Chapter 31

I met Alice at the gate after a quick shower. We kissed and she said, “How about eating here?”

I smiled. “As long as it’s with you, that’s fine.”

That’s what we did. It was a fun meal with many teammates sitting with us and with their girls. After the meal, we went to the common room to sit together for a while. It was more fun and gathered many others who were curious. Finally, it was late and I walked Alice to her dorm. I kissed her good night.

In the morning, we met for breakfast. Our week passed in a normal manner until Friday at lunch.

I had packed a bag for the trip to the other college. It would be the longest separation for Alice and me since we had gotten serious. We had talked about it but leaving Alice at the college while the team and I boarded two buses was still not a happy moment. I found a seat and sat back for the ride. We would eat “on the road.” Our coaches had to delay our leaving to minimize any missed classes. I had brought a textbook and my Kindle. For the trip, I had the Kindle. With a full charge, it would last for the trip easily. We were told not to take our phones. Mine was in a jacket pocket silenced. I would call Alice tonight on the way back.

We rode over to our opponent’s town. On the way, we stopped for supper. I ate with Bob and Trevor, primarily. There were others seated close to us. We finished eating and went back to our buses. When we arrived, we were given rooms. Bob and I would again room together for the night. It was quiet as we talked to Marilyn and Alice respectively. I could tell from Bob’s words that he and Marilyn were becoming more serious as time has gone on.

In the morning, Bob and I woke early and went out to run a few blocks to loosen up. We returned and went to our room. There, we cleaned up and dressed. We went down to meet the team for breakfast. With the meal finished, we were taken to the stadium for light work outs before lunch. We had lunch and relaxed. When it was time, we put on our uniforms and went out for some light exercise. We went back inside for the teams to be called.

The teams were called and we trotted out on the field. Trevor and I represented our defense while our quarterback and Bob represented the offense for the coin toss and to meet the opposing captains. We would receive first since we lost the toss. Trevor and I went to the bench to sit with each other. The game developed much like we were told to expect. Neither team was able to score in the first half.

In the second half, we started as defending. It was at the start of the fourth quarter when Bob was able to break loose and score a touchdown. That was the only scoring by either team. We won by seven to zero. We got on the buses for the ride back to our college. We stopped again for supper and re-boarded for the rest of the trip.

We were just under an hour before reaching the college when the tone of the bus’s engine suddenly changed. I became alert and nudged Bob. “Wake up!” I hissed at him. “Something’s going on.” Bob became alert quickly. The bus suddenly swerved to the left and then to the right. It swerved to the left again and crashed against something.

Bob said, “That wasn’t good.”

“I agree. Where is the emergency exit? We’re not moving and hit something hard.”

“Yeah. This is not part of the planned trip.”

I reached into my jacket and pulled my phone from it. I switched on its light. Looking ahead in the bus, I could see teammates starting to move. About ten feet in front of us, the side of the bus was caved in! “Bob, go see what needs to be done. I’m going to get guys to start getting off the bus.” He nodded and moved forward helping guys to get back into their seats. I moved back and found the emergency exit. Two linemen were sitting there. I looked at them and pointed. “Make a hole.”

The one at the aisle braced and the other kicked the door open. They went out. I heard, “Oh, shit!” Then I heard him yell back to me. “Start getting everyone off. The diesel smell is bad. There are problems up front.”

As calmly as I could, I said, “Guys, let’s get this thing unloaded. The first two with white shirts and lights go to the back and stop traffic.” I saw Doug nod and head out with another lineman. They both were wearing white shirts. The other guy had a phone that was lit.

I started forward to help Bob. Trevor and Tom had been sitting in front of us. Tom was holding his head from having hit something. I said, “Trevor, get him off the bus. It’s not going to get better. Take a blanket.” He nodded and began to help Tom stumble to and then out the exit door. He returned as I was getting more guys out.

“What can I do, Jerry?”

“Move further forward and help Bob. Tom wasn’t the only one hurt.” We helped people move to the rear. I went forward and tried to gently rouse the driver. His head lolled loosely on his shoulders. I could hear no breathing from him. I did open the door and started guys moving out the front. People were groggy and shaken up. Even though most of us were in great shape, guys were slow to move. Bob and Trevor were getting the last few off the bus. I went out to check on the other bus which had been in front of us. It was on its side! We had hit it. I moved to it and had help from a couple of linemen who boosted me up to the side so I could pull open the door. Another guy came up to help and we managed to pry the door open. I carefully entered the bus. Many were hurt and only one or two had started to move. I immediately realized that the emergency door was on the ground. I looked at the guy who came with me, “Tim, we’re going to need some help in here. It’s worse than our bus.” He nodded. His head vanished.

I started to help people up. The driver was also dead. Coach Johnson was badly hurt after Coach Marshall had landed on him. Neither was a light weight guy. I helped Coach Marshall to the doorway. He had a broken arm. I thought for an instant. I moved around him and to the front. I kicked the windshield out. Guys were there to help and Coach Marshall was helped out. Next was Coach Johnson though I had help from outside and from further back inside. Before we got everyone out, the police and EMT’s arrived. I stayed inside the bus until everyone was out. I was the last person out of the bus except for the dead who were now being brought out. Both drivers, and six teammates were killed. The lead bus was later found to have had a front tire explode causing it to tip to its side and then slide. Though fuel leaked, we were fortunate that there was no fire.