May 15, 10:00 A.M. Grossberg Law Offices

Marvin Grossberg sat down in a chair slightly behind a desk, sighing somewhat loudly. The crowd around him was enormous, and all sorts of sounds could be heard.

He looked on at the group of 8th grade students, who were positioned properly. A school had asked Grossberg a week before if they could use one of the rooms of his law office for a mock trial. In this case, he would also be the "judge".

He looked at the sheet that the school had supplied him, which showed which students belonged where. As a result, he did not have to take roll. The chart read:

State of California vs. Scott Marks

Indictment: Burglary, armed robbery, aiding and abetting, conspiracy to commit money laundering

Prosecution:

Reagan Stalls
Whitney Andrews

Defense:
Gregory Handel
Kelly Sanders

Witnesses:
Terence Hitten, owner of Hitten Bank Co.
Ethan Jalopy, a citizen who found stray bills laying in the street
Landon Allen, a bank teller who was allegedly robbed at gunpoint
Florence Manley, the main detective on the case

Karen Dexter, the girlfriend of the defendant
Peter Victor, who lives in close proximity to the defendant
Daniel Schmidt, a bank teller who worked 500 feet away from Landon Allen
Scott Marks, the defendant

Bailiff: Jordan Quick

Grossberg noticed the "bailiff" was heading for the front of the courtroom, so he hurriedly exited out of a door at the back of the room. The "bailiff" yelled, "ALL RISE!"

All members of the court, spare the jury and the witnesses, stood at attention. "The District Court of California is now in session, with the Honorable Judge Marvin Grossberg presiding."

Grossberg neatly entered and sat down. The "bailiff" continued, "You may be seated. Today is Wednesday, May 15, 2019. Today's trial is State of California vs. Scott Marks."

Grossberg banged his gavel. "How is the defendant pleading," he asked.

The kid who played Marks, who had red hair and wore glasses clarified, "Not Guilty, Your Honor."

Grossberg asked, "Would the prosecution please give their opening statement?"

Whitney Andrews, a girl with brown hair and with no hesitation in her voice, spoke up. She proclaimed, "Scott Marks is Guilty of the charged he has been indicted upon because he took place in an armed robbery. The reason he took part in the robbery was because his girlfriend was on the verge of 'breaking up' with him, so he though of a way to get money in order to impress her."

The jury mumbled a little bit, but otherwise remained still. Grossberg added, "And now, would the defense make their opening statement?"

Handel stated, "Your Honor, today, we stand in this courtroom because Scott Marks has been indicted of serious offenses. In reality, Mr. Marks was not involved in the robbery whatsoever, nor was he involved with money laundering, but rather, an entirely different person committed the crimes. The burden of proof lies within the prosecution. If there is any doubt in your mind, you must rule a verdict of Not Guilty."

Grossberg banged his gavel. "The prosecution may call its first witness."

Stalls sighed, "Yes, Your Honor. The prosecution calls Terence Hitten to the stand." After taking the stand, and being sworn in by the bailiff, Andrews asked, "Mr. Hitten, please state your age and occupation."

"Yes. I am 62 years old, and I was born on July 13, 1957. I am the CEO of Hitten Banks Co."

Grossberg ordered, "Mr. Hitten, please testify about the events that have transpired."

"I was sitting in my mansion's lobby when I heard a security officer yelling. I ran over to him, and he informed me that one if my banks had been broken into. I immediately notified police, and they went on a search. Two days later, they arrested Mr. Scott Marks!"

Grossberg said, "Oh. I see. So that is what happened. The defense may Cross-Examine the witness."

Hitten repeated, "I was sitting in my mansion's lobby when I heard a security officer yelling. I ran over to him, and he informed me that one if my banks had been broken into. I immediately notified police, and they went on a search."

Kelly Sanders screamed, "Objection!"

She pointed her finger at Hitten. She asked, "Mr. Hitten, are you sure that the police searched for Mr. Marks?"

"Yes."

She slammed her hands on the counsel bench. "In fact, there is no evidence to sugg..."

Before her sentence was finished, there was a flash. Everyone turned their heads at Grossberg, which was where the flash emanated from. The flash was slight, but it was soon followed by a much bigger flash, which caused the kids to turn away from Grossberg.

This was followed by vibrations, which got more intense every second. The counsel benches quivered and fell over, while the chairs crumbled to the floor. All of the events felt like they were taking place in slow motion. It felt like an eternity before the next event occurred.

A sound, which resembled a hotel collapsing or a red supergiant bursting into supernova, hit the kids ears, causing them to groan and cover their ears. At that point, the events "sped up", and they looked at Grossberg, who was just as dumbfounded and shocked as they were.

The kids were propelled across the room, and various objects were also lofted, which crumbled and turned into shrapnel, which sliced into the faces of the kids, tearing open the flesh and causing blood to drip from the gashes that it formed. Then, as soon as it started, it stopped.

The room fell into eerie silence. For one minute, then two, and even three, there was not a word said. But then, the bailiff managed to rouse herself from her unconsciousness and marched to the front of the room. On her way, she found that no one had been killed.

She then felt a sensation of complete disbelief take over when she saw Grossberg. He was knocked unconscious when his head struck the table. His entire body from the waist down had been horribly burned. His trousers had melted and stuck to his skin. She pulled her cell phone from her pocket, and dialed 9-1-1.