Broken Down Buses; Dead Body on the Road

Dateline: Kaifeng.

6:27 p.m., Wednesday.

We’re currently stranded at the side of the road, outside of Millennium City Park in Kaifeng. We’ve been here for two hours so far. The Chinese equivalent of CAA arrived an hour ago, the bus started and then it died again.

The sun has begun to set.

I’ve been told another bus is en route to rescue us. TBA.

The setting sun is sort of alarming me because I’ve been listening to Max Brooks’ World War Z this morning. It’s in rural China, most likely where we are traveling, where the outbreak begins. I don’t get creeped out too easily, but passing by all the farmland to Kaifeng put bad images in my head.

8:30 p.m.

The World War Z still fresh in my head was not a good thing to have echoing when we passed by the body.

We managed to transfer to another bus, which would take us to our hotel in Zhengzhou City, located an hour away.

I was speaking to Brick and Barbara when I noticed the flashing lights of several police cars ahead. There were over a dozen people huddled at the side of the road. The bus continued to drive at normal speed, past the orange pylons. Then I saw her.

She must've been at least 50. Her lifeless body lay on the pavement, with her arms appearing to be broken. The worst part was: I made eye contact with her.

"Shit," I said aloud.

Everyone gasps, "What happened?"

I don't know what the story is but Mike suspects she was trying to cross the 10-lane highway and bam. Deer in the headlights.

I reminded me of a story I'll never forget -- covering a pedestrian death at Mount Pleasant and Balliol where John Hanley and I saw a poor old woman's decapitated remains after she was hit and dragged under a moving truck.

That woman had just undergone hip replacement surgery and was recovery. She hadn't been out in a long time, but it was that day she decided to go for a walk, wearing her Sunday best. A neighbour and friend of hers met her before she went out and had a bad feeling. She ran up the street to catch up with the woman, but by that time it was too late.

Making eye contact with that woman tonight makes me wonder what her story was.