The Riddle Of The Future

The First Riddle

As all good stories go, one must start at the beginning, even if that beginning was slightly boring and not at all as may be expected. I was at school and it was lunch time, students screaming and running around the fields, eating on hot asphalt, teachers trying desperately to keep order… and then there was us, playing basketball on the crookedly drawn courts…

“Hey Alex! Pass!”

The sun was high in the sky and sweat dripped down my forehead as I grinned determinedly. The rough ball was bouncing from my palm to the ground as I observed Lucy’s position on the court. Her blonde hair was plastered to her face, blue eyes sparkling with mischief. The girl looked ready for business. The losing team was trying desperately to intervene, one boy getting very close to my face, arms high in the air above me. He was so near that I could smell the sweat oozing from his underarms and I wrinkled my nose in disgust.

“You’re not getting past me,” I muttered as the boy sneered slightly, reaching up higher if that was possible. With a slight smirk, I feigned to the left and the boy followed. At the last second, I changed abruptly in direction, bouncing the ball around him and grunting as I threw it harshly towards Lucy. I watched with baited breath as she caught the flying ball easily. The boy growled and I gave him a sweet smile. “Nice try.”

He merely glared at me and I had to choke down the laugh that was threatening to explode. It probably wasn’t a good idea to anger him; he was twice my size and didn’t appear to be particularly against resorting to violence. I’d been in my fair share of fights, but I wasn’t an idiot.

A shout from the opposite end of the court brought my attention back to the game and I watched as Lucy got cornered by a couple of sweaty goons. She was very near to our basket and I was struck by an idea. I quickly ran up behind her, slipping past the burly boys. Lucy caught onto the idea and passed behind her where I was once again, in possession of the ball. The opposite team realised their mistake too late as I looked up, the sun shining in my eyes, craning my neck at the basket. Taking aim, I placed my hands in position on the ball and pushed off with my feet, watching as it arced through the air and landed with a swish, clearing the net.

The sounds of cheering from my team deafened my ears and I grinned widely, my mouth stretching at unimaginable lengths. Fifth win in a row. I felt unstoppable. Lucy ran up to me, panting loudly and smiling just as largely as I was.

“Great team work, buddy,” she laughed, patting my sweat covered back. My shirt was sticking to my skin and I grimaced slightly at the dirty feeling.

“Couldn’t have done it without you,” I replied, winking and throwing my arm around her shoulders. She was a beautiful girl with an unbelievably small frame. The first time I had met her, she had been in the middle of a screaming match with one of the school’s worst bullies. Her anger had surprised me but I was taken by the girl immediately, knowing I had to be her friend. Turns out, that was the best decision I ever made.   

Suddenly, I felt a strange wind whip my hair around and goose bumps erupted over my arms. The sky darkened without warning, as if somebody had turned off the sun. Looking up in confusion, I saw dark, ominous clouds drifting above us.

“What the hell?” I murmured.

“Who turned out the lights?” somebody jokingly yelled from across the courts. All the students had stopped to stare at the freakish weather, as if in a trance. It had gone eerily quiet, birds had ceased their chirping and the crickets were no longer making music. An unexplainable feeling of dread settled into my stomach, dropping like a stone. I noticed that Lucy had started to shiver slightly.

And then the rain started. At first it was just a slight drizzle, but then it was pouring down in buckets, immediately drenching everyone to the bone. Lucy yelped and ducked under my arm that was still draped over her shoulders and ran for the school building, along with the other students still on the courts. I narrowed my eyes in slight irritation as I called for Lucy to wait for me. My voice was drowned out by the thunderous rain.