Astralis

Episode Three

Amelia stood fidgeting on the curb, waiting for her bus to swing into the loop.

"Amelia, step back from the curb please," admonished her teacher, Mr. Burke. She took a step back and then unconsciously took another step forward.

A white van pulled into the loop, and several teachers began waving at it to let the driver know it was in the wrong area.

It kept coming.

Ooh that person is in trouble, she thought.

Teachers began shouting as it sped up instead of pulling into the exit lane. Amelia stood frozen, eyes fixated on the van.

It pulled to a screeching stop in front of her and two people in black ski masks jumped out. One of them pointed a gun towards the milling group of kids and adults. Teachers began screaming behind her. She continued to stand frozen.

Before she could formulate another thought, one of them ran straight towards her, yanked her off her feet and ran back to the van. She started screaming and kicking, but they were big and strong, like Todd. They put a hand over her mouth and ducked into the van. The person with the gun jumped into the van, the door was slammed shut and tires squealed as the van sped away.