Free The Children Who Time Lost by Marvin Amazon Page B

for a second, trying to think of nothing else. My mind started to see past the fear I felt, and all I could see was the light. Then I saw Kevin’s face in the darkness. He was smiling and leaning closer to me, his soft lips inches from mine. I started to smile but couldn’t move my lips. They felt chapped and cold, as if covered in ice. I kept telling myself that none of what I was experiencing was real. I had to maintain my focus.
    I returned my attention to the light. It flickered less frequently but was the only consistent thing in my mind. Then it expanded, almost becoming blinding. I left my eyes open, unblinking and focused. The light continued growing. I squinted and thrust my arms over my face in a feeble attempt to shield them. A few seconds later, the brightness ceased.
    I could feel my feet on solid ground. The stiffness around my body had also ceased. I opened my eyes to see a corridor that stretched as far as my eyes could make out. My clothes weren’t rumpled or even torn like I thought they would be. My hair wasn’t damp or ragged. Everything seemed to be as it had been when I entered the portal.
    I heard coughing beside me and glanced to my left. Monique extended her hand. A broad smile covered her previously hard face. I took it and pulled myself up. Amelia stood behind her, smiling but clearly a bit shaken. I studied both of them. Like me, they didn’t seem to have a hair out of place. It didn’t add up. The entire journey had felt like an assault course to the North Pole and back.
    “Are you all right?” Monique asked.
    I nodded, unsure of what to say.
    “What a rush that was,” Amelia said. A grin formed on her face. “I can’t believe we’re in 2108. This is just surreal.”
    I looked around. “But what do we do now?”
    Monique walked toward the left wall and placed her hand against it. I stood beside her and stared at it. It was whiter and cleaner than anything I’d ever seen. The fluorescent lighting was also very bright. If ever there’d been a doorway to heaven, this was it.
    Amelia walked past us and continued down the corridor. Monique and I called her name, but she continued. I shook my head and followed, Monique close behind. We tiptoed for almost five minutes before increasing our pace. Two hundred yards later, we reached what looked like a crossroad. I spun in a circle, studying the corridor to my left and right. The paths all looked identical.
    “Where do we go now?” Amelia asked.
    Monique shrugged and looked at me. I ruffled my hair and took a step toward the corridor to our right. It didn’t feel different. I took another step, and another, but then I heard a loud thud like a door shutting. I turned to see Amelia shaking, with her hand on her nose. I walked back toward them but reeled back in pain after crashing into something I couldn’t see. My head stung. It felt like I had hit a solid wall, except nothing was in front of me. I could see Monique and Amelia just as clearly as I could a few seconds before. I extended my hand and inched forward. I felt the barrier again. It was smooth and cool to the touch. It was definitely a wall, but invisible.
    “I think you two need to keep going,” I said.
    They looked at me dumbfounded.
    I raised my voice. “Keep going. I’ll continue down this way.”
    They shrugged. I turned and pointed down the path I would take and started walking. Then I pointed toward the path they faced. I hoped they understood what I was trying to say, but there wasn’t much else I could do. Monique took a step forward and continued on the same path I had been on. Amelia stared at me before following her. But after two steps, she jumped backward in pain and held her nose again. She had hit another invisible wall. It looked like we all needed to take our own separate paths.
    She looked at me, this time with questioning eyes. I pointed at the other path—the one directly opposite me. She gazed down it and then back at me. Monique had walked to the edge