The moment the door was pulled open, silence fell over the entire van.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPuuDHPL83C
Darkness shrouded the figure at the entrance. No one dared to speak.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtbhzgepogw
The children shrank into their seats, frozen.
Then the ceiling light flicked on.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWLGUD5jRUd
A soft yellow glow spilled down—143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtedhlOKdfn
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK9F3LCORvb
but she was still the same Miss Nora they knew.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjGRualTLCN
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlsSZTFqML5
He didn’t care about his backpack, didn’t wait for permission.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGKfdzIgHoS
He just ran forward.
“Miss Nora!”
Nora turned, and when she saw him, a real smile lit up her face.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj1HVqrn1FT
She opened her arms—and the moment Finn threw himself at her, she held him tight.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHlceNulnKi
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdMaHFNsESt
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmuBBR7r6Je
One by one, they began to cry too. Some sniffled quietly, others wailed outright.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoRJEkyu3VP
In seconds, the van became a tide of sorrow.
Nora held Finn like he was something unspeakably precious.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTVb0AwmRwy
She patted his back gently, murmured soft reassurances, calming him until he quieted down,143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡToJ2F4A6T7
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡacUzwSmLGL
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFcWbtP4eR9
Her voice was steady—strong.
“We’re going home.”
She walked to the driver’s seat.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0pywwm2hIF
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMEWWqhmM6U
and slowly, the van rolled out of the darkness.
The children sat quietly,143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy7sKwyVjxU
watching as the lights of the city began to appear outside the window.
They were really going home.
143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuqEgfCjwPS
143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2DfuaZtfo9
Nora drove fast through a pitch-black road, darkness thick as ink.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡooZAC57b9e
There were no streetlights ahead. The world was silent.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuB0KZBJILA
Only the stretch of road illuminated by her headlights moved with her—143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBwGk0rhtWE
like she was slicing a narrow path through the night.
She gritted her teeth, fingers white on the wheel.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsMPj5a3chV
The pain in her abdomen came earlier than expected.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG5mPppc7WW
This wasn’t just soreness. It was a dull, deep throb—143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡykVdnruAps
pulsing outward from inside her, like a warning. Like a punishment.
Still, her grip on the steering wheel was steady.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfgy0u0Wc1O
Her foot moved smoothly between gas and brake—no hesitation.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO9KWaKFnsV
She couldn’t afford a mistake.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyiGxRJ2QMl
She couldn’t go too slow, either.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwp9jwA3R41
This wasn’t just about driving the kids home.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs3PxQzZC6q
This was her responsibility. The path she had chosen to bear.
The backseat gradually quieted.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlkPtOFxnAe
After the shock, drowsiness began to take over.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL8PKrZpVCk
Little bodies leaned against the seats, lips still salty with tears.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWxeXvMjBtT
A few began to murmur that they were hungry—it was dinner time, after all.
Nora glanced in the rearview mirror—143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZQ17nwomgr
They were all there. Quiet. Safe.
She looked back at the road, calculating silently.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcdbgwJhJq6
It would take about two more hours to reach the city.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdIrw7fd2JS
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡByWpiPSrTj
Nora swore under her breath.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkLHSJf2jK8
Her vision blurred. Her head was spinning.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡahAwy40ZmC
She knew this wasn’t just fatigue—this was blood loss.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM1vF7iWvgm
She forced herself to blink, tried to keep the road ahead in focus—143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeSwW8ewbiO
but the white lines shimmered, floating like ripples in water.
If she kept driving, something bad would happen.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡihSiWikpcQ
She was nearing her limit.
She eased off the gas, thinking fast:143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAjYpXJ781L
Could she use voice command to call for help?143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk0rnPLk4si
No—if she spoke now, the kids would hear something was wrong.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBRbIL29RlU
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNKfY7nelbn
Both of them turned their heads at the same time.
In that moment, the world stopped.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjSwVcrmmNO
Like a slow-motion scene in a movie, all sound was sucked away—143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLN4V8sao43
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8XsXETfrB6
Tires skidded against the ground.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxb8YTH75PH
Footsteps approached.
Knock knock—143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1hxwWG5ZFf
Someone tapped on the door.
Nora turned toward the backseat.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrPIVSVSIrc
“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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIcfQh4Ij65
His blue eyes scanned a dozen wide-eyed children staring back at him.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9U0cX5E6Zd
His expression froze awkwardly.
“Uh... hey there,” he said stiffly. “Hi, everyone.”
No one responded.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLtROaFeMOh
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJGcbU9VYGf
Back then, she’d looked at him coldly.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCrqN0ybgIb
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3qMBmQcVhJ
“I’ve been shot. But the kids can’t know. You drive. Get them home.”
Tim’s pupils contracted.143Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNQxthmOxlK
In that instant, every ounce of logic in his mind snapped to full alert.
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and then Add to home screen.