankets, coffee and grits are waiting in the lobby.” The guards screamed; as the grey-haired man walked through the double doors to the lobby.

They never made enough coffee

The grey-haired man was the first one there. Volunteers stood behind the tables waiting. He grabbed a Styrofoam cup and filled it from one of the two coffee pots.

He managed to drink two cups before the room was full and men started yelling because there was no coffee left. “Sucks to be you.” The grey-haired man. Who called himself Gabe thought, as one of the volunteers yelled to get the men’s attention.

There was always a prayer before breakfast

“Let’s bow our heads and thank the Lord for this breakfast.” The room quieted down to a whisper, as the volunteer prayed. “Heavenly Father. bless these men and protect them, lead them to where they should be, and help them to find peace; in Jesus’s name, Amen.”

Gabe got in line, ignoring the smelly men cutting in front of him. He made it to the table, where one of the volunteers asked, “oatmeal, or grits?” Gabe thought for a second, He had been eating oatmeal, but he wanted something different.

Gabe took his bowl of grits and went to a table stacked with condiments. He loaded the bowl with pepper, then he found a spot against the wall and ate his breakfast. He finished eating, then he watched the men around him.

The room got louder, but the security staff wouldn’t let them hang

As the men finished eating, they grouped and talked; but not for long. “Clear the lobby, the lobby is closed.” The security guards yelled. Gabe headed for the door.

There was nowhere to go at five-thirty in the morning. Gabe followed the rest of the homeless men to the bus terminal. He lagged behind the group. He did not want to talk. He did not want to risk getting arrested, the smell of cannabis trailed behind the men in front of him.

The group arrived at the bus terminal. Minutes after the police officer who had been there all night completed his shift. Most of the men who left the shelter that morning had a stash hidden somewhere.

The working people waiting for buses eyed them warily

The men sat alone or in groups. The waiting bus passengers watched with wary eyes, as the party started in earnest. Gabe sat down on a bench, next to a Hispanic woman in a domestic uniform from a downtown hotel. Gabe had startled her, but something in his smile gave her peace. She relaxed and ignored Gabe until her bus pulled into its berth.

“It’s a party until the security guard gets here.” Gabe thought as he watched a man, he recognized from the shelter vomit on the terminal floor. The benches were full. Homeless men napping, and frightened bus passengers filled the seats.

It was a party until the guard came on duty

Gabe watched the display on the screen above the ticket office. “Five minutes until the security guard gets here. Then the fun begins,” Gabe thought, as a fistfight broke out.

The two men stumbled off in opposite directions, both bleeding from bloody noses. Gabe watched as the security guard drove onto the property in his grey jeep. The guard got out of his jeep, a cup of convenience store coffee steaming in his hand. “A janitor’s closet for an office; shows how well you’re regarded.” Gabe thought, as the guard unlocked the door and entered, closing the door behind him.

*******************************************************************

They started drinking as soon as they were away from the shelter

Dave woke up when the goons started screaming. He muttered a curse, crawled out of the bunk, and headed to the shower room to do his business. He was slow, so he had to wait to shave and sit on the toilet.

After he cleaned up, he went to the lobby, but he missed coffee because the coffee pots were empty. He muttered curses as he ate his bowl of hot cereal and drank orange juice.

Not a good thing to do, especially on an empty stomach

Dave left the shelter. He headed straight for his stash behind a dumpster by a convenience store. Two blocks from the terminal. The liter of cheap vodka was still there. “Thank God,” he muttered as he picked up the bottle with shaking hands.

Dave did not mean to guzzle the bottle, but once he started, he couldn’t stop. He threw the empty bottle against the side of the dumpster and staggered toward the bus terminal.

*****************************************************************

Gabe watched as the security guard left the janitor’s closet with keys in hand. The guard unlocked the public restrooms, then he started patrolling the property. He saw the homeless man stumble across the street heading toward the terminal.

“Here comes trouble,” Gabe muttered as the drunk man headed toward a bench and bent over, and vomited on the terminal floor. The security guard had completed his first walk around the terminal.

The guard mouthed a curse and took the cell phone from his pants pocket and made a phone call. “Not 7:00 A.M. yet.” Gabe thought as the cops took the drunk away in handcuffs.

Gabe makes friends

“Dumb-ass can’t keep it on the down-low.” Gabe turned to see a man in his fifties, years of street life had aged him beyond his years. “That guard is so busy, you can sit here for hours, damned near the whole day, if you don’t cause a stink.”

“Is there a time limit?” Gabe asked. He knew there was, he just wanted some conversation. The man took a sip from the soda bottle that contained mostly vodka. He offered the bottle to Gabe, who declined with a shake of his head.

“Yeah, there’s a limit, we have an hour, but the guard can’t keep track of us. The trick is to be cool, but folks have to be stupid.” The man took another sip of his vodka and put the bottle back in his backpack.

Gabe stayed invisible, he didn’t want to miss the show

“I guess I’ll stay on the down-low,” Gabe muttered. “I wouldn’t want the show interrupted.” He thought; as the security guard left the janitor’s closet and resumed his slow walk around the terminal.

“I got to go to the john.” The homeless man next to Gabe announced. “Save my seat.” He ordered, as he stood on wobbly legs and stumbled toward the men’s room. Gabe stood up as well, his legs were getting stiff, and his butt was sore. He picked up his backpack and threw it over his shoulder.

If they weren’t at the terminal, they were at the library

“Let’s see what’s going on at the library.” Gabe sauntered off, looking around like a tourist in a strange town, in a way, that is exactly what he was. He ended up at the library after a two-hour walking tour of the city.

Gabe ignored the computers. Most of them were in use by homeless people. he headed to the stacks, and in the religious section, he found a King James Bible, he took it to a chair, and sat down to read.

*******************************************************************

While Gabe read from the Book of Revelation. A storm brewed over the coast of Africa. The first Hurricane of the season headed toward the City where the security guard worked.

***************************************************************

After a while, Gabe’s stomach rumbled. He returned the Bible to the shelf in its proper spot, then he headed to the street to see if he could rustle up some change. “This will work,” He thought, as he removed the cardboard sign from his backpack. “Help me I’m homeless.” Written in thick magic marker in block letters.

It did not take long, he had twenty dollars in his pocket. Gabe put the sign in his backpack and headed to the nearest fast-food place. He ate a cheeseburger and fries, then he headed back to the bus terminal.

*****************************************************************

Some people shouldn’t have kids

My God, what is wrong with people?” Gabe watched from the bench where he sat at the terminal. A woman with a small child, the child was two or three years old. The woman stood up and headed toward the restrooms.

She had left her little boy on the bench, “watch my kid, I gotta take a leak.” A stunned Gabe watched as the woman sauntered to the restrooms without looking back.

“I’m glad I’m not a freak and a child killer.” Gabe raged, as he smiled at the little boy. “How are you doing kiddo?” The little boy smiled and held out the toy car he had in his hand.

“That is a sweet ride you have, Gabe said, as he took the offered car in his hand. “I have never driven a car, but if I drove, I would have one of these.” The little boy smiled as he took back the toy car from Gabe.

She didn’t think twice about the danger she placed her son

The woman returned from the restroom and grabbed the little boy’s hand. She dragged to a waiting bus without a second glance or a “thank you.” He sighed, then Gabe’s attention shifted to the security guard, who was dealing with another issue.

“Another drunk,” Gabe whispered. The security guard watched as the intoxicated man stumbled off the property. “I guess he didn’t want to write a report.” Gabe shrugged his shoulders and stood up and headed to the men’s room.

******************************************************************

She was thirteen years old, and she did not want to take the school bus. She wanted to be alone and read her book. She had her e-reader in hand; when she placed it in her purse and headed to the women’s restroom.

The sweating man had been watching the girl since she sat down. The fantasies he was having caused him to squirm in his seat. When the girl left the restroom, he jumped from the bench and hurried toward her.

Wrong day, and the wrong girl

When the sweaty man grabbed her, she was too scared to scream, she planted her feet and grabbed the arm of the bench. She was going to make the sweaty creep work for it, but she was still too scared to scream.

The security guard was still busy on the other side of the terminal. Gabe exited the men’s room. He saw what was happening and headed straight to the creep and the young girl.

Gabe saved the day

He was a few feet away when he yelled at the creep. “Leave her alone.” The creep stopped and looked at Gabe. The creep began to shake and wet himself. He let the girl go, then he turned and ran.

The stunned girl looked at Gabe with gratitude. “You’ll be okay,” Gabe said as he smiled and went back to his bench. “This place is a pit,” Gabe raged as he sat down. “I can’t find anyone worth saving here.”

The Hurricane intensified, as it headed toward the county and the bus terminal. It was almost time for Gabe to go home.

The hurricane raced closer to the county, The air was calm in the city, but everyone was on edge. “You should all get on your knees,” Gabe thought. A woman stumbled out of the lady’s room, with toilet paper stuck to the bottom of her shoe. She stumbled to a bench, not knowing, or caring how stupid she looked.

“Time to go home, Gabe said aloud, as he stood up and walked away from the cesspool that called itself a bus terminal. He stopped short when he saw the security guard.

The pigeons had been there for as long as anyone could remember

The pigeons were a mated pair that had nested in the rafters of the terminal roof for years. They had lost the fear of humans because the humans fed them and left them alone.

One of the birds was pecking crumbs off the driveway when the little boy saw him. The boy’s mother was absorbed in watching the screen of her cell phone. She had forgotten her son was with her.

The guard was in the right place, at the right time

The security guard walked by. Gabe was leaving. The bus driver had completed his walk-around and boarded the bus, and started the engines. The little boy bent down to crawl under the bus for a closer look at the birds.

“Hey, get away from there.” The guard screamed. The frightened child ran back to his mom as Gabe and the guard made eye contact. “Can you believe that?” the guard asked, as Gabe shook his head and walked away.

Gabe walked to the beach as the storm clouds moved in. He thought about the security guard, about how hard the guard worked, and how decent he seemed to be. No one noticed Gabe as he walked away.

And like that, he was gone

The rain and wind were so heavy, that most people were undercover. Gabe thought about the guard and the innocent girl. and he thought about that little boy who wanted to befriend the pigeons.

No one noticed Gabe as he vanished in the rain. A few minutes after he was gone, the rain and wind stopped, and the sun peeked through the clouds. The hurricane had changed directions and died over the Gulf.

He never knew what he did and that he made a difference

The security guard’s shift had ended. he drove home to the trailer park and changed from his uniform to cut-off jeans. When he sat down, his two cats jumped in his lap. His roommate handed him a beer.

The guard had always wanted to be a hero, and that day he was.