The Adventures of John Silverstein
by Nikil - 9A

Shots are fired. BANG-BANG! Magazines are loaded. CLUCK-CHUCK! Bullets whiz past John's face. WOOSH! All of sudden, a shot is fired at the heart of the sentinel-in-charge. The sentinel falls, and to everyone's astonishment, there was James - lying languidly on the carpet. John fell to his feet.

It all started on the 29th of February, the year 2050. Or might have - as that is what John was told. Mr. Reynold Silverstein, his father, was the sole mastermind behind the creation of the 43rd sector of the Swiss Intelligence, which came into being on this very day, and its sole purpose - assist the intelligence by

developing molecular - level weapons. Everyone knew it wasn't possible without Mr. Reynold - the molecule - level engineering aficionado, who had also been a part of the team that was hired to eradicate cancer from the world. John never doubted the fact that his father was a genius, but always remained baffled at the memory of his father - the last he saw his father was in the headquarters of the 43rd sector - whose location remains unknown. Everyone assumed that his father was since bereft of life, and so did John - he felt it would make sense if he'd agree with the rest of the world.

James, or James Cookson to be more precise, was an orphan until he was adopted by Mr. Reynold, and is John Silverstein's only friend - a friend than a brother. James was older than John, and showed a peculiar interest in detectives, but never tried any of their ways of deducing facts from minor clues. On the other hand, John was more of an athlete and a science specialist than a mystery solver, and was never amazed by such cases - until one was discovered in their garage - destined to change their lives forever.

That day was a miserable one for John, who got into a fight with his neighbors, who regarded James as 'adopted'. Though this was true, John wasn't ready to accept the fact, and pulled out his bone - zapper* and zapped one of the neighbor’s bones till they froze in place. James wasn't present at the scene, and would have certainly saved the day. Unfortunately, it didn't happen, and the police were on their way the second John was reported. John, who hasn't experienced such situations before, hopped on his hover - board** and unleashed all of the charge it had to get home as soon as possible.

He broke opened the garage door and rushed inside. The police were already at his house, and were scanning the house. He knew the garage would keep him from the scanner's reach, but he had a feeling that he never experienced earlier - John Silverstein was scared.

The footsteps were closing in. John forgot everything that moment - even that the garage could be accessed by the police. He panicked, and walked around looking for a better place to hide. There was a cupboard, which remained untouched since a couple of decades, and the door shouldn't have opened - with all the rust and corrosion on the hinges. But it did, when John forced it open to enter, and he did. He waited there for a minute, until the men in duty left. As he got down, he caught glimpse of a very old bag that was a left in the cupboard to rot away. In it were a few documents, perfectly preserved in a plastic folder. Suddenly, a faint voice called his name. John panicked like never before.

The faint voice was of James, as it turns out to be, who had come across the incident quite late. John run to him with all the might he had. James almost slapped him for what he did, but something more interesting caught his attention - the documents John was carrying. He snatched them and read them with great curiosity, discretion, and all such qualities usually a detective's possession.

The first page said, 'date of creation, see a calendar'. The rest of the pages were empty. John read it now, and jumped in excitement- he knew what the note was talking about, and he knew the date - the 29th of February, 2050. They wandered why they had to look in a calendar, until James came up with a fact - a fact that is going to change their lives thereafter.

What could the note have wanted to say? As they submerged in deep thought, James sprang up with glee, having solved the mystery - James said that the date never existed, as the 29th of February would only appear in a leap year, but 2050 isn't one. What could this imply? John was filled with horror and melancholy at that thought - that the 43rd sector never came into being - and his father was not who he thought was.

The last time John saw his father was in the headquarters of the 43rd, which is now proven to never have existed. Then where could that place have been? The answer: safe and sound with the Swiss Intelligence. But there was one problem - the police were looking for him.
---------------------------------------------------------*The End*--------------------------------------------------------------------
*a futuristic self - defense weapon
**a developed version of the skate board that can hover on the ground.