Slippers

   A drop of saliva from my open mouth landed on my phone and made me came to my senses. Or what was left of them. I ran to the hall, put on my fluffy blue indoor slippers when I just as easily could've put on my actual shoes, and then opened the door with my phone in one hand and nothing in the other. 

   I almost immediately ran straight into an overweight middle aged man carrying a bag of big water bottles, resulting in him dropping the bag. We both quickly grabbed a bottle each from the floor and put them back in his bag, then looked at each other and made strange noises.

   "Thanksuuh." he laughed. I chuckled.

   "Yah! There."

   He sprinted down the last set of stairs way faster than me, and the door almost swung back and hit me in the face as I made my way out of the building and onto the streets. 

  Two thoughts went through my mind at this point, when I saw hundreds of people running, or walking really fast in the same direction. 

   First, if someone had decided to bomb us, Peter wouldn't have said I touched one. 

   Second, there would've be alot more screams of agony. 

   I didn't hear a single agony scream. I heard some cheering and some more oh my go oh my god oh my god, but no screams.  

   "Excuse me..."

   Ok that was dumb.

   Instead of trying to talk to running strangers I decided to also be a lemming and get over to the stupid park where you touch things and need beer. I didn't buy any beer. And after a hundred meters or so I looked down on my feet to try and find out why it felt like I was running on sandpaper. 

   Slippers. I didn't become a running lemming after all. Just a regular walking lemming with blue slippers and a red palm tree t-shirt.

   After I witnessed a truck filled with giant water containers almost crush five people when it rolled over the road instead of turning on the road, I myself managed to turn a corner just fine, and faced the entrance to the park, about two blocks away. 

   In the sky was a light. A beam of green light that went straight up and never seemed to end. It looked like the bat-signal, if the bat signal was green, didn't involve a symbol of a bat, and oddly enough, worked like a charm in day time.

   I didn't like new things. I still kind of don't. And judging by the big green pillar of light, people knocking each other over just to get to the park, and water bottles everywhere, this was a new thing. So I got a little scared and decided to call Peter again before going anywhere else. Maybe this time I could say some actual words to him.

   It was almost impossible to hear anything, but since it was still impossible to ask real questions he screamed some more things in my ear.

   "By... The fountain..."

   "Which one?... Hello?"

   "The... pissing angel kid...you there?"

   "Yeah! Ok!"

   So that was that. Nothing more to do then to get over there. I had to dodge cars when first crossing the road to get to the correct side, even though the swarming people didn't care about vehicles, the cars still came out of nowhere. Not my idea of fun. And I was really good at Frogger once.

   Minutes later, after passing four trashed and abandoned hot dog stands and a leaky hydrant I got stuck at the entrance. The flow of people here was too heavy, and I had no chance in getting in that way. I looked up at the green light while being crammed between two sweaty guys who were way taller than me. They also had shoes on. 

   The light was different up close. Still green, but glittering somehow. One tall guy said something to the other tall guy.

   "I saw the ship man."

   I tried to get his attention by staring up at his face. That didn't work, so I had to use my words.

   "What sh..."

   Peters hand grabbed my shirt from the back and pulled me out of the crowd. He pointed at the wall beside me, which had a new hole in it. 

   "We have a great spot. Come on!"

   I didn't even want to ask about it anymore, I had to see it for myself. It was a little less crowded back at the fountain. Hank had climbed all the way up on the fountain, and was grabbing the top-vase looking part of it and didn't seem to care that water was spraying all over his clothes. Peter jumped up on the edge and gestured for me to follow. I joined my friends up on the fountain, and took a quick look at them before turning my head to the green beam.

   Peter and I have known each other since college, or rather the beginning of college. I didn't stay that long. He's that opposite friend we all have. He's outgoing, energetic and optimistic, and tanned. I'm none of those things. I've always been his personal project. Even if he knows he usually can't make me come to a certain party or go see a play or do anything where you have to meet other people, he still tries. And I guess that's good? I don't know anymore.

   I know Hank through Peter. Quiet guy, kind of odd. I didn't even know what he liked to do, or what he was interested in, until that day. 

   I dont think it looked like we knew each other at all. A skinny guy in glasses grabbing the top of a fountain, a well dressed bald man smiling like he was on drugs, and a confused and tired slob in blue slippers. Not that it mattered. No one was watching us at the time.