Perkins Brothers Repair Company - Part 1

I let out a yawn as I stepped into the small kitchen where my brother Lloyd was already reading the newspaper with his feet propped up on the table. He calls himself a morning person, but I just think he's insane.

 

He lowered his newspaper slightly as I entered and said, "Good morning, Donny!" in a voice so cheerful it made me cringe. He knew I hated it when he called me "Donny", but I decided to let the remark pass and headed towards the coffee maker. After I filled a mug with my beloved caffeine, I stared out the window above the sink.

 

Our small apartment was on the ninety-second floor of the Aspotose Living Center building, and from the window we received a great view overlooking the vast city of Trinity Atlantic with its towering skyscrapers littering the landscape in every direction. I stared blankly at the hovercars and hoverbikes of various colors and sizes all whizzing about the metropolis, barely missing each other as they darted around at ungodly speeds. The choreography was all automatic and managed by computer systems, but sometimes that system would make a mistake and the chaos that ensued was morbidly fascinating to behold. Today however, the traffic seemed to be running at 100% accuracy, so I turned my back and joined Lloyd at the table. After taking a sip of my coffee and practically burning my mouth, I angrily pushed the mug away and asked Lloyd, 'So, what's new in the news?"

 

Lloyd seemed glad at the opportunity of conversation, but he kept his eyes on the paper as he said, "Well, we narrowly avoided another apocalypse yesterday."

 

I rolled my eyes. As Earth aged, the near destruction of all humanity seemed to happen more and more often, becoming an almost constant hindrance to the world's brightest minds who must scramble to come up with a solution to every threat that presented itself.

 

"What is it this time? Another almost incurable disease?"

 

"Nope. They had to bring out the Massive Containment Field Generator to keep the sun from exploding."

 

"Ah, an old classic. I swear that star is about as stable as an elephant on a unicycle."

 

"Heh, good one Donny."

 

"Anything else?" I asked, but before he could inform me of the latest political scandal or the brave actions of a local hero, the phone sitting on the counter suddenly rang. The LED lights of the device's simple display glowed bright red, indicating a business call. My brother beat me to the phone as he always does and pressed the answer key.

 

The surround speakers hidden about the room sprang to life, and a woman's voice emitted throughout the apartment.

 

"Hello? Is this the Perkins Brothers Repair Company?" The phone's sound system was designed to give the illusion that the caller was in the room, but the resulting disembodied voice always freaked me out. Many a time have I mistaken Lloyd's heated conversation with a dissatisfied customer as the unbridled wrath of a vengeful spirit.

 

Lloyd spoke up, "Yes, you have reached the Perkins Brothers Repair Company headquarters. How may we help you?" The line was well-rehearsed, and I mentally applauded its execution.

 

We heard a loud crash and a scream through the speakers, and the caller said, "Dear Lord! My lawnmower has gone insane, and it just busted through my backdoor!"

 

I spoke up, being sure to keep my voice steady and clear, "Okay lady, you need to stay calm. Find somewhere you can hide, like a bathroom or a closet, and try to keep quiet."

 

"But what if it finds me?" The lady obviously hadn't taken my advice to keep calm, as her voice was hysterical, and she was half shouting.

 

"Just... try not to resemble a blade of grass. Now what address are you calling from?"

 

After we had received all of the necessary information, we suited up in our work outfits, consisting of gray overalls with the company's logo emblazoned on the left breast and of course safety goggles, in case things got out of hand. We exited our apartment, and I activated the "Call" button on my key chain before we entered the elevator at the end of the hall. When we reached the roof our van was already waiting for us. Designed to resemble a much older model, it wouldn't have looked out of place even as far back as the 21st century, except for its lack of the primitive tires used during that period. Its white paint was chipped in a few places, but the company's logo painted on the rear still maintained pristine quality as it was the newest addition to the vehicle.

 

I hopped into the driver's seat and punched our client's address into the monitor. As our van sped away, I mentally prepared myself for the impending skirmish with the homicidal lawnmower.