CHAPTER 1 (2nd part)

The hair on his body stood on end as cold breeze blew and the ruffled strands of his hair obediently followed the path that the wind was urging them to go to. His heart started beating unusually fast and his breathing was getting deeper and deeper as each second passed by.


The moment he took a step he knew at once that something was wrong but didn't know what it was.


Second step... he felt numb.


Third step... his stomach churned and he thought that his heart missed a beat.


Fourth... weird atmosphere. Weird feeling.


Fifth... lightning. It was so unexpected that Daniel jumped in shock. Lightning? Are you kidding me? How could there be lightning at a day this hot?


He turned his head toward the girl and the bullies only for his shock to be intensified. It was as if the three people were turned to stone. Not gray in color. The correct term would be frozen. He stared at them hoping that his eyes were just playing tricks on him and waited for their shoulders to move up and down as an indication that they were breathing. He did not blink nor did he move for like forever. Should I slap myself? Am I dreaming? Yes, probably! He closed his eyes and forced himself to breathe. But the situation was worsening. In his point of view, there was no air. Just cold sweat from his body and his pounding heart. He gathered all strength left and slapped his face... and the result of the experiment: he was not dreaming.


He blinked.


In that less than a second that his eyes were closed, many things had changed.


He saw different images moving on the very same spot that he was standing on. It was as if somebody played video clips right on the ground. He saw a boy about five years of age staring at his classmate in school who was obviously cheating. The screen went black. Another one was played and he knew that the boy from before was again the main star in this video. This time that boy just ignored a man secretly getting the purse of a lady. Many other videos were shown and he was starting to think that he knew who the main character was and the scenes that were shown seemed familiar. After a few moments, the main character was shown running along a dark corridor together with another boy who seemed to be very close to him. He couldn't make out the characters' faces because they were blurred. Then the video which was mute from the very start suddenly was gaining volume and a lady screaming was heard. Daniel's feet automatically took a step back. The boy from the videos looked straight at his eyes, his face getting clearer every second and his stare piercing through his being, and he noticed... the boy was him. And the things that he saw were included in his past. After knowing those things, he knew what was coming in the dark corridor where the two boys were running... and Daniel found his voice and shouted as loud as he can. That seemed to have an effect... the videos stopped and disappeared.


He felt nauseous and dizzy as if he had ridden in a carousel turning with the velocity of a cyclone. Daniel fell on the ground to his knees. He shook his head and his eyesight was still spinning.


Again, he stared at the frozen figures of his schoolmates. He saw the girl's tears about to roll down her cheeks and the bullies' ear to ear grins. Daniel turned his gaze away and shook his head hoping that in that way, his dizziness would be gone. When he looked back at the petrified people, he saw two new unusual figures standing at their flanks.