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TEDDY RUNS

A computerized car whirs past Teddy Fisher as he trips on a rock and tumbles to the ground. He’s been running for the past thirty minutes, and when he saw the Ford Impact HyperNet, he hoped for a ride to anywhere. Instead, he’s left in the dust, going nowhere with his thumb jammed from hitting the ground.

The HyperNet connects just about every machine, including cars and stoplights, to a mega highway of information. The red coupe that just passed Teddy could, in theory, have been without a passenger. After all, many people don’t drive anymore. In fact, there hasn’t been an accident in five years thanks to automated stoplights synchronized with traffic flow. Even in the small college town of Appleton, KY, modern technology has come to town.

Teddy’s Amazing Man pajamas are dirty now. His father made him get ready for bed early, and so Teddy put on the blue lightweight pants and matching blue t-shirt with his favorite hero on the front wearing a gold cape, a red shirt with “Amazing Man” in sizzling letters, and red tights.

The twelve-year-old would’ve taken a lift offered by anyone, even a mass murderer. At least it would be someone he’sslightly familiar with. He could ask him questions such as how can a mean person play God by deciding who lives and who dies? It’s a concept Teddy’s father knows inside and out.

Who would I put in that car, if I could make them appear there?

Putting his hands to his head, as if to block the pain from the “horror scene,” he gets up and starts running again. Too much thinking is weighing him down, and he can’t afford to let the monster catch him. At least he thought