AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Pushing up on my hands, I see in front of me someone has dropped their iced coffee. I know it’s iced because the fluid has been put into a fixed position in the air. It reminds me of the trinkets at the stores where the teacup has spilled the contents and the moment is frozen in time. There are a few droplets that have separated from the stream. I poke them and the coffee disperses into further elements of the dark liquid.
I cannot wrap my mind around what is happening around me.
Have I officially lost my shit?
To my right, in the woods not too far off, I catch a flash of glimmer through my peripheral vision. I twirl around and find man stepping through a mirror.
A mirror.
A fucking mirror in the woods.
Yes. I have lost my fucking mind.
A man in his mid-sixties with salt and pepper hair, and watery-blue eyes makes his way toward me.
I crawl backward as fast as I can. Whoever can manifest themselves into the woods through glass… I want nothing to do with. I manage to get my feet under me, somehow, and stand. Dizziness hits, my vision going fuzzy first, but I shake it off as the man quickens his step.
“Miss Teagan Osborn,” he calls out. “Don’t run. I’m here to help.”
“No, you stay there. How do you know my name? Why are the people not moving? What in bloody hell is going on here?” I look around at the people again and can feel my breathing turning into panic. My heart races and I swear it’s slamming against my chest.
Maybe I’m the one who died and everyone else is static because I’m now a soul.
“Am I dead? Did I die and this is Hell?”
He shakes his head. “Miss Osborn, my name is Professor Edwin Dunlop. I’m the Dean of a very prestigious academy for gifted students such as yourself. I’m here to collect you and bring you there for your own safety.” He motions around to the humans who seem like placed mannequins. “And theirs as well.”
“Y-You did this,” I ask. “You froze time?”
He nods with no other explanation. This professor holds out his hand. “I need you to trust me, Miss Osborn. I’m here to protect you.”
“How,” I ask. “How can you protect me? When you unfreeze everyone, they’re going to wonder where the nineteen-year-old girl went who just lost her parents and then went into hysterics after she briefly brought them back to life,” I exclaim.
“All of this will be explained once we’re on campus,” he offers, and motions with his hand again. “As for your whereabouts, no one here will know of your existence. As far as the community will know, you were never here.”
I glance at his hand, then back to him. “I thought academies were for children?”
“Most are, yes, however, ours is different.” He checks his watch and nods. “Ahh, right on time.” The sound of a car engine down the road grows louder in the silence.
I whirl around and find a crimson Volkswagen SUV pull up. A woman steps out with dark skin and the whitest hair I’ve ever seen on a person. It’s a stark contrast but on her, it’s beautiful. She offers a kind smile.
I turn back to this Dean of this so-called academy. “You’re going to drive me there?”
“No, my friend here will drive you to the boat that will charter you to the island where the school is located. I’ll meet you there once you arrive.” Professor Dunlop approaches and hands over a card.
I accept it and read over the information.
Dean of Blackthorn Academy
Higher Education Administrator
Below it follows contact information.
I trace my finger over the raised letters. “If I go, what am I walking into,” I ask.
“Good question,” he answers with a smile. “And one you’ll find out once you arrive. Think of it like the red pill and the blue pill.”
I recognize the reference from the movie starring the Hollywood actor who was brought out of a world he thought was real.
