Summer fun
It was a sunny Sunday afternoon.
Four boys were running quickly down a hot suburban sidewalk within their small but lively neighborhood. The group of young teens had just finished hanging out at the town's community pool, evidenced by their swim trunks and the sound of their clapping flip-flops
Danny, Sam, Justin, and Tim were long time friends. The tight-knit group had been together since as early as kindergarten. Having just finished up the seventh grade, the boys were already deep into total summer vacation mode. The usual neighbors waved to the boys as they passed by, happy to see the carefree youth out and being active.
This afternoon however, there was an unseen aura of mischief surrounding the group as they raced down the block. No one else knew it, but the boys had just recently come into the possession of a very dangerous size-altering device....
[=One day earlier=]
Danny's dad worked for an advanced engineering institute where he had been developing a size modification device, code named 'VORPAL'. His team's goal was to develop a technology capable of shrinking waste matter and growing food matter. With the success of VORPAL, the team had accomplished that dream.
Being directly involved with the project, Danny's father wanted his son to be one of the first people outside of his research team to view VORPAL's capabilities. Danny had always displayed an interest in his father's work, which made sense considering that the boy wanted to one day become an engineer himself.
The renowned researcher had always shared little tidbits of news and updates with his son, but this was going to be the first time that he'd actually show the young teen an actual demonstration.
Danny followed his father downstairs to his basement lab where he did most of his work.
The short brown haired seventh grader watched as his dad pulled out a metallic looking hand-gun from a chrome case behind his desk. With his other hand, the man picked out a fully intact peanut from his lab coat.
“Here, crack this open for me” The dad asked as he tossed the shell over to his son. Not expecting the sudden odd request, Danny nearly dropped it.
After hesitantly cracking the shell open, the bewildered boy picked out the nuts and handed them back over to his father. The white coated researcher walked over and placed the nuts onto a large metal plate installed into the center of the lab floor.
The dark reflective bulb on the nose of the hand-held device began to glow green as the man flicked a switch on it's side.
“Alright Danny, make sure you don't blink now~” the father warned as he took a few steps back and aimed the device down towards the metal platform.
The change occurred almost instantaneously . The space around the nuts warped as they suddenly exploded outwards. The transformation had occurred so fast that it was almost startling. Danny's jaw dropped as he stared across the room at the now oven-sized peanuts which were now hardly able to even fit on the platform. It only took a few moments before the faint scent of the peanuts to fill the room.
Receiving a nod of permission from his dad, Danny slowly walked over to the giant pods. Their grainy surfaces looked so defined; almost as if sanded by a master carpenter. Reaching over, the amazed teen placed his hand on both of the polished, wood-like surfaces. A nut that normally wouldn't have been enough to satisfy a mouse could now potentially feed an entire village for days. Danny was completely astounded. If one of the protein-rich pods were hollowed out, the middle schooler could probably even fit himself inside it.
Asking his son to take a step back once more, Danny's father flicked a switch on the device, causing the green light to go blue.
Just like before, the man aimed the device and fired, only this time the nuts exploded inward, back to their original tiny sizes.
“Sooo cooool~” Danny couldn't hide his excitement as he ran over and picked up one of the now puny nuts.
“How do you like the future Danny?~” The father smiled proudly as he watched his son's reaction.
Danny's thoughts swirled as he stare down at the tiny peanuts in wonder. He could still hardly believe what he had just seen. He already knew his best buds would lose their minds when they learned about this.
“Just make sure you keep this to yourself, we gotta keep it under wraps for a few more months, alright?” Danny's dad warned.
“Of course!” Danny nodded with an absentminded grin as he tossed the nut into the air before catching it in his mouth.
*Chomp*
Four boys were running quickly down a hot suburban sidewalk within their small but lively neighborhood. The group of young teens had just finished hanging out at the town's community pool, evidenced by their swim trunks and the sound of their clapping flip-flops
Danny, Sam, Justin, and Tim were long time friends. The tight-knit group had been together since as early as kindergarten. Having just finished up the seventh grade, the boys were already deep into total summer vacation mode. The usual neighbors waved to the boys as they passed by, happy to see the carefree youth out and being active.
This afternoon however, there was an unseen aura of mischief surrounding the group as they raced down the block. No one else knew it, but the boys had just recently come into the possession of a very dangerous size-altering device....
[=One day earlier=]
Danny's dad worked for an advanced engineering institute where he had been developing a size modification device, code named 'VORPAL'. His team's goal was to develop a technology capable of shrinking waste matter and growing food matter. With the success of VORPAL, the team had accomplished that dream.
Being directly involved with the project, Danny's father wanted his son to be one of the first people outside of his research team to view VORPAL's capabilities. Danny had always displayed an interest in his father's work, which made sense considering that the boy wanted to one day become an engineer himself.
The renowned researcher had always shared little tidbits of news and updates with his son, but this was going to be the first time that he'd actually show the young teen an actual demonstration.
Danny followed his father downstairs to his basement lab where he did most of his work.
The short brown haired seventh grader watched as his dad pulled out a metallic looking hand-gun from a chrome case behind his desk. With his other hand, the man picked out a fully intact peanut from his lab coat.
“Here, crack this open for me” The dad asked as he tossed the shell over to his son. Not expecting the sudden odd request, Danny nearly dropped it.
After hesitantly cracking the shell open, the bewildered boy picked out the nuts and handed them back over to his father. The white coated researcher walked over and placed the nuts onto a large metal plate installed into the center of the lab floor.
The dark reflective bulb on the nose of the hand-held device began to glow green as the man flicked a switch on it's side.
“Alright Danny, make sure you don't blink now~” the father warned as he took a few steps back and aimed the device down towards the metal platform.
The change occurred almost instantaneously . The space around the nuts warped as they suddenly exploded outwards. The transformation had occurred so fast that it was almost startling. Danny's jaw dropped as he stared across the room at the now oven-sized peanuts which were now hardly able to even fit on the platform. It only took a few moments before the faint scent of the peanuts to fill the room.
Receiving a nod of permission from his dad, Danny slowly walked over to the giant pods. Their grainy surfaces looked so defined; almost as if sanded by a master carpenter. Reaching over, the amazed teen placed his hand on both of the polished, wood-like surfaces. A nut that normally wouldn't have been enough to satisfy a mouse could now potentially feed an entire village for days. Danny was completely astounded. If one of the protein-rich pods were hollowed out, the middle schooler could probably even fit himself inside it.
Asking his son to take a step back once more, Danny's father flicked a switch on the device, causing the green light to go blue.
Just like before, the man aimed the device and fired, only this time the nuts exploded inward, back to their original tiny sizes.
“Sooo cooool~” Danny couldn't hide his excitement as he ran over and picked up one of the now puny nuts.
“How do you like the future Danny?~” The father smiled proudly as he watched his son's reaction.
Danny's thoughts swirled as he stare down at the tiny peanuts in wonder. He could still hardly believe what he had just seen. He already knew his best buds would lose their minds when they learned about this.
“Just make sure you keep this to yourself, we gotta keep it under wraps for a few more months, alright?” Danny's dad warned.
“Of course!” Danny nodded with an absentminded grin as he tossed the nut into the air before catching it in his mouth.
*Chomp*