The moment the door was pulled open, silence fell over the entire van.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWUjpjNW4vU
Darkness shrouded the figure at the entrance. No one dared to speak.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIXKbApFWHS
The children shrank into their seats, frozen.
Then the ceiling light flicked on.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhQ9XW2Nw3O
A soft yellow glow spilled down—143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS0u9mA8Uz1
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3lWHKBDGSd
but she was still the same Miss Nora they knew.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrkaDXDVh6d
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLXnMcdYZjD
He didn’t care about his backpack, didn’t wait for permission.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFFqyMMSrey
He just ran forward.
“Miss Nora!”
Nora turned, and when she saw him, a real smile lit up her face.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlolzj5xehq
She opened her arms—and the moment Finn threw himself at her, she held him tight.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2suzzkQbhL
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjBJxjc61C3
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaUHuEt6AAh
One by one, they began to cry too. Some sniffled quietly, others wailed outright.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAeDCCVoHO6
In seconds, the van became a tide of sorrow.
Nora held Finn like he was something unspeakably precious.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdoD6MW88PB
She patted his back gently, murmured soft reassurances, calming him until he quieted down,143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyARpMDC5JB
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB40E7nvZjU
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7m95xM9xOA
Her voice was steady—strong.
“We’re going home.”
She walked to the driver’s seat.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM2C1i94pCF
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEJwmG96hin
and slowly, the van rolled out of the darkness.
The children sat quietly,143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKz66t54O2g
watching as the lights of the city began to appear outside the window.
They were really going home.
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143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW5zchiNr0E
Nora drove fast through a pitch-black road, darkness thick as ink.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4TAlHcSk53
There were no streetlights ahead. The world was silent.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrd5dKjmg2w
Only the stretch of road illuminated by her headlights moved with her—143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmjz29udn91
like she was slicing a narrow path through the night.
She gritted her teeth, fingers white on the wheel.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHX4b1030zJ
The pain in her abdomen came earlier than expected.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqfbzHHz1eC
This wasn’t just soreness. It was a dull, deep throb—143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0dqsdFsANI
pulsing outward from inside her, like a warning. Like a punishment.
Still, her grip on the steering wheel was steady.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmVGT6yfZi9
Her foot moved smoothly between gas and brake—no hesitation.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrFr4FVOLFH
She couldn’t afford a mistake.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVfMX2hfQwi
She couldn’t go too slow, either.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1ngF86o0jO
This wasn’t just about driving the kids home.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwTseMLM0ae
This was her responsibility. The path she had chosen to bear.
The backseat gradually quieted.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu7tKuWczfk
After the shock, drowsiness began to take over.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMGtpKe57LQ
Little bodies leaned against the seats, lips still salty with tears.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxRP604XRys
A few began to murmur that they were hungry—it was dinner time, after all.
Nora glanced in the rearview mirror—143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5ishGsKmcj
They were all there. Quiet. Safe.
She looked back at the road, calculating silently.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxwd9pTKZdb
It would take about two more hours to reach the city.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR0Z0fGeA56
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMS30pm4Fx4
143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNyGAZzoFK2
Nora swore under her breath.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDVLLBN5VOM
Her vision blurred. Her head was spinning.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRJF5gzI01K
She knew this wasn’t just fatigue—this was blood loss.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMViimcXjDY
She forced herself to blink, tried to keep the road ahead in focus—143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEL3QdtOdzr
but the white lines shimmered, floating like ripples in water.
If she kept driving, something bad would happen.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRRmoLrnHEw
She was nearing her limit.
She eased off the gas, thinking fast:143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXNnVpJUTTe
Could she use voice command to call for help?143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqGguqUipLt
No—if she spoke now, the kids would hear something was wrong.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeiRRQgczNg
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzGCFhbIz2B
Both of them turned their heads at the same time.
In that moment, the world stopped.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYDf9rU9nES
Like a slow-motion scene in a movie, all sound was sucked away—143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJxQvuqQOZY
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe1XM5st2i9
Tires skidded against the ground.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpE83LEOXXy
Footsteps approached.
Knock knock—143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAubK3tclpQ
Someone tapped on the door.
Nora turned toward the backseat.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbVZYilIwMK
“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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIIyP2aoZ06
His blue eyes scanned a dozen wide-eyed children staring back at him.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡabIyxUSFPb
His expression froze awkwardly.
“Uh... hey there,” he said stiffly. “Hi, everyone.”
No one responded.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKE0uhrytCR
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPcfaUZi80c
Back then, she’d looked at him coldly.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcBG2dSrCvK
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNqbhskisSQ
“I’ve been shot. But the kids can’t know. You drive. Get them home.”
Tim’s pupils contracted.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDK0ZRjSWCQ
In that instant, every ounce of logic in his mind snapped to full alert.
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and then Add to home screen.