About one hundred and fifty years ago, somewhere in the world, a city appeared where previously there had been nothing. There were no explosions. No earthquakes or natural disasters. It simply appeared.
The entire world called it The Impossible City, and it remained there as if it had always been in that place. One hundred days later, it disappeared, taking with it everyone who was inside.
Since then, every twelve years exactly, it appeared again. Always different. Always for one hundred days.
Until the last time.
The last Impossible City appeared two years earlier than expected and remained for one hundred and thirteen days. When it disappeared, it shattered every statistic. But that wasn't what changed Thomas's life. What changed it was that it also took his father.
When the cigarette smoke resumed its path toward the sky, a group of military helicopters appeared flying over the perimeter like enormous metal birds. A scream could be heard three streets away.
Sunny grabbed Thomas by the arm.
"We have to go."
Thomas was frozen.
Across the street, a tree nearly four meters tall had appeared. Small luminous insects fluttered around it.
"Thomas. Now."
Sunny pulled his arm and they both climbed onto the bicycle. At full speed they headed toward the city center. Through loudspeakers, the military repeated the evacuation protocol over and over.
When they turned the corner, a pack of creatures resembling wolves was devouring someone in the middle of the street. When they saw them pass, they began to chase them.
"Faster! Faster!"
"I'm going as fast as I can!"
Thomas pedaled so hard his legs burned.
"Thomas… the moon."
Sunny pointed to the sky.
The moon had turned red. And beside it floated a small blue sphere.
At that moment the bicycle crashed into something invisible. Both of them were thrown off and rolled across the asphalt.
The beasts were only meters away.
Sunny, with incredible reflexes, jumped to her feet and lifted the bicycle.
"Quick, Thomas!"
But it was already too late.
The beasts were on top of them.
"Go, Sunny. Get help."
Thomas ran toward an alley. Instantly, the animals changed direction and went after him. He ran two blocks until he reached a wall.
There was no way out.
The beasts surrounded him.
The first one lunged without warning and bit his arm. The second knocked him down from behind. The third attacked his leg.
Thomas fell to the ground.
The pain was so intense that he stopped feeling it.
The red moon, with the blue sphere beside it, was the last thing he saw.
How is it that no one is looking at the sky?
An unexpected feeling of peace filled him.
And he decided to close his eyes.