The moment the door was pulled open, silence fell over the entire van.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVa7qVcDxDk
Darkness shrouded the figure at the entrance. No one dared to speak.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmuMNDG0Epq
The children shrank into their seats, frozen.
Then the ceiling light flicked on.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4ijuY72jaw
A soft yellow glow spilled down—142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9WsaiYtr89
And revealed a familiar face.
It was Miss Nora!
Her face was smudged with dust and sweat, her hair a little disheveled,142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwV6mKU6L5l
but she was still the same Miss Nora they knew.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTvfEeCn8rW
One arm supported another teacher’s shoulder. Slowly, carefully, she laid the person down on the floor of the van.
That was when Finn couldn’t hold it in anymore.
He sprang from his seat like a coil releasing.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpOK2ZKAHSL
He didn’t care about his backpack, didn’t wait for permission.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAenfMFQN3m
He just ran forward.
“Miss Nora!”
Nora turned, and when she saw him, a real smile lit up her face.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVG83iGu8tF
She opened her arms—and the moment Finn threw himself at her, she held him tight.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbdyuHfUVvT
His arms wrapped fiercely around her neck, and he buried his face in her shoulder.
Then he cried.
Not a quiet sob, but the kind of crying that comes after everything finally breaks loose—142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGX0emw1eER
Shoulders shaking, breath ragged, crying from the depths of a little body that had been holding on too long.
The other kids, seeing this, seemed to realize they were finally allowed.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr60hQJ4wqH
One by one, they began to cry too. Some sniffled quietly, others wailed outright.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8BqS1oLPi3
In seconds, the van became a tide of sorrow.
Nora held Finn like he was something unspeakably precious.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9cyI7XLbZN
She patted his back gently, murmured soft reassurances, calming him until he quieted down,142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGUmxQkRcPt
then helped him back to his seat.
She bent down, one by one, to stroke each child’s hair, whispering calming words,142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnMbvFcKUvi
easing the tight little knots in their hearts.
A few minutes later, she stood up and clapped her hands.
“Alright, kids. Everyone in your seats.”142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv8qgGqraOU
Her voice was steady—strong.
“We’re going home.”
She walked to the driver’s seat.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZGBFz7RM0o
Under everyone’s watchful gaze, she sat down, buckled in, and glanced back at them with a smile.
“Driver Nora at your service,” she said with a playful wink.
“Wishing you all a perfect day.”
Then she closed the door, started the engine, turned the wheel—142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOjUoZv2d3a
and slowly, the van rolled out of the darkness.
The children sat quietly,142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx0uLXBSoMv
watching as the lights of the city began to appear outside the window.
They were really going home.
142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrmcGiHzJEC
142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsPzExFK2HR
Nora drove fast through a pitch-black road, darkness thick as ink.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ91WlwBJhkZ
There were no streetlights ahead. The world was silent.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVNFoCiJHXP
Only the stretch of road illuminated by her headlights moved with her—142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9NuIoJEETK
like she was slicing a narrow path through the night.
She gritted her teeth, fingers white on the wheel.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKoZ03hOJgl
The pain in her abdomen came earlier than expected.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Nq7SJ7BdI
This wasn’t just soreness. It was a dull, deep throb—142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiZBK7VVFzD
pulsing outward from inside her, like a warning. Like a punishment.
Still, her grip on the steering wheel was steady.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhdr9JWn5WI
Her foot moved smoothly between gas and brake—no hesitation.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1kgr5lxCVo
She couldn’t afford a mistake.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj0Mf6JbfOh
She couldn’t go too slow, either.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9qu28HuGYY
This wasn’t just about driving the kids home.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdJiQLolsPP
This was her responsibility. The path she had chosen to bear.
The backseat gradually quieted.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDOFLp1EFWr
After the shock, drowsiness began to take over.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM6PceURnAc
Little bodies leaned against the seats, lips still salty with tears.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFGjAcgIhHR
A few began to murmur that they were hungry—it was dinner time, after all.
Nora glanced in the rearview mirror—142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi7A0G7unrJ
They were all there. Quiet. Safe.
She looked back at the road, calculating silently.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPoa2HQJVAY
It would take about two more hours to reach the city.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPk2a8xiE4f
Assuming nothing happened in between... she could make it.
“Can’t stop,” she whispered to herself.
Her foot pressed down just a little harder on the gas.
142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH6yH8J0x4X
142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQWDCzK13Bt
Nora swore under her breath.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTyTlDqtNiy
Her vision blurred. Her head was spinning.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBdyCa91ZtN
She knew this wasn’t just fatigue—this was blood loss.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6DW0yVTHzp
She forced herself to blink, tried to keep the road ahead in focus—142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBCROv5JiIV
but the white lines shimmered, floating like ripples in water.
If she kept driving, something bad would happen.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9fgYqVL1va
She was nearing her limit.
She eased off the gas, thinking fast:142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPk1PeUJ8ma
Could she use voice command to call for help?142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzLBQevWagE
No—if she spoke now, the kids would hear something was wrong.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlMPwrA3ND2
Maybe ask a nearby farmhouse? Too slow. Too risky.
The best scenario would be—
VROOOOM—
A motorcycle roared from the opposite direction.
Its headlight was blinding. A flash of black and red passed the corner of her vision.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlMiGZGAGvg
Both of them turned their heads at the same time.
In that moment, the world stopped.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhUL7TrQNPC
Like a slow-motion scene in a movie, all sound was sucked away—142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEtSgyAGacl
leaving only their eyes meeting.
Blue eyes met green.
Nora let out a breath, then gently pulled over to the side of the road.
Seconds later, a screech of brakes tore through the night.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9hT4cePeqT
Tires skidded against the ground.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSlOvjfbPNf
Footsteps approached.
Knock knock—142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSG2Nd3aFAO
Someone tapped on the door.
Nora turned toward the backseat.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQC510JPKY6
“Kids,” she said with a smile, “someone’s here to help us.”
“Let’s welcome him.”
The door opened.
Red Robin stepped into the van, his cape fluttering slightly in the night breeze.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyB1OXFJh3z
His blue eyes scanned a dozen wide-eyed children staring back at him.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIQnSy5thxP
His expression froze awkwardly.
“Uh... hey there,” he said stiffly. “Hi, everyone.”
No one responded.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRwa2PYoFLG
It was like seeing a movie character suddenly walk into the real world.
Nora reached out and tugged on his cape.
Tim froze. He turned to her.
It was the first time they’d spoken this closely since he’d broken into her house.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS7ScR5r2Bf
Back then, she’d looked at him coldly.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSGRkiyIilt
Now, under the faint light, her face was pale.
“Lean down,” she whispered, her voice barely audible.
He obeyed, leaning closer.
Her breath was faint against his ear.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxN1RclbqGS
“I’ve been shot. But the kids can’t know. You drive. Get them home.”
Tim’s pupils contracted.142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡggYbx3lkpy
In that instant, every ounce of logic in his mind snapped to full alert.
142Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO00zcF1HCG
and then Add to home screen.