Random stories

The news report showed a man in a clown mask handing over his assault rifle in two pieces to the police.

The voice behind the B-roll footage states, "Local authorities say by the time SWAT arrived on the scene, the suspect was already outside, sitting on the campus lawn, talking openly with the students who had been reported as hostages. Pre-Law student, Hannah Jephset, speaks out on her experience during the tumultuous eight minutes between the start of the suspect's rampage and the arrival of the police."

"It was instantaneous," said the young woman now smiling to the camera. Her hair had come loose from its braid, the sweat stains in her shirt were visible, and she looked to be on the falling end of an adrenaline rush. But she was all smiles and kind words in her statement. She even called the would-be shooter by his first name. "Isaac was swinging the gun around, trying to scare us into a corner and give him the reaction like we were objectively less human that him, then out of the bookshelves walks the guy with the beard, and he just places his hand on Isaac's shoulder. Suddenly, the bearded man is gone, and Isaac is crying, just like openly weeping about how sorry he is for what he just did. I can't even tell it to you without making him sound like a lunatic, but he just didn't show that. You could really see the regret. He pointed the gun down, opened the emergency exit, then smashed then thing against the curb until the what's-it broke off."

The B-roll of the arrest returned with the disembodied voice reporting, "No word yet on the identity of this mysterious bearded figure, but, when asked himself, Isaac reportedly said, quote, 'A Godsend. An angel that swooped down in the last second to save many lives from pointless execution. Just like for my namesake.'"

The footage cut to a live shot of the reporter standing outside the university library. The clean-shaven, long-lashed face spoke with the save voice from the pre-recordings that, "Although the bearded figure did not appear on any security footage during the entirety of the event, six other potential hostages have come forward to validate the sudden intervention of the Campus Clown shooter, and though no one claims to have heard him say anything aloud, all witness accounts agree on a prolonged and heart-felt speech Isaac claims to have held with the mystery man in a dream-like state during the blink of an eye, as he later relayed peacefully on the campus lawn. Whatever has become of this Ghost of Tragedies Past figure, the students here at MMSU are all understandably just relieved to still be coming home for the holiday's next month. Jamie Felton, KBC-Twelve."

​

That was the first we heard of Time Out. The much longer 'Ghost of Tragedies Past' name didn't stick past the second occurrence, as during the report, the corrupt train-conductor himself had the opportunity to be interviewed and had described the phenomenon as such.

"He put me inna time out. An' allth-sudden, I was back inna li'l yeller plastic chair inna corner. Jus' like when in kindergar'n."

The conductor had planned to derail his own train full of methyl bromide, thirty-two cars long, just on the edge of the city, upwind of the greater suburbia and up creek of the city reservoir. However, instead of a shrieking crash, the first anyone else heard about it was at the end of his delayed delivery, where he confessed to every discrepancy recorded on his procedural logs and the reason behind them.

The conductor had been staring down oncoming the skid he'd prepared to be laid across the tracks, ready to self-martyr for no better cause than public brutality. When suddenly a bearded figure stepped out of the coal fire and pressed his thumb up against the conductor's forehead.

The old man found himself transported back to a room from his childhood, with pictures of animals taped to the walls and foam blocks littering the blue carpet. He sat on a hollow plastic toddler's chair, but he fit just right, and before him stood the bearded man.

Six days later, he woke up back behind the controls of the speeding train, staring down the metal skid, and he leaped for the breaks, pulling with all his might.

What happened in those six days could scarcely be explained in the short-form interview and through the conductor's mumbling account. He could only sum it up with, "By the end've it, I c'n barely b'lieve whatev'r I's mad about'n the first place." He ended his interview with a broad confession of love for all his fellow human beings, then turned himself over to the authorities waiting just off camera.

​

By the nature of Time Out's methods, we usually only heard of him when someone publicly came forward with a story of self-reflection.

There were plenty who showed up on TV with singular stories of Time Out stopping a suicide attempt, or dissuading an attempt to drive drunk. Many of them you could tell were bogus, just people looking for a quick spotlight and a pat on the back.

But no doubt, there must have been so many more who genuinely did find a bearded man standing beside them, in what they thought was their final moments. So many who kept it to themselves.

​

We all heard publicly of the close-call with the plane-jacking. The footage showed a 747 careening down towards the capital before making a last minute correction back up to the cloudy sky.

​

We all saw the video that made its rounds on the internet last year, where the multi-billionaire in his space suit stood on the staging tower, ready for launch. We saw a somewhat harry hand reach out to the billionaire's, then fall out of frame. And we saw the look of surprise on the billionaire's face as they turned to someone beside them and shouted that the launch was to be aborted. Even still, the specifics of whatever he had secretly planned behind the launch have not come to light, but the billionaire is now not even a millionaire, and for it, the students of MMSU no longer have to worry about student debt.

​

Of all the recent miracle's that science has yet to explain, my favorite will forever be one that never made the news. I've never even seen mention of it online, in any of the forums of 'Time Out Confessionals' where those who feel compelled like to share the error of their ways, (or at least tell a story claiming as much).

I was walking my best friend around the loop at the dog park.

It was cold out, and raining lightly. We were nearly the only ones there.

A large man sat on one of the park benches overlooking the loop, but I couldn't see a dog anywhere in his field of view.

On my last lap, I got one of those feelings you can't justify, but that you don't feel a need to justify either. I decided to go home at the end of this lap, as we were parked on the opposite side of the loop.

As I was crossing the far side of this seated man. I watched him stand up and walk the wrong way down the other side of the loop. We were both heading towards the parking lot, which I then realized only held two cars. Mine, half way down the first row, and a black sedan, parked over the line on the first handicap spot.

I sent a small whip through the leash and my companion took the signal to run with me the rest of the way.

The man on the opposite side started jogging.

We were closing in on the exit at the same time when, passing behind a tree, he stumbled to a halt.

I kept one eye on him as I rushed for the car, throwing open both gates on the fence and sprinting with my car keys in hand.

He didn't move.

When I got in my car, I pulled us out to the road in seconds, and finally I stopped to discern exactly what the man was doing.

He was falling back against the bark of the tree, sobbing into his hands.

\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

​

I'm on day 22 of a streak. If you want more stories like this, the other 21 days are over at r/FarFetchedFiction.

Thanks.

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Submitted by FarFetchedFiction on Wed, Feb 01, 2023 to /r/WritingPrompts/

The prompt

Your super power has no destructive power, but you're still a highly ranked superhero. *Time Out* puts your opponent into a safe quiet place to reflect on their actions before returning them back the to the same spot and time, they left.