《Why Five?》 Chapter One ¡°Sorry I¡¯m late,¡± Mike said as he hurried in. ¡°It¡¯s okay, as long you pay the bill,¡± John joked. ¡°I completely agree,¡± I said, grinning. ¡°Today I learned that being on time is extremely important,¡± Mike sighed. We all laughed. The three of us are great friends and knew each other for a long time already. My name is Matthew and I have a challenging job. I work as a bomb specialist, deactivating bombs is my passion. I¡¯ve been a bomb specialist for six years now. A lot of people think this job is very dangerous, of course that includes my mother and my wife. But I really love my job. Mike is my previous assistant. But he got switched to another department. Even though he switched jobs, we are still best friends. John is a small trading company president, but he has a side job as a race car driver. Today, the three of us will be going to an auto-show because we all really like cars. I think we will have a lot of fun today. But, it turns out that Fate has other plans. After I got that phone call, today became the worst day of my life. As we ate breakfast and chatted, my phone rang. I picked it up and said, ¡°Hello?¡± ¡°Are you Matthew?¡± the person on the other side asked. ¡°Yes I am. Who are you?¡± I asked him. ¡°Who I am is not important. What¡¯s important is that your wife is in my hands.¡± ¡°Sorry, that joke is not funny at all.¡± I did not believe what he said. My wife works in a regular mall. So I don¡¯t believe she is the type of person to get kidnapped and ransomed. ¡°Once you hear your wife¡¯s voice you¡¯ll know I¡¯m not joking.¡± Then I heard my wife yelling my name, ¡°Matthew! Matthew! I¡¯m so scared, please help me!¡± ¡°Do you believe me now?¡± I knew the person yelling just now really was my wife. ¡°Don¡¯t hurt my wife!¡± ¡°As long as you cooperate with me, she will be safe.¡± ¡°What do you want? How much money do you want?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want money. I just want to play a game with you. You are a bomb specialist, so this game will be about your job. This game will be very fun and interesting.¡± ¡°But what if I don¡¯t want to play?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you remember? I have your wife. I know you will play this game for the sake of her safety.¡± I gritted my teeth, ¡°So what¡¯s this game of yours?¡± ¡°It¡¯s very simple. As long as you are able to disable five different bombs in five different places in three hours, then I can guarantee your wife will be safe.¡± ¡°WHAT?! Five different bombs in five different places in three hours? That¡¯s impossible! Are you crazy?¡± I yelled angrily. ¡°Nothing is impossible. Don¡¯t be so mad, save your energy for the five bombs.¡± I really can¡¯t accept this crazy guy¡¯s game, but my wife is in his hands. ¡°Matthew, you can call me crazy but you have no choice. You should start now, but I have to warn you, don¡¯t call the police. If you do, this game will end, and so will your wife¡¯s life. The people near the bombs will also be in danger.¡± This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°I have two friends with me right now, can they help me? Neither of them are cops.¡± ¡°I know they¡¯re not cops and I also know they¡¯re with you right now. Okay, I¡¯ll let them help you. If you call the police, anything that happens next will be your fault. Get in your car now, I will give you the first bomb¡¯s location in five minutes,¡± and he hung up. ¡°Matthew, is what we heard true?¡± Mike asked. I had forgotten they were still next to me. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s true. Sorry, I was too angry just now. I didn¡¯t ask you guys if you want to help me with this.¡± ¡°I definitely will help you!¡± Mike said. ¡°It should be much more interesting than an auto-show!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll also help you. This will be more exciting than racing,¡± John said. I know they¡¯re worried about me so they agreed to help me. ¡°Thanks guys.¡± ¡°You can thank us after we succeed,¡± John smiled, patting my shoulder. From this moment on, the scariest day of my life began. It¡¯s also the only time I¡¯ve ever disabled bombs without wearing protective clothing in my whole career. We ran towards the parking lot and decided to use John¡¯s sports car. ¡°Let me drive,¡± John said. His driving skills should be better than ours since he¡¯s a racer, so it would be best to let him drive. My emotions are too unstable to drive right now. If I drive, it might be even more dangerous than taking apart bombs. As soon as we got into the car, my phone rang. ¡°Are you ready? Then the game shall start now.¡± ¡°Wait, three hours¡¯ time is too short. Can you extend it?¡± I asked. ¡°Sorry, it¡¯s too late to ask. All the bombs are already set for three hours. The time starts now. So don¡¯t waste it, you don¡¯t have a lot left. Drive to the intersection of Mission boulevard and Grand avenue. When you arrive, I will call you again,¡± after saying that, he hung up. Driving from here to that intersection takes about twelve minutes. John immediately started the engine and drove to our destination. ¡°Are you really not going to call the police?¡± John asked. ¡°We can¡¯t. I¡¯m sure that guy knows our every move, he could be following us. Plus, his number is restricted so it¡¯ll be hard to trace him even if we call the police,¡± I said. ¡°And if we call the police, he will surely kill my wife.¡± ¡°Matthew, do you know who that guy could be?¡± Mike asked. ¡°I really don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Why would this guy do something like this?¡± ¡°I want to know too,¡± I sighed. John was driving very fast. We can¡¯t afford to waste even a single second. ¡°Matthew, you have to neutralize five bombs in three hours. Can you do that?¡± Mike asked. ¡°I¡¯ve never done this before so how would I know?¡± Everyone fell silent. The only thing that could be heard was Mike¡¯s sniffling due to his allergies. The car slipped into every space available, but my mind was already on the destination. Chapter 2 John only took ten minutes to arrive at the destination. But my phone didn¡¯t ring yet. I was in a rush because every second was extremely precious to me. About one minute later, my phone finally rang. The crazy guy said, ¡°Your driving skills are pretty good, to get here so quickly.¡± ¡°Stop talking nonsense. Please call me immediately because if not, it¡¯s not fair to me as it will waste time.¡± ¡°Relax, it won¡¯t do you any good to be so agitated. Now I¡¯ll tell you. On the other side of the street from where you are, there¡¯s a trashcan, next to it is a telephone pole. The bomb is on top of that telephone pole. I also placed the tools you¡¯ll need with the bomb. There is a pair of gloves in the trashcan, you can use to climb up the pole. Good luck,¡± he said before hanging up. I looked across the street and saw the trashcan and next to it is the said telephone pole. And there does seem to be a box of some sort at the top. But the most dangerous thing I saw was that there was an electrical box above the box that contains the bomb. If the bomb exploded, the electrical box would also explode and the result will be disastrous. I immediately ran over to the trashcan followed by John and Mike. I hurriedly opened the trashcan, saw the gloves, grabbed it, and pulled them on. ¡°Matthew, you need to be careful because you¡¯re acrophobic. Don¡¯t look down no matter what,¡± Mike told me loudly. My God! I was in such a rush that I completely forgot I was afraid of heights. How could you Mike?! Why did you have to remind me? It would¡¯ve been better if I didn¡¯t remember! I instantly felt the changes upon the realization as my heart started beating twice as fast and my legs started shaking. Even though I¡¯m freaked out right now I still have to climb the pole. This is the first time I¡¯ve climbed something like this. I don¡¯t usually go rock climbing so this climb was especially hard on my arms. As I was halfway up, I paused to rest for a few seconds and I looked down. John and Mike were trying to drive away the growing crowd of spectators. I looked back up and started climbing again. But the higher I climbed, the more my legs trembled. Even though the weather today isn¡¯t that warm, my whole body was covered in sweat. After what seemed like a century, I finally got to the box. There really was a bag next to the box and it contained two pliers. I wrapped my body around the pole and, with one hand around the pole, I used my free hand to open the box. I dropped the lid to the ground and yelled at my friends to catch them. I looked inside the box and there the bomb nested. This bomb is a really strong bomb and the timer on it said I only had one minute and thirty-nine seconds left. It looks like a normal bomb but it had six wires. Based on my experiences, this type of bomb would need only two wires to be cut and the others are there to confuse you. The bomb began making ticking noises. My heart also followed along as I was really nervous. My sweat ran down my body like a waterfall and my legs were shaking so badly I felt like I was dancing, it made me think of Elvis Presley. The seconds passed one by one and now the timer only had twenty-seven seconds left. There was no time for me to think. I can only use my experience and rely on Lady Luck to get me through this. I took a deep breath and placed the plier over the yellow wire. I closed my eyes and snipped the wire. I think I cut the right wire, which is great. There was only nineteen seconds left, which wire should I cut next? Right now, it felt like the whole world stopped. I couldn''t hear anything, then suddenly I heard a crow fly by, cawing. When I looked back at the bomb, I saw I only had seven seconds left. There was no time to think, so I placed the plier on the white wire. I closed my eyes and clamped my mouth shut while thinking, Please help me, God! and cut the white wire when the timer read two seconds¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­about three seconds later, I was sure the bomb won¡¯t explode. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. I breathed a sigh of relief and yelled down, ¡°I succeeded! I deactivated the bomb! It¡¯s okay!¡± ¡°That¡¯s great! Now hurry and climb down!¡± John yelled back. I quickly climbed down but my legs were still trembling a bit so I climbed down slowly. When I finally reached the ground, Mike hugged me. Although I succeed this time, I seem to have forgotten I still have four more bombs waiting. At this time, my phone rang. This dragged me from being giddy of success to the horror and tension of reality. ¡°Congratulations, you passed the first round. But don¡¯t celebrate too early, this is just a simple warm up. The next ones to come are much harder.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t waste my time. Hurry and tell me the next bomb¡¯s location,¡± I snapped. ¡°You¡¯re right, you need every second. Because you¡¯ll need even more time for this next one. Go south, and you can¡¯t go by car, you can only run. Run three blocks and at Main street, turn right. Walk about thirty feet and you¡¯ll get to 670 Main street and there is a manhole in front. I¡¯ve already covered it with a tent and the bomb is in the sewers. Good luck,¡± he said once again and hung up. I immediately ran towards Main street and Mike followed me. ¡°Matthew, why aren¡¯t you taking the car?¡± he yelled from behind me. ¡°The crazy guy said I can¡¯t go by car, I have to run there,¡± I shouted while sprinting. There are a lot of people and cars at this street. So I weaved around the people while trying to sprint to the destination. I finally arrived at the first intersection but the light was red so I quickly stopped. There were many cars coming and going at the street. I waited at the light impatiently while catching my breath. Mike arrived soon after and stopped besides me, panting. ¡°Matt...Matthew...haa...that bomb...where...ha...where is it?¡± Mike wheezed. ¡°At...haa...at...Main street...haha¡­¡± I gasped. I suddenly saw that there were less cars moving so I took a chance and ran across the street. I heard cars honking at me and knew they were probably yelling at me as well. But I can¡¯t stop to explain, the bomb is like a gun at my head, threatening me. My safety is the last thing on my mind right now. Fortunately, I crossed the street in one piece and quite quickly too. I suddenly remembered Mike, did he risk himself to follow me? I looked behind me and saw that he had arrived behind me. I turned back around and ran to the next light almost crazily. It¡¯s only now that I realize how important it is to exercise because I have a hard time breathing, my leg muscles are screaming in agony, and I¡¯m feeling very, very tired. With all these in mind, I finally stopped to rest. I saw Mike was still pretty far behind me. It seems Mike is less fit than me, but where did John go? I didn¡¯t waste anymore time to think, I had stopped for about fifteen seconds so I started running again. I crossed the second street no less dangerously than the first one. At this time I really want to borrow the legs of Olympic runners, my legs felt like overcooked noodles and my running speed slowed down. Why do these blocks feel longer than the Great Wall of China? I kept sweating like I¡¯m sitting in a really hot sauna. I finally arrived at Main street and I huffed my way to the tent. I opened the tent and saw the manhole and wanted to remove the lid. But probably due to overusing my muscles, I couldn''t even budge the lid. I every ounce of my strength again to move the lid but it only slid a few centimeters. I became very annoyed. ¡°Matt...Matthew¡­¡± Mike puffed. My savior! Mike finally arrived. We should be able to move this lid together. Chapter 3 ¡°Mike, hurry and help move this lid. The bomb¡¯s in the sewers,¡± I said. ¡°Oh my god!¡± Mike panted. ¡°This crazy guy, that a¡ª¡± ¡°Help me move this lid first, then you can curse him however you want!¡± I interrupted. So we removed the lid together and looked into the manhole. It was really dark inside, we couldn¡¯t see anything. ¡°It¡¯s so dark! How on earth will we be able to see the bomb?! That crazy is so f¡ª¡± ¡°Mike, look behind you. What¡¯s that?¡± I interrupted him again. We were in such a hurry before that I only noticed something behind Mike just now. He turned around and picked it up. It¡¯s a flashlight. That crazy guy is actually pretty thoughtful. Mike shone the light into the sewer opening and we saw that there¡¯s a ladder for us to climb down. Just as we were about to climb down, a voice came. ¡°Matthew, Mike.¡± John had finally arrived. Mike happily exclaimed, ¡°It¡¯s great you finally got here!¡± ¡°Nevermind that. I bought you guys some water. Here, drink it.¡± ¡°You¡¯re a lifesaver, John! I¡¯m very thirsty after all that exercise. You¡¯re the best!¡± I happily took the water from him and drank my fill. ¡°Mike and I will go down there to disable the bomb. You stay here and keep other people away.¡± ¡°Okay. Be careful guys.¡± Mike and I carefully climbed down the ladder. The sewer is really dark with poor air, perhaps due to lack of oxygen, and it smelled really bad, which is normal for sewers. Mike shone the flashlight around us randomly. Then we suddenly saw something tied to a water pipe. We ran over to take a look at it. It turns out to be the bomb, and it¡¯s a very powerful bomb too, not to mention how complex it is as well. I took a deep breath. ¡°Matthew, can you handle this?¡± Mike asked me worriedly. ¡°I hope so,¡± I replied. ¡°Your answer is making my hands shake,¡± Mike muttered. ¡°Then hope my hands don¡¯t shake like yours.¡± It became really quiet, almost completely silent. Almost. The only sounds left were Mike¡¯s heartbeat and his sniffling from his allergies. The bomb has only one minute and twenty seconds before it explodes. This bomb is very complex. It has two alarm clocks with two clusters of wires each. Each cluster of wire has four wires in the colors of red, yellow, blue, and white. I¡¯ve deactivated a bomb similar to this one once. It had taken me almost three minutes back then, but this one only has about a minute left. I¡¯m under extreme pressure right now and I can¡¯t guarantee that I could do it. But I have to have confidence and courage because I need to save my wife and best friend, Mike. ¡°Matthew, how is it? Do you know how to disable it?¡± Mike asked me, his face covered in sweat. If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.¡°I¡¯m not sure.¡± ¡°How can I help you?¡± ¡°You can really help me if the hand holding the flashlight stops shaking so much. Have you seen this kind of bomb before?¡± ¡°Maybe...or maybe not...or maybe¡­¡± I really shouldn¡¯t have wasted my time asking him. I had been trying to figure out this bomb. The time left is one minute ten seconds. ¡°Mike, I¡¯ll be working on the first clock now.¡± ¡°Good luck,¡± Mike told me in a trembling voice. Using my memory, experience, and the fact that I have no choice, I took a risk and I cut the red wire on the left side of the clock and the white wire from the right. SNAP! There was a loud snapping noise as I cut them, as if I had cut a major artery. I had succeeded in deactivating the first clock, but I can¡¯t celebrate yet as I still have the second clock and only forty-five seconds left. ¡°Good luck. Good luck.¡± Mike kept muttering repeatedly. I stared at the wires and began to think that I probably shouldn¡¯t use normal methods to disable it. My instincts told me that this crazy guy didn¡¯t use normal methods to create this bomb. So I took the blue wire from one side and yellow wire from the other side and took a deep breath. I also thought to myself, Good luck. I used a trembling hand and placed the two wires on the pliers. Then I closed my eyes and cut the wires with a SNAP!. After that was silence, with the exception of my beating heart and Mike¡¯s tensed breathing. I didn¡¯t open my eyes until I heard Mike yelling. ¡°Matthew, you¡¯re amazing! It¡¯s no wonder you¡¯re a bomb specialist!¡± Mike complimented me with a, literally, shining face. But he didn¡¯t know that we were just lucky. We immediately climbed out of the manhole, with me behind Mike. As soon as I was outside, I took a deep breath. This breath of air is very nice. John was really happy to see us come out. He hugged the two of us, making me feel like we just rose from the dead. At this time, my phone rang. ¡°You have such good luck,¡± came the hateful voice. ¡°Crazy guy, you must so disappointed,¡± I told him. ¡°Of course not. Quite the opposite actually, I pray for your success, especially for the next bomb. You¡¯ll be a much larger danger for the next one.¡± ¡°Stop wasting my time. Hurry and tell me the next location.¡± ¡°Relax, relax. Don¡¯t make your blood pressure rise and cause it to affect you. Drive west and when you see Soto and Hill, get off. There will be train tracks, at your right side walk about fifty feet and you will see the bomb tied to the train tracks. But I need to tell you, the time the train arrives is the same as the time when the bomb explodes. I wish you good luck,¡± he said once again before hanging up. Chapter 4 My god, this damn crazy guy! ¡°Matthew. Matthew!¡± John was calling out to me. ¡°John, we need to hurry and head west to the intersection of Soto and Hill.¡± Fortunately, John parked his car nearby. We got in the car and it sped off very quickly, just like my heartbeat. ¡°Matthew, where is the bomb this time?¡± Mike asked me. ¡°On the train tracks.¡± ¡°What?! On the train tracks?!¡± Mike exclaimed. ¡°This crazy guy is frightening!¡± John chipped in. The car weaved around the cars. We were lucky there was no heavy traffic. But at every red light we couldn¡¯t sit still and was very impatient. Also when the car in front is slow, John would show off his racing skills. This caused Mike and I to be terrified, but knew this is needed. About fifteen minutes later, we finally arrived at the train tracks. We got out of the car and ran to where the bomb should be. I soon saw something on the tracks. As we neared, I saw a box on the tracks and when I removed the lid, I saw a very strange looking bomb. The outside looked like a music box that was actually producing music. How is this a bomb? I¡¯ve never seen it before. ¡°Matthew, is this the bomb?¡± Mike asked. ¡°I was just asking myself that.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll look up some info on my phone to try to help,¡± John stated. ¡°I don¡¯t think I can neutralize this bomb. You guys should step back a few feet since it¡¯s dangerous.¡± ¡°Although I interested in my life, I¡¯m more interested in this bomb right now. Stop wasting time, we need to research this bomb,¡± Mike said while patting my shoulder. John stood some ways away looking at his phone. Mike and I laid on the ground, staring at the bomb. It¡¯s designed as a normal looking music box. There¡¯s a little girl standing on a spinning platform. A timer was placed on the lid of the box and it read three minutes and seventeen seconds. If this isn¡¯t a bomb, then it¡¯s a really pretty music box. Unfortunately, I¡¯ve never seen such a bomb before. What do I do now? ¡°Matthew, can I remove the spinning girl?¡± Mike asked me. ¡°We can¡¯t. I¡¯m afraid something will happen if we do. Let¡¯s think about this some more.¡± There are three sections in the box, the middle had the dancing girl while the other two sections were closed. I gently lifted up the right lid and saw three wires: red, yellow, and orange. ¡°Do you know which one?¡± Mike asked. ¡°What¡¯s your lucky color?¡± I questioned back. ¡°The color of your face right now, white.¡± We chuckled after his answer. I opened the other lid and saw a pretty thick black wire and the red, yellow, and orange wires as well. Time passed by really quickly, one minute has already passed and now the timer read two minutes and eight seconds. Although we still have two minutes but I really have no idea what to do. Would Lady Luck still be with me? Oh God, can you let me be selfish and ask for good luck once more? God bless me. ¡°Matthew, I still haven¡¯t found anything yet. But I¡¯ll keep looking,¡± John told me quietly. After I thanked him, I looked at the dancing girl again. The girl seems to be spinning slower than before. ¡°Mike, do you thinking the doll is spinning slower than before?¡± ¡°Oh! You¡¯re right. She does seem to be spinning slower. What does this mean?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. But I¡¯m sure the bomb will explode if I move it, I¡¯m almost a hundred percent sure this is a trap made by the crazy guy.¡± ¡°I really wish you are that crazy guy right now. Than you¡¯d know all of his traps,¡± Mike sighed. ¡°I think you are more qualified to be the crazy than me,¡± I joked. ¡°I¡¯m very proud that you can be so calm right now!¡± Mike joked back. A slight breeze swept over us and blew away our short moment of happiness. We returned to the horrible reality. Only one minute and twenty-three seconds left. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. I stared worriedly at the beautiful and cruel music box. The music box was producing soothing music, as if trying to make us forget the danger of it. But it¡¯s not succeeding because I¡¯m terrified and cannot forget the danger I¡¯m in. I never want to hear this music again. ¡°Mike, I need to begin.¡± ¡°That¡¯s great! You¡¯ve figured out how to disable it?¡± Mike happily asked. ¡°Nope. I¡¯m not sure but I don¡¯t have time to think about it. You should get away now.¡± ¡°Of course not! I¡¯m very confident in your expertise. If we unluckily died, then we will head to Heaven and be happy angels together.¡± ¡°Mike,¡± I said, full of emotion. I¡¯m so happy I have such amazing friends. John walked over and said, ¡°I hate to break it to you but I¡¯m not ready to die yet so you guys can head to Heaven without me.¡± After that, he walked away again. ¡°Mike, it turns out you are my only best friend,¡± I said sorrowfully. After our little joke to lighten up the mood, I took the black wire. Based on my experience, I decided to cut the black wire and the yellow wire from the left section. Of course my decision may not be right but I still have to try. As I was about to cut the wires, I sneaked a looked at Mike. His allergies made his nose red, and his eyes were wide open as is his mouth. He kinda look like a goldfish, very funny. If I wasn¡¯t in a life or death situation I would definitely take a picture of him. We only have fifty seconds left. SNAP! The snapping noise came again. It scared Mike and I so much that it felt like we were snapped out of our fear as well. ¡°Yes!! We succeeded!¡± Mike happily screamed like a little kid. I sighed, ¡°We only half succeeded.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think I will die by a bomb but by you.¡± ¡°Sorry.¡± There was only thirty-seven seconds left. I looked at the right section and wondered if I should cut only one or two. I thought about it in the crazy guy¡¯s point of view and based on my experience. I decided to cut the red and orange wires. I asked Mike for his opinion, and he nodded his head slightly. I look at the sky, thinking, this sky that is so close yet so far away, is it a good place or a bad place? There is only seventeen seconds left. There comes the snapping sound again followed by our wide-opened eyes shutting. Our heartbeat rate could set the world record. About two seconds later, we opened our eyes as our bodily functions began to work properly again. We looked at each other then the corner of our mouths lifted up a bit. This small smile is much more moving than Mona Lisa¡¯s smile to me. ¡°Hurry and run! The train¡¯s almost here!¡± John yelled at us. At this time we heard the hooting sound of the train. That was when we remembered the timer on the bomb not only signaled the time it will explode but also when the train would arrive. Mike and I immediately jumped backwards and in less than five seconds, the train passed by right in front of us, with me on one side and Mike on the other. After who knows how long, the train finally finished passing us by. We woke up from our mindless state as we watched the train leave. I saw Mike sitting on the ground, staring at me. We started laughing together and then made the victory sign. Unfortunately happiness doesn¡¯t last long. The dreaded sound of my phone ringing came. ¡°God truly loves you guys,¡± the crazy guy said. ¡°God favors the good so you will definitely fail,¡± I responded. He gave a short laugh, ¡°Then I hope God will keep favoring you, good guy.¡± ¡°Enough. Now tell me where the next bomb is,¡± I bluntly told him. ¡°Okay, okay. I also hope you will hurry to Heaven. Drive to 900 Goldenwest Street, the bomb is inside,¡± as soon as he finished speaking, he hung up. Chapter 5 ¡°John, the bomb is at 900 Goldenwest Street.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± he replied. The three of us got in the car and went to the said location. ¡°Just who is this crazy guy? Why does he want to play this insane game with us?¡± I asked myself. ¡°Could it be that you offended someone without knowing?¡± John asked. ¡°I really don¡¯t know. I haven¡¯t offended anyone to my knowledge. I really regret that I didn¡¯t take psychology classes in college, then I can at least understand the crazy guy a little. But he truly is a genius at making bombs.¡± I looked at the clock and saw that within the promised three hours, one hour and forty-eight minutes have already passed. There are still one hour and twelve minutes left and still two bombs I need to deactivate. I feel really tired, or rather, my mind felt really tired. It¡¯s a good thing I have Mike and John with me to support and help me, or else I wouldn¡¯t be able to go on. Of course saving my wife is my primary goal. We arrived at 900 Goldenwest after about six minutes. It was a storage. The three of us got off the car and looked at our surroundings. It¡¯s fairly quiet and not a lot of people pass by here. We walked up to the main doors and saw that it¡¯s closed. Mike pushed the door and it surprisingly opened. We glanced at each other and went in the storage. After six steps or so, the door closed by itself and the lights came to life. We saw that it¡¯s not really big for a storage. There¡¯s practically nothing in here, except for a desk at the very end with something on top of it. Just as I stepped forward, the floor emitted a beeping sound. I looked down and saw a green light under my foot and stared blankly at it. ¡°Don¡¯t move, there are landmines here and I think I just stepped on one,¡± I warned the others in a scared voice. Mike and John froze on the spot. They also saw the light under my foot. That was when we saw that floor is full of strange patterns. ¡°I think there are a lot of landmines here. You need to be very careful,¡± I told them again. ¡°But we have no choice now, we can only reply on luck. Because even if we didn¡¯t step on a landmine we still need to disable the bomb,¡± John said logically. ¡°But I have some bad news for you, I don¡¯t think my legs are cooperating,¡± Mike said in a shaking voice that mirrored his legs. ¡°Sorry, it¡¯s all my fault for dragging you with me,¡± I sighed. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, you are also a victim here. Mike, there¡¯s not much time left let¡¯s go!¡± John said. ¡°I want to know who goes first or do we go together?¡± Mike asked. ¡°I¡¯ll go first since you¡¯ll have a hard time walking with those legs.¡± ¡°I love you John!¡± The patterns on the tiles were all over the place so it¡¯s hard to tell which one is a landmine is which one isn¡¯t. We¡¯re in a war zone right now, but we have absolutely no weapons at all. John slowly walked forward one step at a time. Every step he took is a choice between life and death. And yet neither of us could move, we could only watch as he risked his life. I was very uncomfortable as I watched John walk. This silence was shattered by a loud beeping noise. Oh dear God, John also stepped in a landmine as there was a green light coming from under his right foot. ¡°My God! My God!¡± Mike screamed. All three of us were frozen, except our heartbeat. John and I both looked at Mike. ¡°Please don¡¯t look at me like that,¡± Mike stuttered while looking like a bucket of water fell on him. I finally realized why he¡¯s not suited to be a bomb specialist; he will drench the bomb with his sweat before he even starts disassembling it. ¡°Mike, please? There¡¯s no time left,¡± John begged. ¡°Oh! I forgot that I¡¯m not a bomb specialist, so how will I deactivate it even if I do get there?¡± Mike was giving a good excuse to now go near it. ¡°Ummm, Matthew, can you tell him what to do if he describes what the bomb looks like?¡± John asked me. ¡°I think we have no choice. Let¡¯s go with that plan.¡± ¡°I...I...I¡­¡± Mike stuttered while rubbing his nose out of habit. ¡°Mike, don¡¯t worry. We¡¯ve had great luck so far so we will definitely succeed!¡± John tried to encourage Mike. ¡°But my legs are trembling as much as Elvis Presley, I think I¡¯ll need a wheelchair.¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t go now then we will need three coffins,¡± John said. ¡°Mike, there¡¯s no time! You need to hurry,¡± I chipped in. Mike started walking with his trembling legs after John and I looked at him. As we watched him, our hearts seemed to be jumping out of our chests. It seems we won¡¯t die in the hands of the bomb but will be scared to death by Mike. After what seems to be an eternity, I encouraged him, ¡°Mike, there¡¯s only two steps left before you reach the table, you can do it!¡± "This freaking crazy guy! This damn crazy person!¡± Mike yelled. ¡°Good boy! Don¡¯t yell anymore, if we survive today I will absolutely get revenge for you. But for now, keep walking,¡± John said. Mike put his hands on his hips and took a deep breath. Then he lifted his still trembling leg and stepped forward. We were so worried our hands were balled up into a fist. As we watched Mike¡¯s shaking leg, our legs also started shaking. He is really lucky since he actually reached the table. But...a sudden beeping noise startled us. We saw a green light under Mike¡¯s leg. He had just reached the table and apparently, there¡¯s also a landmine under it. I think the crazy guy wanted us to be under even more pressure while neutralizing the bomb. This crazy guy is too evil. ¡°Oh my God! This is not true! Not true at all! This has to be my imagination!¡± Mike wailed while clutching his head. ¡°Don¡¯t move, Mike! Calm down. This isn¡¯t as bad as you think so calm down,¡± I urged. I was really afraid he would move and fall down. ¡°If you were the one with one bomb under your foot and another in your face, would you be calm?!¡± Mike rebutted with his hands on the table. I know he¡¯s right since John and I would also be freaking out if we were in his place. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°Mike, look at the table and see if it¡¯s the bomb,¡± John instructed. Mike glanced at the things on the table and didn¡¯t say anything as if the things on the table is scaring him. ¡°Mike. Mike!¡± I called. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°It...It¡¯s a birthday cake...no...it¡¯s a bomb birthday cake¡­¡± Mike said in a weird voice. ¡°What? I don¡¯t understand. Describe for me,¡± I told him. ¡°It¡¯s a birthday cake with gunpowder under it. The words ¡®Happy Final Birthday¡¯ are written on it,¡± Mike said. This crazy guy sure is creative. If he was a designer then he will definitely be successful. Such a pity that he¡¯s a bad guy. ¡°Hurry and look at the timer. How much time is left?¡± I asked. Mike leaned forward a bit and reported, ¡°Two minutes and twenty-five seconds.¡± ¡°Now describe what the bomb looks like.¡± Mike went quiet as he stared at the bomb. ¡°It...has thirteen fuses and many wires separated into three colors: red, green, and blue. But¡­¡± he paused. ¡°But what? There¡¯s no time left!¡± I urged him to keep talking. ¡°But there are no pliers on the table so how am I supposed to cut the wires? Don¡¯t tell me I have to bite them.¡± ¡°Oh my God!¡± John muttered worriedly. ¡°Did you look carefully?¡± I asked. ¡°There really...really isn¡¯t anything here,¡± Mike repeated while looking over the table again. ¡°Mike, watch your foot. Don¡¯t lift it up, you¡¯re stepping on a landmine,¡± John reminded him. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I have no strength left to even move, let alone lift my foot up,¡± Mike sighed. ¡°Matthew, there is a red, a green, and a blue switch on the table. Are they important?¡± After I heard that, my mind was in a chaos. I delved deeply into my memories to try to remember if I had ever seen, heard, or learned about this type of bomb before. If it wasn¡¯t for my sweat that¡¯s falling non-stop, I think I really resemble a wax figure. Until¡­ ¡°I remember now!! I¡¯ve heard one of my professors talk about his bomb before. The wires aren¡¯t meant to be cut, but with the switches to control it. You only need to switch one off and the bomb will be deactivated,¡± I told Mike happily. ¡°But which one should I turn off?¡± Mike started wiping his sweat while he asked me that question. ¡°I...I really don¡¯t know.¡± My mind was all jumbled up, similar to an out of control car. ¡°Matthew. Matthew! Calm down and slowly think about this. Hurrying will only worsen you,¡± John told me soothingly. He¡¯s right, but I can¡¯t control my brain. Of course I will try to calm down. Suddenly I remembered that I¡¯m a professional, and the qualities of cool headedness and courage. Every bomb I worked on is like working between life and death. But I could still work calmly but why am I so worked up today? It might be because my wife and my two best friends¡¯ lives are at stake which made me unreasonable. I need to control my emotions since that¡¯s the only way I can save my wife and friends, including myself of course. I calmed down and said, ¡°Mike, carefully observe how the wires are positioned and how many wires are connected to each switch? Don¡¯t rush and look really carefully.¡± After hearing my words, Mike carefully examined the wires. ¡°Matthew, the red and green switches each have five wires connected to it of the same color. The blue switch has three blue wires. Now what do I do?¡± ¡°I really am not a hundred percent sure. I¡¯m only relying on experience and luck.¡± ¡°Matthew, I really want to live to my next birthday. So please think about this seriously.¡± ¡°Mike, how much time do we have left?¡± John asked. ¡°Thirty-three seconds,¡± Mike reported. We really have no time left, I need to have an answer now. ¡°Mike, switch the red and green switches off at the same time. Do not switch them off one at a time,¡± I told Mike tensely. I saw him take a deep breath and then wiped the sweat off his forehead with his forearm. Then lifting his quivering fingers that resemble a pianist''s fingers he placed them on the red and green switches. At this moment, the storage was so silent I completely forgot a thing called sounds had existed. I don¡¯t know how high my blood pressure is but I do know my heart right now is jumping out of my chest like in the cartoons. CLACK! It scared the living daylights out of me. After who knows how long, I finally regained my senses. But it turns out that I was the first one to wake up. Mike and John were still frozen like idiots. I realized the green lights under our feet are also gone. I believe there are no more dangers left in this storage. To be absolutely sure, I took a step forward and thank the gods, nothing exploded. ¡°Mike...John. Are you guys okay? We succeeded! The bomb didn¡¯t explode!¡± I was so happy I almost screamed that. ¡°Oh my God! We really didn¡¯t die?!¡± Mike slapped himself to see if he really is alive. ¡°That¡¯s great! That¡¯s great!¡± John repeatedly said. I walked next to Mike with John following me and truly saw the bomb and the birthday cake. ¡°On my next birthday, I will use pizza to replace a cake.¡± After Mike said that, he swiped some cream on his finger and ate it. ¡°Are you sure it¡¯s not poisoned?¡± John asked. Mike choked and almost spat the cream back out as John and I laughed at him. ¡°This crazy guy is truly a bomb genius,¡± I said. ¡°He is also a demon who caused me to lose one liter¡¯s worth of sweat!¡± Mike exclaimed. ¡°This bomb and landmine design is very delicate and I really admire his skills.¡± I couldn¡¯t help but praise his talent. ¡°Have you gone crazy? How can you admire your enemy?¡± Mike asked, giving me a weird look. ¡°Stop praising the crazy guy because I¡¯m worried Mike will be angered to death by you,¡± John joked. The three of us laughed. At this time, my phone rang again. ¡°Unbelieveable! You guys escaped death yet again,¡± came the hated voice of the crazy guy. ¡°God will bless the good guys,¡± I said.