Too Advanced

- New York City – 5:28pm – June 23rd, 2047 -1

The city buzzed with excitement. Angry drivers blared their horns loudly at the heavy traffic, street vendors screamed personal advertisements to the hurrying pedestrians, who in return spat obnoxiously into their cell phones.2

The three of us rounded the bend out of Sitterio’s Italian Diner onto the crowded sidewalk. Geezer cautiously leapt over each crumbling crack, being sure not to step on a single one. Transit was tapping wildly into his handheld PDA. I slowly glanced around at the surroundings, the bright lights, the dark alleys, the aging holographic billboards all stared back at me with complete familiarity.3

“Let’s head home through Time’s Square,” I said, “I haven’t been there in a while.”4

Transit lowered his device and glared at me bitterly. I smirked.5

“C’mon,” I replied,” It’s not gonna kill you!”6

It was difficult getting across onto the other side of the street. Everyone moved in direct lines, almost afraid of moving from their designated, computerized plans. Even Transit seems a bit nervous about going off course.7

Eventually, we made our way into the square. The majestic metallic skyscrapers rose up over a million feet high around us. The blinding advertisements lit my eyes with great intensity. Geezer ceased his staring at the ground and peered out from behind me.8

“Wow,” he said, “Times Square sure is nice this time of year!”9

A loud bang suddenly silenced the city! The ads are the nearby walls, one by one, lost their images and became brainless blue screens. Huge explosions came from inside the buildings around us as fellow pedestrians angrily bickered about a loss of signal on their phones. Shards of glass burst out from windows as cars swerved every which way as if their main computer could no longer direct them!10

“Look!” screamed Transit, “Up in the sky! That… that plane is out of control!” Up above us, a small, faint silhouette darted around among the clouds, becoming bigger and darker with each passing second. “Space, we’ve got to get out of here!”11

We sprinted off further into the city.12

“Where are we gonna go?” asked Geezer, “I don’t like it out here!”13

“There’s an old bomb shelter from the 60’s era underneath our apartment building!” I hollered back, leaping over a smoldering piece of rubble, “We’ll be safe there!”14

Pandemonium quickly swept across the city, with us smack dab in the middle. Everyone and everything ran wildly out of control. Street lights flickered on and off, eventually exploding from the overload of electricity. Cell phones went off like grenades in peoples’ hands!15

“Technology, all of it is somehow overloading itself. It’s unstoppable!” Transit screamed, trying desperately to keep up with Geezer and I.16

“Transit,” I stated, holding out my hand to him, “You’ve got to keep up! The apartment is only 3 blocks away!”17

The hardest parts of the run were getting across the streets. Cars with no drivers slammed into walls behind us. There was no way to control it!18

Suddenly, an even louder explosion blew New York to bits. The plane had hit down near Time Square with a tremendous force, splitting the ground like an earthquake. Whole buildings began to burn or completely toppled over.19

We sprinted up the stairs to the apartment building and quickly swung open the door. The inside had been deserted. Geezer started up the stairs to our room.20

“Geezer!” I stopped him, “We don’t have time! We need to get down in the basement!” Geezer took his last glance at the modern world and then followed close behind us.21

Debris fell from the cellar’s ceiling. I searched around the floor boards for the shelter door. Transit and Geezer pulled a series of filing cabinets from the wall, revealing a large rotating latch built into the paneling. Geezer grabbed hold of the wheel and forced it open with great force. A thick metal door revealed itself, leading into a dark tunnel.22

“I’ve got it!” Geezer announced, flinging himself into the mysterious hole. Transit quickly followed. I resisted the entry and look back at the basement, wondering if this too was my last glimpse at the world. A hand yanked at my turtleneck sleeve as I entered the hole, slamming the door shut tight behind me.23

The dark tunnel bent downward quickly and my feet touched a tight staircase. Geezer shined a flashlight up at us, guiding us down the incline. We soon had reached the small main room of the shelter.24

What felt like an eternity passed by as horrible screeches and noises echoed from above us. The three of us sat quietly, listening, with only the light of Geezer’s flashlight to see. Then, as quickly as it started, everything grew silent.25

At 6:14pm, June 23rd, 2047, civilization had died.26

We waited for hours, hoping for any sign of life still existing, but nothing happened. Geezer constantly urged us to see what was now beyond the bomb shelter, but none of us were truly ready for it. Everything we knew had been challenged. For now, all we knew was that Gregory Edward Zerone, Thomas Randall Sitterio, and I, Samuel James Pace were the only humans left on Earth,27

But it was only the beginning.