The Paradox Corridor

Chapter 10: Warped Minds

They arrived at the entrance ten minutes later. They saw the field trip group, thankfully all intact. Bob rushed over to them.

"You guys have been gone for hours! Where have you been? Are you okay?" he asked. They all sneaked glances at each other, waiting for someone else to speak. Finally, Amber spoke

"We're okay, sir" said Amber, "I think, well, that we all fell unconscious out of shock. We all woke up twenty minutes ago." Andrew nodded approvingly at this quick white lie, and wondered silently were it had come from. Bob didn't look completely convinced, but he nodded.

"Just as long as you are okay" he said.

"If he keeps this up, he'll start sounding like my mom, the over-protectionist," grumbled Andrew, "She's always like 'Andrew, you could have died! You could have never walked again! You could have burned the house down!" Mrs. Hanson was indeed a very overprotective mother, and always overreacted whenever Andrew did something stupid, which was almost every day. James and Andrew, as a result, spent a lot of time making fun of her for this, and Amber usually huffed in disgust, which she did now.

"Harumph," she muttered, and walked away to join her girl friends. Bob ushered them all outside so they weren't in the way of the firemen who were just now entering the scene. He walked to the front of the group,

"Alright, people, listen up. As you may very well know, something, or someone, attacked the Mills." Everyone nodded, but no one said anything. Bob continued, " We are very lucky that no one was seriously injured today. However, me and the other leaders have come together, and have decided to cancel the trip." Chaos erupted, with kids shouting and grumbling that this had cost them a lot. Many people looked like they would like them were going to attack Bob. "Now, now, guys!" shouted Bob, "I know this may not be what you wanted, but I am not going to risk anyone for the sake of entertainment! Now-" Suddenly, Bob stopped talking. His hands, which had been raised, slowly went back down to his sides. His face morphed into one of confusion. He stood still, not even breathing

"Is it just me, or did it get really quiet in here?" said Andrew. "You could hear a pin drop!" James looked around. Andrew was right. Nothing made any noise. In fact, nothing moved at all, except Andrew, Amber, and himself. Everyone else looked like Bob, confused and motionless.

"What's going on?" asked Amber nervously. James shook his head."I-I-I don't know" he stuttered in reply. Suddenly, everyone who had been before so still began to move. They lifted their hands to their faces, hunched down, like they were hearing a really high pitched sound. Whatever sound they heard must have been an intense one, because their faces began to scrunch up more and more. Suddenly, there was a sharp crack, and everything began to turn back to normal. One by one the sounds and movements of the world began to come back. Bob stood back up, shaking his head,

"As I was saying, we are going back to the hotel tonight. Tomorrow, we will head out to Six Flags!" Everyone cheered and headed for the bus. James, Amber, and Andrew exchanged confused glances. Hadn't Bob just said the trip was canceled? Bob, seeing their look of confusion on their faces, walked over to them."Are you guys sure you are okay? You look like you've seen a ghost or something. Come on, lets go." The three followed him to the bus, still not entirely sure what was going on. It was beginning to become a pattern.