Federal Transit buses are nothing more than rolling cages of iron.
There were no windows; instead, thick steel plates covered the glass. The interior was illuminated by yellow bulbs that flickered, enclosed within cages. The air was filled with the smell of diesel, sweat, and vomit.
4 a.m. The bus rolled over a huge pothole on the winding roads of the Appalachians.
Annetta’s body shook violently. The heavy steel handcuffs dug deeply into her wrists, tearing at her already injured skin. Warm blood flowed down her fingers, but she didn’t make a sound.
Clara was lying on Annetta’s lap, her little hands tied with straps. The little girl’s face was a sickly greenish color, and she was vomiting due to severe motion sickness. Annetta used her own hands, which were bleeding and handcuffed, to hold Clara’s head. She also used her body to cushion the blows, so that her daughter wouldn’t hit the metal seats ahead of her.
Across the hallway, Christina had her eyes tightly closed. Her lips moved silently as she prayed in despair.
In the front part of the bus, separated by a heavy barbed-wire fence, were male prisoners who were considered to be at the highest risk of causing trouble.
A bald man with a thick neck turned around. There was a Nazi symbol tattooed on his neck. He stared at Annetta and Kristina, revealing a disgusting smile.
“Look at these wealthy men,” the bald man shouted over the roar of the engine. “Girls, winter in the mountains is long and cold. You need to find someone to keep you warm.”
The other male prisoners laughed, howling like animals.
Kristina shrank back, turning her face away from the wall.
Annetta didn’t look away. She raised her head, her eyes fixed on the bald man. There was no fear in her gaze, only a cold, deathly calmness.
The bald man’s smile froze. He didn’t like the way she was looking at him. He tried to get up, but the bolts on the floor held him in place.
In front, behind the bulletproof glass partitions, two armed U.S. marshals were drinking coffee, ignoring the shouting.
Suddenly, the bus braked sharply.
The tires skidded loudly on the slippery asphalt surface. The huge vehicle lost control and started to spin out of control. Everyone was thrown forward with great force. Annetta threw her upper body over Clara, using her shoulders to brace against the steel seat frame, thereby absorbing the impact.
Thunder rumbled outside. The rain pounded against the car’s roof like bullets.
The sound of the bailiff came through the walkie-talkie, mixed with static noise: “The mudslide has destroyed the main highway. We’ll take the old logging trail. Hold on tight.”
The bus left the paved road and entered a dirt road with deep ruts. The bumps became much more severe.
In the back seat, Kenzie Whaley finally broke down. She started screaming, with high-pitched, hysterical cries: “I can’t take it anymore! Let me get out! I want to go home!”
The bald man roared angrily, “Make that bitch shut up, or I’ll strangle her!”
Haley sobbed, trying to cover Kenzie’s mouth.
Annetta stared at the bald man. With each jolt of the bus, the rusty locking mechanism on the shackles around his right ankle scraped against the bolts in the floor.
It’s loosening.
Annetta tried to reach for her boots—but her hands were handcuffed to her belt, so she couldn’t reach them. She bit her lip and turned her gaze away. That metal piece, which she had secretly hidden in her cell, was now completely useless, stuck somewhere out of reach.
The bus rolled over a huge crater.
With a metallic snapping sound, the handcuffs on the bald man’s ankles broke off from the floor.
He didn’t hesitate. He leaped over the seat, and his huge hands reached straight for Annetta’s throat.
The bailiffs shouted loudly, frantically trying to get to their tasers, but they were trapped behind bulletproof glass.
Annetta didn’t scream. She shoved Clara roughly into Christina’s arms.
When the bald man’s thick fingers reached for her collar, Annetta didn’t try to resist him by force. She fell backward, raising her handcuffed hands in front of her—this was all she could do.
“He got free!” she cried out, her voice sharp. It wasn’t panic. It was calculated action. Her eyes weren’t fixed on the bald man, but on the two bailiffs.
The marshals heard the word “break free”. Frightened by the mudslide, they took action immediately. The safety door was forced open. A bright electric arc illuminated the dark interior of the bus. The marshals fired their tasers directly into the bald man’s broad chest.
The man convulsed violently. The electric current paralyzed his muscles. He screamed in pain and collapsed onto the bus floor.
Annetta slowly sat up. Her chest rose and fell with each breath. Her hands, still handcuffed to her belt, remained motionless.
She glanced around the bus. Every prisoner stared at her with absolute fear and silence.
The bald man was convulsing on the floor, foaming at the mouth. No one said a word.
Annetta looked down at Clara and said softly, “Close your eyes, baby. Go to sleep.”
She didn’t look at the fallen man again.
Throughout the rest of the journey, no one said a word.
