The Attic Envelope: A Collaborative Sci-Fi Story

Thanks for visiting my blog!  Here's how this works: I will post a new chapter several times a week, then you'll comment with ideas on what will happen next.  Sound like fun?

Okay, here we go.....

Chapter 2

As Owen's father moved up the attic stairs, Owen held the manila envelope in his hands and wondered what he should do with it. If he gave it to Dad, there was a good chance that would be the end of it. 

Poof. Gone forever. Just like Gramps. 

Dad, being the dutiful taxpaying citizen he was, would take the envelope, make sure it went to the right place, and whatever was inside would be long lost history. Owen would never find out what his grandfather had been involved with--a man who spent twenty years as a NASA engineer and talked little about what he actually did there. "Sworn to secrecy," he'd say with a cigar in his mouth whenever Owen asked him about it. "If I told you I'd have to kill you."

Too bad a heart attack killed Gramps first.

 Owen tossed the envelope behind a box as his father reached the top of the stairs. Dad brushed sweat off his forehead and handed a bottled water to Owen. "Sure is hot up here. Brought you some water." 

    "Thanks," Owen said, twisting the cap and guzzling it down. He took a quick glance at the floor and noticed part of the envelope sticking out beside the box. 

      Crap, crap, crap. 

    "Find anything worth a hoot up here?" Dad said, moving around the attic. 

    "Not much. Just a bunch of old junk." Owen said, clenching tighter to the bottle. He had little experience with lying. He was an A student at Collins High, didn't hang with the wrong crowd, and never had any reason to keep things from his parents. Well, okay, there was the occasional breaking of curfews and other mild offences, but even then, he apologized to his folks and cleared the air immediately. 

    Dad made his way around the attic and stopped at the box, glancing at the corner of the envelope. "What's this?" he said, picking it up and looking it over. 

    "No idea," Owen said, his voice faltering a little. Good grief, he was the world's worst liar. "Okay, busted. I tossed it there."

    "Hmm," his father said, biting his lip. "Top secret, huh? You didn't look inside, did you?"

    Owen shook his head. "What do you think is in it? Notice the NASA seal? It's obviously been broken."

    His father rubbed his chin. "Probably best if we sent this back to NASA, don't you think?"

    "Oh come on, Dad. Don't you want to know what's inside? You know how Gramps wouldn't talk about his old NASA days. Aren't you dying to know?"

    Dad glared at Owen for several long seconds. Finally, he said, "Look, Owen. It's best if we give this back to the right people. Okay? That's what Gramps would have wanted.  As he started climbing back down the stairs, he turned and added. "If you find anything else like this, call me up immediately. Promise?"

    Owen nodded halfheartedly.  

    Two hours later, he'd found nothing else of interest and called it a day.  

Question:  In the next scene, I want Owen to do some snooping for the envelope when his parents aren't around. Where should his father hide the envelope? Should Owen get caught snooping, or should he find out what's inside without his parents knowledge?  Any other ideas for the next scene?