Camera

“The London Bridge is falling down!” shouted the Japanese tourist. I turn back and look, just in time to see the last explosion rip through the bridge. A part of the bridge was already missing and the pieces were floating in the Thames. Everyone was already moving away from “The Scene of the Activity”. Silently. I looked around and the number of people was dwindling by the second. I wonder where they could’ve disappeared by now. Well, it was now or never for me. I grabbed my camera, hung conveniently round my neck, and started clicking away. I wasn’t even concentrating where I was pointing the thing at. I just hoped that my Canon could focus fast enough to keep up with my crazy clicking. I need some good shots. I don’t have a lot of time.

I had to get to the “Safe Zone” before the police got here. They didn’t come like they used to. And there was no one around now. Just me and the camera and the two ends of a monument that was standing, until a few moments ago. It was a dangerous situation. For me. The only sounds were from the pieces of the bridge still crashing into the Thames. There was no wind at all. Of course, the wind had stopped blowing a long time ago. I stopped clicking now, decided that the pictures I had were enough. At least a few had to be useable.

I started to turn back. I had to make it out of this, somehow. I looked at the otherside of the river, to check if anyone else had taken photos of the whole thing. I felt oddly certain that I was the only one who had done it. People weren’t used to sudden changes anymore, and a lot of them were afraid. I started to move in the general direction away from the bridge. My mind was racing now. I knew I had spent a little too much time at The Scene. I took out my cell phone and called my editor. He didn’t answer. That bastard must’ve gone into the safe zone as soon he’d seen the warning on the port-screen. I needed to get in touch with someone soon, and tell them that my future was made.

And it was in the camera round my neck. I was suddenly excited about it. I realized that I was given the opportunity that I was waiting for. No more stories about another oak tree sprouting up or a rat giving birth. My last assignment was about a guy who still grew some vegetables in his garden and was living off of them. He looked like a mess. Like one of those people I’d seen in the documentaries about the times before synthesized Keeline had replaced all food. My present assignment was about the tourists in London. What the hell!? Tourists? With all those security measures? I finally managed to find this Japanese guy, and this whole thing started.

The streets were empty.

And suddenly something hit my face. I immediately braced myself to feel a pain. Oddly, thankfully, I felt nothing. It was just a page of a newspaper. From a week ago. 16^th May, 2037 said the date. “Bomb Threat In London!” cried the headline. The threats were true after all. The fools were foolish enough to let it happen. The rest of the article was missing. I wondered how the sweepotronic had missed this piece of paper. I hadn’t seen a piece of paper floating around the streets since I was a kid. But I had other things on my mind. I was surprised that they still hadn’t come yet. Perhaps they were shocked by the magnitude of the disaster.  Whatever, it gave me a chance to make my escape. I was running now. I was pretty sure I was in the safe zone. But I wasn’t sure enough. Running faster now.

Suddenly my legs froze under me. And then I hit the asphalt, hard. I tried to get up. But my legs wouldn’t move. Like someone had grabbed them, and held on to them. Tightly. And then I saw it. I had only heard about them. Never thought I’d see one this close. I knew it. I hadn’t made it to the safe zone. I knew it then that my future was going to be short.

Very short…

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It was on the ground. Struggling. Trying to loosen the invisible locks around its limbs. I flipped the switch that made me visible. There was a look of shock on its face. I could never quite understand why they always had that same expression. I lifted my gun. Pulled the trigger. Hit the target. It wasn’t moving now. I went near it and made sure it wasn’t operational anymore. There was an object beside it. “Canon-SS520”, it said on its side. I tried to pick it up, but it was fixed to the body by a fibrous material. I let it fall to the ground.

“I got another one. It was at the Scene.” I radioed the base. I got orders telling me to come back to base. That was surprising. Had they been monitoring my “thoughts”? I was never supposed to think anyway. This was the first time I had thought for such a long time. It was always that split second electrical impulse when an order was being carried out. Right now, orders were top priority. I started towards the base. Thinking. I knew why they made me return to base. They were monitoring my battery. My battery was low. I had only a few more minutes to think before they would deactivate me at the base. I liked to think. Maybe I could convince them to let me keep thinking.

The streets were silent.

All I could hear was the whirring of my wheels.

Camera, by Jayant Kumar