Furnace Guy Saves Brazil from Volcano!
He’s the guy to call when your volcano breaks down!
Note: This fiction story was created in response to TKL’s Medium Day Mega Mash-Up. I was not able to write during the event, but I held a private 30-minute writing sprint with my wife after. This is what was created…
Gus rang the doorbell again. He stood in front of a huge mansion backed onto a dormant volcano. It was a beautiful sight, if a tad “supervillainy”…
This was the right address, so where was everybody? In his email he had informed them he’d be at the listed address between the hours of 9 am to 5 pm, and, as he checked his watch, the time just changed to 5:18.
Perfectly reasonable for a furnace repair technician to arrive fashionably late!
The door opened — a tall, gorgeous blonde woman smiled and invited him inside the house.
“Mr. Meltdown had to step out, but he said you’d be here today,” the bombshell informed Gus with a seductive wink. “Let me show you down to the … furnace.”
Something about the way she said ‘furnace’ immediately put him on edge. He slung his work bag over his shoulder and followed the woman’s lead.
“I’m Judy, by the way,” she continued as her stiletto heels clacked on pristine marble steps leading down a long spiral staircase. “I’m Mr. Meltdown’s … Administrative Assistant.”
An Assistant? Gus marveled at how many furnaces he could repair if he had his own assistant.
He tapped his trusty pipe wrench — Brunhilde — swinging on his tool belt. At least I have you at my side, he thought with a smile.
Finally at the foot of the marble staircase, Judy motioned to a dinosaur model dressed smartly in a waiter’s tuxedo. “This is the Master’s prized possession, which he named Keith. It’s a fully reconstructed Albertasaurus.”
“But we’re in Sao Paulo, Brazil,” Gus pointed out.
“He had him FedExed down here after he successfully reanimated him,” Judy answered thoughtfully.
“Reanimated?!”
Keith spoke and nearly scared Gus out of his overalls. “Yeah, bruh. Meltdown is my best bud. Brought me down to sunny Sao Paulo after bringing me back to life, but I do have one tiny complaint…”
Gus tried to remain calm and professional. “What would that be?” He tried to ignore the fact that he was speaking to a talking dinosaur in a tuxedo!
“That crazy dawg has his entrance to his lair down here, too, but I’m not allowed to go in there.”
“You know that Mr. M is only trying to look out for you,” Judy said, patting the dino on its head. “He’s got a lot of evil inventions locked away in there. Your large size and tail would knock everything over!”
“This is just cruelty to dinosaurs, man!” Keith argued.
Gus propped open a door hidden in the far reaches of the basement, revealing a gorgeous backyard backing onto the volcano. “Where’s the furnace?” he asked, worried that he already knew the answer.
Keith pointed one of his laughingly small arms towards the backyard volcano. “Really, dude? It’s obviously right there!”
Gus pulled out his trusty Nokia cell phone and speed-dialed the president of Brazil. This volcano was clearly not built to code, and he refused to work an illegal furnace job!
Total:10/12 points
Main character gains a superpower: Oops, I forgot that one!
A damsel in distress who is a “Karen- Keith +1 point
An extinct animal makes an appearance- Albertasaurus: +1 point
Story takes place beside a volcano: +2 points
Plot twist: Gus doesn't really save the day,
just tattles on the illegal furnace job! +5 points
This tally box (an afterthought) +1 pointRead up on Furnace Guy here!
