Chapter 11 Safe in My Arms
The Train Police tackled and cuffed her fast.
Blood soaked my shirt, but the pain never came.
I touched my chest—the safety pendant Miaomiao gave me had stopped the blade.
Someone helped me up. I sucked in air.
I marched forward and slapped her with everything I had.
“Touch my sister again!”
“I’ll kill you!”
I would have if they hadn’t pulled me off.
They hauled down the suitcase the woman had reached for.
We forced the lock.
I unzipped it slowly.
Miaomiao lay inside.
Strange clothes. Hair crudely cut. Face flushed, eyes shut tight.
“Miaomiao, wake up! Please!”
I shook her, terrified she wouldn’t open her eyes.
It felt like forever.
Then her eyelids fluttered.
“Big Brother… why are you bleeding?”
She looked dazed.
I pulled her into my arms and cried like a child.
At the next station, Miaomiao, the two traffickers, and I got off.
The dark-faced man and the woman glared, furious, unable to understand where they went wrong.
I held my sister close and stared back with the same venom.
I demanded a full medical check immediately.
“Everything else is normal. There’s an illegal sedative in her blood, but it will metabolize out. No lasting harm.”
The doctor’s words lifted the weight crushing my chest.
I finally replied to Mom.
They were shocked we got off early.
When they arrived, police gave them the short version.
Mom broke down sobbing, clutching Miaomiao.
Dad’s eyes were red. He kicked me hard.
I didn’t feel it.
The tension I’d carried finally snapped.
“Stop hitting him!”
“If not for your son, we might never have gotten her back.”
The officers’ words stopped Dad cold.
Everyone turned to look at me.