"The Secret Invention" by Ananya Raghavan: August 2024 3rd Place

“Wanna go to the basement?” Jenny asked her older sister, Kate.

“Go away,” Kate replied, groggily.

“Aww, please?” begged Jenny.

“Didn’t Dad say not to go there?” said Kate, with a disoriented voice.

“He didn’t say that, he just said not to touch the machine. And we won’t!”

“With your clumsiness, I’m sure we will. Just let me sleep now.”

Jenny sighed in despair. “But I’m intrigued to know what Dad’s been working on! Haven’t all those weird noises made you feel curious?”

Kate thought about it, and realized that she actually did want to know what Dad’s secret invention actually was. “Ok, fine, but don’t touch anything,” she reluctantly agreed.

Jenny and Kate crept down the stairs. While Kate was making sure that she wasn’t making any noise, Jenny was panting and whining, frantically feeling the walls. She clicked a big button, and the two sisters gasped as they heard a rumbling, motor-like noise.

“What do you think you’re doing?” asked Kate, sternly.

“I’m sorry! I’m afraid of the dark, and I was just looking for a light switch!” Jenny cried.

The sisters heard footsteps. Kate got concerned. She knew that they were anyway going to get into trouble, but she had to turn the machine off, before they caused any more chaos. Kate let go of her sister’s hand, and ran to the machine.

Even though Kate could see the buttons with the machine’s light, there were just so many buttons that she couldn’t figure out which button turned the machine off.

Meanwhile, the footsteps were getting louder and louder. It was Dad.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE? GET OUT!” Dad yelled.

Kate started trembling, trying to explain the whole story, but she was too nervous. 

“Just… stop the machine please.” she sputtered.

Dad sighed and jumped on the machine, trying to stop it. But it was too late. The two were already transported to a dark, spooky place. They heard a loud growl that seemed to shake the ground.

A giant, furry figure appeared in front of them, coated with mud and grass. Its evil eyes seemed to glow in the dark.

“MONSTER!!! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!!!!”