“Do you know the best side of the nightmare? It is the only dream that when we wake up, we wish to remain in our reality”.

- Amindá

A few hours after the accident, I woke up with the twilight over the hill that I could see through the bus window. The vehicle was upside down and I was leaning on something soft, on someone. Robson! He had protected me, but why? I tried to wake him up but couldn't. Then I risked getting up and felt headaches and pain in my left arm. I looked around and couldn't find Micke.

Was he thrown off the bus on impact?

"Micke, where are you?" I mumbled, worried and helpless, tried to get away from the broken glass.

I tried to get on my feet again. My head pounded harder. I was grateful that the rest of my body was better than my head and my right arm, as soon as I was on my feet, I looked for any survivors.

My head had hit the iron back of the front chair. I put my hand up to feel the damage. “Oh my God…” I screamed in pain. Maybe I yelled some curse word at the time. For a second, I forgotten how to breathe. I had a huge cut on my head.

The other teenagers were unconscious: some trapped in the wreckage, others upside down, hanging from their belts or from the roof of the bus, like me. The ceiling, in this case, the floor. I didn't know if they were dead or just passed out, though that worried me anyway.

"Micke, where are you?!" I asked once more as I walked a few yards ahead. I was already hopeless when I saw a familiar dark-haired boy lying on his stomach. I ran to him, and as I approached, I recognized the jacket that Micke always wore. The impact of the bus threw him almost to the front door, about two or three meters from where we were sitting.

“Are you okay?” I asked, but got no answers. I made sure he was alive and, thank God, he was breathing. However, I could not wake him even shaking him. I panicked and shook him even harder. "Micke, answer!" I yelled, and this time he answered me.

“Alex, I'd appreciate it if you'd let go of me a little. This is embarrassing, man.”

"Micke, are you okay?"

“Don't worry, I'm fine.” he said and forced himself to his feet, but he couldn't. I noticed that his leg had a deformity in the tibia region: it was broken. "Dude, you're bleeding!"

I put a hand to my forehead and felt something sticky and warm. Soon, the blood reached my eyes and I could barely see. Trying to see through blood is like looking under water with chlorine. You start to see everything cloudy, but in shades of red.

“Don't worry, Mike. I am fine. It was just a small cut. We need to get you out of here.”

I tried to help him, but I couldn't. After a lot of effort, I managed to get him to lean on my right side so we could get off the bus. I looked over my eyes before leaving and saw the bodies of some teenagers who appeared to be lifeless. Among them, the girl who Micke talked about it, Nathalia. She needs help.

We both got off the bus and into the middle of the cane field, about thirty meters from the main road and many from the other bus. I looked around to situate us. The hill I saw through the window to the west was hiding the sun. To the north was the runway and the other bus. To the south, the cane field stretched as far as I could see. And to the east, a mud road cut through the cane fields.

We cannot stay here.

Micke had a worried look on his face: "Alex, what was that all about?" he asked in disbelief.

“I don't know, but if we tell someone, no one will believe us.”

"What were those things?" They looked like damn robots!

“Well, these super strength things come up a lot in movies and anime.”

What I saw defied any law of physics. One man, in fact, stopped and, with a few gestures, threw a bus laden with people off the road. I was about to go crazy when I realized that I needed to get back to the vehicle and help those who were still unconscious.

We cannot stay here.

"There must be some logical explanation for this," I mumbled.

"I'm not sure you have it. However, how do you explain the fact that Robson knew we would be attacked?”

“I didn't understand.” I replied.

"Don't you remember? Before the accident, that boy said that the bus was going to be attacked when Nirvana's song played.”

“It’s true! What is the name of that song?” I asked, already knowing where I knew it from.

"Come as you are," he confirmed my suspicions.

“I remembered where I know that boy named Robson. This song confirmed my suspicions.

“From where?”

“I've been having this dream constantly and that boy was in my dream.”

“ What a…? Are you crazy? This is a bad time for going crazy. Did you hit your head? Seriously, I'm worried.”

"I hit my head. But I don't know how to explain it either. That guy was in my dreams. He and the girl who was on his side. Let's wait for them to wake up to find some answers. I need to get back on the bus to...”

Suddenly, we heard voices coming from the direction of the vehicle.

“Help!” Two boys shouted as they got off the bus, one after the other, carrying two teenagers who were badly hurt.

The boy who came out first was short and had long hair plastered to the sweat on his forehead.

“What happened?” I asked him.

“We can smell the scent of gasoline and there are still people trapped inside!” He shouted back, anguished and euphoric.

"That's not good," I replied at once. "Leave these two and let's go back there and bring the rest! Micke, can you keep an eye on them?”

He nodded. We ran back to the vehicle. The long-haired boy was in a situation almost like mine: full of scratches. The other one seemed to me to be intact.

"Why didn't your friend come with us?" the other asked, annoyed.

"I think he broke his leg."

The boy with long hair made an expression of shiver and agony. He must have been a little sensitive to injuries. Inside the bus, the dust reigned absolutely. It was difficult to see the hand in front of the face, an urge to sneeze grew with each passing second.

"Is anyone else here?" I asked through a cough.

"Here, help me!" someone replied in a shaky voice. "I'm between the fourth and fifth seat on the bus!" he added.

As I got closer, I recognized Robson. He was helping his brother who was upside down and wanted help to get him out. The seat belt had broken on the impact and one of the chairs had moved further back and caught his legs.

“Robson, are you okay? I asked as I approached.

"Alex! You can't stay here!" he snapped.

“What is happening?”

“Long story.” He said quickly.  “Get out of here. Run!”

"What do you intend to do in this state?” I approached and saw him with several cuts on his arms.

"I can't wake him up! Get out of here! You cannot stay here. You do not understand!”

“Why?” I yelled, out of patience. “You have to get out of here! I'll get you out of here first and then I'll come back to get your brother.”

I noticed that his arm kept bleeding and I deduced that he was injured when he protected me from the shards of glass. We had to stanch that wound or he was going to end up dying. A whirlwind of things was happening at the same time. Unknown beings fighting like Dragon Ball characters, many injured boys and girls and no one to explain what was going on.

Fortunately, my maternal grandfather was a nurse and I learned a little first aid from him. I knew that whenever a person loses 1.5 to 2 liters of blood, their blood pressure drops quickly, and I knew that if I continued like that, he would pass out again.

“No!” He exclaimed when I grabbed him. "You're the one who has to get out of here. It's not safe for you and the other two guardians.”

"What's this thing about being a guardian?!" I asked even more confused, dragging him along. "And who was that guy with the yellow eyes in the white room?"

"You're delusional! I don't know what you're talking about..." he said in a weak voice.

“Yes, you know. I was there in that room. I saw you without moving, trying to talk to others with your eyes.”

"What do you mean, you were there?"

'I've had this same dream every single day. You were there with three other teenagers and this guy with yellow eyes coming in and talking in time to the music that played on your cell phone at the time of the accident.

He was stunned by my description of the dream. I knew it was true when I saw that girl get on the bus. Then, thoughtfully, he continued:

“Alex, you have to get out of here. Then I'll explain what's going on. I promise you.

“Nothing like that. I'm going to get you out of here to stanch these wounds and then I'm going to come back and get your brother out.”

I held him as tight as I could, but he tried to wriggle free like a struggling madman. I was afraid of hurting him, but I couldn't let go. Robson was reluctant for some time, but with the help of another boy, I managed to force him out.

“Alex, I was assigned to protect you!” He yelled and shook his legs. "You can't go back there, please!"

“Robson, you'll have a lot of time to explain what happened.” I concluded. “I want to know what these guardians mean. So, wait there. I'll be right back.”

As we got close to Micke, my friend complained worriedly: “You took a long time!”

"Forgive me, it was just too complicated to get him out of there."

Robson exclaimed, grabbing my arm: "Alex, please don't go back there! Ask someone else to pick him up. Stay here. I have a lot to talk to you about.”

“Robson, take it easy! I'm going to get your brother, but first we need to stanch your wound.” I laid him down for another kid to bandage him.

What's up with that kid? He said he was assigned to protect me, but how is he going to protect me if he can't even protect himself?

Is he suicidal?

I hurried back to the bus as I heard one of the boys arguing with Robson and preventing him from getting back into the vehicle. As I was about to free Thor from the rubble, I heard a faint voice on the other side of the chairs. It was a girl.

"Someone please help me!" The sound of the voice faded.

Where is she?

I looked through the wreckage.

“Please help me!” I heard her even weaker.

“Where are you?” I asked, without an answer.

I found her in the chairs opposite where Thor and Robson sat before the accident. Trapped between the wreckage, she reached out a hand toward me. It was Natalia. A chair pressed hard against her chest. She was unable to breathe. I remembered what my grandfather had told me once:

If you do right wherever you go, one day you will be rewarded for past deeds.

With a lot of effort, I finally managed to get her out of the rubble and took her outside. As he left, Robson began to shout:

"Where's my brother, Alex?!" He tried to get up.

“Forgive me, but there was a more serious case. If I didn't take her out right then, she was going to pass out breathless. I'll be right back to get your brother!” and headed for the bus again.

Robson had been held up by Micke and the other two boys, yelling at my back as I walked back to the vehicle. Thor, two other children and Mr. João were the only ones left. Every time we took out someone who was able to move, they helped us with something or another. I was about to get Robson's brother out of the rubble when I heard screams outside.

“Great, they're coming back!” I heard Micke shouting outside.

“They, who?!”

A chill ran down my spine as I looked out the front window of the bus. The guys in black suits were coming towards us. The two men seemed to be fighting less than five hundred meters away from our overturned vehicle. I noticed the blue skin on the other man, he had horns and appeared to be much more skilled in combat, hitting blows and dodging the opponent in a way that seemed to predict the future. The bald man made every effort to fight as equals, but his rival's superiority was clear.

I looked to Robson's brother and pushed the chairs away from the rubble. I turned to the window and gaped when I saw the bald man trying to hit his opponent in the abdomen region and the other holding the blow, putting his arm between the bald man's body and right arm and throwing him more than thirty meters into the air towards our bus. That's when I realized it was too late to rescue Thor and walk out the door. I had two options left: I would take him to the back of the bus, or I would leave there right now without him.

"We have to get out of here!" shouted in unison the boys who remained at the door.

"You need to get out! I'm going to get Thor and go to the back of the bus!”

"There won't be time!" one of them yelled back.

“It has to. Go!”

I walked to Thor and hurried to lead him to the end of the vehicle. Mr. João was still upside down in the driver's seat. I felt extremely helpless when I saw him. I couldn't do anything for Thor – who was so small – Who would say for Mr João, who was huge in every way imaginable.

Through the front window, I looked out into the darkness beginning to form outside and caught a glimpse of the bald man's body falling toward the bus. At the instant of impact, I closed my eyes, but felt no impact.

Is dying that painless? In my dream, I had pain all over my body.

Opening my eyes, I sighed: I'm alive!

I looked straight ahead and was seeing things. Didn't I really die? The windows were melting behind that bald man. Was he flying? From his back, strong lights came out fiercely and a form of foot propulsion. Mr. João was in serious trouble in that heat. I was paralyzed with fear. I didn't know what to do to help him. The bald man turned off the thrusters and kept his back to the front of the bus. Behind him, in the cane field, I saw a huge land mass coming towards us and I gave up trying to assimilate it all with some logic. I tucked Thor onto my shoulder, looked into his face, and saw how small he was.

I’m sorry, Robson.

I caught a glimpse of the emergency exit levers and instinctively ran with Thor in my arms. I went out the windows and headed towards the darkness of the cane fields before the explosion that came with incredible force and knocked us to the ground. Because I had a kid in my arms, I had to turn and fall on my back to not hurt him. But when I fell, I hit my head on the ground and lost consciousness. – for the second time on the same day.