Collecting the merchandise

As the sun rose higher, two yellow school buses finally appeared on the county road and turned into the gravel parking lot. Students began spilling out, many laughing, shoving each other, chatting excitedly. The two Teachers tried to organize them. Elias watched the lively crowd through binoculars, already calculating value based on age, build, and appearance.

When the entire group of fifty-five had gathered on the central lawn near the old stone fountain for their orientation, Elias lifted the Stasis Engine onto his back. Elias powered it up with a low, barely audible hum, aimed the emitter dish directly at the center of the gathering, and pressed the trigger.

The effect was instantaneous. Every sound in the targeted area vanished. Laughter froze mid-breath. A boy’s arm halted halfway through throwing a mock punch. A girl’s ponytail hung suspended at the peak of its swing. Leaves stopped fluttering. A butterfly stalled six inches above a flowerbed, wings locked mid-flap. The entire scene transformed into a perfect, life-sized diorama under the clear blue sky.

Elias exhaled slowly, a satisfied smile touching his lips. He put away the device and walked down the slope into the silent scene. His boots crunched loudly on the gravel path.

He moved slowly among the frozen students and teachers, inspecting them with cold, clinical interest. He evaluated builds, facial features, skin quality, and overall appeal, already imagining which ones would fetch the highest prices.

He paused in front of a tall, athletic boy with a cocky frozen smile, running his hands over the strong shoulders and chest.

“Excellent specimen,” he murmured. “Quite a few would pay well to have a boy toy like you.” He then reached down and grabbed the frozen boy’s crotch to fell him up. “And that should fetch a premium.” The young male simply stared forward, not in the least bit concerned.

He saw nearby an athletic looking brunette girl, hair in a ponytail that looked rather similar to the boy. “Huh. I wonder if you two are siblings or cousins, or something like that.” Neither of the two responded.

Next was a curvy girl with rich dark skin. Elias circled her, appreciating her generous figure. He poked and praised her body a bit, spending a little bit of time examining… specific body parts that stood out.

He continued down the rows, methodically assessing each frozen person, a petite Asian girl with a delicate frame, a freckled redhead with a soft, voluptuous body, an athletic blonde with long toned legs, and many others.

Then he reached two girls standing near the fountain. One had long, beautiful auburn hair and striking green eyes, frozen mid-laugh with one hand gracefully brushing a strand from her face. The other was petite with smooth olive skin and a soft, innocent smile, her hand raised near her forehead to shield her eyes from the sun.

Elias studied them for a long moment, a rare glint of personal interest in his eyes. “You two…” he said quietly, “are exceptional.”

He stood as motionless as the field trip for a long moment in the center of the frozen gathering, savoring the absolute silence.

Then he went to work.

He retrieved the borrowed golf cart from its hiding spot and began the lengthy process of loading the frozen students and teachers, starting with the highest-value merchandise. The tall athletic boy and his female look alike. The curvy girl with rich dark skin. The petite Asian girl. The freckled redhead. The athletic blonde. The curvaceous Latina. And many more.

Every single body was handled with clinical precision.

When he returned to the two girls near the fountain, he once again paused longer than with the others.

He lifted the tall girl with long curly auburn hair first, cradling her frozen form against his chest for a brief moment before securing her on the cart. Then he returned for the petite girl with smooth olive skin. He took extra time adjusting her posture, ensuring her delicate features were protected.

By this point he knew. These two, whoever they were, were not going to be sold. He was going to claim them personally… for is own use. By late afternoon, all fifty-five frozen students and teachers had been loaded into the box truck. The main cargo area was filled with neat rows of stiff bodies, carefully arranged and secured with heavy straps, loaded on top of each other so as to maximize space.

Before closing the rear doors, Elias took one final walk through the now-empty grounds. He scattered backpacks, phones, water bottles, and a single abandoned shoe near the fountain to create the illusion of a sudden, chaotic disappearance. Notebooks were left open on the grass. One of Mrs. Bennett’s clipboards lay face-down on the path. He also made sure to return the staff to where they had been earlier when he had frozen them.

The scene now looked like fifty-five people had simply vanished into thin air. Satisfied with his staging, Elias walked back toward the main building and the two parked buses. The two bus drivers were still frozen exactly where he had left them earlier that morning.

He raised the Stasis Engine and fired a short reactivation burst. One by one, the five staff and bus drivers jerked back into motion, completely unaware of the missing time. The older man continued raising the flag as if nothing had happened. The woman kept arranging brochures. The young man resumed sweeping. The bus drivers continued their conversation through the open windows.

None of them had seen him. None of them would remember anything unusual. Elias watched for a few seconds to make sure they were functioning normally, then turned and headed back to the box truck.

He took one last look in the behind him at the historic village. The staff and drivers were moving about normally again, still oblivious to the fact that fifty-five students and teachers had just disappeared from their grounds.

Eventually he made it back to the truck, started it, and headed on his way, precious cargo in tow. He drove down the narrow service road, before turning onto the county highway, heading east toward his isolated warehouse. In the back of the truck, fifty-five young men and women stood frozen in eternal stillness, completely unaware that their lives had just been permanently taken from them.

Elias drove calmly, one hand resting on the wheel.

The warehouse waited ahead.

The real work would begin there.