Empathy

With a squelch of frozen garbage, Morty’s foot slid out from under him. His hip met the sidewalk with all of his weight behind it, and the bone cracked with an audible clap.

For several moments Morty’s world was still. Once the embarrassed shock of having just fallen wore off, he tried to sit up. For several moments Morty’s world was pain. He lay back on the sidewalk to catch his breath, the cold of the concrete eating through his pants.

They always warned folks his age about this, and his daughter had even pushed him to get one of those clickers that called an ambulance. “I’m not helpless,” he’d said. He had also been too stubborn to get one of those cordless phones you could take anywhere either – pay for something like that, and who would he call?

While staring up at the mid-day sky, a woman bundled in a big coat walked across his field of vision. She stepped over him and continued down the sidewalk.

“Miss.” Morty called, lifting his head. “Help.”

When she kept walking, Morty tried again, louder. “Miss! I need your help! Hey!”

She walked on, down two blocks before turning left, ignoring the burning stare Morty had etched into her back. Then he swiveled his head around. For the moment the sidewalks were empty, the apartment buildings quiet, the bodaga at the corner with its blinking sign continuing to blink. His building was just down the block, frustratingly close.

“Help!” Morty screamed.

A car ambled past. Then a second.

Morty waved at them to no avail. He must have waved too hard, as electric pain lanced up his side. Now he welcomed the cold - maybe it would stop the swelling, like a bag of ice.

Perhaps ten minutes passed uneventfully. One of the garbage bags close to Morty rustled, and he turned his head to watch a greasy black rat climb over it, munching on some rotting lettuce. It stared at him with beady eyes. He ignored it.

Then Morty spotted the girl who worked at the cupcake bakery walking her stupid little noisy dog. She lived in the building next to him, and he saw her dragging that mutt around enough.

"Hey! Cupcake girl!" He groped for her name. "Janet!" She looked at him. Yes! "Janet help! I've fallen, I think I broke my hip!"

"That's nice," Janet called back.

Anything else he could've said blasted from his lips in a startled "Fuh?" As he watched, the little dog did its business and Janet walked away, leaving the crap on the sidewalk. He'd always seen her pick it up - she'd been such a responsible girl. What was going on?
__________________________________________________________

Find out what's going on, and what happens to Morty, in Abandoned Places.

You can pre-order it here or pick it up at MFF at the FurPlanet table!