Chapter 5
288 Words
Chapter Five: The Crawl and the Crack
…The floodlights roared to life.
Bruno had returned.
And he wasn’t alone.
Flora froze in the doorway, her body already half out in the night air. Behind her, the children turned, terrified. Bruno stormed forward, flashlight in one hand, gun in the other, flanked by two other men.
Flora spun around, blocking the children with her body.
“RUN!” she screamed. “NOW!”
The children bolted into the night. Bare feet slapped against dirt and concrete. Some hesitated—Mina stumbled, Yusuf grabbed her hand and pulled.
One of the men aimed his gun.
Flora grabbed a nearby crate and hurled it at him. It crashed into his legs, throwing off his aim. The shot missed, cracking into the metal door.
Bruno lunged for Flora, but she ducked and kicked him square in the shin. He roared in pain.
She turned and ran—just as a shadow came back for her.
It was Kemi.
“Come on!” she shouted, grabbing Flora’s hand.
Together they disappeared into the dark, weaving through narrow paths behind the warehouse. They didn’t look back—not even when more shouts rang out, not even when more gunshots echoed behind them.
They didn’t stop running until they reached the trees.
When they finally slowed, gasping for breath, they were met by the rest of the children. Some were crying, some were shaking, but they were all alive.
Flora dropped to her knees, chest heaving.
She looked at them.
Her team.
Her responsibility.
They had made it—for now.
“This isn’t over,” she said quietly. “But tonight, we’re free.”
And for the first time in days, the children smiled.
- Writer
