Saving Summer

Summer was the best time of the year. Everyone was staring at the clock as the seconds ticked down, one by one, a mental countdown in everyone's mind. Then, the bell, oh, what a melody to my ears. Then, a rush of adrenaline, pumping in everyone, as we scrambled for the exit into the world, out of prison. Then, imagine my disappointment and confusion when I saw that heaven had torn apart, rain cascaded down, and thunder rampaged the streets. "A rainstorm in summer? How is that even possible? Ugh! I'll have to stay at home today." I grumbled, fuming at GOD for ruining my excitement and joy after the last day of school. I shot my eyes up towards the thunderous skies, lightning crackling in my eyes: my eyes, death black, malice oozing from my pupils. Fuming, like a bull staring red in the face, I stomped off to my mother's car, opened the door, threw my bag and myself in and slammed the door shut.

"Oh, I'm sorry, honey, it won't be raining tomorrow, and you can go to the beach with your friends," Seeing that I was still cursing under my breath at the rain, my mother continued, " I'll also give you another ten bucks. Hmm, how about that? Buy yourself something else," She smiled and turned my frown upside down. I pumped my fist in the air and bellowed a silent "Whoo!" as we made the journey back to our humble abode. The rain continued pummelling the road. The heavens cried, on and on, the rain showing no intention of stopping. Confusion churned inside the soup of my mostly half-baked thoughts. What happened to the summers I loved and knew from the years prior? Why was there rain dropping from the clouds despite it being summer? It is a season renowned for its spectacular sun, drippy ice creams, beach outings, and last but not least, its rain-free days. Honestly speaking, I had no clue why I was pouting over one rainy day, even though there were many more days that I could enjoy sinking my feet into the sand or being pushed by the waves. After all, it was just one day or was it?

Staying cooped up in my room all day long, I hopped on to play video games with my friends, casually glancing out the window, always being discouraged by the never-ending rain. I could even see my mother pouting as she stared out through the window into the black white-specked canvas of the night sky obscured by the falling pellets descending from the heavens. I definitely could not wait until the stormy night passed into a bright, cheery, sunny summer morning. Crossing my fingers, I jumped into bed, hoping that tomorrow wouldn't be such a disaster for me. "Maybe, mum was right. Maybe it was just one day. All the cascading would halt overnight, and I could enjoy my favourite mint ice cream after a dip in the deep, freezing waters of the ocean under the boiling ball of fire at its zenith in the azure blue sky," I dreamt. In contrast, the water showed no signs of stopping or even slowing down. Tomorrow was going to be a bummer.

Waking up to crackling thunder, blinding lightning and waterfalls flooding the streets, I knew today was not going to be the day, my smile turned upside down, and I fell back onto the bed." Ugh! When will this end? When can I go back to enjoying the summers like I usually do?" I did not want to spend the entirety of summer cooped up inside my tiny room, waiting for the rain to end as GOD plastered a mephistophelian smile on his face, continuously repeating the cycle of rainfall over and over. Bored out of my skull, I set off to take a trip to the supermarket for a mint ice cream bar, " Mm! How delicious would that be," I thought, leaving a note to inform my mother about my whereabouts, before kicking on my sneakers, putting on a hoodie, grabbing an umbrella and setting off in the rain. On my way to the supermarket, I got drenched to the bone, the umbrella did not help in the slightest, and I think I had caught a cold from slipping and falling on the slippery pavement.

"Ugh! Can this day get any worse," I grumbled under my breath, even though the number of people at the supermarket could be counted on one hand. I honestly thought it would be empty like there was a zombie apocalypse. How surprising that I was not the only one brave enough to dare the dangers of the downpour.

"Beep! Beep!" My phone vibrated, and I got a text message from my mother to get the grocery list along with an attached picture of everything she needed me to buy.

"Ugh. I just came for an ice cream, not a large pack of toilet paper rolls," I rolled my eyes and walked through the labyrinth of the store, picking and choosing what I needed to buy, a packet of pasta, some bananas, two bottles of coke, and much, much more. "Oh, what a bore it was, running errands for my mother. Ugh!" I paid at the counter with my card, making sure to take the receipt so my mother could pay me back as soon as I came back home. Then began the arduous journey home; I kept catching sight of a death black figure in my peripheral vision through the rain. However, every time I turned my head to acquire a better glimpse of it, it would always be gone. I did not even bother to eat the ice cream; I set out on this journey for. After I dropped off the groceries at home, I set out again, despite my mother's incessant chiding that I had forgotten to buy some milk from the supermarket. I had set my mind on one thing; I wanted to find out who they were. I left, catching them running away from me a couple of times. Maybe they were luring me somewhere? I had no clue, but my mind was too focused on the mystery at hand; it forgot the consequences, especially the harmful ones.

I followed the shadow through the shady alleys into the deep black darkness, guiding me to what might be my impending doom. I might just be paving the way to death's doorstep, on my way to cross his threshold. I knew this was risky; however, my feet would not sit without knowing who they were. Curiosity killed the cat; let us hope it does not kill me. Soon enough, we both came to a standstill. Whoever they were, they stared at a wall, back facing me, while I looked on, all while the rain-drenched us both to the bone. It felt like a scene out of a thriller novel, with the flickering lights, howling winds and the tense atmosphere. Then, she turned around, and her face was barely discernable in the darkness enshrouding her features. Soon, she stepped into the light, her eyes a warm orange hue; it looked like she had the evening sun entrapped within her beautiful eyes. Her face was pale from hiding under the cover of darkness all day. Honestly, it was pretty frightening to see such a pale face; it felt like I was staring into the eyes of a ghost. Locks of black hair fell out from underneath her hood. Suddenly, she ran into an unappealing chute at the end of the alley. I got tempted to run away back home into the safety of my bed. However, I had come this far and truly was not ready to back down. Hence, I leapt in after her down into the belly of the beast.

"Hello! We have been searching for you," An eerie voice echoed from the shadows.

"Who are you?" I quivered. Maybe coming down here was not the best idea I had ever had. Let us hope fate was a friend today.

Then, the blinding lights switched on, and I had to cover my eyes before eventually opening them to see four agents.

"We are the International Undercover Authority of Crime-prevention. The IUCA for short, and we need your help for the world to enjoy summer again," They said stoically before I burst out into laughter.

"Ain't there an FBI and CIA for that? What's the use of the IUCA?" I questioned.

"Oh. We're their bosses, and we like to live in the shadows and keep our existence a secret, and I think we do quite well at our job. Don't you think?" My jaw dropped in shock. But soon, confusion shot over me like a shooting star.

"But why me, a kid?"

"Because your dad was a high-ranking member of our society, and for this, we needed someone who could fit into tiny spaces. Do you think you could do it?"

"Yes," I replied, almost instantaneously even though I was still astonished by the fact that my father worked for the IUCA. I had always thought that he was just your average grocery store manager for the longest time ever. However, it felt like my brain had been mushed through a blender.

"See you tomorrow, same time, same place," He announced before they took off.

"Wait!" I hollered to no avail as they were long gone by then. I knew what I had to do; I had to save summer. Then, the training began—weeks and weeks of rigorous training, underwater, on land, wherever you could think of. With a gun, a knife, a sword, even with my bare fists, it felt like I could take death by the throat.

Finally, the day had come. All this time, everywhere around the world, people were speculating what was happening? Why was it always raining? Everyone was freaking out and thought it was the end of the world. Famines had started breaking out across central Asia. Death spread like the plague through the country and the concrete jungles; people lost their lives. We could not wait much longer, so they sent me in. It was my time to shine. I was on a mission, a mission to save the world.

They would have sent someone else; however, they needed a child because none of their agents could fit into all the tiny spaces required to navigate the rough terrain of his fortress. Taking a covert boat to the remote island off the coast of Indonesia, I kept biting my nails. What if I was not ready yet? What if it was all just a death trap? What if...?

"You're ready. I know it," My mentor encouraged me and put his hand on my heart. That calmed my nerves a little; however, I was still a bustling bunch of nerves. Then, the time came; I got down from the boat and began the perilous journey throughout the laboratory. Tiptoeing through the first part of my journey, I screamed like a banshee after nearly getting my leg chopped off by a trap; this was just the start. Soon enough, I fell into a rhythm and managed to evade the traps like a ninja. My legs danced across the metal flooring, my eyes scanning the surroundings, my hands tracing the air. It felt like I was a master at my job. I was going to do it. I was going to save the world. Then, my overconfidence hit me like a brick wall. Literally, my nose broke into smithereens as I smashed my face into a brick wall.

"What's happening? Where am I? Huh?" My senses got overrun by the pain in my nose. It felt that everything I had learnt up till this moment had just vanished from my mind: just blank—all my training for nothing. Everything had amounted to this, and I failed. Down a rabbit hole, I went to my eternal doom.

"Hello, hello, hello," A deep voice called from the dark.

"Hi, hello, let's cut to the chase," I replied, causing him to lose his grasp on his senses.

"Oh, what an intelligent young gentleman we have here," He commented.

"Yada! Yada! Yada! What now?" I remarked, and with a casual sigh, he pressed the button and dropped me into a dungeon just as I hoped. Instantly, I covered the camera with a replica of the room to make sure he did not catch me red-handed trying to escape. Then, the grand escape, all things considered not so extravagant, since a previous inmate here had created a false wall leading to a tunnel and using that, I managed to squiggle my way into the air vents and into the laboratory, a few feet away from the thing IUCA sent me to destroy.

"What an idiot, putting a self-destruct button on his prized possession," I thought.

"I just wanted to be like a villain from the movies," The doctor replied. I did not realise that I had spoken out loud.

"Well, then you do realise they always lose," I commented casually

"Eh! I didn't think that much about it, but yeah," He replied, "Well, let's fight now, shall we?"

"I guess; I mean, what else?" I replied, shrugging my shoulders, and the battle commenced. We traded blows, his cuffs, hitting hard onto my jaw. My knuckles, making his jaws rock in his skull. Then, he stabbed—a knife, deep in my belly, crimson blood pooling on the floor.

"Oh, sincere apologies, good sir, but I had to do you dirty there," He taunted me as he loomed over me in an attempt to abolish that smile across my face.

"Oh no, please, I do apologise as well," I replied, a mephistophelian smile plastered across my face as confusion ran over his facial features before he realised the implications of my words too late. I tripped him, causing him to land on my knife, impaling himself in the chest. Finally, it was over; summer was saved.

I had done it. I had saved the world.