Post #3 A Breakthrough

Brendan hurried through the empty streets pulling behind him a bright red wagon carrying the very box that has consumed his life. Frustrated in his inability to break the three locks, he intended to bring it to a locksmith, but before he could, his head was hit by a ball of ice. Dazed, Brendan stood on the sidewalk was more hail began to pour from the sky. Coming to his senses he opened the door to an abandoned shop dragging in his wagon. The dark clouds prevented light from reaching the store's windows. Brendan tried to light-switch but to no avail. "I guess I am going to have to wait out this storm," Brendan announced to the empty room. He sat with his back against the wall staring at his box and reminiscing about his encounter with Arizona Smith.

....

"What's in the box?" Arizona asked as she jumps down from a tree.

Completely caught off guard, Brendan could only foster up a "What?"

"Can I see it?" Arizona asked as she approached the red wagon. Before Brendan could say no, she places her hand on the padlock that gave the locksmith so much trouble. She claimed, "I haven't seen this metal in a long time."

"Can you help me break it?" Brendan pleaded, "I have been wanting to open it for a long time."

"Oh yes," Arizona declared, "This is the strongest metal known in the universe, but as soon as you pour hydrogen peroxide, it becomes like putty." She turned over the lock recognizing the veins etched on it, and her arms turned blue. "Oh no. Where did you get this box?" she questioned with panic seeping through her voice.

Brendan was curious about her arms but dropped it and explained, "I found it in my apartment when I moved in."

"This is bad. You need to get rid of this box. These markings on the back indicate something harmful," warned Arizona.

...

"Ha. What does she know? She is probably jealous," Brendan says to himself as he gets off the ground wiping the dust from the back of his pants. Deciding to spend his time a bit better, Brendan searched the store for some hydrogen peroxide. He opened a cabinet, but it was too dark to see inside. His hand danced around trying to feel anything resembling a bottle, but all it found was a serrated blade.

Post # 2- You're a Wizard

Brendan sat on a bench waiting for a bus to get to his job at his accounting firm. He tapped his feet to the crisp sounds of raindrops hitting the glass ceiling above the bench. Brendan thoughts were clouded much like the sky. He kept asking himself What could be in that box. He didn't get much time to think since he was interrupted by Hermione

Hermoine sat down next to Brendan and broke the silence by saying, "This is for you." She hands over the cup of coffee keeping her head straight. "It is from Jumping Bean so you know its good."

"Some olive branch," Brendan joked as he takes a sip

"For the last time, it was an accident. I haven't mastered my powers Brendan. You were the one the dared me to prove I had them.", Hermione replied flipping her hair.

"You didn't even prove you had powers. All you did was set a piece a paper on fire and pointed a branch at it saying pig Latin. Despite you best efforts, you weren't the one that put it out, it was the Fire Department."

Hermione let out a sigh. "You don't understand. I didn't practice before that. I'm now well-versed in spell casting. Just before I unlocked a chest for my uncle using only my wand."

Intrigued  by this and having nothing to lose, Brendan asked, "So if I had a locked box, you could open it?"

"Of course I could. Just watch this." Hermione turned away so that her back was facing Brendan. Hearing the flick of a lighter, he began fearing the worst. "See. Look at my wand.", Hermoine said eagerly as she waved around a sparkler

Embarrassed by his naivety, Brendan looked away. "You never take me seriously," protested Hermione. In her attempt to regain Brendan's attention, the sparkler was left alone to mingle with her hair. The pair didn't work, and so her hair was set on fire. Hermoine's screams snapped Brendan out of his pit of shame.

"Jesus!" Brendan exclaimed. Hermione was digging through her magical purse pulling out a bottle of rum, but before she could douse her hair with it, Brendan pulled her into the rain.

The fire was put out almost immediately and Hermione uttered a faint "Thanks."

"I guess you owe me another cup of coffee." Brendan said as he wiped water off his watch.

Post #1 - The Morning Puzzle

The day started with a blaring alarm. Brendan arose from his slumber at exactly 7 am. Slightly annoyed with the abrupt ending of his dreamt expedition of Mt. Everest, he dragged his feet all the way to the bathroom where he blinded himself with the fluorescent bulbs. He stumbled to the sink and cupped his hands. The water splashes across his face, sharpening his senses like the brisk winds of Nepal. A long sigh escapes his lips as he moves to the shower. "No heat again?" he thinks to himself, "Why can't they just fix it already?" Throwing on a new set of clothes, he sets the kettle on the stove. While he waits for the water to boil he grabs the morning paper and flips to the crossword puzzle.

"What is a three letter word for a container?", he asks aloud, "Aha! Box." As is it was a response to his achievement, the locked box in the corner of the room creaked. Startled, Brendan made his way over to check on the box. This box was in the apartment when Brendan arrived two months ago. While he was curious as to what was inside, he never made the effort to open it. He approached slowly and placed his hand on the metal covering. It was as cold as ice. A handprint was left in the field of dust. There were locks on three sides of the box. One lock was a steel padlock with designs of veins etched in the back. On another side was a panel of five buttons with the letters T, M, G, D, and A. The last lock was a ten-string number lock. The numbers were completely faded on the tenth number slider. This brief examination ended with the whistles of the kettle, and Brendan finally poured the cup of tea he needed to properly start his day. Sitting in his chair, he returned to his crossword puzzle. The next clue read "dead" for a seven lettered word. "That's obvious", he thought, "The answer is decease." As he approaches the completion of the crossword, he soon realizes "decease" was incorrect. The word had to start with letter "M". he did not get much time to think because there was a knock on his door. The door opened, revealing Georgie Mendoza.

"I don't think this is the best phrasing but uh Mr. Evans is dead."