Doom In Disguise

Ahh, ice-cream…he thought as he lay languidly in the shade of the tree, protecting himself from the scorching heat of the afternoon sun. Large expanses of pastures surrounded him. The clear blue skies and the green fields complemented each other. Playing gooseberry, in the middle of nowhere stood his uncle’s farmhouse, he and his family’s current holidaying spot. Staring into space, lost in his divine thoughts, he heard someone call out his name:
“Jimmy, Jimmy!” his younger brother, Charlie, yelled at the top of his lungs as he frantically approached him.
“Jimmy,” he halted to catch his breath, “Jimmy, get up, you need to come with me. I gotta show you something!”
“Bug off, you brat” Jimmy said, shutting his eyes to take a nap.
After a short period of nihility he was jolted awake.
“What the-“
“I found a time capsule” Charlie added quickly.
“SO GO AND TANGO WITH YOUR FREAKING TIME CAP-“ he stopped midway as his senses came into being.
“What…what did you just say?” Jimmy stuttered in astonishment.
“Follow me” Charlie said after giving ear to the incredulity in Jimmy’s voice.
***
“Jesus…this is unbelievable!” Jimmy exclaimed.
“Now get your butt movin’ and help me open this thing!” Charlie grumbled.
“Uh, okay”
Charlie was pleased. Jimmy was listening to his orders for the first time in ages.
“Where exactly did you find it?” asked Jimmy.
“Right there” Charlie replied pointing towards a nearby tree. “I was digging for fossils and-“
“Digging for fossils? Hah, such an oaf” Jimmy whispered under his breath.
“Excuse me?” Charlie said sarcastically, having overheard his ‘whisper’.
“Oh, no- nothing, nothing at all!” he replied all panicky, faking a grin.
The time capsule seemed quite similar to a briefcase, fashioned from an odd sort of material. It seemed heavy and had two wooden handles. They dusted off the dirt and perused the capsule from every angle.
“Look, look, I see a button here!” Jimmy exclaimed.
The small round button on one of the handles of the capsule was dazzling with a bright red light. The light went on and off every two seconds.
“Strange…though this thing looks quite old, the button shows a fair amount of progression with regard to the year this might have been buried in. Looks like the person had a neat hand at technology.” Said a sceptical Charlie.
“Oh, Charlie talks big?” Jimmy said mockingly, “I’m pressing the button”
“Stop!”
Too late. Charlie closed his eyes and clasped his ears in a reflex action. To his surprise, nothing happened. Everything was silent for the next few seconds. He slowly opened his eyes, and this time he was forced to open them wider, wider in amazement.
The time capsule lay open on the ground. The items filling the capsule were: an envelope, a small, weird-looking monitor, and a similar button, just yellow in colour, which seemed to be attached to one corner on the inside of the capsule. Jimmy hastily teared open the envelope and read aloud the words written on the piece of parchment inside:
“I am a big name. I know the past, the present, and the future. You probably wouldn’t know me cause I come from the 22nd century. But, as a matter of fact, I do know you. Let me introduce you to myself. Hello folks, this is Dr. Harrot. I have always believed in serving the mankind, be it through any means. So, here I am. I need your help though. Strongly disliking stingy and mean people, I took an oath sitting in my comfy, multipurpose chair, here, in 2165, to free this world from greed. If you are with me on this mission, switch on the monitor for further instructions. If this mission is successful, you will be rewarded.”
“Holy…what the heck is this?” Charlie cried in utter astonishment.
“This is…this is amazeballs!” Jimmy said jumping with excitement.
“But…but this doesn’t feel right, Jimmy”
“Oh come on, don’t be such a scaredy-cat. We’ll soon be big. Just like this Harrot.”
"Eh, greed is bad...you know that, right?"
"Uh-huh, I do. And we're gonna help Harrot clear this world from every and any form of greed."
At the drop of a hat, Jimmy switched on the monitor through the power button present at the bottom left.
And guess what… they were soon face-to-face with Dr. Harrot!
“How do you do, young fellows?’ Glad you’re here to help save the world” he said.
Dr. Harrot was a plump-looking man, roughly in his late forties. He wore a serious expression on his face and clothed himself with decency and modesty- but this is how Jimmy saw him. Charlie saw something beyond his decency. He sensed something wrong, but he being unsure about it was the only reason he continued standing still listening quietly and obediently to Harrot.
“Now, now, let’s get to the point” He continued, “It’s been long since I kick-started the mission, but, I realise that it’s high time to take proper action. Are you ready for this?” He asked staring straight into their eyes.
“Of course!” Jimmy replied without hesitation.
“Great. Now, listen closely, and do as I say.” Harrot said lowering his voice.
“Inside the time capsule, in one of the corners, somewhere close to the monitor, the spot on top of which the envelope rested few minutes ago, is a button which glimmers with a yellow light that goes on and off every two seconds, looks fascinating and catches everyone’s attention, right?” Harrot continued, struggling for breath.
“Yes, yes there is, I pressed it!” Jimmy got too hyper.
“...You didn’t have to,” Harrot replied in his plainest voice.
Before the chill could have even run down Jimmy and Charlie’s spines, they bade farewell to the world as they saw the time capsule explode with the explosion of Dr. Harrot’s wicked laughter on the other end. Nothing remained, except the monitor and virtual Dr. Harrot.
“HAHAHA…BOOM…DOOM!” The sneer on his face explained nearly everything. And, with smugness in his tone, he finally said… “MISSION SUCCESSFUL”

Author's Note

Forgive me for not typing the thoughts in italics, had some problem. I seriously do thank each and every person who finds my work even worthy of reading. If it hadn't been for your support, this wouldn't have been possible. Thanks from the bottom of my heart. Hope you like the story. Any kind of feedback- always appreciated.

Reviews

[Jacob Clifford]

Huh. I wasn't expecting that ending. I like the joviality the two children characters have. It was fun seeing them mess around with each other. And the idea of a time capsule is very interesting, especially with Dr. Harrot thrown in. Brilliant creativity.

[Zoya]

Thank you for your time and review, Clifford. I appreciate it! :)

[Sofia]

Now, this is a really interesting and awesome stuff!! I loved it so much. Humorous too..at the starting. The plot was captivating indeed!

[Zoya]

Thank you so much, Sofia!

[Sofia]

Always a pleasure reading ur works :)

[Zoya]

Thanks again ^-^

[Priyanshi]

An interesting story, you came up with....dialogues are very well written.
well done.

[Zoya]

Thsnks a bunch!

[Priyanshi]

My pleasure.

[Najam Us Saher]

This is very creative. A story with a nice twist. I really liked it. Description and dialogues were perfectly balanced.

[Zoya]

Thank you so much for your kind words :) glad you liked it

[Najam Us Saher]

You're welcome. ☺

[Carol Cashes]

Interesting concept. Some mixed language with the dialogue: one exchange is realistic for the young characters, then a more advanced vocabulary is used by the children in the next. Where is the connection between what Dr. Harrot actually says to them as opposed to what happens? Maybe drop some hints that the reader doesn't realize are hints until the plot is revealed. This is very imaginative and requires very little rewrite. Stick with this story, work with it, you have something here.

[Zoya]

Yeah, I will work on it. Thank you so much for your review. Means a lot!

[wordman]

a great story,exciting and interesting,,who knows,it sounded like a true story

[Zoya]

Haha, sure it could be true. Thank you so much for your kind words. I appreciate it!

[wordman]

my pleasure zoe

[Mr.Writer]

Such an engaging story of yours Zoe!!!
I really enjoyed reading this, as it provided humour, suspense, and adventure of the time capsule...
Well done, keep it up!

[Zoya]

Thanks you so much for reading and reviewing, Shaan. Glad you liked it :)

[Mr.Writer]

No problem Zoe!! :)