PRIMAL FEAR
“Sir! Stop the car!” Rina screamed.
“Let me out! This is the wrong way!”
She pulled the door handle.
Locked.
Cold sweat drenched her back.
“HELP! KIDNAPPER!”
In her mind, every headline flashed at once:
“Female employee disappears after late-night ride.”
“Body found days later.”
Her trembling hands searched her bag.
Pepper spray.
She flipped the cap open.
“Stop or I’ll spray you!” she cried through tears.
“I don’t want to die!”
The driver’s hands shook on the steering wheel.
“Ma’am…” he whispered.
Then he reached his phone backward.
The screen glowed brightly in the darkness.
The Notes app was open.
WORDS THAT FROZE HER BLOOD
Rina grabbed the phone.
Her eyes scanned the screen.
And her entire body froze.
“MA’AM, DO NOT TURN AROUND. DO NOT SHOW FEAR.
THERE IS A MAN HIDING IN THE BACK SEAT.
I SAW A KNIFE IN THE MIRROR.
WE ARE HEADING TO THE POLICE STATION.
PLEASE STAY CALM.”
Rina’s breath caught in her throat.
She slowly placed the phone down.
She stopped crying.
Stopped screaming.
She felt it…
A slight movement behind her seat.
A breath that was not her own.
The third-row seats were folded down, covered with a tarp—something she had assumed was just luggage.
But now…
It was breathing.
A RACE AGAINST DEATH
The speedometer passed 90 km/h.
Rain lashed against the windshield.
“We’re almost there, Ma’am…” the driver whispered.
“Please… don’t look back…”
Rina clenched her fists, her nails digging into her palms.
One thought flashed in her mind:
“If I turn my head… he’ll strike.”
Red and blue lights flickered in the distance—like salvation.
The police station.
The driver floored the gas.
100 km/h.
Then—
SCREEEEECH!
The car slammed to a stop in front of the gate.
The driver laid on the horn.
“POLICE! HELP! THERE’S AN ARMED MAN IN THE CAR!”
THE FACE OF EVIL
Police officers rushed out.
Guns drawn.
“GET OUT! HANDS UP!”
The tarp in the back jerked violently.
A man emerged.
Hooded.
Bloodshot eyes.
In his hand—a long knife stained with old blood.
He didn’t get far.
TAKEN DOWN. HANDCUFFED.
Rina collapsed onto the road.
Shaking.
Sobbing.
Barely able to breathe.
A HERO WITHOUT A CAPE
The driver ran to her.
“Ma’am… are you okay?”
Rina hugged him tightly.
“I’m sorry… I thought…”
He shook his head.
“It’s alright. What matters is—you’re alive.”
Later, they learned the truth:
The man was a wanted criminal, known for hiding inside ride-service vehicles and attacking passengers while the car was moving.
If the driver had stopped in the dark…
No one would have survived.
THE AFTERMATH
Weeks later.
Rina returned to the same police station.
In her hands was a small box.
Inside—a wristwatch engraved with the words:
“THANK YOU FOR MY LIFE.”
She handed it to the driver—Kuya Ben.
He smiled quietly.
“I just did what was right.”
But for Rina…
Every time she gets into a car and hears the CLICK of the door lock,
She remembers that night—
And that sometimes,
Life and death are separated by a single brave decision.
And some heroes choose to save lives… without ever wearing a cape.