I remember it like it was yesterday, the strangest thing I had ever experienced. It was a breezy April morning in the year 2000, in the small town of Redhill. The whole town gathered around outside of the town library to witness the opening of a time capsule that was sealed in 1975. We were all eager to witness the contents sealed within, but nothing could prepare us all for what happened next.

 

Mayor Stevens began to pry on the lid of the capsule. As the seal was broken, a small cloud of dust puffed in the air. The mayor began to pull the contents out one by one. First he pulled out a 1975 new year flyer. He then pulled out an old photo of the town. Then he revealed a small white box.

 

As mayor Stevens opened the box, we could see the look of confusion on his face. He pulled two items from the box and walked towards a podium at the center of the stairs. In one hand he was holding a folded piece of paper, possibly a letter of some sorts, and in the other hand was an item that I had no idea what it was at the time. " Ladies and gentlemen it appears we have a letter to read." stated the mayor hesitantly.


"To the people of the town of Redhill. I write this letter from the year 2025 and I hope this reaches you before it's too late. The contents in this box are to be taken as a grave warning for events to come." read the mayor loudly as the color ran from his face. "The only other thing in the box is this." he stated as he held up a strange looking device.

 

The atmosphere of the crowd instantly changed from excitement to shock and fear. Who could have put something like this in a time capsule. I remember thinking that it was some kind of prank, but what about the device. Whatever the circumstances, mayor Stevens ensured us that he will get to the bottom of this.

 

Being a software engineer, I was given the job of trying to figure out what the strange device was. I recognized the symbol on the back of the device, it was a well known computer manufacturer but what could this be? It was too thin to be a digital camera and it appeared too intricate to be a pda. As I began pushing the small buttons on the side, the screen lit up. As I accessed the device I pushed the screen where it read "photos". The only file on the device seemed to be a video. I knew that I had to take what I had just uncovered to show mayor Stevens.

 

On the drive to town hall, I began to tell myself that this is just a nightmare. I kept telling myself that eventually I would wake up and this whole days events would just fade away. But as I slowly pulled into the dim lit parking lot, I knew that this was really happening.

 

I pulled into a parking spot, put my truck in park, and ran to the lobby. The receptionist let the mayor know that I had arrived and within seconds he called me to his office. " What did you find on the device." he asked eagerly. " I'm not entirely sure what this is but I think you need to see this immediately." I replied. As the mayor took the device, I had the screen on the video that I had just watched. As he watched the video, you could see the terror on his face. "We can prevent all of this, can't we?" the mayor asked in uncertainty. "I'm not sure how it would be possible, but we have to act fast." I answered. " We have to get this to everyone, but how? the mayor asked. "The news is live in about fifteen minutes." I replied swiftly.

 

The mayor and I rushed to his truck and made our way to the local television station. As we pulled into the parking lot, I grabbed the device and ran to the door. As I ran to the studio where they were filming the six o'clock news, I demanded camera time. With the focus on me I wasted no time holding the device to the camera and playing the video. In the video was a tall dark figure in a robe walking through a pile of bones while stating the names of each resident of Redhill. The video ended with the dark figure holding up a sign that read "4/22/2000". The camera man and the news crew were all frozen with fear. The lead anchor began to urge the audience to call their loved ones and tell them you love them.

 

At the same time that I was airing the video on the news, there was an explosion at the nuclear power plant. The explosion released radioactive material throughout the whole town. It would take exactly twelve days for the federal government to finish capping off the reactor and get the situation under control. Everyone in town except for the three of us not named in the video were hospitalized and later died by the end of the day of April 22. As for the device, I wouldn't figure out exactly what it was until seven years later when the first smartphone was released.