In the Blue of the Sky

I heard screams from the other end of Center Street as I pedaled my bike away from the flying black disks that had appeared over the city in the early hours of the morning. People crowded into streets, patios, and rooftop restaurants, filming and texting images of the large ships hovering over them.
 
And me? I packed light. A small backpack stuffed with a solar radio and flashlight and the portable camping gear I stashed for such an occasion as this. So while my coworkers and neighbors flocked to see the alien city in the sky, I put as much space as I could between them and my back tire.
 
But no matter how fast I pushed my legs, how many curbs I jumped or deserted neighborhoods I rode through, I couldn’t outrun the dying cries of a city torn out by its roots and flung against the mountains.
 
And now, as I think back, I’d say the strangest thing about that day was how blue the sky was just minutes before darkness covered me. I swear it was the bluest I had ever seen.