Satan’s Special Service

Last night I enjoyed an excellent evening in Fremantle visiting my good pal Petri Sinda and watching the Australian Cricket team take a winning position in the first Test of the Ashes series. I headed off home at around 1am. I was driving east along Leach Hwy when I noticed a Transperth bus had come up fast behind me and was now tailgating me. Odd thing really, they’re not like taxis, I mean these buses aren’t generally known for they’re erratic driving. So I’m kinda wedged between the bus and a slow moving car in front of me. Before I could take evasive action the bus pulled out wildly from behind me and tore up the outside lane. It went by so quick I didn’t catch sight of the driver or even its route number, but I could see that the bus appeared to be completely empty. I pulled out from behind the car in front of me so I could try and stay in touch With the bus. I laughed sharply when I saw that on the back of the bus it’s fluoro green route number was 666. The bus increased in speed and began pulling away from me and the other car, which was a bit back from me in the inside lane. The situation was quite surreal. There was no other traffic to be seen in either direction. The inside lane car sped up dramatically and past me. In the far distance I could see that the bus had pulled up at the traffic lights at the intersection of Carrington Street & Leach Highway. Maybe because it was around 1am and a foggy night, or maybe it was our proximity to Fremantle’s gigantic cemetery, but the atmosphere had become suddenly and distinctly eerie. Despite this, I had a broad grin on my face and was chuckling to myself a lot. I guess it was a disbelieving kind of chuckling, I mean I could definitely see the bizarre and funny side of the situation. I was still grinning as I drew up on the intersection and realised that the bus had been sitting in the right hand turn lane while the lights were green…as if it were waiting for us to catch up. The lights changed to red as the inside lane car reached the intersection. That left me approaching in the middle lane with the 666 bus on the outside right of me, and the other car on my inside left. I slowed down. The bus was definitely empty, it’s interior was strangely lit…I don’t know how to describe adequately…it was sort of dim, soft light with a yellow tinge…but the soft light had an almost misty quality to it. I rolled up toward the very front of the bus. I could see the drivers section was cloaked in darkness. For a brief moment I imagined I was about to see an empty drivers seat. I glanced across at the inside lane driver, still a sardonic, enthralled grin playing across my face. He glanced at me, then his eyes fixed in the direction of the bus. The route number on the side of the bus said ‘Special 000’. I stopped at the white traffic line. Thoughts whispering in my head ‘No driver, no driver…could there be no driver?’ But at that moment I saw that there was indeed a driver. Unmistakable. In the dim recess of the drivers compartment, his upper torso and head faintly lit. The absurd theatre of it all. Lit just enough so I could see the driver looking directly back at me. Looking back at us, unflinching with a steely mischievous grin. My heart rate pulsed. I glanced back at the inside lane driver. He appeared as if in a trance, his eyes locked on the bus. A tingle rattled across my shoulders and shot down my spine. The bus took off turning right. The lights had gone green again. I watched the bus as it tore off down Carrington street. A second or two later I realised that the inside lane car was well up Leach highway, obviously moving very quickly. I rolled off the lights and looked down Carrington Street as I passed through the intersection, but I couldn’t see the bus anymore.

Listening to:
The Best Of The Band