“John, the bomb is at 900 Goldenwest Street.”

“Okay,” he replied.

The three of us got in the car and went to the said location.

“Just who is this crazy guy? Why does he want to play this insane game with us?” I asked myself.

“Could it be that you offended someone without knowing?” John asked.

“I really don’t know. I haven’t offended anyone to my knowledge. I really regret that I didn’t take psychology classes in college, then I can at least understand the crazy guy a little. But he truly is a genius at making bombs.” I looked at the clock and saw that within the promised three hours, one hour and forty-eight minutes have already passed. There are still one hour and twelve minutes left and still two bombs I need to deactivate. I feel really tired, or rather, my mind felt really tired. It’s a good thing I have Mike and John with me to support and help me, or else I wouldn’t be able to go on. Of course saving my wife is my primary goal.

We arrived at 900 Goldenwest after about six minutes. It was a storage. The three of us got off the car and looked at our surroundings. It’s fairly quiet and not a lot of people pass by here. We walked up to the main doors and saw that it’s closed. Mike pushed the door and it surprisingly opened. We glanced at each other and went in the storage.

After six steps or so, the door closed by itself and the lights came to life. We saw that it’s not really big for a storage. There’s practically nothing in here, except for a desk at the very end with something on top of it.

Just as I stepped forward, the floor emitted a beeping sound. I looked down and saw a green light under my foot and stared blankly at it.

“Don’t move, there are landmines here and I think I just stepped on one,” I warned the others in a scared voice.

Mike and John froze on the spot. They also saw the light under my foot. That was when we saw that floor is full of strange patterns.

“I think there are a lot of landmines here. You need to be very careful,” I told them again.

“But we have no choice now, we can only reply on luck. Because even if we didn’t step on a landmine we still need to disable the bomb,” John said logically.

“But I have some bad news for you, I don’t think my legs are cooperating,” Mike said in a shaking voice that mirrored his legs.

“Sorry, it’s all my fault for dragging you with me,” I sighed.

“Don’t worry about it, you are also a victim here. Mike, there’s not much time left let’s go!” John said.

“I want to know who goes first or do we go together?” Mike asked.

“I’ll go first since you’ll have a hard time walking with those legs.”

“I love you John!”

The patterns on the tiles were all over the place so it’s hard to tell which one is a landmine is which one isn’t. We’re in a war zone right now, but we have absolutely no weapons at all.

John slowly walked forward one step at a time. Every step he took is a choice between life and death. And yet neither of us could move, we could only watch as he risked his life. I was very uncomfortable as I watched John walk.

This silence was shattered by a loud beeping noise. Oh dear God, John also stepped in a landmine as there was a green light coming from under his right foot.

“My God! My God!” Mike screamed.

All three of us were frozen, except our heartbeat. John and I both looked at Mike.

“Please don’t look at me like that,” Mike stuttered while looking like a bucket of water fell on him. I finally realized why he’s not suited to be a bomb specialist; he will drench the bomb with his sweat before he even starts disassembling it.

“Mike, please? There’s no time left,” John begged.

“Oh! I forgot that I’m not a bomb specialist, so how will I deactivate it even if I do get there?” Mike was giving a good excuse to now go near it.

“Ummm, Matthew, can you tell him what to do if he describes what the bomb looks like?” John asked me.

“I think we have no choice. Let’s go with that plan.”

“I...I...I…” Mike stuttered while rubbing his nose out of habit.

“Mike, don’t worry. We’ve had great luck so far so we will definitely succeed!” John tried to encourage Mike.

“But my legs are trembling as much as Elvis Presley, I think I’ll need a wheelchair.”

“If you don’t go now then we will need three coffins,” John said.

“Mike, there’s no time! You need to hurry,” I chipped in.

Mike started walking with his trembling legs after John and I looked at him. As we watched him, our hearts seemed to be jumping out of our chests. It seems we won’t die in the hands of the bomb but will be scared to death by Mike.

After what seems to be an eternity, I encouraged him, “Mike, there’s only two steps left before you reach the table, you can do it!”

"This freaking crazy guy! This damn crazy person!” Mike yelled.

“Good boy! Don’t yell anymore, if we survive today I will absolutely get revenge for you. But for now, keep walking,” John said.

Mike put his hands on his hips and took a deep breath. Then he lifted his still trembling leg and stepped forward. We were so worried our hands were balled up into a fist. As we watched Mike’s shaking leg, our legs also started shaking.

He is really lucky since he actually reached the table. But...a sudden beeping noise startled us. We saw a green light under Mike’s leg.

He had just reached the table and apparently, there’s also a landmine under it. I think the crazy guy wanted us to be under even more pressure while neutralizing the bomb. This crazy guy is too evil.

“Oh my God! This is not true! Not true at all! This has to be my imagination!” Mike wailed while clutching his head.

“Don’t move, Mike! Calm down. This isn’t as bad as you think so calm down,” I urged. I was really afraid he would move and fall down.

“If you were the one with one bomb under your foot and another in your face, would you be calm?!” Mike rebutted with his hands on the table.

I know he’s right since John and I would also be freaking out if we were in his place.

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“Mike, look at the table and see if it’s the bomb,” John instructed.

Mike glanced at the things on the table and didn’t say anything as if the things on the table is scaring him.

“Mike. Mike!” I called. “What’s the matter?”

“It...It’s a birthday cake...no...it’s a bomb birthday cake…” Mike said in a weird voice.

“What? I don’t understand. Describe for me,” I told him.

“It’s a birthday cake with gunpowder under it. The words ‘Happy Final Birthday’ are written on it,” Mike said.

This crazy guy sure is creative. If he was a designer then he will definitely be successful. Such a pity that he’s a bad guy.

“Hurry and look at the timer. How much time is left?” I asked.

Mike leaned forward a bit and reported, “Two minutes and twenty-five seconds.”

“Now describe what the bomb looks like.”

Mike went quiet as he stared at the bomb. “It...has thirteen fuses and many wires separated into three colors: red, green, and blue. But…” he paused.

“But what? There’s no time left!” I urged him to keep talking.

“But there are no pliers on the table so how am I supposed to cut the wires? Don’t tell me I have to bite them.”

“Oh my God!” John muttered worriedly.

“Did you look carefully?” I asked.

“There really...really isn’t anything here,” Mike repeated while looking over the table again.

“Mike, watch your foot. Don’t lift it up, you’re stepping on a landmine,” John reminded him.

“Don’t worry. I have no strength left to even move, let alone lift my foot up,” Mike sighed. “Matthew, there is a red, a green, and a blue switch on the table. Are they important?”

After I heard that, my mind was in a chaos. I delved deeply into my memories to try to remember if I had ever seen, heard, or learned about this type of bomb before. If it wasn’t for my sweat that’s falling non-stop, I think I really resemble a wax figure. Until…

“I remember now!! I’ve heard one of my professors talk about his bomb before. The wires aren’t meant to be cut, but with the switches to control it. You only need to switch one off and the bomb will be deactivated,” I told Mike happily.

“But which one should I turn off?” Mike started wiping his sweat while he asked me that question.

“I...I really don’t know.” My mind was all jumbled up, similar to an out of control car.

“Matthew. Matthew! Calm down and slowly think about this. Hurrying will only worsen you,” John told me soothingly.

He’s right, but I can’t control my brain. Of course I will try to calm down. Suddenly I remembered that I’m a professional, and the qualities of cool headedness and courage. Every bomb I worked on is like working between life and death. But I could still work calmly but why am I so worked up today?

It might be because my wife and my two best friends’ lives are at stake which made me unreasonable. I need to control my emotions since that’s the only way I can save my wife and friends, including myself of course.

I calmed down and said, “Mike, carefully observe how the wires are positioned and how many wires are connected to each switch? Don’t rush and look really carefully.”

After hearing my words, Mike carefully examined the wires. “Matthew, the red and green switches each have five wires connected to it of the same color. The blue switch has three blue wires. Now what do I do?”

“I really am not a hundred percent sure. I’m only relying on experience and luck.”

“Matthew, I really want to live to my next birthday. So please think about this seriously.”

“Mike, how much time do we have left?” John asked.

“Thirty-three seconds,” Mike reported.

We really have no time left, I need to have an answer now. “Mike, switch the red and green switches off at the same time. Do not switch them off one at a time,” I told Mike tensely.

I saw him take a deep breath and then wiped the sweat off his forehead with his forearm. Then lifting his quivering fingers that resemble a pianist's fingers he placed them on the red and green switches.

At this moment, the storage was so silent I completely forgot a thing called sounds had existed. I don’t know how high my blood pressure is but I do know my heart right now is jumping out of my chest like in the cartoons.

CLACK! It scared the living daylights out of me. After who knows how long, I finally regained my senses. But it turns out that I was the first one to wake up. Mike and John were still frozen like idiots. I realized the green lights under our feet are also gone. I believe there are no more dangers left in this storage. To be absolutely sure, I took a step forward and thank the gods, nothing exploded.

“Mike...John. Are you guys okay? We succeeded! The bomb didn’t explode!” I was so happy I almost screamed that.

“Oh my God! We really didn’t die?!” Mike slapped himself to see if he really is alive.

“That’s great! That’s great!” John repeatedly said.

I walked next to Mike with John following me and truly saw the bomb and the birthday cake.

“On my next birthday, I will use pizza to replace a cake.” After Mike said that, he swiped some cream on his finger and ate it.

“Are you sure it’s not poisoned?” John asked.

Mike choked and almost spat the cream back out as John and I laughed at him.

“This crazy guy is truly a bomb genius,” I said.

“He is also a demon who caused me to lose one liter’s worth of sweat!” Mike exclaimed.

“This bomb and landmine design is very delicate and I really admire his skills.” I couldn’t help but praise his talent.

“Have you gone crazy? How can you admire your enemy?” Mike asked, giving me a weird look.

“Stop praising the crazy guy because I’m worried Mike will be angered to death by you,” John joked. The three of us laughed.

At this time, my phone rang again. “Unbelieveable! You guys escaped death yet again,” came the hated voice of the crazy guy.

“God will bless the good guys,” I said.