The moment the door was pulled open, silence fell over the entire van.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxbohxqHHNt
Darkness shrouded the figure at the entrance. No one dared to speak.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg5JHoMyoaK
The children shrank into their seats, frozen.
Then the ceiling light flicked on.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq9Gld9w7Dr
A soft yellow glow spilled down—143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡholL7rJZod
And revealed a familiar face.
It was Miss Nora!
Her face was smudged with dust and sweat, her hair a little disheveled,143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnXBnymvtQk
but she was still the same Miss Nora they knew.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwYWj3wHAk7
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.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCcqjRlQUff
He didn’t care about his backpack, didn’t wait for permission.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqmQjNxl9eY
He just ran forward.
“Miss Nora!”
Nora turned, and when she saw him, a real smile lit up her face.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYKl6lCBFnC
She opened her arms—and the moment Finn threw himself at her, she held him tight.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoccmNxiCJK
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—143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3MLtKnnRAY
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.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmn5Z4prNbL
One by one, they began to cry too. Some sniffled quietly, others wailed outright.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡglkmoUS0pD
In seconds, the van became a tide of sorrow.
Nora held Finn like he was something unspeakably precious.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzL0bU7vIbY
She patted his back gently, murmured soft reassurances, calming him until he quieted down,143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWGHBHZ1zsF
then helped him back to his seat.
She bent down, one by one, to stroke each child’s hair, whispering calming words,143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPp0QerDRB7
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.”143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgZorZiYE3S
Her voice was steady—strong.
“We’re going home.”
She walked to the driver’s seat.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqg6zUIuuly
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—143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF0Jeya3Gk7
and slowly, the van rolled out of the darkness.
The children sat quietly,143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNGp8VLEpd3
watching as the lights of the city began to appear outside the window.
They were really going home.
143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUbclm8aFIE
143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3KSxPkyqxv
Nora drove fast through a pitch-black road, darkness thick as ink.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqpfAf1FEi2
There were no streetlights ahead. The world was silent.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8MuYfRn9Pc
Only the stretch of road illuminated by her headlights moved with her—143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1kfiW3DmF4
like she was slicing a narrow path through the night.
She gritted her teeth, fingers white on the wheel.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrd0kzFjdu8
The pain in her abdomen came earlier than expected.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT0Vb5WPhYF
This wasn’t just soreness. It was a dull, deep throb—143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKxLEdwG4lt
pulsing outward from inside her, like a warning. Like a punishment.
Still, her grip on the steering wheel was steady.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBEzMwtVsbE
Her foot moved smoothly between gas and brake—no hesitation.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsbrfWubQNm
She couldn’t afford a mistake.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqqgK0s5FER
She couldn’t go too slow, either.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVLNyQqmzrY
This wasn’t just about driving the kids home.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7E1MIfM0ed
This was her responsibility. The path she had chosen to bear.
The backseat gradually quieted.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfYNdQBGSb8
After the shock, drowsiness began to take over.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj6nb7d8Exi
Little bodies leaned against the seats, lips still salty with tears.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFiACQCig5C
A few began to murmur that they were hungry—it was dinner time, after all.
Nora glanced in the rearview mirror—143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWylYBmxZiw
They were all there. Quiet. Safe.
She looked back at the road, calculating silently.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtNYrlNjEC3
It would take about two more hours to reach the city.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiiboDp2exY
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.
143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYxfMBHIFI7
143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH1N0DFDQVQ
Nora swore under her breath.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdNMBWlkcJX
Her vision blurred. Her head was spinning.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDWDFCTDH8R
She knew this wasn’t just fatigue—this was blood loss.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV9GYNpF8dZ
She forced herself to blink, tried to keep the road ahead in focus—143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ06QOVCz3hm
but the white lines shimmered, floating like ripples in water.
If she kept driving, something bad would happen.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBWPsO7352I
She was nearing her limit.
She eased off the gas, thinking fast:143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVdRtmHeuMz
Could she use voice command to call for help?143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTTD1Hb28Cd
No—if she spoke now, the kids would hear something was wrong.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeRgdDLhnv9
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.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm5UwAsycij
Both of them turned their heads at the same time.
In that moment, the world stopped.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKhlvQDPU6E
Like a slow-motion scene in a movie, all sound was sucked away—143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgW7qhwDP7e
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.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ75uHI8HLSK
Tires skidded against the ground.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwTdqYLgpCr
Footsteps approached.
Knock knock—143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0Nfre0b9gk
Someone tapped on the door.
Nora turned toward the backseat.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmMvuEvFxqN
“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.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQYokYmEzQv
His blue eyes scanned a dozen wide-eyed children staring back at him.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsNa0b8ZvQQ
His expression froze awkwardly.
“Uh... hey there,” he said stiffly. “Hi, everyone.”
No one responded.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0jl2EmAOSH
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.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2cdVm4PcMg
Back then, she’d looked at him coldly.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWsdEjoM2u4
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.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy9NNHf4tyz
“I’ve been shot. But the kids can’t know. You drive. Get them home.”
Tim’s pupils contracted.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGvgyF9x9ti
In that instant, every ounce of logic in his mind snapped to full alert.
143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsyWjP316zF
and then Add to home screen.