After the Bell

Mila tucked her glowing book into her backpack as the school bell rang. The cobblestone courtyard of Sunnybrick Elementary buzzed with children racing toward the gates. She adjusted her round glasses and pulled her teal hoodie closer.

"See you tomorrow, Mila!" called her friend Sarah, disappearing into the crowd with her older brother.

Mila waved back and headed toward the side path that led to her favorite shortcut through Willowbrook Park. The afternoon sun cast long shadows between the colorful houses lining the street.

As she turned the corner near the old oak tree, footsteps echoed behind her. She glanced back but saw only empty sidewalk. The sound stopped when she stopped.

"Mila Thompson." A man's voice, calm but cold.

She spun around. Two figures in dark coats stood blocking her path back to school. One held something in his jacket pocket, pointed directly at her.

"You're coming with us."

The Gray Van

Mila's heart hammered against her ribs. The man stepped closer, his hand still pointing something at her from inside his jacket pocket.

"We know about your gift, Mila. The books that glow when you touch them."

"I don't know what you're talking about," she whispered, backing against the oak tree's rough bark.

The second man pulled out a phone and showed her a video. Mila gasped. It was her in the school library yesterday, making the dragon from "Fire Mountain Tales" appear above an open book. The librarian, Mrs. Chen, had asked her to demonstrate for a visiting author.

"Get in the van." The first man nodded toward a gray vehicle parked behind the colorful houses.

Mila's legs felt like jelly, but she walked toward it. Inside sat another kid about her age with messy black hair and worried brown eyes.

"I'm Gabriel," he whispered as she climbed in. "They took me from soccer practice two hours ago."

The van doors slammed shut. Through the small window, Mila watched Sunnybrick's cheerful streets disappear as they drove toward the edge of town.