On the Ledge


She’s been gone for four hours. She should be back by now. My mind wanders as I wait anxiously for Ginger, my best friend, to return. I peer out the window of my apartment, surveying the desolate city formerly known as New York. The shattered remains of fallen skyscrapers fill the streets. Images from the day technology turned on us fill my mind. Screaming. Splintering glass. Flashing lights. And then complete and total darkness.  When mankind was attacked in the year 2092, I was grounded and could not use my phone or computer. At the time, this irritated me, but I now realize it saved my life. While everyone else was getting attacked by the “virus,” I was completely cut off. The “virus” is passed to humans from computers, phones, tablets, and TVs. It makes you hallucinate and violently shake until you die. Since that day, I have been extremely careful to stay away from all technology. I hide in my apartment in the daytime and search for food and supplies at night. My only friend is Ginger. If I don’t find Ginger, I will have lost contact with likely the only other human left on the planet.
I rush out the door and down the street, making sure there aren’t any drones around. I search for any clue to where Ginger has gone. I search carefully for about three hours and just as I am about to turn around and see if she somehow got back to the apartment, I catch a glimpse of a face in the fourth story of the once iconic Plaza Hotel. I stifle a gasp and sprint towards the main entrance. I race through a hole in the wall where a revolving door must have been. As I run towards where I thought I saw Ginger, I catch a glimpse of her bright red hair down the hallway.
“Ginger!” I yell. But she doesn’t hear me or is just ignoring me. I trail her until she sprints out onto a ledge.
  Just then, a very tall man steps into my line of sight. He starts to move toward me and asks how I found him. Something about him makes me uneasy. I take a step backward trying to put as much distance as possible between me and him.
“Evelyn, run!” Ginger screams at me. I turn and sprint down the hallway until I find a hotel room with an open door. Then I run inside, slamming and locking the door behind me. The man has followed me and starts rattling the door. After I catch my breath, I look around the room. I can tell it was once beautiful, with tall windows and a chandelier, both of which are now covered in cobwebs. The decaying carpet is littered with empty pill bottles. I bend down to examine one and notice they are prescribed for someone named Richard Sinclair. They are prescribed to treat schizophrenia which according to the bottles is a severe mental illness that causes hallucinations and delusions. Suddenly there is a loud crash and the door swings off its hinges. Illuminated in the doorway stands the man, towering over me. I notice he is dressed in a concierge uniform with the name tag still attached. A name tag reading Richard Sinclair. I desperately look for an exit, and settle on one of the windows. I climb out of the window onto the ledge while Richard screams at something or someone he seems to be imagining. I reach toward Ginger who is perched out on the ledge. Just as I am about to reach her, he pulls out a gun. I scramble out onto the ledge as he aims. Stumbling backwards, I lose my balance and fall off the ledge of the crumbling Plaza Hotel. Then the gun goes off.