The moment the door was pulled open, silence fell over the entire van.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRnWrK3CejO
Darkness shrouded the figure at the entrance. No one dared to speak.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa9HGJ06col
The children shrank into their seats, frozen.
Then the ceiling light flicked on.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwC7POi1kwg
A soft yellow glow spilled down—141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJlXhIMlZSi
And revealed a familiar face.
It was Miss Nora!
Her face was smudged with dust and sweat, her hair a little disheveled,141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMEHKJfewjx
but she was still the same Miss Nora they knew.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY6UUWBGaQf
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.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsoE3eTrEeZ
He didn’t care about his backpack, didn’t wait for permission.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMUJYDNgly4
He just ran forward.
“Miss Nora!”
Nora turned, and when she saw him, a real smile lit up her face.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡApCRuSXcWB
She opened her arms—and the moment Finn threw himself at her, she held him tight.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeP9u6irM3F
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—141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnBwbRaNvQl
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.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNqau4JUHgp
One by one, they began to cry too. Some sniffled quietly, others wailed outright.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNN3bdxWYMl
In seconds, the van became a tide of sorrow.
Nora held Finn like he was something unspeakably precious.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM2uOUHKGA7
She patted his back gently, murmured soft reassurances, calming him until he quieted down,141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdoHWK2nGJt
then helped him back to his seat.
She bent down, one by one, to stroke each child’s hair, whispering calming words,141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyM7z0paM1Q
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.”141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKYO22nTnP7
Her voice was steady—strong.
“We’re going home.”
She walked to the driver’s seat.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrOUPvWVg4K
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—141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJeg7skUB7J
and slowly, the van rolled out of the darkness.
The children sat quietly,141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzdNZeydGdN
watching as the lights of the city began to appear outside the window.
They were really going home.
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141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFyf3YyKcd5
Nora drove fast through a pitch-black road, darkness thick as ink.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsJh14YkJYa
There were no streetlights ahead. The world was silent.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXQNR4GTyET
Only the stretch of road illuminated by her headlights moved with her—141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0xEf6E3oN5
like she was slicing a narrow path through the night.
She gritted her teeth, fingers white on the wheel.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJEzopyEHL9
The pain in her abdomen came earlier than expected.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfhUQjAm2xG
This wasn’t just soreness. It was a dull, deep throb—141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1Y5iP5Y3yL
pulsing outward from inside her, like a warning. Like a punishment.
Still, her grip on the steering wheel was steady.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB4tALUw2vO
Her foot moved smoothly between gas and brake—no hesitation.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1H55nebFaw
She couldn’t afford a mistake.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxQWKczARtm
She couldn’t go too slow, either.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEwA154cwfp
This wasn’t just about driving the kids home.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7MPDEAIywO
This was her responsibility. The path she had chosen to bear.
The backseat gradually quieted.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxyr6F5fLj1
After the shock, drowsiness began to take over.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq4m4ts2gtl
Little bodies leaned against the seats, lips still salty with tears.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOk9KGRoyMa
A few began to murmur that they were hungry—it was dinner time, after all.
Nora glanced in the rearview mirror—141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFf1GPeOsO5
They were all there. Quiet. Safe.
She looked back at the road, calculating silently.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJHSFb317Bb
It would take about two more hours to reach the city.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbqIfjA8bqm
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.
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141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrGWWttawmK
Nora swore under her breath.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9U8Hxz6Iu1
Her vision blurred. Her head was spinning.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgsVWA971je
She knew this wasn’t just fatigue—this was blood loss.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9KQgsBs2cN
She forced herself to blink, tried to keep the road ahead in focus—141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpYfj4sRDLb
but the white lines shimmered, floating like ripples in water.
If she kept driving, something bad would happen.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡldujoGqS3z
She was nearing her limit.
She eased off the gas, thinking fast:141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRrmjQF0NTW
Could she use voice command to call for help?141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJmLVxB584z
No—if she spoke now, the kids would hear something was wrong.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy3LHAgi6zW
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.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡna52wYVKmx
Both of them turned their heads at the same time.
In that moment, the world stopped.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjrdHPEwKto
Like a slow-motion scene in a movie, all sound was sucked away—141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmRrFocvvdv
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.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ27akC5C9YC
Tires skidded against the ground.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvtcA0LK3ym
Footsteps approached.
Knock knock—141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGjj4G9Kzcz
Someone tapped on the door.
Nora turned toward the backseat.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzRysHpkydX
“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.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKHTYJaCUI5
His blue eyes scanned a dozen wide-eyed children staring back at him.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfIVYtwWA5Z
His expression froze awkwardly.
“Uh... hey there,” he said stiffly. “Hi, everyone.”
No one responded.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsGCfoqA7DT
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.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpJPn7wl39Y
Back then, she’d looked at him coldly.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRdiRaY5lcq
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.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHd8HAYIoMA
“I’ve been shot. But the kids can’t know. You drive. Get them home.”
Tim’s pupils contracted.141Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFsNDbNt6ce
In that instant, every ounce of logic in his mind snapped to full alert.
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and then Add to home screen.