Free Hollow World by Nick Pobursky

and focusing only on facts presented and how they relate to the matter at hand.
    Unable to prevent his mind from speculating, Charlie banged the back of his head lightly against the wall a couple times, trying to shake things up and clear his mind. Just when he thought he’d be forced to succumb to forming theories with no evidence—simply to keep his mind off his family’s situation—a loud bang came from the front right side of the bus, lifting Charlie off his feet for a split second. The bus lurched and tossed those standing a few inches off the floor. Several people lost their balance and fell to the ground. After settling, the bus listed hard to the right and the driver was forced to pull over and make an emergency stop. Charlie helped a little boy’s mother to her feet; she’d lost her grip on the railing and fallen to her knees.
    “Are you okay, ma’am?” Charlie asked, concerned.
    “Yes, thank you,” the woman replied, dusting herself off.
    Upon closer inspection, Charlie was relieved to find out that she and the child had indeed emerged unscathed. A quick look around told him that the rest of the passengers—while confused, irritated and tired—were likewise unharmed.
    The bus driver stepped outside the bus to assess the damage, leaving behind a chorus of murmurs and whispers from the multitude of passengers. Instinctively, Charlie followed her to provide assistance.
    Noticing a passenger attempting to exit the bus during an emergency stop, the driver held out a hand to stop him.
    “Sorry, sir. I’ll have to ask you to remain on the bus for the time being,” she said politely.
    “I’d like to help if I can,” Charlie offered, displaying his badge. “I’m a police officer here on vacation.”
    Hesitantly, the woman looked from his face to the badge and back again before sighing.
    “Follow me,” she said briskly, and quickly made her way around the front of the bus.
    When Charlie reached her, she pulled him aside, around the front of the bus and out of earshot of the passengers.
    “I’ll be honest—I’m glad you’re here,” she admitted. “It’s against the rules to allow passengers to assist, but this is the first time I’ve had a tire blow out—I’m pretty new—and it kind of has me frazzled. Besides, I don’t think the rulebook says anything about not accepting help from police officers.”
    Charlie nodded his assent and led the driver back around the corner to inspect the damage to the tire. Upon initial inspection, it seemed as if the bus had run over something large. The tire had almost entirely shredded and was hanging loosely on the now-bare rim. Charlie kneeled down to get a closer look and the driver shined a flashlight into the wheel well to help him see.
    “Wow,” she breathed. “What the heck did we run over? I swear I was paying attention, and I didn’t see anything in the road. It must have been pretty big to cause that kind of damage.”
    Closer inspection revealed something very peculiar to the observant young detective but, if the cause was what he suspected, he could not allow the bus driver to find out. He decided to take advantage of the woman’s nerves and inexperience to distract her for a while.
    “It looks pretty bad,” he admitted. “We can get this replaced soon enough. Do you have a jack and a spare?”
    Charlie searched her face while he spoke, and found what he was looking for: absolute confusion. He’d played the right card.
    “I—I don’t really know,” she said. “Like I said, I’m new at this. Let me get on the radio and see if they can provide some assistance.”
    “Good idea,” Charlie agreed. “In the meanwhile, I’m going to take a closer look. I’d like to make sure that whatever we hit back there isn’t still lodged under the bus and that there’s no other damage. Do you mind if I borrow your flashlight?”
    She nodded and handed it over, then quickly made her way back inside the bus. Charlie wasted no time in getting to