The Last Bus Ride - The Final Deception

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Flavoid spoke to the children who had just gone through the Dream Void. "You have encountered many dangers. It's time for your visits into these Voids to end. Now as I told you at the beginning, you shall become....become...." Flavoid was breaking up. It was like static from a TV program. Then all of a sudden Flavoid was gone. The children also noticed that Bus 32 vanished. What was going on here? A voice entered the minds of all the children. "My name is Dr. Botsworth. I have been conducting an experiment on all of you. The 10th Dimension is nothing more than what is in your imagination. You will all be relieved to know that your memory of this experience will be wiped out from your mind. You were told about this before, but I wiped this information from you so that I could continue my study." "Wait a minute," shouted Max. "What about the children that have died during this so called experiment?" "I'm sorry to say that their deaths are real. All your feelings of thrill, excitement, fear, and pain were part of the experiment. The deaths that occurred during your time in the Voids was an unfortunate part of this project." "You are a monster," screamed Wally. "No, I'm just a scientist," said Dr. Botsworth. "Now Dr. Wensworth, please enter code #25AA3-9." "Alright, I'm entering it right now. I must state again that this whole experiment has been criminal. You killed Dr. Williams. You killed children. You...." "Enough, you and all your companions are free to leave. I am releasing you from your electric collar. You will see one million dollars in your account by the end of the day. However, I have inserted a chip inside your brain. If I detect that you have gone to the authorities, I will not hesitate to activate the chip. This will result in your swift and painful death. Am I making myself clear?" "Yes, said the scientists in unison." "Good, now let the children come into the Center Room. I will briefly talk to them and then let them be returned to their poor but humble existence." The children entered the Center Room. Each child looked puzzled. No one knew one child from the next. "Alright everybody. You have done well children. You are going back to your homes. I am awarding $50,000 to each of you in a private account. You will not have access to this account until you are no longer a minor." James looked at Dr. Botsworth. "So you are paying us off in blood money. Well I have news for you. You are going to die tonight." "What do you mean? Who do you think that you are?" "My name is Gerald. You took me away from my Foster Parents and brought me here. You killed children. You deserve to die." "Wait a minute. Your memory of this experiment should have been wiped from your mind." "It should have indeed," said Dr. Wensworth. "However, the implant is only effective if I betrayed you and went to the police. I just made sure that one child retained their memory of the past few days events." James pulled out a gun. "I'm only 9 years old. You have ruined my life and the lives of others. You deserve only one fate." James pulled the trigger and Dr. Botsworth was shot right in the heart. He died in a split second. Dr. Wensworth felt a sense of relief. "I'm sorry that you had to shoot Dr. Botsworth. He had secret plans to eventually kill everyone of you. Thank you." James stood immobile. "I wasn't sure that I could really go through with this. The children did not deserve this. I did not deserve this. I just want to go home." Dr. Wensworth contacted the police. It was going to be a long evening before this matter was put to rest. There would be hearings and possible trials in the future. As for James and the rest of the children, they went back to their homes. James was adopted the following year to a couple who were both practicing physicians. Dr. Wensworth was not prosecuted, but the fate of the other scientists was not as fortunate. As for Dimension 10, it died with the end of the experiment. (Or did it?)