The Outside World

The Outside World

By: Zach Murphy

Smash! The tin cans Bernardo set up on the edge of the path toppled over as the soccer ball he kicked towards them bashed its way through. He then smiled and inside he shouted yes, proud of being able to knock over the cans from as far away as he could. He couldn’t actually shout because a stupid adult would show up and ruin his fun.
Bernardo’s mom was the worst. He had been asking his mom for days upon days to be allowed outside just so he could play with the soccer ball. She would never do anything fun back at home in their trashy apartment. All she did was worry all the time, and keep an eye on the “shady” neighbors saying that at any moment they could steal what little they had left. Bernardo missed walking up to Central Park and playing soccer with his dad.
Bernardo ran around the park kicking the soccer ball as far as he could, darting across the paths, the dying gardens, and the baseball field. He was sad to see there wasn’t much left of the soccer field, but it didn’t matter. There were no other kids here like there were a month ago when he joined a few of them for a game.
Just as Bernardo took on the personal challenge of hitting the ball of his head as many times in a row as he could, the city’s alarm system sounded. Bernardo’s heart pounded. The alarm never gave much warning before they showed up. He probably had about a minute before...
He didn’t want to think about it. There was no time to think about it. He was fifteen minutes from home at least when walking. If he darted down the avenues, praying to god that he could make it home, he might just make it out of this alive. His mom would be throwing a fit right now trying to find him around the apartment. Even if he survived the trip home, his mom would still kill him for being out in the streets. He zig zagged past the toppled cars in the streets, passing by a raided sidewalk cart with empty plastic bottles scattered around. He thought of taking cover there, but they might see him. The best place to hide would be in the safety of the apartment basement.
Then, he heard it... the rumbling of the engines above... He froze... He wasn’t going to make it home if those engines were that loud...
He turned around and could barely seen the trees of the distant Central Park. Above he saw the giant skycrafts hovering, slowly passing over the city. They’re massive metal hulks darkened the city even more than the storm clouds. A skyship was just passing over him, but his eyes were on another ship that was currently at central park, and the fiery explosions it was causing, burning down the little trees that were left.
He heard the launch doors on the aircraft creak open, and Bernardo looked up. He quickly looked away with tears rolling down his face. All he could think about was what would happen to his mother now... Now he felt guilty leaving the house when he was all that she had left, which was what anyone left in New York City could have wished for. Now he realized that, but it was too late...