Marcus Cole did not hesitate.
His right hand shoved the yellow diamond-shaped Bendix parking knob straight into the dash.
Tss-hiss-roar!
The spring brakes released with a sharp, violent burst of exhaust air. Ninety-five pounds of pressure slammed through the copper air lines. Behind his seat, the twelve-liter Detroit Diesel Series 60 answered the throttle with an ear-splitting howl.
Mac buried his heavy work boot into the pedal.
All fifteen tons of 1994 Gillig Phantom transit bus surged over the lip of the concrete platform.
The nose dropped instantly. The front axle hit the steep fifteen-degree decline of the condemned freight chute. Gravity grabbed forty thousand pounds of steel, glass, and iron, pulling Coach #404 straight down into the subterranean dark.
“Hold on to something solid!” Mac bellowed over the engine’s roar.
