Stopped Time Novels & Stories

The car died at six-forty-seven PM on a Tuesday. Jonah knew the exact time because he’d been watching the dashboard clock the way you watched a bad movie, not because it was interesting but because there was nothing else to do on a two-lane Tennessee highway with nothing on either side except pine trees and the particular orange light of a sun that was done for the day. The engine didn’t sputter or cough. It just stopped. Like it had made a decision.

The timer hit— 01:30 Marcus spoke softly. “Choose carefully.” Jessica ignored him. She looked at the screens. Then at Ethan. Then at the countdown. Her voice came out calm. “Guardian.” “Pause global reset.” Marcus snapped instantly, “You can’t pause the protocol!” The AI responded. “Request accepted.” The countdown froze. 01:29 The entire station went silent. Noah blinked slowly. “…Wait.” “Did we just pause the apocalypse?” Lila exhaled for the first time in minutes. “Yes.”

After saying that, Mr. Zayne had a helpless and bitter expression on his face. Elder Maurice let out a long sigh. Mr. Zayne was right, there was no reason to fight at that moment. Time was still ticking away. Not long after that, Master Maurice's loud voice was heard, "Time's up! Everyone can stop now." Everyone, including Fane who was further away, stopped. Fane's lips twitched helplessly as he looked up, worriedly. He looked toward everyone in front of him.

he said slowly, weighing each word now instead of tossing them out carelessly, "we are both now working against the same clock. Which means it is time I stop being generous with my patience toward all of you." The call cut abruptly to black, the screen going dark without warning. For a moment none of us moved, all of us staring at the blank screen like it might flicker back to life on its own. Ten seconds later, every light in Duarte's office went out at once, plunging the entire room in total darkness. My heart slammed against my ribs so hard I could feel it in my throat. Somewhere below us on the street, I heard the unmistakable sound of a van door sliding open, slow and deliberate, like w

At school, I had a nickname. They called me "Mister Wait-Your-Turn." I waited for the sneakers my brother had grown tired of, the backpack my sister thought was ugly, and the phones my parents had already cracked the screens of. Even when it came to taking a shower, I had to wait until everyone else was done. A week ago, Mom had promised me, "On the day of your college entrance exam, you won't have to wait your turn for the shower." So when I finally stumbled into the bathroom, drenched in sweat and smelling awful, I thought my turn had finally come. I was halfway through working up a lather when someone started pounding on the door. "Come out. Let your brother go in." My eyes stung,

And he noticed me. May 26th, Morning I jumped up out of my sleep. Still shaking, I checked my phone: 8:30 am. Shit, my shift at Coldstone starts in an hour. No time to review last night's strange events. I still can't fully comprehend what the hell happened. After a quick shower and dressing, I run out of the house; it's now nine!! Like a bolt of lightning, I speed to work and clock in. I can hardly focus on scooping ice cream with so much shit on my mind; Jack's standoffishness, whatever the hell I witnessed in that apartment... It's all too much. Buzzzzzz. I look down:

I halted for a second, looking at the stars as I fiddle with my beer. It was almost an hour of my deep thoughts, drinking when I started to get dizzy. I blinked several times, trying to hold back my composure. Without my jacket, its much colder. It cut through my shirt like knife, I cannot stand here for much longer, I conclude, the longer I waited the deeper resignation sunk into my heart. There was a sensation of a widening hole within me hollow and silent. I tried to fill it with hope when suddenly a voice behind me spoke up. "Zia," he whispered.

, He answered me while playing on phone. “This eve- evening”, I pushed take deep breaths and shout while continuing 3 fingers, “3 days,” I asked him as shaking him harshly I refuse, “No, I won't go”, as folding my arms “No one is asking you,”, He gave me a look and continue, “It's final decision. " “But-”, I trial off “No, but its final”, He give me a final look and continue playing his phone...

Tessa kept refreshing my results page, muttering to herself the whole time. "No way. This must be a system glitch!" The principal and a few reporters came over, staring straight at my score screen. My score was blank. Below it was a line in bold: "Total score: You are ranked in the top 50. Please check back on the 27th for more details." Everyone in the room was stunned. Even the comments section froze for several seconds before it exploded again.

I thought of how I could use that to my advantage. *********** It wasn't easy setting an appointment with the chairman of the Zilak company, instead of a day, It took a week before he could accept my request, but it was worth the wait, at least that was what I thought. I was supposed to meet him 9:00 o'clock sharp in the morning as he insisted I mustn't be a second or minute late.