Willakaville Read online

  James checked the door behind the history teacher’s desk. It was locked. He frantically looked around for something to open it. He saw an antique looking letter opener and grabbed it. Just as he was about to pry open the lock, the door flung open. It almost slammed into the two boys.

  Mr. Craggleknot burst out. His hair was completely messed up. His clothing had been ripped apart and he was scratched in several places. Without any hesitation, He grabbed the boys and pulled them into the room with him. “Boys,” he exclaimed. “Thank heavens you are here.” Taking in a few more breaths, he continued, “Someone has been disturbing the human timeline. You must go back and make it right. There is not much time. Things are changing already.”

  The boys stood there with their eyes and mouths open to full capacity. Directly behind Mr. Craggleknot was a large octagon shaped contraption. It had all kinds of wires and pipes coming out of it. Inside, it had a light bluish-greenish glow.

  “Boys!” Mr. Craggleknot shouted as he shook both of them. “Listen to me! This is important! Behind me is a time machine. I know it is hard to believe. But it is true. I only use it to observe events in history. I want to make sure that the history I teach is one hundred percent accurate. Now, someone else is messing with time itself. All the historical facts in the books are wrong.

  “But,” started James. “How would you know that? If history was changed, then everything you have learned is changed also.”

  “Not exactly James,” replied Craggleknot. “This room was built with a special material that makes it impervious to time changes.” Craggleknot made a circular motion around his head. “All my history books have the correct facts in them. I did that in case I ever messed up history. That way, I could always go back and fix it.

  Craggleknot then grabbed a book on ancient Greece. He opened it to a page with a drawing of a water wheel. “But look, the books from class are not the same. See,” he announced, “it says here that Democratius was the inventor of the water wheel. But if you look at my original text,” he continued as he swiftly turned to a similar page in another book. “It says that it was Philo of Byzantium three years earlier. I also know this is true, because I watched him build it.”

  “But Mr. Craggleknot,” said James suddenly. “You just taught us last week that it was Democratius.”

  Craggleknot closed his eyes tightly and said, “Yes, that is because everything outside this room has been affected. Someone either has their own time machine or they are messing with this one. We need to fix everything and then I will shut the machine down, permanently. We do not have much time. Whoever is doing this probably has some kind of plan. I would guess that plan also involves shutting down the machine so that no one can undo whatever changes happened. We need to fix time before they come back.”

  “So we get to go back in time!” said James with a mile wide smile on this face.

  “Absolutely,” replied Craggleknot with eyes as big as grapefruits.

  “No way! No how! Nuh uh!” said Eddie defiantly. “We should shut this thing down now before anything else gets messed up.”

  Craggleknot stood up tall and stern and calmly spoke, “The repercussions of the current changes in time are greater than you think Eddie. Complete countries have disappeared. Man has not progressed as far as we need to. We need to evolve technologically at a certain rate. Otherwise, the earth will be doomed in the future. We need certain advances in science and engineering to be able to stop the oncoming disasters we will face. I cannot tell you more, but the fate of the earth lies in this mission.”

  Eddie felt his heart sink. He was afraid, but knew that he had to do this.

  Craggleknot sat the boys down in front of him and then crouched down. He explained how the boys needed to find out why Philo did not invent the wheel. He also explained that they would have to go back and try to stop whatever caused the change. It would be risky and dangerous. He told the boys that they needed to go without him so that he could remain behind with the machine and protect it.

  “You mean the machine is not going with us?” said Eddie with a worried look.

  Craggleknot continued, “The time machine does not travel itself. It merely opens a portal to another world. We can set the portal to reopen later, but you must be there when it opens. Otherwise, it will be virtually impossible to know where and when to open it again for you. It will only stay open for seventeen point four seconds.”

  Craggleknot then began rummaging around in a box and pulled out a couple of white cloths that looked like bed sheets. He said, “Here, put these on. You will stick out like wings on a frog if you keep your modern day clothes.” Then he jammed one into each of the boy’s arms, turned around and waited for them to change.

  The boys looked at each other, stripped down to their underwear and put the robes on. The only problem was that they did not know how to wear them. When Craggleknot turned back around, he burst out laughing. James looked like a mummy and Eddie looked like Halloween ghost.

  “Didn’t you boys learn anything in my class?” laughed Craggleknot as he rearranged the robes to look like proper ancient Greece attire. He continued, “There, now you are set. Up and into the time machine.” as he shoved the boys into the contraption.

  Eddie started, “But, but, what…”

  Craggleknot interrupted, “Just make sure that Philo invents the water wheel. You have five days. The portal will open in the same spot at the same time of day you arrive.” Then he stopped and pulled out a couple of pills and handed one to each of the boys. “Take these. They have tiny nanobots that will enter your brain and rearrange the neurons to allow you to speak and understand the ancient Greek language.” Then he closed and locked the door.

  Eddie looked at James, then at the floor and said, “What did you get me into this time? My parents are going to be worried sick. What if we never make it back? I don’t want to be stuck…”

  Eddie’s voice was cut off by a large humming sound. He could see Craggleknot typing some commands into his laptop as the machine got louder and louder. It also glowed brighter and brighter until the boys had to close their eyes. Then everything went dark.

  The next thing they knew, they were lying on the ground. As they slowly opened their eyes, they could not believe what they were seeing. They were in ancient Greece! They were on top of a small hill overlooking the city. Everything was like what they had seen in their history books, except newer looking.

  People were walking around wearing the same silly white robes Craggleknot had made them wear. The buildings were a brilliant white and blue, with smooth and large sculptured pillars.

  James looked at Eddie and said, “Ok, we need to remember where the sun is and how the shadows look right now.”

  Eddie gave him a strange look and said, “Why?”

  “Because,” James replied. “The portal will open here at this same time in five days. You don’t want to get stuck here do you?”

  Eddie shook his head.

  James started down the hill and Eddie reluctantly followed. As they approached the city, James walked up to a man who was looking up at the clouds. “Excuse me sir,” James began. “We are looking for Philo.”

  The man looked down and stared for a while at the two boys. He then spoke, “Shouldn’t you children be in school right now?”

  Eddie did not understand a word they were saying. Everything was in Greek. Then he remembered that he did not take the nanobot pill yet. Luckily, it was still in his hand. He quickly swallowed it.

  He heard James talking again as Greek mixed with English, “We ypotíthetai óti prépei na ton voi̱thí̱sei me éna eidikó prógramma today. So you see, we really need to find Philo.”

  The man motioned to the other side of town and went back to staring at the clouds.

  So James and Eddie headed towards the other side of town. The town was filled with people everywhere. Goats and chickens were running around, customers were haggling with merchants, and groups gathered around in several places listing t
o different people giving speeches. They could smell freshly baked bread and the raw fish hanging in front of some of the merchants.

  Eddie asked James, “Do you notice something strange?”

  “What’s that,” replied James.

  “There are no women in this city,” said James.

  James answered, “That is because women were forbidden in the cities of ancient Greece.”

  “Oh yeah. The good old days.” said Eddie with a smirk on his face.

  They weaved their way through the river of people to the other side of the city. James asked another man where he could find Philo.

  The man told them to follow the path out of town and Philo’s would be the one on the left with two large olive trees in either side. As they walked down the path, they saw many people carrying wagons of goods and herding animals in and out of the city. Up the hill, they saw a large stone house with two large olive trees in each side.

  The home had beautiful decorations carved in stone. One was that of a horse’s head. Another was of a woman holding a basket. There was a large archway leading to the front door with two stone pillars on each side. They boys could hear two men inside talking as they approached.

  One man pleaded, "But this work is important to me. It is important to all of Greece. "

  The other man had a lower and softer voice. It was too difficult to make out what he was saying. James thought he heard the word ‘family’ and ‘stop’.

  The man with the lower voice stepped out of the doorway and stared at the two boys. The boys froze with fear. Then the man walked off in a hurry in a direction away from town.

  Eddie noticed the man strangely had military boots on.

  The two boys started walking toward the house. They could see an older man staring at the ground. He barely even noticed the boys as they approached.

  "Hello," Said James. "We are here to help you. My name is Ja...Jathelese and this is my friend, um...Eddithium. We are looking for Philo the inventor."

  The man looked confused and worried. He replied, "I am Philo. But, I am no longer an inventor. I do not believe I have seen you before. Who sent you?"

  James continued, "We have been sent by our master, Sir Cragnotilus. We are here to help you with your new invention."

  "Didn't you hear me!" said Philo angrily. "I am no longer inventing! Now be gone!" Then he pushed them back and closed the door.

  The boys stood there with their mouths open. They did not know what to do. Saddened, they decided to walk back to town. They were getting hungry and would need to find a place to sleep.

  Then Eddie had an idea. He grabbed James arm and said, "Wait. We need to convince Philo to let us stay with him. That way we will have a place to stay, food and a chance to change his mind."

  They turned around and headed back toward the house.

  "This time," said Eddie sternly. "You let me do the talking." Eddie then stomped back up the steps to the house. He pounded on the door several times.

  Philo eventually came to the door. When he saw the face of Eddie, he went to slam the door shut. Eddie quickly stuck his foot in the way. Philo did his best to push Eddie’s foot with the door, but Eddie was determined to have Philo listen to him.

  “Sir Philo,” Eddie announced. “We are here to help you with the water wheel.”

  Philo immediately stepped backward as his eyes opened wide in astonishment. “How did you know?” he said. “I have not shown anyone my plans for the wheel. It is not possible.”

  “Just listen to me for a minute!” exclaimed Eddie. “The gods have demanded that you complete this invention. The future of every man, woman and child depends on it.”

  Philo stared at the ground and said in a low voice, “I cannot. I…I…just cannot do it.”

  “Was it something that man said to you? The one that was here before?” asked Eddie. “He threatened you didn’t he? What did he say?”

  Philo answered with a tear in his eye, “It is too horrible to say. I cannot risk the safety of those I love.”

  Eddie courageously boasted, “We will handle this guy. Don’t you worry. We have powers beyond your imagination.” Eddie was bluffing, hoping that Philo would believe him.

  “I am not sure about that. That man showed me something I would never have believed,” Philo said with pure terror in his eyes.

  James then pulled out his smart phone. “You see this? This is from the future”

  Eddie tried to grab the phone from him. He shouted, “Eddie, what are you doing? You are going to mess up the future by showing him that.”

  “We have to convince him to invent the wheel or there will be no future!” shouted back James.

  Philo interrupted the argument, “Boys! The man showed me something similar. He showed me moving pictures of horrible destruction machines that breathed fire. He said that he would use it on everyone I knew. He too, said he was from the future. He said that if I told anyone, he would do the same to me.”

  “I thought that man looked out of place,” said Eddie with a frown. “Now, I remember. He had military style boots on. He must be from the army. Listen Philo, we are going to find that man and stop him. He comes from our time. Promise us that you will complete your invention and we will promise to stop him from coming back here.”

  Philo decided to invite James and Eddie into his home. They spent the rest of the evening talking with Philo. He gave them his best food and drink. Everything was fresh and hand made. The food tasted very different from what the boys were used to. It tasted more…natural and healthy in some way. During dinner, Philo showed them detailed drawings of all his inventions. Then he brought out the plans for the water wheel. Philo’s eyes lighted up like a young child on Christmas day as he spoke about all his ideas.

  After several hours of discussions, the boys were exhausted. Philo agreed to let them sleep in his guest chambers. The rooms were magnificent, with floors made of tile mosaics depicting epic battles between heroes and monsters. James’ floor revealed a fight between Heracles and a seven headed Hydra. Eddie’s floor showed Perseus engaged in battle with Medusa. The beds were so soft and comfortable; both boys fell asleep within seconds.

  The next morning James woke up with a sore body. He was no longer in the soft and comfortable bed. He was on a hard dirt floor. The room was dark and had no windows. The door was made of iron and would not open. James woke Eddie and said, “Eddie, I think Philo trapped us in some kind of dungeon.”

  Eddie opened his eyes and looked around. Groggily he answered, “Where are we? What happened?”

  “I don’t know,” said James. “We have to find a way out!” James then started banging on the door with both fists. Then he heard someone say, “Quiet down in there!”

  James called back, “Excuse me sir, but we do not know where we are or why we are here.”

  “You are here because you are thieves and liars!” replied the voice.

  “We have stolen nothing!” said James. “We demand justice! We are wrongly accused.”

  “Save your words for the council. They will hear you when they are ready.”

  “When will that happen?” said Eddie, being as upset as James was about the situation.

  The voice called back, “Your case will be heard five days from now. Now quiet down or you will receive a beating!”

  James and Eddie looked at each other desperately. Five days was too long. They would miss their portal back to their own time. They both slumped down and stared at the floor in silence, too saddened to do anything. They spent the rest of the day crying and sleeping from emotional exhaustion.

  That night, Eddie could not sleep. He tried to see if he could find a way out. He worked for an hour digging at the floor, but it was too hard. He had the same problem with the walls. Then, he began studying the door construction. It was pitch black, so he had to feel around the door to get an idea of how it was made. He could feel the cold iron hinges. They seemed to be at least one centimeter thick and of basic design. He soon realized they
were much too strong to remove. Besides, the door would be too heavy.

  Day after day came and went. Eddie and James tried everything they could to escape. It was too late, five days had passed and they had missed the portal.

  Next, he studied the small sliding door at the bottom where the food was passed through. It must have had some kind of lock on it too because he could not get it to lift.

  Then, suddenly, the sliding door lifted. Eddie jumped back, startled. “Hello boys,” said a familiar voice behind the door. “I am here to get you out.” It was Craggleknot!

  Eddie shook with happiness and excitement. He almost cried out before he realized that he must be quiet. He did not want to alert any of the guards. He whispered, “I am so happy to hear your voice Mr. Craggleknot. How do we get out of here?”

  “Just wait,” said Craggleknot. A few seconds after, Eddie could hear the lock turn and the door was open. Eddie gave Craggleknot a big hug and did not want to let go. “We do not have much time,” whispered Craggleknot. “Let’s wake James and get out of here.” When James realized what was happening, he almost yelled out in happiness too. Luckily, Eddie realized this and covered James’ mouth with his hand before he did so.

  The two boys followed Craggleknot through a maze of corridors. Craggleknot would stop them occasionally to wait for the guards to pass by. Finally, they made it out. Craggleknot lead them to a small abandoned home outside the city, where they could hide and rest.

  Upon arrival, Craggleknot explained how everything had changed back in their time since the boys had not returned. The military had taken over and everyone was forced to work in factories making hot dogs. That was all they ate. There was; hot dog cereal, hot dog bread, hot dog milkshakes, hot dog soup, hot dog popsicles, hot dog pizza, and hot dog…Well, you get the point.

  Luckily, Craggleknot found out that the military had sent a secret agent to infiltrate his lab and use his time machine to go back in time and change everything so that they would be in power. He remembered that he had left secret cameras in his laboratory. One of those recorded a phone conversation the agent had with his superiors. The details of this particular phone call had revealed the military’s devious plan.