The Millennial

Scooter Saviors

Night had fallen on the streets of Millennium City. The thick clouds that rolled overhead made the dank, dark corners of the metropolis seem even darker. And the street where Koffee Klatch stood held a hint of the sinister, as Sal, Yvonne and Nancy pushed rental scooters past their workplace. Other stores on the street were closed, though a few restaurants still stayed open. Sal huffed and puffed as he trailed behind his co-workers. Nancy turned back to them.

"Are you sure we have enough?"

"We need as many as possible, to make sure the alley is a choice spot for them to stop." Yvonne checked her app. "There are still a few a couple blocks over."

Sal stopped in his tracks. "Ugh! Ten is enough. I'm not going to go a couple blocks over to grab more scooters. I'm exhausted. Besides, we don't want to make it too obvious, or they'll get suspicious."

Two African-American teens came from the opposite direction. One of them had a scooter, but the other was on foot. He looked to the group with a spark of hope in his eyes.

"Are you done with that scooter?"

"Get lost, kid. We need these."

Nancy shot Sal an annoyed glare. She turned back to the youths. "Don't listen to him. Here. Of course, you can use it."

"Thanks!!"

He took the scooter from her and pulled out his cell phone. The young teen activated the scooter and turned to Sal.

"Screw you, Fatso!"

He laughed and rode off with his friend. Sal shot Nancy a death glare.

"Why did you give him that? We need those!"

"I couldn't keep it from him. If we're going to be protectors of the city, we can't be mean to the people who live here. Besides, what are we going to do if someone comes into the alley to use them?"

"That alley is gross. I wouldn't even go down there if we didn't have ..." Yvonne looked around, to make sure no one on the street could hear her. "... you know, superpowers."

"We should have brought Max, even though he's a normal. His superpower could be getting us the scooters. He could be, like, our sidekick."

"Yeah, right. A sidekick who looks more like the main hero."

Sal had a GoPro camera attached to a helmet on his head and looked around. A voice sounded in his ear, and he put a finger to the AirPod that was lodged in it, the same kind his friends wore.

"Guys, what are you doing? The alley is half a block back."

"Oh!" He laughed. "Sorry, Rebecca. I wasn't paying attention. Say ... your hacking into our AirPods isn't going to ruin them, is it? Because these things are literally the only material possessions I have that are worth anything. And I should have used the money to start repaying my student loans."

"God, can you stop talking about your student loans? We literally and figuratively can't forget about them. It's the only thing that comes out of your mouth." Yvonne turned the scooter she had back into the alley they had just passed.

"Don't worry about your AirPods," Rebecca's voice announced into their ears. "I keep telling you, it's a program I installed in your phones. I didn't hack them. Look, just take your positions in the alley."

The alleyway was dark and shadowy. There was a row of scooters already parked inside it, at least eight of them. Sal and Yvonne set theirs beside the others, and they walked with Nancy further down. A rectangular storage container rested at the end by a fence, on the other side of which was a building under construction, new apartments for rich city dwellers that almost looked complete. Yvonne climbed up some wooden crates that were next to the container and got on top of it. Nancy wore baggy sweats that were almost too big for her. She stopped and looked up with hesitation.