Story Contest 2018 #1 - Outstanding Stories (Sub-junior) » The Mines of Kurite

“The Mines of Kurite” is one of the outstanding stories of the first biannual International Short Story Contest 2018 written by Atharva Bhagat, Oakridge International School, India.

The Mines of Kurite

Dr Bill Schrödinger’s thirty first birthday did not go as planned. It was in fact the worst birthday he ever had. It is not just because he missed eating his brother Dr Carl Schrödinger’s famous mashed meteor cake. He dressed in his best birthday suit and was on his way to his brother’s home. Suddenly, six people jumped on him. He fell on the ground and got mud all over his clothes. Before he realized it, his hands were tied and he was blindfolded and pushed into the back of a vehicle.

That is when Dr Bill Schrödinger realized that he was being kidnapped or as he said to himself ‘I am being scientist-napped!’

In the meanwhile, at the birthday party, everyone was waiting for Bill to arrive, Carl was getting a headache and it took him a moment to realize that it was the microchip in his brain sending out an SOS signal.

“Cancel the party, Bill has been scientist-napped! Let’s make a search party we must rescue Bill.”

The vehicle came to a stop and Bill felt a claw smacking him on the back. Something or someone pulled his blindfold off. He was thrown into a dark room. He was confused but he decided to stay quiet.In the silence of the dark room he heard hoarse breathing “Khaah gkhrrrrr. Khaah gkhrrrrr.”Someone switched on a dim light.

“Yikes!” Yelped Dr Bill Schrödinger. He was so startled that he almost did a backflip across the room.

“Surprised to see me, are you Bill?” Said a menacing voice. The same menacing voice continued. “I am sorry I had to kidnap you on your birthday.”

“Who are you?” asked Bill rummaging in his pockets. “How do you know it’s my birthday?”

“Are you searching for this?” asked the menacing voice waving a grayish object in his hand.

“My freeze gun!” Said Bill.

“Don’t even think about snatching the gun from me,” laughed the menacing voice.

The lights became a little brighter and Bill was able to see the figure with the menacing voice a little better. Something about the figure looked a bit familiar then everything fell in place. There was only one person who made such sarcastic jokes.

“So you know who I am, don’t you Bill.” The menacing spoke again, ending with an icy cold laugh.

“Could you not have waited until after party Janko. I hate to waste Carl’s mashed meteor cake.”

“I have a better gift for you Bill.” Said Janko. “You will take me to planet where you found the Kurite mines.”

“You must be out of your mind if you think I will ever take you there.” Said Bill.

Janko pressed a button on the wall behind him and Bill found himself bound with ropes once again.

“I am sure you will come to your senses by morning. Goodnight.” Janko switched off the light and left the room.

The ropes were so tight that Bill fainted.

“Bill! Are you alright?” Carl’s voice whispering in his brain woke up Bill.

“I am ok brother, sorry to have missed the party.”

“Don’t worry we have formed a rescue party and are coming to get you. Who had kidnapped you?”

“Our old school friend Janko.”

“Janko?!??!!” Exclaimed Carl. “But why?”

“He wants the Kurite.” Said Bill.

“Kurite? How does he know about the Kurite?” Asked Carl.

“I am not sure.” Said Bill.

“Ok, fine. We will worry about that later. What does Janko want you to do?”

“He wants me to take him to the Kurite mines.” Said Bill.

“Ok, take him to a random wrong planet. We will be following you, but don’t agree to take him too quickly let him threaten you a bit.” Said Carl.

“And how am I supposed to do that?”

“Say no way at first, then agree later.”

“Ok, I’ll do that.” Answered Bill.

Carl along with his assistant Vios and some of Bill and his students boarded a space ship and began chasing Janko ship.

Unknown to everyone except Carl there was another space ship in the search party in which their parents along with a battalion of Inter Galactic Peace Force soldiers.

In the meanwhile, Bill was acting as per his and Carl’s plan. At first, he refused to take Janko to the planet with Kurite mines.

He allowed Janko to threaten him a few times before agreeing.

They were well on their way when Janko received a message and began shouting at Bill. “I would think twice if I were you Bill. Why are you taking me to a wrong planet?”

“What do you mean? I am taking you to the right planet. How can you know whether I am taking you to the right planet or not? Believe me the planet I am taking you to is the only planet with Kurite mines.”

Janko looked thoughtful and stared out the window as though looking for his lost cat. (He does not have a lost cat.)

Bill was sure someone from their group was supplying the information to Janko, in short they had a traitor in their midst.

Bill contacted Carl and shared his suspicions.

“I will keep a watch and find out who is Janko’s spy.” Promised Carl.

Carl scanned the communication machine for the fingerprints of the person who might have sent the message that Janko just received. To his surprise he found his assistant Vios’ fingerprints on the most recent message. He tries again with the same result. He could not believe his eyes, he had trusted Vios but then he also remembers that he and Bill had also trusted Janko and thought he was their friend.

It was time to trick Vios. Carl and the space ship pilot hatched a plan to feed wrong information to Vios. Carl summoned the pilot to his cabin and left the door a bit ajar Carl told the pilot that the real planet with the Kurite mines is located at the edge of galaxy Cradus-662.

As expected, Vios communicated this information to Janko.

“I know where the planet is located.” Laughed Janko. “It is at the edge of Cradus-662.”

“How did you know that?” Bill pretended to be astounded.

Janko turned the ship towards galaxy Cradus-662 and began patrolling the edge.

In the meanwhile, Bill and Carl’s parents send their family cat known as Schrödinger’s cat to lure Janko into a trap on a planet where the entire battalion of Intergalactic Peace Patrol Force is waiting like a panther waiting for its prey in the dark of the deep amazon rainforest.

Janko saw Schrödinger’s cat and saw Bill was talking to it and followed the cat into the trap. He landed on the planet and said to Bill. “Now you have no option but to show me the mines of Kurite.”

“Fine.” SaidBill in a defeated voice. “I don’t think I have any other option.”

Bill follows Janko on to the planet. While Janko’s back is turned to Bill,Schrödinger’s cat passed Bill a new gleaming freeze gun that shoots three freeze rays at once. Bill freezed Janko and escaped out of the space ship to Carl’s ship which has just landed. Janko’s people pulled the frozen Janko into the space ship and began to fly away only to be ambushed by Mr. and Mrs.Schrödinger who captured the space ship. After an epic space battle, Janko and his ship were captured by the Intergalactic Peace Patrol Force and sent Janko to prison.