Like tens of thousands of other Americans Michael and Michelle had made it a yearly event. They went to a baseball game every Fourth of July. This year the woeful Orioles were out of town. So instead they headed to much closer Bowie, Maryland to watch the Bowie Baysox, a Double A team, play the Altoona Curve. Neither of them followed the teams and they’d both be hard pressed to say where Altoona even was. But it was baseball and it was tradition. 

Tradition this year included a mid 90’s temperature with a cloudless sky and a faint breeze. Even so it was something they did together. And that made it important. They had been married for seven years and were in love. That love didn’t include liking the same movies or show or websites. So they made sure to do a few things like this together every year. Hell or high water.

Prince Georges stadium was full. Not standing room only full but definitely sold out. Even being full it felt cozy especially compared to an Orioles game. It felt like everyone was a huge family having a picnic together. The Star Spangled Banner was sung, The version where the singer takes a lot of liberties with it and makes it about themself. The crowd didn’t seem to mind but couldn’t really sing along. “Play Ball” was yelled by the umpire loud enough it was heard in the parking lot and startling a couple sleeping babies. The teams took the field and play started. A couple food vendors started walking up and down the steps hawking their snacks. 

Altoona got off to a good start up 4 to 2 in the 4th inning. The crowd was attentive continuously cheering the home team on. The Baysox decided to make change at pitcher and a lefty was on the mound warming up.

One of the great things about the minor league games was the cheap concessions. Cheap, but only by comparison to the major league parks. The large pre-game Coca-Cola Michael had bought was gone and had done it’s job. It was time for a bathroom break. Michelle went with him and they headed up the stairs. 

They were both at the top of the steps when they heard an audible gasp from the crowd. Michael turned around looking at the field and Michelle quickly did the same

Instead of seeing a home run or a stolen base they saw the players and the crowd looking into the sky out past the right field fence. They followed their gaze and then saw it too. A large dark cloud hanging low in the bright blue sky. 

And it was quickly coming their direction. 

As it approached, what had looked like a large black cloud became recognizable as a large mass of tens of thousands of smaller black objects each no larger than a 4 slice toaster. And they could start to hear a buzzing noise.

Everyone stilled. All conversation stopped. A minute later everyone recognized them as drones. The cloud of drones reached right field. The buzzing sound was loud. They all looked like they were all carrying boxes. Maybe like an Amazon delivery drone though none had seen one. 

Most of the drones continued flying over the ballfield in the general direction of Baltimore. But a few hundred of them did not. These dropped below the moving cloud hovering at least a hundred feet above the pitchers mound. 

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That was the moment Michelle saved their lives. She quietly whispered to Michael “MOVE! NOW!” with such urgency they both started walking again. They made it unimpeded to the stairs heading out of the stadium and started down. 

A few in the crowd started to panic. A few of the panickers were young and fast and near the exit. They were quick to run out and ran past the couple. All but one. He ran squarely into Michael’s back. The phone in Michael’s hand went flying over the stair railing. Michael  fell down three stairs to a landing landing with a thud. The kid ran on without a word.

 Michelle helped him to his feet as more people were coming. They stayed to the side and kept moving. They made it to the parking lot. From there everyone scattered in different directions. Michelle led her now limping husband as they headed to their car. 

The drones still hovered with little movement. Just waiting. But the panic of the few had spread to the many. Everyone started trying to get to the end of their rows and up or down the stairs. Anywhere but where they were. Exposed. But it was so crowded there was little that could be done. Some tried climbing up the seats behind them but they were also full of people. Civility was breaking down. Family picnic no more.

Then the drones to begin to move. They appeared disorganized in where they were going. Several were heading to one area while none to another. None went towards players on the field. Some headed towards the dugouts.

One seemed to be slowly following an overweight bearded man, an electrician on a normal day. He was walking in one of the few crowds that were actually moving. The drone followed twenty feet above him. All at once it quickly dropped down aiming for him. The drone exploded with a deafening roar as it hit him in his lower back killing him and all that were nearby. Also injuring over a dozen others with shrapnel.  It would have been even worse but because it exploded lower the surrounding people absorbed most of the blow.

This was repeated dozens and dozens of times in the stands and walkways and in the dugout and the media area. Devastating explosions. Targeted deaths. The drones took turns not all going at once. Sometimes multiple drones were in the same area and after one exploded the others would move on to different targets. Sometimes another would explode right next to a previous explosion. 

The baseball teams on the field were paralyzed with fear and the horror of what was going on. The drones seemed to ignore them. Some people jumped on the field running across and the players ran as far from them as possible. A single drone chased one of them down and exploded near 3rd base leaving little.

Michael and Michelle reached their car as the first explosions began. They jumped in and took off as quick as they could. Beating a crowd that would never come. Soon after they left a few people who had reached their car were targets with the drones exploding just outside the windshield or side windows. Even when they were driving at speed. Cars on fire began to litter the roads.

It was all over in ten minutes. No drones were left. The stadium held around ten thousand people.  Probably half dead and most of the rest injured. Many would die if they did not receive prompt medical attention. They would not.

Michael and Michelle had hoped to head straight home as fast as possible. The only traffic law was don’t get into an accident. They turned on the radio to hear a national alert about the drones. This was happening in every major city in the United States. The drones were targeting the cell phones of specific people but the who and the why was unknown. Millions were dead. They said get rid of your phone and that just turning it off might not work. Michelle quickly threw her phone out of the moving vehicle and started to shake and cry.

They would have been horrified to know that  Michael’s cell phone had been a target. A drone exploded atop his dropped phone and killed 15 people and injured 26 more in the crowded stairwell.

They drove on seeing lines of smoke in the air in every direction and listening as the national alert repeated.