"STOP HIM," lit up on the ground.
The boy took off running.
Straight across the schoolyard.
"After him!" shouted Leo.
And everyone started running.
"We must not change the past!" shouted Emil.
"Too late!" shouted Mila. "The past has changed us!"
Young Bruno ran ahead.
"I know a faster way!"
He turned a corner.
The others followed him.
But suddenly…
…everything flickered.
The schoolyard disappeared.
And for a moment they were back in the hallway.
Then back in the yard.
Then back in the engine room.
"Time is jumping!" shouted Mila.
"We're losing him!" said Leo.
The little bell suddenly flew faster.
Ding! Ding!
As if it was driving them on.
The boy was almost at the door to the school building.
"If he runs inside, we'll lose him!" shouted Emil.
"Not if I'm faster!" shouted Leo.
He sprinted off.
But at that exact moment…
…time stopped.
Everything froze.
The children. The boy. The air.
Everything.
Only one thing still moved.
The little bell.
Ding…
Slowly it floated to Emil.
And stopped in front of him.
"Why me?" whispered Emil.
The bell gave a single, clear tone.
Ding.
And suddenly Emil heard a voice.
Not loud.
Directly in his head.
"He didn't mean any harm."
Emil swallowed.
"Who are you?"
"I am time."
Emil's eyes widened.
"And I need your help."
The world around him began to flicker again.
"You must decide," said the voice.
"Stop… or understand."
Time started moving again.
And the boy kept running.