Crystal Clear - A Science Fiction Short Story

Stone Unturned

"Are you sure?" Paul shook his head and continued to flick through the channels.

"Yes, Ma. They get to the gold rush but run out of time."

"What choice?"

"The Gold Rush," he pronounced carefully, rubbing his face. The flicking images on the TV finally settled on a channel which had the thumping urgency of the news intro. Expensive speakers placed in the four corners of the room boomed the sound off the walls, trapping the two residents in the centre.

"Now I know you're telling fibs. They didn't even win get the gold star so they couldn't have done the gold rush."

"Ma, can you just..."

"You need at least three stars and they only had one."

"Just watch."

He pressed a button on the remote and the increasing volume slowly drowned out the mumbling argument of his mother. A talking head appeared on screen, a male newsreader with a wispy tan beard which was either new or only noticeable since they installed the state of the art, high-def TV.

"Where are you going?" The elderly woman had inched forward to the seat edge about to launch herself onto her feet.

"Get a paper. See what's on tonight."

"Ma," Paul said, "just watch for a minute." He pointed to the TV and she reluctantly sloped back into her chair and watched.

"...top story where a local resident of Bellington was hailed as a hero this morning after saving the life of a young girl..."

Paul glanced from the screen to his mother's face, beady eyes narrowing to slits as she studied the newsreader.

"Mobile phone footage recorded at the scene show the daring rescue as the resident, Paul Byrd, dashed across the street and pushed the girl out of the way of an approaching car. In this exclusive video captured by a witness, the vehicle appears to miss by inches before crashing into Fogle's column..."

There was a puzzled expression on the old woman's face. Paul smiled, excitement pulsing through his body, watching the video loop as it played over and over on the newscast. In it, the girl was rooted to the spot, facing the oncoming car. A blur of colour from the side-lines appeared in the shaky footage, shoulder charging the girl out of the way as the car shot past and crashed head first into the structure.

"...where, in a stroke of luck, our reporter Tracey Lacey was already at the scene. She caught up with the unlikeliest of heroes just a few short hours ago."

The comfortable newsroom was replaced with the image of Paul on the screen, looking sheepish with a big microphone held under his chin. A file of people stood behind him, closed near - some cheering, as the reporter struggled to maintain quiet.

Paul didn't need to hear himself speak again. Like an out of body experience, he simply observed, looking at his mother's reaction to how he was perceived on the screen. Her stern face had softened and her jaw sagged open. Pleased, he turned his attention back to the TV where the cameraman had zoomed down to the interviewee's side. A grubby little girl in a red overcoat was hugging a puppy, scratching it between the ears. To the reporter's questions, she simply nodded which generated more enthusiastic cheers from the gallery behind. Finally, the child's father embraced Paul in a bear hug before the camera panned back and the reporter walked into shot. There were smiles and back slaps all around as she closed off her segment to huge cheers.

Back in the studio, the newsreader had a wide smile stretched across his face, and continued reading from the teleprompter.

"In an incredible turn of events, the uprooted column which was displaced by the impact of the car, revealed a collection of rare crystal fragments. Archaeologists are keen to explore the scene in what experts are hoping will lead them to the fabled pilgrim stone. We will of course be keeping an eye on this incredible story as it develops." A pause, then in a lowered tone. "News just reaching us, is that the driver of the car has sadly-"

The TV switched off. Paul looked at his mother. He waited in silence, studying her reaction. She slowly turned her head. He could see her eyes were wet with tears.

"My boy."