Lyra was so fast he barely even saw her moving before the pain in his shin hit. And when he opened his eyes again, she was gone.
He wasn't sure what to do. Should he follow her? He considered the possibility and quickly discounted it. She'd have disappeared into the crowds by now, and if she saw him as a threat, following her would only make things worse. He wasn't dealing with a criminal here. This was a scared girl who'd just lost two good friends.
It took him a second to realize that people were staring at him. He waved them off, telling them "It's all right, I kinda deserved that," and made his way back upstairs.
He'd wait a while to apologize to Lyra -- by text message or network post, so she wouldn't feel threatened -- and let her calm down a bit. In the meantime, he had a bag of frozen peas and a text message to send to the lead schoolteacher. From what he'd been told, she was able to look after the children from a distance.