23 Minutes

Vivian Vande Velde

Zoe is a teenage girl who has had a rough life. She has lived in the foster system for quite some time, and most recently has had difficulty with medical diagnoses that she doesn't agree with. Zoe has the ability to playback time to 23 minutes ago. She can replay that 23 minutes up to 10 times and since she remembers, she can cause different outcomes. The problem is that most times, the changes she makes result in worse outcomes. This story is really about Zoe trying to save lives. She is playing back the 23 minutes around a bank robbery where people are killed. How do you get help or tell someone your ability (hence the schizophrenic medical diagnosis) without getting committed? This is a well done treatment of time travel and adolescence.
Read