When Time Stopped

Chapter 1: Prologue

I was dancing with my friends Justin and Stephanie at the New Years Eve party.

"Pretty fun, right?" Said Adam, the host of the party, and Stephanie's twin brother.

"Yea, sure." I didn't like going to parties that much. I don't drink either. You could say that, out of Justin, Stephanie, and me, I was the sober one.

Everybody was drinking and having fun. Until we heard Stephanie yell into the microphone, "Okay everybody it's almost midnight! I'm gonna turn on the countdown in NYC and we are all gonna go with it!" She slurred. She wasn't drunk, but she was buzzed, she had about two drinks.

Then, we all started the countdown.

"10,
9,
8,
7..."

We were all watching as the ball went lower and lower. When we got to one, it didn't move. I looked around and saw as everybody has worried looks, as well as some whispers going on.

Then, the news reporter on the T.V. started freaking out until she passed out, which was about 20 seconds later.

Then, the channel switched to one where it showed a boy around 18. He had wild brown hair, chocolate brown eyes, and wore glasses.

"Okay, so I only have about 4.256 minutes before the news people find out that I tapped into the television systems." His voice sounded French, mixed with German.

"The world has stopped. I have been doing research that states that the world is going to end." The room filled with screams of panic.

But, he still continued. "I have also looked through records and I am recruiting others to go with me on a trip. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or as you know NASA, has been studying this topic also and has been planning to release a ship to go out to another planet that I discovered. I haven't given it a name yet, but we, NASA and me, have decided to call it P-20. It's habitable, much like Earth, but much smaller and can only fit a small amount of population. So, anyways, I am recruiting about 50 of the smartest 16-30-year-olds in the world. So, about the time thing, that is just a stage in this wave of events. Stage one. I've researched this to show that our solar system had completely stopped. The planets, sun, moons, have all stopped their scheduled orbits."

One girl there screamed, 'WE'RE GONNA DIE!!!" and somehow the boy knew what she was saying.

"In any case, no, we are not going to die. I am definitely not going to let anybody die." I realized it's almost been 5 minutes.

"Time is almost up, crap. Okay, so I just wanted to warn you. There are these things you have to do to stay safe right now.

We waited curiously and anxiously for the boy to continue ad he looked around before saying quickly.

"Number 1: Stay indoors. Stay away from the outdoors as much as possible. Block all of your doors and windows. The air could be toxic in other stages. Take animals and outdoor plants indoors.
Number 2: Stock up on necessary items only. If the power goes out, do not touch anything. It could cause a worldwide blackout due to the sensitivity of the electricity. We should conserve as much electricity as possible. Use kerosene lamps or candles that are covered. Never have an open fire anywhere, for it could cause fires and waste our air supply.
Number 3: Whatever you do, don't panic. This is not some trick, but reality. Now, if there are neighbors or other people near you that are asleep, wake them up. Don't use mobile telephones. If you are lucky enough to have one, use a landline.
That's it for now. Be safe and I will contact you if you are one of my recruits. This message will be translated into other languages if necessary."

That was it. Everybody listened to the message.

Then my phone rang.