14d • Shop Talk Stories
Chapter 5: Secrets of the Bus Bay
Some shops run on diesel. Others run on coffee.
Bay 2 runs on secrets.
It’s the kind of bay where the lights flicker even when the power’s fine, and the smell of burnt wires lingers long after the job is done.
Dean works there.
Calm. Precise.
But even he doesn’t stay after hours.
The rumors started slow.
Kade swore Bus #12 honked at him with no horn connected.
Len claimed Bus #22 had rust that smiled.
And Derek, fresh out of high school, once ran out mid-oil change yelling about phantom grease prints.
Lars called it bad lighting.
Toby called it “Dean’s problem.”
But one thing was certain:
Stuff went missing.
10mm sockets.
Fluorescent light covers.
A brand-new brake bleeder vanished before it ever touched fluid.
Then came the wall behind the lockers.
Tucked in a dim corner of Bay 2, there’s a steel panel nobody ever noticed—until Derek bumped it with a creeper and heard the click.
It swings inward.
Inside?
Dust. Cobwebs. A smell like old paper and spilled coolant.
Rick found it once while chasing a dropped receipt.
Dean told him to leave it shut.
They called it the junk vault.
Inside:
- An unopened can of Coke from 1999
- A photo of a dog wearing safety goggles
- A cracked carb jet in a velvet ring box
- A journal labeled “Bay Confessions”
The last page reads:
If you’re reading this, you’re not supposed to be here.
The buses talk.
The tools walk.
And someone—someone—is hoarding all the missing 10mm sockets.
But here’s the part no one talks about:
Dean never said how deep that room goes.
Derek’s sure there’s more past the back wall.
And Lars once tapped on the floor and muttered, “That’s not concrete.”
Toby’s ruled it a “no-go zone.”
Ray just drinks his coffee in the upstairs office and pretends it doesn’t exist.
Daryl once dropped off a water pump and said the air in Bay 2 felt “off.”He never went back.
Rick? He delivers parts by tossing them in and walking away fast.
Everyone laughs about it…
Until the lights dim early.
Until a tool vanishes mid-repair.
Until Bus #9 door hisses open by itself.
Dean doesn’t flinch.He just keeps wrenching.
“You get used to it.”
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Chapter 5: Secrets of the Bus Bay
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