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The Cardboard Time Machine by Ryan Rimmele

Please Be Prompt

Release Date: 12/10/2021

Every Thursday evening Steven and his older brother Kyle’s mom goes to the neighbor’s house to play cards and “drink pop.”

 

On these occasions the neighbor’s teenage daughter comes over to watch movies and drink pop.

 

Steven and Kyle spend their time in the basement where the floor creates an ideal race track.

 

After recently upgrading their refrigerator, the space under the stairs would become the perfect place for a time machine.

 

“When should I go now?” asked Steven of his older brother.

 

“That’s just an old box,” responded Kyle. “You can’t actually go anywhere.

 

Angrily, Steven rushes into the box, slamming the cardboard flaps with a soft whooshing sound.

 

After making beeping and booping sounds from his mouth, Steven yells out to his brother.

 

“See, I did it! There’s dinosaurs everywhere!”

 

Kyle runs over to the box and throws open the flaps to reveal Steven sitting alone with his hands out in front of him, holding an invisible steering wheel.

 

“You just missed them,” said Steven, with a smile on his face.

 

Kyle closes the box, leaving his brother behind to continue his beeping and booping.

 

As Kyle walks away Steven shouts out again.

 

“Whoa, you should see all the cowboys!”

 

Kyle runs to the box and again throws open the flaps to find Steven alone. No cowboys. No steering wheel.

 

“You just missed them,” Steven says.

 

Kyle backs out of the box and mutters under his breath, “This means war.”

 

Grabbing the box with both hands, Kyle shakes it violently. Tearing the flaps covering the entrance. 

 

Steven runs out of the box and inspects the damage.

 

“I must have hit a worm hole on the way back from Egypt.”

 

Fed up, Kyle runs into the box. 

 

“This isn’t a time machine, I’ll show you!” he shouts as he pretends to hit buttons and beeps and boops with his mouth. 

 

Steven runs in after him, “We can’t make another trip until we fix the damage! Otherwise we won’t be able to come back!”

 

Kyle grabs the invisible steering wheel and looks over to his brother. 

 

“Good,” he says as he pushes the center of the steering wheel. 

 

Kyle looks at his brother and begins to speak but is cut off by the distant sounds of screeching. 

 

Both brothers look toward the opposite end of the time machine, and through the small opening see thick jungle and the passing shadow of a T-rex.