John only took ten minutes to arrive at the destination. But my phone didn’t ring yet. I was in a rush because every second was extremely precious to me. About one minute later, my phone finally rang.

The crazy guy said, “Your driving skills are pretty good, to get here so quickly.”

“Stop talking nonsense. Please call me immediately because if not, it’s not fair to me as it will waste time.”

“Relax, it won’t do you any good to be so agitated. Now I’ll tell you. On the other side of the street from where you are, there’s a trashcan, next to it is a telephone pole. The bomb is on top of that telephone pole. I also placed the tools you’ll need with the bomb. There is a pair of gloves in the trashcan, you can use to climb up the pole. Good luck,” he said before hanging up.

I looked across the street and saw the trashcan and next to it is the said telephone pole. And there does seem to be a box of some sort at the top. But the most dangerous thing I saw was that there was an electrical box above the box that contains the bomb. If the bomb exploded, the electrical box would also explode and the result will be disastrous.

I immediately ran over to the trashcan followed by John and Mike. I hurriedly opened the trashcan, saw the gloves, grabbed it, and pulled them on.

“Matthew, you need to be careful because you’re acrophobic. Don’t look down no matter what,” Mike told me loudly.

My God! I was in such a rush that I completely forgot I was afraid of heights. How could you Mike?! Why did you have to remind me? It would’ve been better if I didn’t remember! I instantly felt the changes upon the realization as my heart started beating twice as fast and my legs started shaking. Even though I’m freaked out right now I still have to climb the pole. This is the first time I’ve climbed something like this. I don’t usually go rock climbing so this climb was especially hard on my arms.

As I was halfway up, I paused to rest for a few seconds and I looked down. John and Mike were trying to drive away the growing crowd of spectators. I looked back up and started climbing again. But the higher I climbed, the more my legs trembled. Even though the weather today isn’t that warm, my whole body was covered in sweat.

After what seemed like a century, I finally got to the box. There really was a bag next to the box and it contained two pliers. I wrapped my body around the pole and, with one hand around the pole, I used my free hand to open the box. I dropped the lid to the ground and yelled at my friends to catch them. I looked inside the box and there the bomb nested. This bomb is a really strong bomb and the timer on it said I only had one minute and thirty-nine seconds left. It looks like a normal bomb but it had six wires. Based on my experiences, this type of bomb would need only two wires to be cut and the others are there to confuse you.

The bomb began making ticking noises. My heart also followed along as I was really nervous. My sweat ran down my body like a waterfall and my legs were shaking so badly I felt like I was dancing, it made me think of Elvis Presley. The seconds passed one by one and now the timer only had twenty-seven seconds left. There was no time for me to think. I can only use my experience and rely on Lady Luck to get me through this. I took a deep breath and placed the plier over the yellow wire. I closed my eyes and snipped the wire. I think I cut the right wire, which is great. There was only nineteen seconds left, which wire should I cut next? Right now, it felt like the whole world stopped. I couldn't hear anything, then suddenly I heard a crow fly by, cawing. When I looked back at the bomb, I saw I only had seven seconds left. There was no time to think, so I placed the plier on the white wire. I closed my eyes and clamped my mouth shut while thinking, Please help me, God! and cut the white wire when the timer read two seconds……………about three seconds later, I was sure the bomb won’t explode.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

I breathed a sigh of relief and yelled down, “I succeeded! I deactivated the bomb! It’s okay!”

“That’s great! Now hurry and climb down!” John yelled back.

I quickly climbed down but my legs were still trembling a bit so I climbed down slowly. When I finally reached the ground, Mike hugged me. Although I succeed this time, I seem to have forgotten I still have four more bombs waiting.

At this time, my phone rang. This dragged me from being giddy of success to the horror and tension of reality.

“Congratulations, you passed the first round. But don’t celebrate too early, this is just a simple warm up. The next ones to come are much harder.”

“Don’t waste my time. Hurry and tell me the next bomb’s location,” I snapped.

“You’re right, you need every second. Because you’ll need even more time for this next one. Go south, and you can’t go by car, you can only run. Run three blocks and at Main street, turn right. Walk about thirty feet and you’ll get to 670 Main street and there is a manhole in front. I’ve already covered it with a tent and the bomb is in the sewers. Good luck,” he said once again and hung up.

I immediately ran towards Main street and Mike followed me. “Matthew, why aren’t you taking the car?” he yelled from behind me.

“The crazy guy said I can’t go by car, I have to run there,” I shouted while sprinting.

There are a lot of people and cars at this street. So I weaved around the people while trying to sprint to the destination. I finally arrived at the first intersection but the light was red so I quickly stopped. There were many cars coming and going at the street. I waited at the light impatiently while catching my breath. Mike arrived soon after and stopped besides me, panting.

“Matt...Matthew...haa...that bomb...where...ha...where is it?” Mike wheezed.

“At...haa...at...Main street...haha…” I gasped.

I suddenly saw that there were less cars moving so I took a chance and ran across the street. I heard cars honking at me and knew they were probably yelling at me as well. But I can’t stop to explain, the bomb is like a gun at my head, threatening me. My safety is the last thing on my mind right now. Fortunately, I crossed the street in one piece and quite quickly too. I suddenly remembered Mike, did he risk himself to follow me? I looked behind me and saw that he had arrived behind me. I turned back around and ran to the next light almost crazily. It’s only now that I realize how important it is to exercise because I have a hard time breathing, my leg muscles are screaming in agony, and I’m feeling very, very tired. With all these in mind, I finally stopped to rest. I saw Mike was still pretty far behind me. It seems Mike is less fit than me, but where did John go?

I didn’t waste anymore time to think, I had stopped for about fifteen seconds so I started running again. I crossed the second street no less dangerously than the first one. At this time I really want to borrow the legs of Olympic runners, my legs felt like overcooked noodles and my running speed slowed down. Why do these blocks feel longer than the Great Wall of China? I kept sweating like I’m sitting in a really hot sauna.

I finally arrived at Main street and I huffed my way to the tent. I opened the tent and saw the manhole and wanted to remove the lid. But probably due to overusing my muscles, I couldn't even budge the lid. I every ounce of my strength again to move the lid but it only slid a few centimeters. I became very annoyed.

“Matt...Matthew…” Mike puffed.

My savior! Mike finally arrived. We should be able to move this lid together.