Jimmy Butler walked through the darkened streets of the burned-out city. The war had not been kind to Chicago. The basketball, his weapon, now normally colored again, betrayed no evidence of the destructive posterization it had been used for. The sirens still wailed. “Code Orange! Code Orange! Please stay in your houses until the all clear is sounded!”
Jimmy knew that they were after him. The demolition of several disposal units and their captains would not go unnoticed by the higher-ups. He had already shed his identifying Bull jersey, and quickly shaved his head, but with the advanced state of technology, a retinal scan could reveal him instantly.
None of this mattered if his compatriot, Julienne, remained alive. Her final, frantic words reverberated in his head. He hoped for both of their sakes that the disposal unit had been overzealous in their duties. If she remained alive, the neural hyperlink that connected them would show his location instantly, and nowhere would be safe.
He supposed that if they knew where he was they would have descended upon him already. But this was simplistic thinking. Their forces had been surprised once already; they would not again be hasty in their actions.
All these thoughts and more whirled and danced in Butler’s head as he wandered. He was taking paths less trodden, and soon, in the absence of human activity, his wariness lapsed.
“What are you doing out and about at this time of night, sir?”
While Jimmy was daydreaming, a low-level grunt had appeared out of nowhere.
“Just heading to my friend’s place, see if he wants to play some ball.”
“Your friend’s place, huh? You know it’s a Code Orange right now? We’re gonna have to do a retinal scan. Don’t worry, it’ll just…”
Jimmy took his now glowing blue basketball and slammed it over the unsuspecting officer’s head, vaporizing him instantly.
“Posterized.”
Jimmy renewed his efforts to escape the city. Every minute that passed made him more likely to be captured. There was no time to waste.