The Paradox Corridor

Chapter 46: Tables Turn (Again)

Andrew's eyes widened as the debris around him began to move. Not whirling around, like it had been doing. The entire tornado that he was standing in had begun to shift, like it had suddenly gained a life of its own. He didn't know why Amber had suddenly let it loose, but it came to his attention that if he didn't move soon he would get hit by the edge of the tornado. James was beginning to get heavy in his arms now, and his adrenaline rush had all but faded. He looked at the side of the tornado, which (besides the tower, which refused to break apart) was a big blur of black, silver, and brown. The only thing that he could do was keep up with the tornado. He started walking with the tornado to keep the edge as far away from him and James as possible. Suddenly, he heard a voice in his head:

"Andrew!" He did a double take: not easy when holding James. It was Amber's voice!

"Amber?" he asked, confused, "Where are you? How are you doing that?" he asked, spinning around in a circle, trying to spot her. Suddenly, he heard a voice from behind him.

"Right behind you!" said Amber. Andrew whirled around, and almost dropped James.

"How did you get there?!?" he asked in surprise. Amber smiled.

"Magic, Andrew. That's how I got here. And that's how I'm going to do this!" As she finished her sentence, she whipped out her wand and pointed at James. James suddenly gasped and leaned forward, startling Andrew so much that Andrew dropped him. James sat on the ground, blinking and rubbing his shoulder.

"It was dislocated," said Amber, gesturing to James' shoulder, gesturing for Andrew to help James move with the tornado "But I healed it the best I could. All that should remain is a tiny scar. But...that wasn't even the worst of it. Andrew...James' brain, for whatever reason, was completely shut down. Had I not intervened, he may have not have woken up..." They all sat there for a moment, taking that in.

James's mind had been empty. He didn't completely understand how or why, though he knew that the sword had had something to do with it. He was getting tired of all this mind stuff: first they had time traveled without having corporeal bodies, then Amber was possessed...twice. Then her mind was wiped by that weird guy with the bowler hat, and now his mind felt isolated in itself. This pattern needed to end. Anyways, after some time, three forces, two small and then later one large, entered his brain and put everything back, just like magic.

He found himself on the ground, staring up as Amber continued to explain to Andrew what had happened. But James wasn't paying attention to the story. He was paying attention to Amber. He felt weird for doing so. In fact, he didn't really know why. What was it? What was up with his skewed priorities nowadays? He knew it wasn't his jumbled-up brain. He had always regarded Amber as the most beautiful person he knew, both physically and mentally. And then there was that cute little grin, those beautiful eyes, and those adorable laugh lines that she got when she...well, laughed. Those things definitely helped. But that had been before this grand adventure had started, and that was when he knew that not only was she out of his league, but also understood that their friendship would last longer if it was never anything more than friendship.

But now...it was like someone had come and turned something that was once humble beauty and turned it into wild beauty. Maybe it was the wind flowing through her hair. Maybe it was her robe, which whirled around her like the tornado that surrounded them. Maybe it was her face, so full of courage and, somehow, happiness among the chaos that surrounded them. Either way...she was captivating. 

The presence, who was apparently going through his mind (to make sure nothing was missing, probably), laughed and asked,