BY ED KRATZ
Copyright is held by the author.
A TREMENDOUS crash woke Sally, followed by the sound of light steps racing down the stairs, with pounding behind them like someone being chased by an elephant.
She reached across the bed for her husband, Frank.
He wasn’t there. Her hand waved in the empty space.
Darn. What had he done now?
She’d asked him to wait on assembling the object in the box until morning, so they could do it together carefully. Frank could be as enthusiastic and spontaneous as an eager child. A trait she often found charming, but also, at times, irritating. She had an idea it was the latter now.
She threw on a robe and dashed up the steps to Frank’s third floor office. He’d said he’d use it to plan the work they needed done to enhance this spacious old country house they’d bought as an investment. Another of Frank’s schemes. A great way to waste Sally’s inheritance.
Once the house was rehabbed, they’d sell it and move. In the meantime, they’d be living off the land, which they’d clear and farm.
Sure, Sally had figured. Sure.
But who could do it? She had a job, and Frank was only one man. They needed help.
That’s why Frank had ordered the box that came yesterday.
Memories raced through her head as she walked.
Then she reached the door to Frank’s office. She didn’t need to open it because the lovely oak door lay shattered in pieces in the hallway.
“Frank, you said you’d wait.” She walked in.
A week ago, with his “I’ve got this covered grin” that meant problems, Frank said he’d found a solution. A unique automation that would work for free, and it was all legal.
Since the order had already been made, she had no choice.
When would Frank understand the idea of partners?
Now, the huge box lay on the floor. Torn shackles hung from four posts on the table Frank had repurposed for his prize. An electrical cord wrapped in duct tape weaved its way there from an electrical receptacle on the wall. A safety hazard, to be sure.
A brown envelope with glowing red letters, “Warning. Warning. Open before starting,” caught Sally’s eyes.
For a moment, she wondered how they had made the letters glow. But it didn’t matter, it hadn’t caught Frank’s eyes. She could see him tossing it aside like a kid getting a present.
She opened it. “Be sure you have followed the directions properly, especially the electrical requirements, or you might create an angry monster rather than the powerful, pleasant non-human, non-union assistant.”
“Frank, you idiot.” Sally tossed the envelope to the floor.
Lights flashed on her lawn. She went to the windows. A group of neighbours had gathered, pointing their cell phones at a monstrous figure chasing a thin tiny one around and around.
It was Frank, running from their new giant employee.
Sally went to the window, opened it, and screamed: “Frank Stein, you fool. Why can’t you ever read the instructions? Now you’ve gone and created a monster!”
***
Ed Kratz is a retired computer specialist who has taken as many writing courses as he can hoping something will sink in. He has been published in Flash Fiction Magazine, Every Day Fiction and a few other places.
