Kid was faced with a choice—to scram, and save the rest of the class by escaping down the nearby stairs, or to risk it all and talk to Sangre until he surrendered Lin.

She couldn’t bear to see anyone die, so she waved her arms and shouted. “To the stairs, save yourselves! I’ll hold him off!”

The two adults—the bus driver Tom and Ms. Renaldo—ushered the kids away and began to run as fast as they could. One of them tried to grab Kid, but she wriggled out of their grasp. “Just go!” she ordered.

They cast a backwards glance, almost losing their footing, but kept running.

“Well, well, well,” Sangre said. “Our little hero.” He clapped his hands with a wet slapping sound and whistled. “Don’t you know? You can’t save her.”

“Why not?” She spoke slowly, buying time. “If you don’t hand her back, I’ll…”

“You’ll what? You’re a kid.” He rested a hand on his belt. A huge meat cleaver hung there. The other hand held his controller panel. “Besides, don’t you know what’s going on?” He clicked a button on the controller and then put it back into his pocket.

“What do you think? You kidnapped my friends, and you’ve made me angry.” She pressed her fists together.

“I’m not afraid of a child!” he bellowed. “I was trying to explain.”

Just keep him distracted, and everyone can get away.

“Then explain.”

“Lin, as you call her—she’s my little princess. Aren’t you, honey?”

Kid’s eyes widened in horror. “What do you mean?” Lin had always been telling them that her parents were long gone.

“Yes, dad.” Lin said. She smirked.

“Don’t you remember? When it came time to vote on the field trip, she talked everyone into going to the Grand Canyon. On the way, she knew, they’d pass through here.”

“She… led us here?”

“Yup!”

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“But why?” Kid whispered. Her head spun, and craning her neck upwards wasn’t helping.

He shrugged. “I raised her right, that’s why. She’s going to make daddy rich. Then she’ll be a real princess. I’ll buy my way into the monarchy and…”

Kid tuned it out. He was insane! You couldn’t buy a princess certificate on the internet. And there was no way that he was her real father—he was simply too old.

“I can hear you thinking again,” Sangre said. “Father or not, I’ve made a good deal, don’t you think? She gets rid of you troublesome kids, because she’s always hated you, I know. I get rich, everyone wins.”

“But I lose.” She gritted her teeth together.

“Of course. Everyone wins. You aren’t even someone. A nobody.”

Her anger rose. “Come down here and fight me about it.” She instantly regretted the words, as he seemed intent on doing just that. If she could keep him distracted for just a moment longer, everyone could escape. Already she heard the footsteps on the stairs receding into the distance.

Just one more minute!

He turned to take the stairs and Kid ran for her life. She led him away from the stairs her class had taken, and further into the bowels of the abattoir. She slid down the railing, bounced back to her feet, and gasped for breath. Even with the power of the lard, she couldn’t run forever. She led him down, around, and then went back up, towards the exit.

It took an hour of climbing stairs to lose him. By the end of the chase, she was almost at the top. But she still heard their voices, and what was even more worrisome was the sound of crying. Why hadn’t they escaped yet?

Sunlight beckoned. After the last flight of stairs, she saw a wall of windows… and a double-door shut tight. A little red light showed the exit was inactive. So they had reached the surface at last. The lobby area was hot and dry, but she shivered. Old-timey posters and giant paintings covered the walls.

The class was working as one to try to break a window with a hat stand. It kept bouncing off with a clang.

Kid didn’t see any tools in the lobby strong enough to shatter thick double-paned glass. With a hand in her pocket, she felt for the silver penny. She glanced around. Snaggletooth had mentioned a few remaining supplies of processed lard—could one be nearby? If she drank enough, she’d be strong enough to smash through the window and free them.

She looked around the lobby. She heard the humming of a vending machine, but didn’t see one. Shutting her eyes she focused. It should be behind this wall, but how to get to it? There was nothing but an idyllic painting of bats.

She ripped through the old painting. It had been hiding an opening! She stepped inside and pulled out the penny.

“Thanks, Snaggletooth.” She put it in the machine and out popped a can of glowing liquid lard.

This time she wouldn’t spill it. She chugged.

It was beyond sweet; cloying, and thoroughly nasty. She slid to the floor and curled up, gripping her stomach with her arms. An inferno of pain wracked her body, her heart throbbed in her ears, and she waited for it to pass.

When she could stand up, the cuts on her hands were gone. She breathed out and listened through the pounding in her head. The noise of her friends trying to escape had stopped.

She rushed out, and saw nothing but a hairline crack in the window. They were gone… but they hadn’t escaped.