Flash ~ A Short Story

 Here’s another short story, it truly is short but I’m very satisfied with it.

~ Flash ~

Two scientists stood in the middle of a room. It was a small and cluttered laboratory. Papers covered every available surface. Neatly labeled chemicals lined the shelves. Random screws and bolts littered the floor.

The only clean place was a small table where the first scientist was shuffling through papers. She paused every once in a while to make notes on the pages. The second scientist was on the floor, using a screwdriver to fix together pieces of metal.

There was silence except for the scraping of metal and rustling of papers.

The second scientist set his contraption on the floor. It was a smallish, round platform, about a foot high, with a blue disk inset on the top. “It’s ready,” he said.

The first scientist looked up from her papers. “Professor. I’ll go first.” They had been working toward this day for years, and yet she felt no sense of triumph, just a low unease.

The second scientist shook his head. “I built the thing. I have to take responsibility if it goes wrong.”

The first scientist bit her lip, but knew there was nothing she could say.

The second scientist climbed onto the platform. The first handed him a silver remote with a red switch. The switch had a glass cover over it. The second scientist opened the cover.

But the first scientist had seen the smallest of details. Just a tiny plate that was loose.

“Wait!” she shouted.

But the second scientist had already flipped the switch.

The first scientist held up her papers to shield her eyes; a blinding flash of light enveloped the lab, punctuated with two low whirring sounds and a high-pitched whine.

The flash faded away. The first scientist slowly lowered her papers, afraid of what she might see.

There was nothing left of the second scientist. Just a white lab coat draped over the platform.

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Hope you enjoyed!