The Wrong Side of the Tracks

Today’s prompt: “Write a story from the point of view of a homeless man or woman who falls asleep on the bus and accidentally ends up ‘on the other side of the tracks,’ in a quiet neighborhood late at night.”

“Last stop,” the bus driver yells, rousing you from slumber. You hoist the trash bag full of your personal effects over your shoulder and leave the bus, blinking at your surroundings. You’ve never been in this part of town before. It looks like a gated community – not the type of place you’d feel welcome – but there’s no place else around for miles. Might as well hop the fence and see if there’s a garage or something you can sleep in unnoticed.

You clamber over the gate, and an alarm triggers. Lights lock onto you. And a pair of massive robotic metal-jawed Doberman Pinschers appear from out of nowhere and tear you to shreds. Too late, you realize that this is Roboterror Acres, a notorious community for semi-retired mad scientists.