Rescue Operations

Maya's scream hitched in her throat, strangled by a fist of ice that squeezed her heart tight. She watched in horrified slow motion as the rusty minivan swerved onto the main road, Garnet's startled face pressed against the grimy back window.

One desperate lunge, but her fingers grazed only air as the van sped away, swallowing Garnet whole.

Panic, raw and primal, ripped through Maya. The world dissolved into a blur of honking horns and screeching tires as she bolted after the van, feet pounding the asphalt. Adrenaline surged, masking the sting of scraped knees and the ache in her lungs. Logic fled, replaced by the instinctual need to reach Garnet, to pull her back from the abyss that had just yawned open in front of them.

The van, a hulking beast on the road, weaved through traffic with reckless abandon. Maya, fueled by desperation, wove after it, a lone runner trying to defy the metal tide. Cars honked, swerved, showered her with angry shouts, but her gaze remained fixed on the van,