Alina pulled out her phone and pretended to check it, anything to avoid making unnecessary conversation with Dante while her heart was still doing anxious somersaults inside her chest. The warm light inside the turtle bus rested softly over her screen, and she focused on it with exaggerated interest, hoping it would calm the fluttering in her stomach.
Most of the babies were already fast asleep, their tiny breaths rising and falling in gentle rhythms. Even Boo, who could stay awake through an earthquake if he wanted to, had curled up with his blanket pulled over his head. Only a few of the little ones blinked drowsily, fighting the last bits of exhaustion, but even they were slowly giving in to the cozy warmth around them.
Alina typed quietly into the Parents Group chat, her fingers moving carefully as the bus glided upward toward the surface.
"Everyone is safe. We are on our way back now. The children are resting."
