Chapter 1
Five after twelve the lunch bell rang, unleashing middle school students
into the hallways. The hungry children made their way into the cafeteria,
sitting at their normal lunch tables. The Preps sat at tables 13 and 14,
gossiping about everything, Jocks right next to them at 15. Geeks here and
there, Outcasts all the way in the corner, and the Goths and Punks at table
21 and 23 talking about the meaningless lives they lived. The halls finally
cleared and the children began eat their lunches.
Ciaran Travis was the only one left in the halls. He was the new kid from
Westminster, Maryland, a small town of middle class citizens. He hadn't
made friends yet during the first week he had been here at Ringwood Jr.
High and always seemed to get lost. He entered the cafeteria and walked to
the same empty table he usually sat at. Ciaran sat quietly eating his
peanut butter and jelly, butterscotch cakes, and yellow apple. He drank a
bottle of water, staring here to there at the many faces that crowed the
room. He saw a focal separation of social groups. He didn't really fit into
any of them yet. Wearing a pear of baggy blue jeans, a red t-shirt, and a
set of Air Force Ones made him an average 7th grader. His black shaggy hair
was spiked with gel so that his huge cowlick wasn't visible. When he
finished his meal he threw it away. No one had talked to him yet so he was
excited when two very good-looking girls, both with blonde hair and nice
bodies, walked by and talked to him: asking questions about how he liked
this new town.
As he followed the two ladies outside he was stopped by a loud gunshot. Everyone in the lunch screamed from both terror and shock. Ciaran looked to his left, and saw a 6th grade boy lying on the ground, blood seeping from a wound to the head. The person responsible for this was a boy about Ciaran's age and was accompanied by another by the same age. Both had dark hair and a tall, light stature. Both boys started walking towards Ciaran, shooting
random people on the way. As they reached him they aimed their guns and fired. Ciaran yelled and winced, falling over, landing in a mess of vanilla pudding. Yet Ciaran felt nothing. He checked his body and he appeared to be perfectly fine. All was silent and no one was moving at all. Faces of terror were frozen on every person. Even the clock wasn't ticking. Ciaran
stood up and stared around the room. His focus landed on the gunmen, weapons still raised in the air, pointing right at him. Ciaran walked over
to the two boys and knocked the guns from their hands. Then he saw the bullets. Sustained in mid-air both bullets were shooting the direction of
the students. Ciaran grabbed them from the air and placed them on the ground next to the guns. He was still in a gaze... Had he done this? Froze
time? Ciaran didn't know all he wanted to do was get everything back to
normal. Instantly everyone was in motion again, still running from the gunmen. But then every stopped and stared at the culprits. Their guns were
on the ground and Ciaran was alive. All eyes settled on Ciaran. He was
squeezed with silence. All Ciaran could do was stand there, watching everyone as they gawked at him. The gunmen were startled as they realized their guns were across the room and Ciaran was still alive. They tried to run but were caught by a couple of jocks and held down until the cops came.
As everyone went home the same two girls who talked to Ciaran earlier approached him. "How did you do that?" both girls said at the same time. "Do what?" Ciaran replied uneasy about the whole situation. "I don't what you did, but one second you were about to get shot, the next you were sitting on a bench and both gunmen's weapons were across the room. How do you explain that?" questioned one of the girls whose name was Alex. "Seriously, I don't know what you're talking about! I just moved out of the way!" protested Ciaran. "Uh huh. Dude, we think it's cool!" said Casey, the other girl. "Really?" "Yeah, your not the only one with special talents. Follow us." Alex commanded and lead him down an ally.
As he followed the two ladies outside he was stopped by a loud gunshot. Everyone in the lunch screamed from both terror and shock. Ciaran looked to his left, and saw a 6th grade boy lying on the ground, blood seeping from a wound to the head. The person responsible for this was a boy about Ciaran's age and was accompanied by another by the same age. Both had dark hair and a tall, light stature. Both boys started walking towards Ciaran, shooting
random people on the way. As they reached him they aimed their guns and fired. Ciaran yelled and winced, falling over, landing in a mess of vanilla pudding. Yet Ciaran felt nothing. He checked his body and he appeared to be perfectly fine. All was silent and no one was moving at all. Faces of terror were frozen on every person. Even the clock wasn't ticking. Ciaran
stood up and stared around the room. His focus landed on the gunmen, weapons still raised in the air, pointing right at him. Ciaran walked over
to the two boys and knocked the guns from their hands. Then he saw the bullets. Sustained in mid-air both bullets were shooting the direction of
the students. Ciaran grabbed them from the air and placed them on the ground next to the guns. He was still in a gaze... Had he done this? Froze
time? Ciaran didn't know all he wanted to do was get everything back to
normal. Instantly everyone was in motion again, still running from the gunmen. But then every stopped and stared at the culprits. Their guns were
on the ground and Ciaran was alive. All eyes settled on Ciaran. He was
squeezed with silence. All Ciaran could do was stand there, watching everyone as they gawked at him. The gunmen were startled as they realized their guns were across the room and Ciaran was still alive. They tried to run but were caught by a couple of jocks and held down until the cops came.
As everyone went home the same two girls who talked to Ciaran earlier approached him. "How did you do that?" both girls said at the same time. "Do what?" Ciaran replied uneasy about the whole situation. "I don't what you did, but one second you were about to get shot, the next you were sitting on a bench and both gunmen's weapons were across the room. How do you explain that?" questioned one of the girls whose name was Alex. "Seriously, I don't know what you're talking about! I just moved out of the way!" protested Ciaran. "Uh huh. Dude, we think it's cool!" said Casey, the other girl. "Really?" "Yeah, your not the only one with special talents. Follow us." Alex commanded and lead him down an ally.