My head hurt quite a bit as I started to limp down the street. I had come out of the dark parking garage into a busy street in the middle of the city. I did not remember much about what happened after Domingo shot me. It did not make any sense how I found myself in the …. Where was I just now?

  I was trying to get away, though. I thought I was supposed to be dead. I needed to run away and be dead. That is how I could keep myself safe from Domingo. I have never been in the middle of a city like this before. It was scary to see all the people looking at me as I limped by them. I never realized how bad my foot was at running because there was never a place to run in Time Out.

  Something in me was telling me that I was making too much of a spectacle. Hobbling down the sidewalk with a missing eye, blood covering my clothes, and concrete dust poorly disguising that blood did not seem like the best idea to remain hidden. It was probably impossible to remain unnoticed in my current state.

  The best option seemed to be to try to find a place with fewer people to notice me. I was still hobbling away from … I was still moving, and that was what was important. I had never been to a city this big before, so I did not know where to look for a place to hide. It seemed like common sense to look for smaller roads with fewer people, so that was what I did.

  The street I was on had what seemed like endless people bumping into me and trying to talk to me. There were even some people who seemed so interested in me that they tried to stop me and ask me questions. I knew that adults were all no good from my time in Time Out, so I struggled my way out of any situation where someone tried to stop me. I was still small enough that I could crawl through people's legs or hide in a crowd if someone seemed to be after me. I did not listen to anything they said because it did not matter. I just needed to get away, and if I stopped to talk to anyone, then I could not pretend that I was dead. I know that was important from … I needed to get away.

  I finally found a narrower road with almost no one on it, after avoiding the most persistent woman yet. She did not look anything like Marge, but I could not see anyone else; every time she tried to grab me and say nonsense. “I am only trying to help you.” was repeated so often it was as if this woman thought it meant something. Just because you make the same sounds over and over again does not mean those sounds mean anything. Other people were also shouting random sounds, too. I had no idea the city was such an insane place.

  After I slipped into the smaller road, the constant sounds of the city seemed to be finally dampened. The persistent talking, shouting, honking, music, and engine sounds were making me panic more and more. It felt so good to slip into the small road where there were only a couple of people minding their own business.

  I put my back against the wall of the building and caught my breath. Everything seemed too much. I could remember that car ride, where watching the chaos of the streets and people seemed so magical. Now that I had to deal with it being all around me, it felt far scarier and way less magical.

  After I got my breathing under control, I noticed that I was not far enough away from the crowds of the bigger street. There were still people looking at me and pointing now and then. I started walking farther down this new environment that I found myself in. It did not seem that this side street had any sidewalk at all. There were a few cars parked tight against the walls of the building. There were also a number of dumpsters placed along the street. I guess it made more sense for me to call it an ally.

  As I was walking down the alley, I kept a close eye on everyone who might be watching me.

  Not this again, again? Since when have I seeing blue screens popping up in the middle of my vision? Ugh, my head was killing me. Why did it seem like someone was slowly drilling a hole into my skull? I need to find somewhere to hide.

  I stumbled over to the dumpster nearest me. The smell coming from it made me want to throw up, but it did not matter. I had lived a life with nothing but gray for so long that I knew I could handle anything. I climbed up on top of the lid. I made a bang when I got ontop of it, but when I looked around, no one was looking, so I flipped up the lid that I was not kneeling on, and slid into the dumpster with the rest of the forgotten garbage. At least I hoped I would be forgotten.

  Why did I want to be forgotten? I tried my hardest to remember the answer to that question as my nose got used to the horrible smells around me. I did not think it was possible, but I ended up falling asleep surrounded by garbage. At least none of the bags were leaking on me.

  I woke up a few times throughout the day as people uncaringly threw bags on top of my sleeping body, but I never heard a single word of surprise. This gave me insight that most of the time, people living their daily lives are not very perceptive of the things around them that do not concern them. I was almost completely covered by trash by the time the light creeping in from the edges of the lid started to dim.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  I poked my head out of the dumpster once the light did not seem to be getting any darker. I did not feel right. I could remember needing to hide, but I did not remember where I was. I might never have known. That sounded right. I needed to hide because I did not know where I was. It looked like I was in a dumpster in an alley that was somewhere in a city.

  I had never been in a city, so it made perfect sense that I needed to find a place to hide. I remember back when I lived with Mom and Grandma. They told me … something. I just knew I was not supposed go into the city until I am older. I thought I should find my way out of the city, or I might get lost.

  Wait, what was that smell? It smelled so good. I thought everything in the dumpster smelled super bad, but a few things smelled extra tasty. I pushed the lid off me so I could see better and find what I was smelling. I didn't know what it was, but it did not matter when it was smelling so good.

  I sniffed around for a while until I found a trash bag that smelled tasty. When I opened it, there was a bunch of old electronics. I did not know why an old computer might taste good, but it seemed as if something in this bag was what my body wanted to eat. I found a couple of items in the bag that seemed to be giving off the smell, but they were too big for me to swallow. I did not know how I would eat them, because they looked too hard to chew.

  I decided to take them with me once I found everything else in the dumpster that smelled tasty. I sniffed around in the dumpster for a few more minutes and found a number of things with mouthwatering aromas. There was a broken wristwatch, a half-used bag of poison, and a bunch of dead batteries. I was worried about what would happen if I tried to eat some of this stuff, but I knew I needed it based on what my body was saying.

  I also sniffed out some actual food, so I ate that right away. The couple of unopened boxes of raisins tasted like the sweetest thing in the world. They gave us food at Time Out, but it wasn't very tasty, and there were never any sweets. I also found a few half-eaten sandwiches that were way better than I thought anything could taste coming from a dumpster.

  I decided not eat the rest of what I found that smelled delectable for now. I emptied an intact bag and put my treasures into it. There was one last thing that I could smell at the very bottom of the dumpster that I knew I needed. I was digging for it when I heard a scream from right next to me.

  There was a young woman who had just dropped a trash bag on the ground as she stared at me with wide eyes. I had no idea what to do because she was just staring at me and screaming nonsense at me.

  “I just thought it was some raccoons. What are you doing in that dumpster? Where are your parents? Oh my god, is your eye missing? I need to call the Cops. Something horrible has happened to this kid.”

  It seemed like she was just spouting random sounds for no reason. I decided she must not want me here, so I ran away. I did not forget to grab my bag of goodies either. No matter how loud she was, I would not forget my treasures. I ran down the alley as she took out her phone and started speaking gibberish into it, as if someone would understand her random sounds.

  I did not stick around to see if she could make herself understood because it was clear I was not wanted there. She was still shouting when I turned the corner of the alley. I was suddenly on a much bigger road, and I did not feel good being here. Even though it was night, there were still a lot more people in the area than in the alley.

  I noticed some people just sitting or lying around that everyone seemed to avoid. It seemed as if you moved slowly or stayed still and tried to look at everyone who came near you; the other people would not want to look at you. I wanted to try it out.

  The first person that I looked at flinched away. He did not seem to like looking at my missing eyes. I started moving around more slowly, and I would always be watching all the people around me, like I expected something from them. I did not know what they could give me that I wanted, maybe a new shirt.

  I had traded up for a bigger shirt a few times at Time Out, but even the one I was wearing now was getting too small. The more I looked at people hoping they would give me a shirt, the less people seemed to want to look at me. It did not make sense. Why would people be less interested in helping me the more I needed help?

  There was a drill grinding at my skull; I could feel it working its way into me. I had never felt anything like this before. I sat down on the ground and just started breathing. The pain started to float away with me as I found myself drifting into the emptiness outside of myself.

  I could see my body getting up and wandering around, but it did not seem important at all. I found a way to go unnoticed even in busy areas; I did not need to be as present. It was some time before I felt myself coming back together.

  It was almost daytime, and I had been in and out of a few dumpsters based on how much more stuff I found in my bag that made me want to stick it in my mouth. I still did not know how to eat it all, but I decided to break everything into the smallest pieces I could and see if it still smelled tasty. I found a quiet place where a road just ended at a brick wall. There was no one around, so I decided to do it here.

  I swung the bag down on the ground over and over again until it almost fell apart. When I looked inside, there were a bunch of busted-up pieces. Of everything I had connected. Some of the pieces still looked tasty, and I could finally fit them into my mouth. I grabbed what looked like a bent-up metal hand from the watch and stuck it in my mouth. I tried chewing it, but it hurt my teeth. I decided to let it sit in my mouth; maybe it would dissolve like a piece of candy.

  What is this blue screen?