Carrie and Grant

Carrie and Grant were playing in their grandfather’s attic when they stumbled across a large wooden box that looked like an old fashioned board game. The two boys being inquisitive creatures pulled the wooden box down from the shelf, and dusted it off.
Carrie, the younger of the two boys, asked, “Should we open it?”
“Sure,” Grant said as he ran his finger across the edge of the wooden box. He fingered the silver latches along the front edge and with his thumbs flicked the clasps open. Several metallic clicks followed shortly by a whirl and a whoosh came from the box. They happened so fast Grant dropped the box and the lid opened on its own. The lid folded back upon itself and the box lifted on an angle to face the boys.
The interior was like nothing they had ever seen before. The box was dark wood with copper accents at the corners. At the top, was a plaque that read, ‘Pathway to Other Doors.’ There was what looked like a clock face that counted to sixty with a light at every fifth notch. The majority of the box was covered with a glass top. The frame around the glass top had switches, knobs, and sliders of all shapes and sizes built into it. Under the glass top were several lights, gears, cogs, and lots of wires, what could have been miles of wires.
Carrie reached for the closest switch and Grant swatted his hand away. “We don’t know what it will do,” Grant said.
“What does that say?” Carrie said as he pointed to a side of the box Grant had not looked at yet.
Grant slid the box around and silently started to read the copper plaque on the side of the box. Carrie shook his older brothers shoulder and said, “You know I can’t read yet that’s not fair. Read it out loud.”
“You need to learn to read,” Grant said.
“I’m only in kindergarten! I can read and write my name and I know my ABCs! Tell me or I will get Mom to read it to me,” Carrie said had he started to get up, and headed toward the stairs.
“Wait we can’t! The box says we can’t!”
Carrie turned around, sat next to his brother, and asked, “What does it say?”
“It says, ‘To he who finds this relic never tell a soul, or you will unleash monsters from below. It is your chosen fate to help us in our time of need. Turn the key and the time will begin. Every five a new door will initiate. To help is your fate. Flick a switch, slider, or button. The right combination is all you need. Choose well and Godspeed.’
Both boys turned to look at each other, and Grant’s hand reached out for the clock face. It was Carrie’s turn to stop his brother. “What do you think it will do?”
“I don’t know let’s find out.” Grant’s fingers closed around the post in the middle of the clock face and he turned it until it reached sixty. Suddenly lights all around the clock face lit up and lights ran all across the entire board. Gears under the glass top started to turn and wires started to turn and snake to new locations. Loud ticking noises came from the clock face, and a single red light flashed on and off next the sixty. Everything under the glass top was moving very slowly.
“Can I touch something?” Carrie asked.
“Sure,” Grant said. He was unsure of what they should do.
Carrie flipped the closest switch, and a series of lights popped on. “What if it’s a puzzle, and we have to light up the center light?”
The boys turned several lights on and then off again. Gradually, the string of lights that started at the sixty were snaked halfway across the board. They felt they were making good progress and having a good time when all the lights went out.
“What happened?” Carrie asked.
“I don’t know,” Grant answered. “Look the sixty isn’t lit any more. The fifty-five is lit. Maybe we have to solve it in less than five minutes.
The boys worked furiously flicking switches, and every five minutes the board would reset back to the clock. When they were at the twenty-five mark, they finally got the middle light to light up. The boys jumped up and down hugging each other when a light started to creep down the wall. It made a rectangle on the wall, and Grant said, “It’s a door.”
“Lets go!” Carrie said.
“Go where?”
“Into the door!”
“Why? We don’t know what in there.”
“You read me the box, and it said people needed our help. We have to help!”
Both boys walked toward the door and went in.