Africa (Complete)

Chapter Five

Kam sat in the backseat of a police cruiser being well aware of the statistics of young African American men being disproportionately arrested. He found sports as an avenue that would take him on a different path. He had dedicated his entire life to escape the typical trappings of a youth coming from poverty, and in one fell swoop it was taken away from him. It was as if all his hard work and good choices was for nothing. In the end, the outcome was same. The thought weighed heavy on him.

Picking his head up, he stared out at the window and wondered how someone could be so evil and vindictive. Mr. Bennet didn't even know him, all he knew was that he had a low status job, and dare he say, the colour of his skin. It was messed up, but unfortunately not all that surprising.

Just then, a loud rumbling sound interrupted his train of thought. Kam looked out the window and saw several flaming objects streak across the sky. He could hardly believe his eyes. It was like something out of a movie. Before he had a chance to process what was happening, an Earth shattering impact rocked the planet, which was then followed by a deafening echo like a bell being rung. The ground shook, causing several cars to lose control and slam into each other. The police cruiser pulled over on the side of the road, coming to a complete stop. The two officers exited the vehicle and gazed skyward. Alone in the backseat with his arms cuffed behind his back, Kam craned his neck to see outside.

"Hey!" he shouted. "Let me out. What's going on?"

Several more meteors flashed overhead, soaring across the sky, this time much closer to the East Coast.

BOOM! – the sound was unnerving and the devastation was unimaginable as thousands, or perhaps millions, of people had likely died in an instant.

The dull ringing in his ears never ceased, but that was soon replaced by more impacts. BOOM – BOOM – BOOM. As far as the eye could see in both directions was bumper-to-bumper traffic. Kam looked around and could no longer see the police officers.

"Hey, you can't leave me back here!"

All around him, droves of people filled the streets like a stampede. He looked out the front window, but couldn't see anything. He began to panic, looking out every window and shouting for help as the people ran passed him.

Overhead, the sky slowly faded to black.

Kam realized he was on his own. He rolled over on his side and began to kick at the window with both feet. His powerful legs smashed through the glass causing shards to rain down on him.

Sitting up, Kam stuck his head out the window saw another young African American man running.

"Hey, my brother, help me," Kam called out.

The guy stopped mid stride and turned toward Kam. He looked up and down the street, but could not see the police anywhere in sight.

"The world is ending, I can't be trapped back here. At least give me a chance."

There was a brief moment of hesitation before the guy ran toward the cop car.

"Thank you, brother."

The guy went into the front seat of the police car and took the shotgun.

"Hey, hey, hey... keys. Are there keys up there?" Kam asked, not sure what the guy's true motives were.

Without saying a word, the man exited the vehicle with the gun and it didn't look as though he had any intention of helping Kam. As the man turned to run, he tossed a set of keys into Kam's lap. Before Kam could look up and thank the man, he was already gone.

Amid small bits of broken glass, Kam carefully manoeuvred his body so that the keys fell off his lap and onto the seat where he could pick them up and uncuff himself. It took a little finessing, but he finally found the hole and popped the lock. As soon as he felt the metal cuff loosen, he wiggled his hand free and then quickly undid the other one. The cuffs fell to the floor. Kam looked up, peering over the front seat, ensuring the two officers weren't coming back.