The Artful (Shadows of the City) by Wilbert Stanton

blonde hair and a ragged teddy bear stood at a street corner staring at us, her limbs emaciated, as her mother dug through a pile of garbage. Spooky, the way she tracked us, as if she were curious what we tasted like. She was a ghost of a child, not unlike most of the children we were used to seeing. Those born after the fall who couldn’t afford a life in the towers. They had never experienced true joy. They were born to a world of hopelessness, and had no choice but to believe this was all life ever was.
    Central Park had become a savage jungle that housed ferocious things. It didn’t help that shortly after the virus wiped everyone out, inhabitants of the Central Park Zoo got loose. I warned Gia to stay close and not wander off the path. She shrugged, oblivious to the danger. We weren’t here for a picnic; we were walking through a safari. The foliage long since abandoned by human care had grown to monstrous proportions. A small child could get lost within the overgrown ferns and rain-moistened grass. Worse still, predators could find concealment until it was too late. Sounds of scurrying steps and scratching paws echoed in the distance, birds battling, bugs humming. Twice I had to smack away spiders from my arm and crush mosquitoes on my face.
    Dodger cut through the overgrown greenery, making his way to a long abandoned road of graying cobblestone, cracked with age. Beams of moonlight shone down through the sheltering trees. We padded down the road. I felt dwarfed and disoriented. It all seemed the same, an endless avenue leading into darkness.
    “Twist!” Dodger startled me, punching my shoulder to get my attention. “You okay, buddy?”
    “Yeah, fine.” I avoided his and Gia’s eyes.
    They both shared the same look of worry, which made me feel weak. As if I was one to be worried over. How could I let this stupid park shake my nerves? It was just a park.
    “Did you hear that?” Gia spun in place, surveying the area.
    “I heard Twist’s balls fall on the ground. Other than that, no, I didn’t hear anything, did you hear his balls drop?” Dodge asked.
    “Shut up for a second!” She stopped, focused on an area that led deep within, a path eaten away at either side by the giant trees, which crept up from the ground like the hungry fingers of an ancient evil. The branches arched and interlocked together, creating what appeared to be an eerie tunnel into unknown territory.
    “Come on,” I said. “We shouldn’t wander off the road.”
    “No, listen, there it is again,” she said.
    “I didn’t hear―”
    “Yeah, I heard it.” Dodger’s confirmation made my palms sweat. This wouldn’t lead to anything good. I listened, creeping in the direction the sound seemingly came from. And, there, I heard it at the tip of perception, barely enough to fully register. A cry, a wretched shrill of a scream. I knew before Dodger started running that this wouldn’t end well. Before I could protest, Gia took off after him into the depths of Central Park.
    The cries grew louder as we ran through the thicket of trees and foliage. More than once I slipped in mud or caught my leg on a root. Dodger legged it like a pro, and Gia followed swiftly behind. Normally this would have been a situation where I could have outrun both, but something didn’t sit right, and I had no problem falling behind. The gleaming light of the evening sky shone clearly down on a clearing up ahead. “Help!” The cry was ahead of us, and my stomach turned in knots. Just before Dodger made it into the clearing, I heard a large snap.
    “Crap!” Dodger yelled, holding up a hand, indicating we stop.
    “What is it?” I asked, coming up close to Gia.
    He pointed down to his feet. “Sprung a trap…” His foot stood on top of a thin thread. I tried following where it led, but it was lost in bushes I was too cautious to explore just yet.
    “Idiot, I told you to leave it!” I said.
    “What do we do?” Gia asked, inching closer to Dodge. I held