Elementary Mysteries

Read the prologue of the book!

It was a bright, sunny afternoon. The sky was clear and the temperature was rising. Lucas stood near the window, gasping for air. Sweat trickled down his back and his mouth was drier than the Sahara desert. Gulping down the spikes in his throat, Lucas let out,

“The coast is clear. No one in sight.”

“Are you sure?” Lucas’s father, Mr. Miller, asked.

Lucas nodded without realizing his father couldn’t see him. He was too busy fixing the machine.

“You know, Mom called us for lunch an hour ago.” Lucas reminded.

There was no reply. He glanced back at his father to see he was still busy aggressively turning a nut. Lucas fought the urge to shake his head. 

“Can you please pass me the new wrench? I think this one’s broken.” Mr. Miller asked, analyzing the wrench.

Lucas sighed aloud. He knew there was nothing wrong with the wrench. The machine was the problem. His father had been working on it for years, and just when he felt like he was close to completing it, something would break down.

“Can you also pass me that small bolt? I have a feeling this is it.” Mr. Miller said with a confident smile.

Lucas smiled back at his father. For a moment, he felt the excitement. Perhaps, the machine would finally work. Or maybe, it would disappoint us once again.

Lucas loved building the machine with his father, but he also loved the treehouse. His engineer father had initially built it for him and John, Lucas’s friend. At first, Lucas spent most of his time in the treehouse with John, analyzing the stars and the moon. These days though, Mr. Miller’s science fiction enthusiasm had taken over, and he had transformed the treehouse from a play area to a working garage.

“Lucas!” Mr. Miller shouted out of the blue, startling Lucas in the process.

“What’s wrong?” Lucas yelled back in anticipation.

“It’s done!” Mr. Miller looked back at his son with a bright smile.

Lucas stood there for a moment, dumbfounded. “It’s done?”

“Yes, see?” Mr. Miller replied with enthusiasm and pressed a red button on the machine.

A blue screen lit up, stating the year, ‘1998.’

“Woah,” Lucas muttered, his eyes brimming with curiosity.

Lucas attempted to look closer but tripped from a wrench on the floor.

“Ow!” Lucas groaned with pain.

From the corner of his eyes, he saw a beam of blue light overcome the room. He glanced back to see it was illuminating from the machine. The number 1998 was now blinking like a warning. Lucas found himself being pulled towards it. The room’s atmosphere changed.

For a moment, an eerie silence surrounded the room until Mr. Miller shouted, “Lucas! No!”

On the other end of the forest, John stood on the front porch, waiting for Lucas to show up. He had brought his new 10x42 binoculars to show Lucas. He believed that with the binoculars, they could have a closer look at the sky at night.

“Oh, John. How long have you been waiting here?” Mrs. Miller came out, concern lacing her tone.

“I’m waiting for Lucas. He said we can go to the treehouse today after school.” John replied, wiping sweat from his forehead.

“He and his father have been at the treehouse for two hours. Can you go and tell them I’m waiting for lunch? You and Lucas can go after lunch.” Mrs. Milled sighed with exhaustion.

“Sure, I’ll tell them,” John smiled.

“Thanks, John.” Mrs. Miller thanked him, ruffling John’s hair.

John walked to the forest in the blazing heat, the binocular hanging from his neck. In the distance, he could spot the treehouse. The wooden treehouse looked abandoned because of the broken, rotted ladder on the door. But for John, it was perfect.

All of a sudden, a beam of light caught John’s eyes. He saw the sky change color and stopped in his tracks. The light began to illuminate, its glare becoming intense with each passing second.

John’s eyes sparkled with curiosity. Excitement coursed through his veins as he began to run toward it. He knew the machine was inside. Mr. Miller had been working on it for years. The light meant his work was finally finished. As he reached close, he heard Mr. Miller yell Lucas’s name.

Once he reached the broken stairs, his gaze landed on the sky. It was now dark grey. From a distance, he could hear thunder rumbling. He couldn’t understand how that could happen in just a span of seconds. Shrugging to himself, John struggled to climb the stairs. He was concerned for Lucas. With sweaty hands, he climbed the broken stairs and pushed the door open.

The sight he saw next shocked him to the core.