The moment the door was pulled open, silence fell over the entire van.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO3XFlY4WuT
Darkness shrouded the figure at the entrance. No one dared to speak.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTwy8EwWjP3
The children shrank into their seats, frozen.
Then the ceiling light flicked on.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu8teed4b8r
A soft yellow glow spilled down—143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWZOSxVbsAB
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoYUNzmKb5t
but she was still the same Miss Nora they knew.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ01DxWjt0bc
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9m3u6w07Rk
He didn’t care about his backpack, didn’t wait for permission.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBYcspiP9Xj
He just ran forward.
“Miss Nora!”
Nora turned, and when she saw him, a real smile lit up her face.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡavuDQUIXex
She opened her arms—and the moment Finn threw himself at her, she held him tight.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLWd2aBtknA
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6KkCjOYSWd
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwZPQ5eJ7hu
One by one, they began to cry too. Some sniffled quietly, others wailed outright.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOGV5eqUNpl
In seconds, the van became a tide of sorrow.
Nora held Finn like he was something unspeakably precious.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmqKw7CGKnB
She patted his back gently, murmured soft reassurances, calming him until he quieted down,143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDBdtXKXsoo
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXX8P7XBNha
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUxD99j3lqI
Her voice was steady—strong.
“We’re going home.”
She walked to the driver’s seat.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0npAHLfd0m
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsPMLNFqIPW
and slowly, the van rolled out of the darkness.
The children sat quietly,143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC8dnLghMhU
watching as the lights of the city began to appear outside the window.
They were really going home.
143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5DSXnmexT5
143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnSvOPPatOJ
Nora drove fast through a pitch-black road, darkness thick as ink.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8utreUlrnI
There were no streetlights ahead. The world was silent.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0kOgJtX03t
Only the stretch of road illuminated by her headlights moved with her—143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGRh4IKGhLX
like she was slicing a narrow path through the night.
She gritted her teeth, fingers white on the wheel.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRyYEyUTV7Y
The pain in her abdomen came earlier than expected.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtwohc5WPsd
This wasn’t just soreness. It was a dull, deep throb—143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwxiJtUIlbs
pulsing outward from inside her, like a warning. Like a punishment.
Still, her grip on the steering wheel was steady.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaZbYraGZn6
Her foot moved smoothly between gas and brake—no hesitation.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiV3oLUJmEa
She couldn’t afford a mistake.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKbJ0X8sY2u
She couldn’t go too slow, either.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡniqUBtgBbr
This wasn’t just about driving the kids home.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEUXecgM75j
This was her responsibility. The path she had chosen to bear.
The backseat gradually quieted.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNckt4hKPNO
After the shock, drowsiness began to take over.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9IxNxuyCMz
Little bodies leaned against the seats, lips still salty with tears.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡklQFYLwRoa
A few began to murmur that they were hungry—it was dinner time, after all.
Nora glanced in the rearview mirror—143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq7UhxEczfB
They were all there. Quiet. Safe.
She looked back at the road, calculating silently.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0KZeV6Kg36
It would take about two more hours to reach the city.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeHv3AdSpN4
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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143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBM6f1TzMpu
Nora swore under her breath.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS9vIS9pFZZ
Her vision blurred. Her head was spinning.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOj6vpiVgHV
She knew this wasn’t just fatigue—this was blood loss.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhg9V4qc7Bt
She forced herself to blink, tried to keep the road ahead in focus—143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVcXCWkdTN8
but the white lines shimmered, floating like ripples in water.
If she kept driving, something bad would happen.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMePMAvE1T1
She was nearing her limit.
She eased off the gas, thinking fast:143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYvGV16MNEP
Could she use voice command to call for help?143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg37cZ7M9fI
No—if she spoke now, the kids would hear something was wrong.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRPlIXS9AFW
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK8sIF4fc7x
Both of them turned their heads at the same time.
In that moment, the world stopped.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt0Kht2iZIc
Like a slow-motion scene in a movie, all sound was sucked away—143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYt1sa4gwg7
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1DpjhvUE6T
Tires skidded against the ground.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6q7NrLCDQp
Footsteps approached.
Knock knock—143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzT32YBis82
Someone tapped on the door.
Nora turned toward the backseat.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡitJe34DYqf
“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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyD0ysMzZdZ
His blue eyes scanned a dozen wide-eyed children staring back at him.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0lFgdOflA0
His expression froze awkwardly.
“Uh... hey there,” he said stiffly. “Hi, everyone.”
No one responded.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXO39mh4l4D
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8Ala58WN9Z
Back then, she’d looked at him coldly.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXQrkssJqFd
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu0gRVm5K37
“I’ve been shot. But the kids can’t know. You drive. Get them home.”
Tim’s pupils contracted.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEQaUGnpXzp
In that instant, every ounce of logic in his mind snapped to full alert.
143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAppxyNn4J9
and then Add to home screen.