A fish fell from the sky. Soon, another one fell, and two more after that until it was raining fish. A small fishing town in the northwest quickly became the site of an anomaly that science could not explain. Citizens were confused and quickly sought shelter. Fish continued to fall for many more hours, and soon, it became impossible to drive through the streets. People wanted answers to what was happening, so they went to the town hall. The town hall said the only thing they could was have the people stay in their homes so that the city could clean up. The plan went into action and after two months, the fish still rained down and conditions had not improved. Going outside became unbearable as the smell of dead fish in the hot summer sun polluted the air and wearing a mask to block out the smell became common practice. The people became frustrated but still believed that if they waited a little longer things could change.
Another month came and went and if anything, conditions had worsened. By now the city had come up with another plan: a giant plexiglass shield surrounding the city. However, when the time came to present the idea to the public it was met with much backlash. Moral grew sour as people saw the city as incompetent. Townsfolk began taking matters into their own hands. One day, hundreds came out with shovels and buckets to dump the fish back into the sea. Upon doing so the dead fish attracted sharks, which led to the harbor’s closing. A shutdown of the harbor meant that materials could no longer be exported, and therefore the town could not make money. The city also could not import materials, leaving them low on resources.
The people could not leave their homes, the town’s main source of revenue had been cut off, and city officials had still failed to deliver on their promise. To make matters worse, a nearby town experiencing the same issue of falling fish had been able to deal with it in an effective manner. The contrast between the two cities became clearer and clearer by the day. All it would take was one event to tear the city in half.
Meanwhile, the city’s lower income district had felt neglected since much of the efforts to clean up were going to the high end commercial and residential districts. The neglected lower income district had so much fish in the streets that some people could not even open their front doors. Eventually the stress put on the houses from the weight of the fish became too much, and the small homes collapsed. The citizens were outraged, and violence erupted. Calls to defund City Utilities were chanted by the citizens. All trust in the city officials was lost. The people took what remained of their possessions and left. The town was abandoned and over time, rain washed away the fish and the buildings. The entire town was forgotten and wiped off the map, all because of a fish that fell from the sky.
Enzo Cricchio
Wow! Those poor people! I’m intrigued by how no one seems able to deal with these strange events. The only thing that might make it stronger is to show some actual characters being affected by the events. Your piece is almost all plot and setting without characters, except the fish, of course!!
MsG