The Strange Awakening
Donnie woke up in the middle of a road. The cold pavement pressed against his cheek. He blinked at the bright morning sun.
"Why am I outside?" he whispered.
His pajamas were damp with morning dew. He sat up and looked around. This wasn't the first time he had sleepwalked, but something felt different today. The air seemed heavy with secrets.
October 2, 1988
Middlesex, Virginia was usually quiet at dawn. But today would change everything.
Donnie stood up slowly. His bare feet hurt from walking on rough roads all night. He started the long walk home, past sleeping houses and empty streets.
"Hey there, kiddo!" called Mrs. Peterson from her garden. "Early morning walk?"
Donnie just waved. How could he explain that he had no idea how he got there?
At home, his mom Elizabeth was making breakfast. The smell of pancakes filled the kitchen. His sister Elizabeth looked up from her cereal.
"Someone went sleepwalking again," she sang in a teasing voice.
"Shut up," Donnie mumbled, dropping into his chair.
His dad looked worried. "Son, did you take your pills last night?"
"Yes, Dad. I always do."
But something strange was coming. Donnie could feel it in his bones. That night, he heard a voice calling him outside:
"28 days, 6 hours, 42 minutes, 12 seconds..."
In his front yard stood a tall figure in a scary bunny costume. The bunny's face was twisted in a metal smile that made Donnie's skin crawl.
"Who are you?" Donnie asked.
"I'm Frank," said the bunny. "And I've been watching you."
"What do you want?"
"To save the world," Frank whispered.
Suddenly, Frank pointed to the sky. A loud roar filled the air. Something huge and metal was falling from the clouds!
Donnie ran. Behind him, a massive jet engine crashed through his bedroom roof. ✈️ The whole house shook.
If Donnie hadn't followed Frank outside, he would have been crushed in his bed.
Fire trucks came with flashing lights. Police cars surrounded the house. Nobody could explain where the jet engine came from. No planes were missing any parts.
Donnie's mom hugged him tight. "Thank goodness you weren't in your room!"
But Donnie kept thinking about Frank. The bunny had saved his life. Why? And what did he mean about saving the world?
That night, lying on the couch since his bedroom was destroyed, Donnie watched shadows dance on the ceiling. He could feel time bending around him like a rubber band. Something big was starting.
Frank's words echoed in his mind: 28 days, 6 hours, 42 minutes, 12 seconds...
The countdown had begun. ️Searching for Answers
The school library was quiet. Donnie sat alone at a table, surrounded by big books about time. His head hurt from trying to understand all the strange words.
"What are you reading about?" Dr. Monnitoff asked, peering over Donnie's shoulder.
"Time travel," Donnie said. "Is it real?"
Dr. Monnitoff was different from other teachers. He didn't laugh at weird questions.
"That's a big question," the teacher said, sitting down. "Have you heard of wormholes?"
Donnie shook his head.
"Think of time like a long string," Dr. Monnitoff explained. "Now imagine folding that string so two points touch. That's a wormhole - a shortcut through time." ️
Later that day, Donnie found a strange book in the back of the library. The cover read: "The Philosophy of Time Travel" by Roberta Sparrow.
"When the universe splits, a Tangent Universe is created. The Primary Universe is endangered. If a Tangent Universe continues for too long, it will collapse, destroying all universes."
Donnie's hands shook as he read. The words matched his weird feelings exactly!
That night, Frank appeared again. The scary bunny stood in Donnie's doorway.
"Have you figured it out yet?" Frank asked.
"The jet engine...did it create a Tangent Universe?"
"Smart boy," Frank nodded. "But there's more to learn."
Time was running out. Only 23 days left before something terrible would happen.
The next day, Donnie walked to Roberta Sparrow's house. People called her "Grandma Death" because she was so old and checked her mailbox all day long.
"Did you write this?" Donnie held up her book.
The old lady leaned close and whispered: "Every living thing dies alone." Then she shuffled back inside.
On his way home, Donnie saw weird shiny trails coming from people's chests. The trails looked like rivers of light, showing where each person would go next.
"What's happening to me?" he wondered out loud.
His girlfriend Gretchen found him sitting on a park bench.
"You look worried," she said, taking his hand.
"I think I'm supposed to save the world," Donnie said. "But I don't know how."
Gretchen squeezed his hand. "Then we'll figure it out together."
That night, Donnie drew pictures in his journal: wormholes, time loops, and Frank's scary metal face. The numbers kept counting down in his head.
23 days, 4 hours, 15 minutes, 8 seconds... ⏰
Something was coming. Something that would change everything. And only Donnie could stop it.Dark Revelations
Frank stood in Donnie's room, his metal bunny mask gleaming in the moonlight.
"Time to learn more," Frank's voice echoed. "Follow me."
Donnie crept downstairs, careful not to wake his family. The house felt different at night, like it wasn't quite real.
The world seemed to ripple around Donnie. The walls moved like water. Time wasn't working right anymore.
"Why me?" Donnie asked, following Frank outside. "Why did you pick me?"
"You didn't get picked," Frank said. "You were always the one."
The night air felt cold. Donnie watched as more shiny trails appeared, flowing from houses where people slept. The trails twisted together like a giant spider web made of light. ✨
"Everything is connected," Frank explained. "Every choice changes all other choices."
Frank led Donnie to the school. Inside, Donnie's footsteps echoed in the empty halls.
"What do you want me to do?" Donnie asked.
"Flood it," Frank said. "Break the water pipes."
Donnie felt strange, like he was in a dream. His hands moved by themselves, finding the pipes. Water burst out, flooding the halls.
Warning: The flooding wasn't just about water. It was about changing time itself.
The next morning, school was closed. Kids played in the water-filled parking lot.
"Did you do this?" Gretchen whispered to Donnie.
"I had to," he said. "It's part of something bigger."
In class, Dr. Monnitoff talked about chaos theory. "Small changes can have big effects," he said. "Like a butterfly flapping its wings can cause a storm."
Donnie raised his hand. "What if you knew a bad thing was going to happen? Would you try to stop it?"
"Sometimes fixing one problem creates bigger problems," Dr. Monnitoff said.
That night, Donnie read more of Roberta Sparrow's book:
"The Living Receiver must guide the Artifact back to the Primary Universe. Their journey is hard. Many will die."
Donnie looked at his calendar. Only 15 days left. The numbers burned in his mind. ⏰
Frank appeared again. "You're starting to understand."
"The jet engine was the Artifact, wasn't it?" Donnie asked. "And I'm the Living Receiver?"
"Yes," Frank nodded. "And now you know what you have to do."
Donnie felt scared but also brave. He was part of something huge, like a giant puzzle where he was the most important piece.
The shiny trails grew brighter each day. They showed Donnie paths through time, roads that shouldn't exist. He could see how everything connected, how one small choice could change the whole world.
"I don't want anyone to die," Donnie told Gretchen.
"Sometimes heroes have to make hard choices," she said, holding his hand.
The clock kept ticking. Time was running out. And Donnie's biggest test was still to come.Bonds and Breaking Points
The October air grew colder as Donnie walked home with Gretchen. His head hurt from all the weird time trails he could see now. They looked like bright ribbons in the sky.
"You seem different lately," Gretchen said, squeezing his hand.
"I see things others can't," Donnie said quietly. "Sometimes I wish I didn't."
Time was getting stranger. Minutes stretched like rubber bands. Hours jumped around like jumping beans.
At dinner, Donnie's family watched him push food around his plate.
"Are you feeling okay, sweetie?" his mom asked.
"Just tired," Donnie said. But he was more than tired. He was scared.
"The Living Receiver must face hard choices," Frank's words echoed in his head. "Some people you love might get hurt."
That night, Donnie couldn't sleep. The time trails glowed through his window like northern lights. He grabbed Roberta Sparrow's book and read more:
Important things from the book:
• Time can break like glass
• The Living Receiver must fix it
• Love is stronger than time
Frank appeared in the corner. His bunny mask looked sadder than usual.
"Show me what's coming," Donnie said. "I need to know."
Frank waved his hand. The room melted away. Donnie saw terrible things: fire, crashes, people crying.
"This is what happens if you don't help," Frank said.
Donnie felt tears on his face. "How do I stop it?"
"You already know," Frank whispered.
The next day at school, Donnie watched Gretchen laugh with friends. His heart felt heavy.
"Want to go to the movies tonight?" she asked.
"I can't," Donnie said. "There's something I have to do."
He went to visit old Roberta Sparrow's house. The time trails were brightest there.
"I know you wrote the book," Donnie called. "Please help me understand!"
But Roberta just stared at her garden. Maybe she was lost in time too.
That evening, Donnie sat with his little sister Samantha. She was playing with her dolls.
"Do you ever feel like something big is about to happen?" he asked her.
"Like Christmas?" she smiled.
"Yeah," Donnie said. "Like that, but scarier."
The time trails were getting brighter. They hurt his eyes now. Reality felt thin, like paper about to tear.
Frank appeared one last time.
"Time is almost up," he said. "Are you ready?"
Donnie looked at the photos on his wall - his family, Gretchen, his whole life.
"I don't want to be ready," he said. "But I am."
Thunder rolled outside. The storm was coming. And Donnie knew what he had to do to save everyone - even if it meant saying goodbye. ⛈️
In his room, he wrote letters to everyone he loved. They wouldn't remember any of this, but he needed to explain anyway.
The clock struck midnight. Donnie grabbed his jacket and looked at the sky.
It was time.The Final Choice
The storm clouds gathered over Middlesex like angry giants. Donnie watched from his window as time trails twisted in the sky like glowing snakes. ️
"Twenty-eight days, six hours, forty-two minutes, twelve seconds," Frank's voice echoed. "That's when the world ends."
Donnie grabbed his dad's car keys. His hands were shaking. He drove to Roberta Sparrow's house in the dark.
The time trails were brightest here. They looked like roads made of starlight, all leading to one moment.
"I understand now," Donnie whispered to the empty house. "I'm the one who has to close the loop."
Thunder cracked. Rain started falling. Donnie saw Gretchen walking up the road.
"What are you doing here?" he asked.
"I followed you," she said. "I was worried."
"Sometimes people do crazy things," Donnie told her, "because they're the right things to do."
The sky ripped open like a giant zipper. A jet engine appeared, spinning through the time tear.
Important things Donnie knew:
• The engine must fall
• He must be there when it does
• Everything would reset
Frank appeared, his bunny mask glowing in the storm. "It's time, Donnie."
"Will they remember?" Donnie asked.
"Only in dreams," Frank said.
Donnie hugged Gretchen tight. "I love you."
"You're scaring me," she said.
The time trails were everywhere now, lighting up the night like Christmas lights. They all led back to Donnie's bedroom.
"I have to go home," Donnie said.
He drove fast through empty streets. The engine followed above, trapped in its time loop.
In his room, Donnie lay on his bed. He wasn't scared anymore. ️
"Close your eyes," Frank whispered.
Donnie thought about his family, about Gretchen, about all the people he was saving.
The ceiling cracked.
Time bent.
And Donnie smiled.
The engine fell, right where it was always meant to. The loop closed like a circle being completed.
Somewhere, twenty-eight days ago, Donnie would wake up in a field. He would wonder why he left his bed.
But this time, he would stay.
And everyone would live.
The storm raged on, washing away the old timeline. In their beds, people dreamed of a boy who saved the world...
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