"If nobody comes forward by the time I get to ten, I will choose some of you at random!"

In my dream, we were on a bus.

We were on our way home from somewhere unimportant. The bus was crowded, but not to overflowing- only one or two people per seat. The driver was a dark man of Middle Eastern descent, talkative and friendly.

Walking ahead of me, Mara and Jill slipped into a seat near the back with another woman, who was leaning against the window and had fallen asleep. I sat next to a professionally dressed blonde lady in the seat behind. She lifted a folded newspaper and lawyer's briefcase onto her lap to give me more room as I sat.

I leaned back against the seat and closed my eyes as the bus pulled away from the stop. The smooth purr of the engine soothed me into a half-sleep as I relaxed. In front of me, Mara and Jill sat in silence, each content to stay in their own thoughts.

The next thing I was fully aware of was the driver's voice being projected from the overhead intercom.

"Attention. I have just received word that the traffic on the main road right now is terrible. Would anyone object if we detoured to some side roads? It should only push us back maybe 10 minutes."

Several of the riders called back. "No!" "We don't mind." "That's okay with us." Nobody voiced disagreement.

"OK. I will use the back roads then," came the slightly accented voice of our driver. "We should reach our first stop in little more than an hour."

The bus quieted and I closed my eyes again, this time falling into a true sleep. Outside, it started to rain.

It could only have been 40 minutes before we heard the police sirens. They jolted me awake. Several other sleepers also opened their eyes as the noise grew louder. Our driver pulled the bus carefully to the side of the road. I glanced toward the window, expecting to see the cars with their flashing lights zoom past. But they didn't. Instead, the sound cut out and we were all left to watch the blue and white lights reflecting off the wet road. Two officers walked underneath my window to the front of the bus.

The driver opened the door for them and they stepped in, not bothering to shake off the rain that had soaked their jackets. Everyone heard the conversation that ensued.

"Why did you leave your route?" the front officer demanded. "We've been looking for you for an hour."

"We were trying to avoid the traffic," our driver said calmly. "You have found us. What do you want?"

The officer looked at our driver hard for a moment before stepping into the bus aisle and addressing the riders.

"I'm sure you all know there was a riot tonight," he said. "Illegal protests. I know four of you were at that riot and I hope you will all come forward without trouble. I am here to take you to jail."

No one spoke. The officer looked around, his beady little eyes taking in each person carefully.

"I'm going to count to ten, and I'd better see four rioters up here by then," he said. "If nobody comes forward by the time I get to ten, I will choose some of you at random!"

The lawyer lady I was sitting by straightened immediately. "You can't do that!" she protested. "What if the people you select are innocent?"

"That will be on the conscience of those who kept quiet," the officer retorted. "So you'd better hope it won't come to that." He swept his gaze around the bus again, then when no one came forward, folded his arms and started counting.

A young man in a window seat stood reluctantly and pushed past his companion, who looked at him with awe and pity. The second officer brushed by his partner, who kept counting, and put the man in handcuffs.

When the count reached eight, another, older man finally stood and made his way to be handcuffed also. No one else moved as the first officer got to ten.

He smiled. "Would anyone else like to join these two fellows before I start picking?" Nobody moved, so the cop walked down the aisle, watching each face as he passed until he stopped a few feet away from me. His eyes flicked across my face and then turned to Mara and Jill sitting in the other seat. "You two," he said, taking Jill's arm and reaching to grab Mara too. They followed him slowly to the front of the bus. Mara was scowling, looking at his hand on her shoulder as if imagining all the ways she could maim it. Jill's face was impassive. There was no way to tell her thoughts.

The lawyer lady stood as the officers led the four convicted rioters away and yelled, "You won't get away with this! I'll make you both wish you'd never suggested such a thing. I'll-"

"Stow it," the officer called over his shoulder as he followed his partner outside. "Tell it to the judge!"

"Oh I will," the lady growled under her breath. "He thinks I'm joking, but I will."

I stood with her, tracking the officers' progress through the windows as they led their prisoners into their cars, shut off the flashing lights, and drove away. The rain fell harder, sliding across the panes like tears as the cops' taillights disappeared into the night.