Just An Echo

1: I Accidentally Pickpocket A Super Solider

The busy streets of New York City are alive, with music flooding the air and people's laughter bouncing of the walls. I walk along the sidewalk studying the cracks in the ground pretending not to pay attention to the people around me. You couldn't see it but under my Yankees ball cap I was reading them like books. I could see if they kept cash or if they were more of a credit card person. I could even tell which pocket they kept their phone and which one they kept their wallet in. Most people here had wallets with at least $20 for maybe a beer or a ride home. This was favorite place to take a walk, both sides of the street were lined with bars and clubs full of drunk people to pickpocket. I was only 16 so I wasn't allowed in any of the places here but nothing was stopping me from helping myself to the people smoking outside. A group of women stumble out of a nearby bar their flashy, silver necklaces bouncing on their chest at they struggle to walk in their neon high heels. One starts to fall but I catch her slipping my hand into her purse and pulling out her wallet.

"Thanks you." She slurs as I help her to the cab her friends had called.

"No problem ma'am" I walk off smirking holding her wallet in front of me where they can't see it. I duck into an alley and pull out the wallet, running my thumbs over the wide stack of cash hidden inside. Sometimes it was just too easy. I ditch the now empty wallet tossing it in a metal trash can outside someone's porch. I shove my hands into my hoodie pocket and blow the teal strands of hair out of my face. Before long I find myself wandering the abandoned streets of a Queen neighborhood. The street lights flicker as I go by and I can hear a couple arguing in their upstairs apartment before a loud slamming door shuts them up. The moon is high above the rooftops and casts shadows all along the alley walls. I hop up on a dumpster and swing myself on a fire escape before quickly climbing it onto the roof of a building. I wander over to the edge, looking out I can see the lights of the city in the distance and can hear the honking of horns followed by swearing, ah the beauty of the city. I sit down, my legs dangling off the side of the building as I scan over the empty streets. Suddenly movement in an alley across the way catches my eye I lean trying to see more but it seems to have disappeared. I shrug it off as some tom cat or a kid sneaking out but a few minutes later I see it again. This time a make out the glisten of a metal weapon in their hands and a small stack of bills drops right where they stood. I'm not losing a chance at even a few bucks, I climb back down the fire escape and land in the alley directly across, thankfully it seems to be empty. I look around the streets and jog over to where I saw them. I pick up the bills fingering through them, quite a lot for the person to just leave without noticing I pause and I get a bad feeling, what if they meant to leave it? Without staying around to find out I sprint out of the alley into the streets and race down the sidewalk. After a few blocks I slip into an alleyway and lean against the wall, checking behind me to see if I'm being followed. I wave of relief washes over me, ever since these so called heroes have been running around Queens it's gotten harder and harder to get even the tiniest bit of cash. Still my nerves are on high alert as I walk through downtown Queens. I finally get home, if you can call it that. I live on the top floor of an abandoned bottle making factory, fun I know. I carefully wiggle in through a hole near one of the doors, just big enough for me to fit. A few birds fly off once I get inside causing their cries to echo through the warehouse. I scale the rafters and land on my makeshift bedroom which is basically a few sheets of metal lying across two beams. My backpack hangs on nearby hooks and I have a small paper bag filled with cash. I toss my earning in from tonight and lay down on my sleeping bag pulling my rough blanket over me and falling fast asleep.

The sunlight shines directly on me through the massive holes on the roof. I squint and try blocking it out by covering my face with my blanket. I can hear the honking of horns in the distance and a garbage truck plowing down the streets. I groggily sit up slipping a pack of gummies out of the pocket on my backpack. I didn't have dinner last night so I tear into the bag but I also try to eat them one by one, savoring the flavor. I hold a green gummy up to the light, it's in the shape of the Hulk who 'saves' people, right after he drops buildings on them. I roll my eyes throwing the rest in my mouth and sliding down one of the beams like a fireman, landing on the floor without a sound. I push through my homemade door and begin walking towards the streets of the city. Everyone here is always in a hurry to get to work, to get home, to get by and those people are usually the ones not paying attention. I bump into a man in a business suit as he runs to catch up with his taxi. I grab his wallet sliding out the cash and stuffing it in my hoodie pocket.