Riddle Middle

Chapter 16: Lost

   "Zack, did you bring it?" Smiley's variant asked Zack's variant. Zack's variant held up car keys, then he tossed them to Smiley's variant. She caught them without looking and pressed a button on it. "What is that?" Phil asked. "They're keys, diode," she said. "What, like, for a car or something?" Zack asked. The ground beneath them began to shake. A sleek capsule, in the shape of an iron, emerged from the ground. It was the size of a van, but it didn't have wheels. Smiley's variant climbed into the driver's seat. Everyone else randomly sat in the other seats. Once everyone was inside, the vehicle plunged deep into the ground. Everyone except for Smiley's variant had seatbelts. After about thirty seconds of plummeting, the vehicle stopped moving down and launched forward instead. The vehicle soon stopped and moved steadily towards the surface. It eventually broke through and into a gray room. Everyone pilled out of the vehicle. Phil noticed that there was a drill attached to the bottom of the vehicle. "Where are we?" he asked. "We're in the cybervex's base," Phil's variant replied. "HEY! KIDDO! WATCH OUT-" Phils variant called. Phil spun around and saw that an acid tank was pointed directly at his face. There was a loud sound, then Phil's vision faded.

Phil (1st person)

I couldn't see for a minute, but then my vision came back. I was confused with my surroundings at first, but then I realized where I was. I was on my bed inside of my bedroom. I looked at the time. 6:30 AM. Was that whole thing a dream? What about the museum part? Breaking into the museum did seem strangely easy. Was it just my dream? I'll ask my friends later. This reminds me of the dream I've had before. It was oddly realistic, long, and it was controlled by someone else. Is this the same thing that happened before? It can't be, all of those guys who were controlling it are dead. I guess I must've been tired from dreaming, if that makes any sense, because I fell back asleep. I wish I'd known what day it was, because then I might've known to check my alarm for school. I always set my alarm, but my brothers seem to find it hilarious to mess with it. They tend to, A, keep the alarm the same but change the time, B, change it to be way earlier than it was before, or C, just disable it altogether. By the time I awoke again, it was already 9:15. My parents must've forgotten about me, because they weren't home. Sometimes they'll wake me up if I oversleep. I jumped out of bed and did all of my morning things in about fifteen minutes. I had ten minutes to walk to school, when I normally need about twenty. I rushed out of the front door and into the driveway. I really should've known that I couldn't have gotten there in time, but I still tried. I arrived at the front of school by 9:39. That was only because it sprinted the whole way there. I probably would've made it if we were allowed to run in the hallways. I arrived at my classroom at 9:43. School started at 9:40. I knocked on the classroom door which was closed and locked, and the unamused teacher opened the door. "Eggtree, you're late," she said. "Yeah...Sorry, I overslept," I said. "Mm-hmm," she said. I don't know if she believed me or not, but if she doesn't, what else did she think I was doing? I went into the classroom and took my seat. I don't know anyone in this class, but that's fine, I guess.

Zack (1st person)

On the way to school, it was apparent that Phil wasn't walking with us today. He hasn't been himself lately. When he was walking back with us after school, I asked, "How come you didn't walk to school with us?". "Oh, I just overslept, that's all," he responded. "Oh, do you have any memory of going to a museum?" he asked. I looked to my friends, who looked just as confused as I did. "Wasn't that yesterday?" I said. Yesterday we had the field trip, we had detention, escaped detention, and then the teacher lifted it for some reason. "Right...Was there a portal or something like that?" he asked. "Uh...There was some computers and stuff, but no portal..." I replied. I'm not sure what happened to Phil, but I feel like he should remember what happened yesterday. "What about meeting at night to break in? Did that happen?" he asked. I looked back to my friends. "Umm...You called it off at the last minute...How much do you remember?" Pico said. "We had a field trip, got detention for going in the backroom, escaped detention, then we agreed to meet at the museum..." Phil said. "Didn't you say something about a portal?" Phred asked. "Oh, that's nothing..." he said. "...It's not important..." he continued after a small pause. "Are you okay Phil? Did something happen to you?" Smiley asked. I was wondering the same thing. "I... I'm not sure..." he said. "What's the last thing you remember?" she asked. "Well...Uh..." Phil didn't seem to want to answer that. "We could talk about it in private if you want," she said. "Yeah...ok," Phil responded. I wanted Phil to be comfortable around me, but I understand if he wants to talk to his girlfriend alone.