Survival
By Andy Zimmer
“Oh god we’re gonna die.”
“Shhh!”
“What do we do?”
“Shut up!”
“They followed you back didn’t they!”
“I said shut up!”
A pair of teens sat huddle inside a cupboard under a kitchen sink as a pair of heavy boots slowly trodded closer. Through a crack in cupboard door, they could see the bloody boots moving across the kitchen floor, kicking debris and garbage as they went. Both teens cover each others' mouths and held their breaths.
“Did you find the kids?” The shrill female voice floated in from the other room.
“No, but they’re here somewhere.” The hoarse voice of a man laughed out as his bloody boots started for the door.
The teens watched in bated suspense as the man’s boots left their view and continued to as they listened to the two argue. Tears streaked down their faces as they tried to stay motionless and quiet. They listened to the sounds of breaking glass and things being thrown.
“Where the hell are they?!” The woman screeched out alongside the sound of more glass breaking. “He sold them to us they’re patents aren’t valid without them.”
“Who cares about the patent? Think about how good it would feel to dissect a live specimen!” The man’s voice carried an eerie tone of excitement.
“Do you understand how valuable those clones are?” The woman sounded unamused as more glass broke.
“Of course I know! You used my money!”
There was a distant sound of sirens that seemed to alarm the intruders. The teens listened as the voices began to frantically move further away. The teens slowly and as quietly as they could tumbled from their hiding place. Quickly moving away from the sirens and the invaders they slipped from the house and into the shadows of a black alley.
“What do we do?”
“We keep running! We’ll die if they catch us.”
“Do you really think dad sold us.”
“I don’t know.”
The sun began to rise, illuminating crumbling homes and overgrown with plants and trees. Large floating cities loomed in the air above hidden partly by clouds. The two teens quickly found a sewer access and slipped inside.
“Can we stop whispering now?”
“I don’t know but it’s probably safer to keep whispering.”
“What now?”
“You know what.”
The two teens looked at each other in the dim sewer light as they waded through the murky water. The same thought on both their minds.
Survive.
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