Michael the Mechanic: Time’s Ticking

Michael ran down the hallway of Capybara College, George running behind him, their sneakers squeaking down the tile floor.

Michael grabbed his toolbelt to make it stop jangling so much. “Why didn’t you tell me about this before?!”

“I just forgot,” George said.

“How could you forget about a bomb that could kill us all?!”

George shrugged. “I had to study for the statistics exam.”

They turned a corner and ran to the cafeteria doors, which had a large, metal smart lock with a number keypad. The lock had a green light, signifying that the doors were unlocked.

Michael busted into the room. Hundreds of students sat at hundreds of tables with white tablecloths, enjoying their fried chicken, green beans, and biscuits, completely unaware of the imminent danger. “Where is it!?”

“Well, it’s gonna be at a college schoolroom tomorrow.”

“I mean the bomb!”

“Oh, it’s under that table,” George pointed to one of the tables in the room, which had six students sitting there.

Michael ran over to the table and looked underneath it. Sure enough, the bomb was there, and there were only 30 seconds left until it would go off! The clock on the bomb kept ticking.

All the boys and girls at the table stared at him.

“Uh…what are you doing?” one of the boys asked.

“Oh, there’s a bomb,” George said casually. “He’s deactivating it.”

“Pfft! Yeah, right.”

One of the girls looked under the table and screamed. “A bomb!”

George glared at her. “That’s what I said.”

Within seconds, cacophony and chaos ensued. The lunch ladies shouted for everyone to be calm, but they were drowned out by the students panicked cries. Students shouted and screamed, tripped over chairs, and ran for the cafeteria doors.

Clank!

The lock’s light turned from green to red.

The students tried to open the doors, but they wouldn’t budge.

“They’re locked!” a student said.

“What? How!?”

“It malfunctioned!”

“Or someone locked it on purpose! We’re doomed!”

Everyone, except Michael and George, went even more ballistic.

“We’re trapped!”

“It’s over, it’s all over!”

“This is a prank. It has to be a prank.”

Michael’s heart did summersaults. Who locked the doors? He had to deactivate the bomb fast! He opened the bomb’s hatch and saw different colored wires. “Perfect,” he muttered, taking out his cutter from his toolbelt. His Dad, a former FBI agent, had told him how to deactivate bombs once. But that was years ago. He was never trained for a real-life situation and the ticking of the clock only made him more nervous.

“Which ones, which ones?” he muttered to himself.

“Why don’t you try the yellow one?” said George.

Michael groaned.

“Or you could try the black one. Whatever works best for you, bud.”

Michael looked at the clock. 20 seconds! His eyes darted from wire to wire. One wrong wire, and it was over. “God, I need your help.”

Red.

Michael looked around. Who said that? Was it the Holy Spirit? He shook his head. It was probably his nerves.

Red.

No. It was a voice. A small voice, but a voice all the same, seemingly from the inside.

Red.

He took a breath and cut the red wire. The bomb didn’t explode.

Green.

He cut the green wire.

Blue.

Michael hesitated. Blue? Was he sure? What if it was wrong? Everyone would die.

Blue.

The clock kept ticking. 10, 9, 8, 7 6.

Blue.

Michael gulped. “Well, here goes nothing.” He cut the blue wire.

Just when the clock ticked to 1 second, it stopped. Michael stared at the frozen clock. He had stopped it. No, God had stopped it. The Holy Spirit had spoken to him and told him what to do! He sat down on the floor and wiped his forehead. They were still alive!

“I knew you could do it,” George said.

“I didn’t do it. God did.”

“Oh. That actually makes more sense. You’re never good at doing things under pressure. Like the time at the milestones—”

“George, please be quiet.”

Once everyone got word that the bomb had been deactivated, everyone calmed down. Some broke down crying.

“We’re saved!” a student said.

Many of the students went over and thanked Michael for saving their lives. “It wasn’t me; it was God.”

Some classmates seemed skeptical, others just stared at him, amazed or perplexed, or both. The lunch ladies came and stared at the now deactivated bomb, wondering how it got there.

George inspected the lock. He cleared his throat. “Open sesame!”

Michael shook his head.

Clank!

The red light on the lock turned green again.

George’s eyes widened. “Wow, I can’t believe that actually—”

Professor Matthews busted into the room.

“Oh.”

Michael couldn’t help but smile. The Professor must’ve typed in the code.

“Is everyone alright? What happened?”

Michael was about to explain what happened when an ear-piercing screech came from the school speaker. Everyone covered their ears.

“What now!?” George asked.

“Well, well, well,” a deep voice said from the speakers. “That was a good show. Well, done, Michael Mitchell.”

Michael stared at the speaker. “Who are you?”

“I am the one who placed the bomb beneath the table.”

“Gee, that helps a lot,” George said.

“I confess, I expected at least one person to find my little device, but I never thought anyone of you would be capable of disarming it in time. Oh well. Better luck next time. Until we meet again, halfwits!”

The speaker turned off.

Everyone looked at each other.

George scratched his head. “What the heck was that all about?”

“I don’t know,” Michael said, still staring at the speaker. Who was that man? Why did he try to kill everyone? The police had to find out! He had to find out. Who knew what would happen if that lunatic wasn’t caught?!

George stretched. “Well, I hope we find out quick. The faster we find out what’s happening, the faster I get some more shut-eye.”

Michael turned to him. “A psychopath nearly blew up the whole college. How can you be so calm after all of this?”

George looked him right in the eyes. “The Holy Spirit told you how to disarm a bomb. Why wouldn’t I be calm?”

Michael blinked. He had a point.

“If God is for us, then who can be against us?”

Michael thought about that for a moment. Who could be against them? Who could be against God? If God was gracious and awesome enough to save them from a bomb no problem, then who could stop Him from saving them again? “No one.”

“Correctamundo!”