The kids at school always laughed at her, but the only thing that kept her from crying was the hope that the dowdier she looked, the less looks she'd receive during the ride back home.

Her hopes always failed her, though. There was always someone looking.

Today there were three other people in the cab with her. One of them was a homeless black man sleeping two seats beside her. He wore a ski-cap and smelled like beer and must. Across from him sat a young couple who might have been brother and sister or boyfriend and girlfriend. It was hard to tell. The girl was blonde and pretty and her hand was tucked into the boy's arm. She wore a white crepe dress, looking like a fairy. The boy looked older, or maybe he just seemed that way because his face was so stern.

"Come on, Sebby," the girl was saying. "Just for a few minutes."

"No," he replied, and looked at Kate. Kate shivered and turned away.

"The lady said they had a white unicorn on the merry-go-round. I've always wanted to ride a white unicorn."

"You'd take the whole day." The boy sounded gruff. "You'd insist on one ride after another. It's going to be dark soon."

"Please, Sebby?"

The door at the other end of the cab clicked open, and Kate saw four teenage boys enter. She muffled a groan as she recognized them. Jacob and his Bad Hats. He tormented her mercilessly at school whenever she met him, which was the reason she sought to avoid crossing his path whenever she could.

They were crossing to the other side of the cab, laughing. Kate huddled in her seat and lowered her head, hoping they wouldn't notice her as they passed.

"Heyyyy, it's Kathleen!" Jacob crowed. His companions echoed similar cheers. "Hello, Kathleen. How are you, Kathleen?"

He rolled her name in a mocking tone. She shrank back as he approached, hearing them laugh. The homeless black man raised his head and blinked owlishly. The young couple sitting across were looking at them.

Jacob reached for her and she batted his hand away, ignoring his laugh. "Leave me alone," she tried to scream, but it came out as a whisper.

"Aw, but why would I wanna do that, Kathleen? You're so much fun to play with, Kathleen. Come play with us, Kathleen."

"Hey now." The black man was struggling to sit up. "You let her alone, y' hear?"

Jacob swiped at her stringy strands of hair. "Don't you want to play with us, Kathleen?"

The black man was sitting up now. "The lady says t' leave her alone."

Jacob glared. "Stay out of this, old man."

The man got to his feet and one of the boys lunged at him. Kate screamed as a young fist connected with an older jaw. She tried to jump up but Jacob's hand was holding her back, his head turned to watch the fight. The couple was starting to rise, the boy named Sebby trying to push the pretty girl behind him. The black man was still reeling from alcohol and was hit across the face again.

"Leave him alone," said Sebby. His voice seemed lower than before, as if reverbrating the steel walls of the cab. Kate stopped screaming and stared.

The punk pushed the man away, the latter crashing painfully against the plastic-rimmed seats. His head lolled to the side, unconscious. The punk's eyes were fixed on Sebby. His friends advanced closer as well.

"You wanna piece of this?" the punk taunted. "You wanna play hero? We'll see how your pretty girlfriend likes it when we make her scream."

Sebby clenched his fists. A bright light flashed, and at first Kate thought they were reaching a station. She glanced at the pretty girl behind Sebby. The blonde peeped out from behind his shoulder and looked straight at Kate, smiling in assurance. She mouthed, Close your eyes.

Kate hesitated, then obeyed. She thought she heard a gentle voice saying, Don't look, but it sounded as if it was being spoken in an empty room, in the deserted crevices of her mind.

Kate yelled as a high-pitched screech pierced the air and she covered her ears to shut out the sound. She thought her ears would bleed. Something so bright, so terrible, grew until it encompassed everything, and she knew it was bright because the outsides of her eyelids rimmed with red even though she squeezed her eyes shut. She continued screaming, frightened and lost and swallowed up by the light, the sound, the shaking of the earth that threatened to throw her into a bottomless valley.

She didn't know how much time had passed, only that she was still screaming long after the screech had stopped. Her heart pounded loudly in her ears, obscuring all other sounds, and she kept screaming until she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder.

She jerked back and opened her eyes. The pretty fairy-girl was smiling at her with sky-blue eyes.

"Are you all right?" she asked.

Kate nodded mutely. She looked behind the girl and saw Jacob and the other boys lying prone on the subway floor. A trickle of blood painted a red line from Jacob's ear. Sebby was checking the black man, who emerged confused but conscious.

The man pushed away all efforts to help him up, so Sebby stepped back and let him rise himself. Sebby's eyes flickered to the bodies on the floor, and Kate noticed for the first time that his eyes were gray-green. His jaw hardened and his fists clenched.

The fairy-girl was at his side, touching his sleeve. "We don't hold the sword, Sebby," Kate heard her say softly to the boy. She saw her gentle fingers tug at his sleeve, making him look at the girl. "We don't hold the sword."

The train slowed and rattled. Oscillating lights indicated their approaching a station. Sebby remained tense for a long moment, then finally willed his fingers free from the fists. The girl looped her arm beneath his and pulled him gently towards the doors which hissed open.

Kate watched them leave, then lifted her head to the black man. Both their eyes met, wide and lost. He glanced at the bodies on the floor, shivered, and stumbled out of the cab.

This wasn't Kate's stop. She looked down at Jacob and nudged his side with her foot. He was still soft, still breathing.

This wasn't Kate's stop, but she left the cab anyway. She walked the rest of the way home.