“Johny On the Spot”

by Gage Joseph, Evelynn McCoy, Anahi Moreno, Raquel Ndirangu, Charles Ray, Jayden Taylor, Alyssa Whittington, Dynasia Wise & Whit

The figure moved between the burned-out cars and the hulking wrecks still crowding the bridge which had cracked and buckled from heat and sun in the years following the event.

Below the bridge, the tide had already risen higher than it had in months. Below, sharks frothed and turned, fighting over some dead thing. The figure did not pay attention to the beasts and instead focused on moving between the cars.

When the shot rang out, Johny ducked behind a burning tailgate of a truck.

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“He’s somewhere around here, I know it,” said one of the bandits. Johny peeks through the smoke coming off the tailgate and quickly realizes he’s outnumbered. In frustration, he yanks a dangling taillight from the wreck of the truck and chunks it.

Johny cursed. In his bag was the last remaining Molotov cocktail made the morning before he left for recon. If he used it now, and he needed it later, he would be out of luck, something his pops always warned him about.

The noise of the thrown taillight caught the attention of the group which had begun to move away from his path. If he played his cards right, he’d get out of the jam without any hassle.

Only hardly anything ever went Johny’s way. He peered through the smoke his hiding spot provided, careful to not cause too much noise. Did they leave? The Molotov cocktail was his last hope.

That was when he heard the high-pitched sound of the drone. The bandits were using drones. Then he spotted him A boy no more than 12, light, barely any meat on him, being hauled by the androids.

Should he be a good citizen? Not only did have bandit slavers after him but if the androids were patrolling the street again he was in trouble. He had two choices, run away now. Everyone was distracted, but he would be running forever. Or he could help another. At least he wouldn’t be called a coward. Time was running out. He needed to choose quickly.