I moved. I must have, as my seam split even more. I didn’t just feel the tearing but heard it. Was I the only one? Waiting to find out, I’d never been so aware of every muscle in my body, every involuntary twitch.

Soon came a hiss. The striking of a match. Clanking suggested a burner being lit.

I’d gotten lucky but wasn’t about to relax.

There were more clacking steps, more indecipherable shuffling before I heard it. An engine groaned. Its volume rose, then sputtered to a stop.

The door opened again and a woman sang out a greeting. It was the voice of the dining-hall supervisor. I never pegged her as friendly. Save with Ingrid.

Metal slammed—the ramp being dropped into place. The driver and the woman engaged in small talk about the weather and some new radio show.

At last came a different squeaking: a cart being wheeled out before rattling up the ramp. I focused on regulating my breaths, keeping them soundless. Another cart squeaked and rattled, followed shortly by the departure of a third. I willed myself not to retract farther into hiding. Stillness was critical.

Then all at once, I was moving. The driver was so close I smelled the tobacco smoke on his clothes, the coffee on his breath. I squeezed my eyes shut, wishing to be invisible. The pressure made my sockets ache.

Suddenly the bags shifted over me. My eyes flew open. Tipped at an angle, the cart was rolling up the ramp. I leveraged my elbow against the weighted sacks, and the cart stopped. The driver sniffed, lingering. Did he smell me in turn, perhaps the lemon in my hair? Or did he simply sense my presence?

My stomach leapt to my throat.

But then footsteps thudded down the ramp, which he slid back into the truck. I sagged with relief. At the soonest stop, when the area was clear, I’d slip out fast as a wink. Vanish like a button.

I relaxed my neck just enough to view the ceiling, awarding myself more air. The couple’s chat resumed, muffled, something about a snack for the road. Then ragged slams filled my ears. He’d shut the doors, turning the world black.

I covered my mouth to suppress a gasp. I should have predicted this. But from my bedroom window, all I’d seen was a transport to freedom, not thinking of its absolute darkness, nor its lock that could seal me in.

Stay calm! You need to stay calm!

The internal voice was commanding, but already I was scrambling out of the cart. Before I could stop myself or even peek out first, I found the doors by feel and flung them open.

Logic told me I’d been caught.

Yet remarkably, there was no one in the alley. The kitchen door was cracked open, but the couple was out of sight.