Chapter 3: Locked Doors
The tallest man stepped back and raised his hand.
The other two men moved instantly. One blocked the front of the bus. The other stood near the rear exit.
“Everyone stay seated,” the tallest man said. “This will be quick.”
The nurse near the front whispered, “What’s going on?”
“No one gets hurt if no one interferes.”
Laura felt Sophie fully wake in her arms. Her daughter’s small body stiffened.
“Mommy?” Sophie whispered.
Laura touched her hair. “Stay quiet.”
Eli leaned close. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have sat with you.”
“Too late for that,” Laura whispered back.
The man looked at Eli. “Give me the backpack.”
Eli shook his head.
The man sighed, almost sadly. “You don’t understand what you’re carrying.”
“I understand enough.”
“No,” the man said. “You’re a child carrying adult problems.”
Laura spoke before she could stop herself. “Then why are three grown men chasing him?”
The man turned his eyes to her.
For one second, Laura thought she had made a fatal mistake.
But then the old man near the front stood up.
“Leave them alone,” he said.
The second man moved toward him.
The driver slammed the brakes.
The bus lurched.
Passengers cried out. The college student fell sideways. The grocery bags tipped over, apples rolling across the floor. The sudden movement knocked the man near the rear door off balance.
Laura saw her chance.
“Run!” she shouted.
Eli grabbed her hand.
Laura held Sophie tightly and pushed into the aisle. The nurse stood up and blocked one man with her bag. The old man grabbed the pole and swung his cane across the aisle, not striking hard, just enough to slow them.
“Back door!” the driver yelled.
Laura dragged Eli toward the rear exit, but the third man recovered too quickly. He grabbed the rail and blocked them.
“There’s nowhere to go,” he said.
Then Sophie did something no one expected.
She threw her stuffed bunny at his face.
It was not strong. It was not dangerous. But it startled him just long enough.
Eli kicked the emergency release with all his strength. The back door hissed open.
Cold rain burst inside.
Laura jumped down first, still holding Sophie. Eli followed, nearly slipping on the wet pavement.
Behind them, the men shouted.
The bus had stopped beneath an old train bridge. The street was empty except for shuttered stores and the black car behind the bus.
Laura ran.
Her shoes splashed through puddles. Sophie cried against her shoulder. Eli clutched the backpack and stayed beside them, fast despite his fear.
They turned into an alley between a closed laundromat and a brick apartment building.
Laura spotted a stairwell leading down to a basement door.
“In here,” she whispered.
The door was locked.
Eli pulled a thin metal key from his pocket.
Laura stared. “You have a key?”
“My mother gave it to me.”
He shoved it into the lock.
The door opened.
They slipped inside just as footsteps thundered past the alley entrance.
Laura closed the door silently.
Darkness swallowed them.
For a moment, all she could hear was Sophie crying, Eli breathing, and her own heart beating like it wanted to escape her chest.
Then a dim bulb flickered on.
They were inside an old storage room.
On the wall, written in faded marker, were the words:
If you reach here, trust Laura Bennett.
Laura stared at her own name.
The room seemed to tilt.
May you like
Eli looked up at her.
“You really don’t remember, do you?”
