His Prize

Chapter 26: The Bar (Part 1)

"I've got a surprise for you," Alex says as he takes another spoonful of his breakfast.

"A good surprise, right?" I eat another spoon of my favourite cereal.

"Yes. I would've shown you yesterday if you hadn't misbehaved."

"What is it?"

"It wouldn't be much of a surprise if I told you that. It's waiting for you in your room. You can have it after breakfast."

I'm far too curious to wait any longer. I wolf down the rest of my cereal in seconds. "Done!" I drop my empty bowl in the sink.

He stops me on my way past. "Hold your horses. I'm not done yet."

"But I really want to see what it is," I whine. It sounds like a present. I haven't gotten a present in ages, and who doesn't love presents?

He takes another spoon. "Alright." He lowers his arm and follows me to the bedroom.

There's a box sitting on the bed. It's about the size of a pillow. I waste no time opening it. It's filled with stacks of electronic parts. It looks expensive. I find the manual. "Electronics Beginner Kit," I read out loud.

I begin scrolling through the booklet. It's filled with pictures of circuits with instructions on how to build them.

"You have a knack for this kind of thing, so I got you a beginner's kit," he says. "Now, you can make some projects of your own. If you put time into it, you'll soon be an expert."

I can't help but smile at his complement. "Thanks."

"Can I start now?" I ask, eager to build something.

"Let me finish breakfast. After you've cleared the table and washed the dishes, then you can start."

* * * * * * * *

I spend the rest of the day building the projects laid out in the manual. Sometimes I have to ask Alex for help. He's always happy to lend a hand.

"I'm going out. Make sure you pack all this up," he gestures to the mess of wires in front of me.

"I will. Have a nice time," I say, though I wish he wasn't going. It's late and the sun set hours ago. He's going drinking again.

* * * * * * * *

A loud banging wakes me up. I'm in the living room, and it's dark. I must have fallen asleep in front of the TV.

The banging returns. Someone is knocking on the front door. It can't be Alex. He never knocks, and he has his own keys. There's a familiar noise. It's the sound of robotic armour. Shit.

I jump to my feet. Keys are rattling on the other side of the door. How can they have keys? The door opens, and I dive behind the couch.

I hear the robotic suits step inside the house, then a thud as something hits the ground.

I peek over the couch. There are two policemen in their armour. They have bright lights attached to their arms. I gasp as I see Alex lying face down on the floor.

"Did you hear that?" one of them says.

"Someone's in here," the other says. "Police! Show yourself!"

I duck down. My back is against the couch and my hands cover my mouth. Why are they even in here!?

Their metal footsteps roam around the room.

I'm engulfed in a bright light. "Found it," he says.

I jump to my feet and bolt across the room, but they soon have me cornered.