A message popped up on James' phone just as he was making himself a cup of coffee.
"Day looks nice today. I feel like calling my wife and asking what's for dinner…
But there's a big chance she'll ask me to bring vegetables or some cosmetics on the way.
Honestly, I don't feel like going through that.
So final decision — no calls to home today."
He smiled a little, assuming the message was from home.
He ignored it and focused on his coffee.
But just a few minutes later — another message popped up.
"Is she trying to play games with me?
If she needs something, why not just call?
I'm not even in a meeting…"
Feeling a bit annoyed, he picked up his phone.
Opened the message.
And then he froze.
---
BUS IS HIJACKED
I NEED HELP…
INFORM THE COPS BEFORE I DIE…
BUS NUMBER – #####
---
"What the hell…?" he whispered.
His calm expression turned into shock and panic within seconds.
"Evelyn… Are you okay?" he asked himself out loud.
Without wasting a second, he grabbed his phone and ran out of the office, already dialing a number with shaking fingers.
---
Meanwhile, inside the bus…
Evelyn grabbed a gun from the pile of weapons they had managed to collect from Jacob and Noelle.
She pointed the gun at the strange jammer machine that was blocking all communication—
BANG!
She fired.
The loud sound broke the silence, jolting everyone's attention —
Especially Jacob, who was still punching Ethan non-stop.
He stopped and looked up.
Now he was back in full alert mode.
And in front of him stood Evelyn.
Eyes full of courage.
Hands steady.
And the gun… pointed straight at him.
"Put it down... You don't know how dangerous this can get," Jacob said, stepping back slowly, away from Ethan's bleeding body.
Evelyn didn't move. She stood still, her hands tight around the gun.
Her eyes didn't blink. Her voice was cold and firm.
"Surrender right now, or I'll shoot you."
They both stood facing each other — tense, alert, breathing heavily.
Words flew, but neither one gave in.
Evelyn then shouted towards the front of the bus,
"Bring Ethan to the passenger side — quick!"
A few men rushed to lift Ethan and dragged him towards the crowd standing near the driver's area.
His body was barely moving.
But Evelyn didn't move.
She stayed where she was, pointing the gun right at Jacob's head.
"I'm not asking again… Put your hands up and surrender now," she said, even louder this time.
Her finger was ready on the trigger. She was done taking chances.
Jacob, breathing heavily, slowly placed his hands behind his head and bent his knees to the ground.
"I'm down… Just put the gun away," he said in a calm but twisted tone.
But Evelyn didn't fall for it.
She moved closer, step by step, her eyes still locked on him.
She asked a few men to come over and tie Jacob's hands with rope.
A few of them stepped forward with the rope, carefully approaching from behind.
But just then…
In a split second —
Jacob saw Evelyn glance at the rope.
That was his chance.
He pushed himself off the ground using his legs like a spring —
Jumped straight at her.
Before she could react, he grabbed the gun out of her hands —
And slapped her hard across the face.
Evelyn was thrown off balance —
She crashed into a bus seat and fell, groaning in pain.
Jacob didn't wait anymore.
He turned back to Ethan — lying still on the bus floor.
BANG!
BANG!
Two gunshots fired —
One to the chest.
One to the stomach.
Even from that distance —
Jacob's aim didn't miss.
Ethan's body jerked once…
And then everything went still.
Everyone standing inside the bus — children, parents, women —
started screaming and crying.
Right in front of their eyes, someone had been shot to death.
A person who had tried to protect them… now gone.
The whole bus was filled with pain.
The loud screams, the crying, the smell of blood —
everything echoed in the small, moving space.
Even the bus driver, who was driving as fast as he could to reach the station,
wanted to stop the bus and just run away from this nightmare.
But suddenly —
BANG!
Another gunshot.
The bullet flew into the air and hit the roof of the bus with a loud crack.
"SHUT THE FUCK UP!"
Jacob shouted at the top of his voice.
Everyone instantly became silent.
He looked around at all the scared faces, his eyes filled with rage.
"You all ruined everything…" he said, slowly shaking his head.
"Everything…"
His voice cracked for a moment.
"You all… killed her."
Everyone stared at him in confusion and fear.
"Now you cry for this useless fellow?"
He pointed angrily at Ethan's lifeless body.
"This guy… had nothing to do with you all.
But just because, for a few minutes, he became your hero,
you made him your leader.
You all started feeling some connection, some bond.
How stupid..."
He started laughing —
but it wasn't a happy laugh.
It was the laugh of someone broken from the inside.
"That's why… That's exactly why I killed your hopes.
That's why I killed your leader!"
He took a deep breath, then screamed:
"Because that was the only way I could take my power back!"
He looked around again.
Everyone was frozen, stuck in fear.
Some held their children close, some covered their mouths in shock.
Then Jacob turned slowly…
His eyes landed on Noelle.
He walked toward her step by step.
Kneeling beside her, he whispered,
"Let's go home."
He closed his eyes —
for a moment, it felt like he was about to cry.
But he stopped himself.
Evelyn slowly opened her eyes.
Her head was spinning, and her vision was blurry.
She looked around and tried to push herself up from the bus floor.
With shaky hands, she grabbed a nearby seat for support and finally stood up.
Her forehead was bleeding, but the pain didn't matter.
She couldn't just sit and wait for something worse to happen.
Across the bus, Jacob was now holding Noelle in his arms, trying to steady himself.
He stood there, as if protecting her no matter what.
Suddenly—
The bus stopped with a loud, harsh brake!
Everyone inside was thrown off balance.
Some people fell to the floor, screaming.
Even Jacob almost lost his grip—but somehow, he stayed standing, still holding Noelle tight.
Then a voice shouted from the front,
"COPS!"
Jacob's eyes widened.
He turned quickly and saw through the cracked windows — police cars were blocking the road ahead.
Armed officers were already in position, ready to stop the bus.
They had been waiting.
Jacob's face changed.
He closed his eyes for a second.
"I'm sorry, Noelle…"
he whispered in his mind.
And in the next moment — he acted.
Jacob threw Noelle toward the back window of the bus.
CRASH!
The glass cracked as Noelle's body hit it.
Without hesitation, Jacob jumped onto the same window — using his full weight to shatter the glass completely.
He slipped out through the broken window and landed on the ground behind the bus.
"The cops are in front… They can't see me here behind the bus. They won't shoot me here," he thought quickly.
He looked around.
The bus had stopped in the middle of nowhere — but he spotted the highway in the distance.
Without wasting a second, Jacob started running fast toward the highway, leaving everything behind.
Evelyn saw Jacob running away behind the bus.
She rushed to the front door and shouted loudly,
"He's running away! The criminal—he's running!"
The officers outside heard her voice.
One of them quickly pointed his gun at her and shouted,
"Don't move! Stay where you are!"
But Evelyn didn't stop.
She kept running toward them — even though it was dangerous.
Then a voice came from behind,
"She's Evelyn! Put your guns down!"
It was James.
He stepped out of the police car.
He had stayed inside earlier because the cops told him it was safer.
But after hearing Evelyn's voice, he couldn't stay anymore.
He got out and ran toward her.
The cops lowered their guns.
Evelyn came closer, but before she could say anything,
James hugged her tightly.
"Are you okay, Evelyn?" he asked, holding her.
"I'm okay... Please tell them to catch him!" she said quickly.
She knew that if they let Jacob escape now, they might never catch him again.
One of the officers stepped closer.
"We'll take care of it, ma'am. Just tell us — how many people are we looking for?" he asked.
"One is dead… one is running away. You have to catch him!"
Her eyes were full of fear and hope — anyone could see how desperate she was.
The officer turned to two of his men and ordered,
"You two! Take a car and follow him. We need to catch him — now!"
Then he and the rest of the officers moved toward the bus to help the people inside.
Meanwhile, Evelyn, finally feeling a little relief, sat inside the police car with James.
James gave her some water and stayed close, waiting for her to calm down.