I'm declaring a contest of my own... of sorts. If you go to my author's page, I have submitted the first chapter of 3 stories on the same day (10/30/15). I will write and post the next chapter of the highest rated story every week or two (or maybe three) until all the stories are done.
These should all be pretty short stories, around 3-4 chapters. If there is one or more stories that aren't well received (less than 4.25 rating), I will post a summary and ending to them, so that those readers who liked that story aren't left wondering what happens next.
If you really like this or the other stories and want to read more, please vote 5-stars, so that I know and will keep it going. If you hate it and want to save others from the pain you've felt, I'm giving you the power to make it stop. I also enjoy reading your comments, so feel free to tell me what you thought of the story, or what's on your mind.
Thanks for reading!
*****
Stuck in the moment
"Mr. Anderson!.." My professor's voice roused me from my daydreams. "Do you have an answer for the problem?"
The entire class turned to look at me. I could feel their eyes on me, but maintained eye contact with my professor. I looked to the whiteboard, hoping for a reprieve, but could make no sense of the equations on the board.
"I... I'm sorry." I said with all the confidence I could muster. "I don't."
Professor Hill's eyes narrowed in contempt, and watched me for two heartbeats longer before he continued, asking if anyone else had an answer. Several hands shot up, and I felt a mix of anger and shame for the exchange. He called on a pretty redhead behind me, who answered correctly.
Dr. Hill praised her by name. "Thank you Miss..." Looking at his clipboard. "Molly McGuiness. Lovely name." He said with a fake Irish Brogue.
As the professor excused the class, and everyone stood to gather their things, Dr. Hill came over to stand at my desk.
"If you think you're going to make it in Engineering, you are going to have to learn to focus. This program is a lot of hard work, and if you're already zoning out two semesters in, maybe it's not for you." He said gently, and with a surprising amount of sincerity in his voice. It just made me feel worse.
"I'm sorry, I had a rough night last night." I lied. "You didn't catch me at my best." That part was true.
"If you are serious about this class and your major, you're going to have to start bringing your best every day." Dr. Hill replied, and turned away before I could come up with a response.
I slung my bag over my shoulder and walked out, sure that the entire class had heard a second round of my chastisement at the hands of our Calculus professor. I pulled up the hood on my sweatshirt as I walked out into the cold sunny air of a February afternoon, lost in my thoughts once again.
I had an hour break before my next class, so I decided to head for the cafeteria in the student center, and lose myself in a giant burrito and game of Tetris on my phone. My eyes were on the sidewalk when I heard a car motor revving way too high for the slow on campus speed limit.
I looked up just in time to see an old muscle car flying through a stop sign towards a bus. The motor continued revving higher, even as the brakes squealed. The car must have been doing at least 50, and my heart jumped into my throat as I braced for the impact that the car would have with the bus.
And then, the world was still. The car froze in time, a few feet from T-boning into the bus. Students and spectators stood frozen in horrified stares. In the sky above, a pair of pigeons were frozen in flight, hanging still in the air like a child's mobile.
The air was perfectly still, and held neither warmth nor cold. There were no scents in the air, nor did anything move. The only sound was my own breath and heartbeat. My ears began ringing with the sudden silence.
"Not again." I said under my breath. I hadn't walked through a frozen moment like this in years, and only once since I had sworn to never do it again. I had long since tired of walking through these stopped-time moments, testing everything. Instinctively, I reached for the switch inside my head. To re-start time, and watch the accident play out, come what may.
I paused, seeing the terrified mask of the middle aged man behind the wheel of the out of control car. I walked closer, and saw him standing on the brake with both feet, obviously not trying to cause the accident a moment away. His throttle cable must have been stuck in the 'on' position, and he was unable to stop the engine. I saw that he had no seatbelt on, and the classic muscle car was old enough to have no airbags. His speedometer said he was doing 51 MPH. For me to re-start time would mean this man's death.
I looked for a way to stop the crash, but I had waited too long to freeze time. A 2000lb car going 51 MPH simply can't stop in the 4 feet it had before it impacted the bus.
I opened his door, and tried to lift him out of the driver's seat. Everything was harder when time was frozen. The air was thick, and moving through it was like swimming through a substance between water and air. I managed to get his feet off the pedal and onto the asphalt outside the car. His hands were stuck to the steering wheel in a death grip, which I loosened one finger at a time.
I half-carried and half drug the man out of the car, looking for a place to put him. I knew from past experience that his momentum would be conserved, and setting him on a patch of grass would be dangerous for him and anyone else in his path. He would be a man-sized projectile going 51 MPH.
On the other side of the bus, there was a car that had been moving when I froze time. The difference on the two speedometers was about 25 MPH, but the direction matched up. I carried the man a block from the doomed muscle car to the other sedan, placed him in the passenger seat, buckled him up and closed the door.
Next, I pushed the door of the bus open. I counted 15 people on board, including the bus driver. Most were turned in their seats, looking at the car about to impact their bus. I almost turned and left them. They were on a big bus, surely they would survive with only minor injuries, right? None wore seat belts, I worried how hard the car would impact them, whether or not they would all be okay.
I had promised myself a normal life, free from this kind of interference. These people were not my responsibility, at least they shouldn't be... I could move them away, like I had moved the man in the car. This was quickly turning from a little intervention into a major magical production.
My eyes caught on a little bundle wrapped in a baby Bjorn around a woman's chest. I approached and saw the little baby, fragile and delicate with a little pink knitted hat on. There was no way she was going to escape unharmed. Grocery bags sat on the seat next to them, and the mother didn't appear to be a student. I couldn't let them get hurt, not when I had the power to help them.
One at a time, I pulled the people off the bus. It had been turning, and was only going 10 MPH, so I left them sitting on a grassy area near the site of the impending accident, except for the mother and baby, who I laid down on a bench, their groceries at the mother's feet.
I inspected the area one last time, taking the muscle car out of gear, so that the motor would not continue pushing the tires once it impacted.
I returned to my spot, and looked for my starting point. I had forgotten to mark it. I crossed the street from where I had started, and began looking for security cameras, finding several. I stood in a spot where none could have seen me, and reached for the switch inside my head once again. My muscles were sore, and I was sweating under my black hood as I touched the switch.
The world starting up again hit me in a rush of noise, wind and cold. I watched as the car slammed into the bus, the hood sliding underneath, and flipping the bus onto its side. Down the street, the sedan with a new passenger stopped with a screech, and I could see the added man moving, so he at least hadn't been hurt.
I moved my gaze to the bus passengers, who had all fallen, and then shakily rose to their feet, except for the mother, who sat up on the bench, grocery bags spilling their contents at her feet. I watched for a few minutes, counting as they rose and brushed themselves off. They all appeared to be unharmed, though in shock from the sudden turn of events.
The engine of the muscle car screamed louder and louder, surely past redline, until it exploded underneath the flipped bus. Combined gas tanks from both vehicles caught fire in an inferno which quickly engulfed both. If anyone had remained inside, they would be dying right now. Luckily, I had gotten them all out. All 16 people from the bus, as well as the driver of the car were approaching the blaze, touching themselves and each other, eyes and mouths wide in astonishment. I felt my earlier doubt slipping away. I was right to evacuate the bus.
I scanned the scene. Several heroes were running for fire extinguishers or trying to get close enough to the bus to call for survivors. Others simply stood staring and watching. Across the street, I saw green eyes below red hair focused only on me. I recognized the woman - Molly, the pretty redhead from the class I had just left. Despite the pandemonium in front of her, she stared straight at me, ignoring the fiery wreckage.
I adjusted the straps on my backpack, and turned, walking briskly for the student center. I looked over my shoulder once and saw no one following me. By now sirens were filling the air, and I was the only person walking away from the accident. Then I saw her. Head down, red hair moving against the flow of people in the same direction as me.
I moved through the student center to the cafeteria, ordering my food, dodging questions when the food service workers were asking what was happening just a few blocks away. "I think there was a car accident." I finally offered.
I took my food out to a glassed in patio where I could see parts of the action outside though the windows. By now the fire department was on-scene and firemen were frantically hooking their hoses up to a hydrant, and I watched as they began spraying down the fire. I felt a sense of satisfaction, at having used my power for good for once, though I had broken my promise again. I had used it, despite the risks.
My vigil was interrupted by Molly sliding into the seat across from me, straight red hair falling perfectly around her face and spilling onto her dark green sweater.
"Crazy stuff, huh?" She said. "It's Travis, right?"
"Yeah." I replied, hoping that I was imagining her watching me from across the street.
"Do you mind if I join you for lunch?" She asked, pulling a brown paper bag out of her backpack.
