The Black Box

21

I look where we are and I realize that we're on the granite hill. Great, how am I supposed to contact Christie? Or know where she is? I turn my flashlight on my phone on to see where everyone is. Apparently everyone else turned their flashlights on too.

"Where the heck are we?!" asks Adam, shining the light in my face, blinding me.

"Earth," I answer, flashing back.

"Earth?!" he exclaims, not caring about the blinding light in his eyes.

"Yeah."

"But it's dark! And abandoned!"

"Yeah."

Adam looks like he's hyperventilating.

"Do you need a paper bag?" I ask him.

"No."

I look at the others and they're just looking around. I've never seen everyone so curious.

"So we're on Earth?" asks Annabeth.

"Yeah," I reply. She's looking at the sky and the ground.

"Shouldn't it be day? Where's the sun?" she asks me, still searching the sky.

"It burned out 10 years ago," I answer her.

"Burned out? How?"

"I don't know. I guess it just did," I say, shrugging.

"What year is it?"

"5025."

"Three centuries?!" exclaimed Kevin. "I'm 315 now?"

"No, not necessarily. We just traveled to the year 5025," I tell Kevin. Now he has a panicked look on his face like Adam.

"Oh MAN! I'm OLD," screams Kevin in agony, kneeling on the ground.

"Shhh! You might attract something," I say, putting my finger to my lips. Oh shoot, I left my gear at home. Will I risk my friends to get my gear? "Can I leave you guys for a second?"

"NO," says Kevin, reaching out to me.

"Why?" asks Annabeth, putting her hands on her hips.

Adam's stilling staring into space. Sophie and Jax are talking, calming each other down.

" 'Cause I have protective gear at home," I say.

"Yeah right. Like a laser gun?" Kevin says.

"No. Can I go?"

"Fine. Be right back or I'll kill you," says Annabeth, pointing to me sternly.

"Ok Annabeth," I say before I flip the switch in my pocket, disappearing right in front of them.