A gleaming new iPod rests upon your desk.
You turn it on, selecting
The Cicada Song. The battery is dangerously low,
but the harsh bass guitar
slices through your train of thought,
and you remember…

A grunt. A slight cry.
You walk down the street, head bobbing to familiar lyrics.
“Tonight I have decided that there’s only one way out…”
Rounding a corner to walk down an ominous alley,
eyes widen in surprise.
A broad-shouldered man with sunken knuckles
hunches over a battered, bloody man
with a freshly-broken nose.
Crimson liquid coats the bigger man’s fists.
He looks up,
grimacing as he sees you,
and pulls out a gun.
The muzzle is pointed at beaten flesh.
He speaks to you: “Hand over the iPod and he lives.”
You rip earbuds from your ear canals frantically,
thrusting the music device at the man with the gun.
He grins. “Idiot.”
A finger twitches.
The trigger is pulled.

The music cuts off, pulling you from your thoughts.
You glance at the screen of your new iPod
just as a final message fades:
“Not enough battery power remains.
Please connect device to an external power source.”