The Secret Manuscript by Edward Mullen Page A

the
windows and he could not help but smile. He felt unusually
invigorated. It was the first time in a long time that he actually
looked forward to his day. Now having been fully charged, Ben was
excited to explore the events contained in the secret manuscript.
Unfortunately for Kyle, he was at school and would not get to share
the joy of Ben’s discovery.
    Ben set the
manuscript on the kitchen table and opened the refrigerator. The
fridge was nearly empty aside from a half empty carton of milk, a
two-litre of pop, and a box of pizza. Ben lifted the lid to the
pizza box and saw there were only two slices left. He glanced at
the time on the microwave — it was just after ten o’clock. He
grabbed the milk instead and decided on the more sensible breakfast
option — a bowl of cereal. In addition to inheriting the house, Ben
had also acquired Mr. Gringer’s dishes and cutlery. After opening a
few cupboards and drawers, he eventually found what he needed and
sat back down at the table to read the manuscript while he ate his
breakfast.
    As he
continued on, he came to a part in the story he had almost
forgotten. It described a situation where he was getting bullied
and Kyle had come to his rescue.
    Ben curled up
on the ground in a turtle position, protecting his head from the
repeated blows. The commotion caught Kyle’s attention, but he did
not react right away. Off to the side of the scuffle was another
bully going through the contents of a distinct red backpack. This
was when Kyle knew the victim of the attack was his brother,
Ben.
    Kyle rushed
into action and lunged at the group of kids — shoving two of the
boys and punching a third one in the mouth. The group of boys
spread out unsure whether to stay and fight, or just leave. Kyle
stood his ground and eventually the boys decided not to continue
the fight. Once they left, Kyle grabbed Ben by the arm and helped
him to his feet....
    A few chapters
later, there was yet another account of Kyle’s heroism. Again,
Ben’s recollection of the event had almost completely vanished. The
memories were so vague that it was hard to know with any degree of
accuracy how much of it was factual. As he continued to read, parts
of it slowly started to come back, but he could not remember how
exactly the story turned out. In addition to it being a long time
ago, Ben had done his best to put his past behind him.
    The next
morning Ben and Kyle woke up at 7:00 a.m. to do their morning
chores. The first thing they had to do was feed the animals. They
went into the stable and started shovelling hay into the horse
stalls. Next to be fed were the pigs.
    They went back
to the barn to get the slop buckets. That’s when Ben noticed the
padlock on Bob Wibley’s garage was unlocked. This was unusual since
it had always been locked in the past. There were no windows to
peer into, and there were explicit instructions to never go near
the garage. Naturally, a healthy curiosity brewed as to what Wibley
stored in there. With a hurried pace, Ben walked toward the garage
to see what was inside.
    Kyle, being
the more sensible of the two, stayed back and urged Ben not to act
on his curiosity. He knew the only thing to come from it was likely
to be trouble.
    “ Ben, come
on, quit messing around,” Kyle shouted in a hushed manner.
    Ignoring
Kyle’s advice, Ben unlatched the lock, opened the large wooden
door, and disappeared into the mysterious garage. Once inside,
Ben’s heart raced as he snuck around in the dark. The only light
came from a tiny sliver through the doorway. When his eyes adjusted
to the darkness, he realized what was concealed in the off-limits
garage.
    Ben was
staring at a custom-fitted dust cover draped over some kind of
automobile. Based on the outline of the car, Ben had an idea of
what model it was. Still, he could not help but look. Reaching
down, Ben grabbed the cover from the bottom and flipped it up over
the hood. He almost gasped when he saw the shiny chrome and
pristine red