The Catch

The day started off relatively normal. I had my usual breakfast, an egg McMuffin with a hash brown on the side. I went to school and attended periods one through five. I would have made it to six, but I was busy being trapped in the year 2348, during the middle of the apocalypse.

It was around this time that I very much regretted picking up that stupid-looking necklace I found at that stupid-looking beach, but there was nothing I could do about it now. I wasn't even worried; the eye necklace had pulled me out of harm's way before, and it would definitely do it again. I just had no idea how.

In a weird way, I was hoping the necklace kept me trapped there, at least this way I wouldn't have to take that math test I was missing right about now. I was actually on my way to the bathroom to cheat on it when the eye took me.

I found myself stranded in the middle of a busy street at night. There were people in every direction, cars at every turn, and red fireworks. The atmosphere around me was that of a vibrant, futuristic city filled with red lights all over and red-themed attractions. Almost every building had a Jumbotron reading "Happy New Year" in red, and the buildings that didn't read "2348" in red.

I figured that touching the eye necklace or talking to it would be a waste of time, so I decided to explore the time period I was in until the eye magically brought me back, like last time. I decided to walk around the city, paying attention to the atmosphere, the buildings, the bright night lights, and I wondered to myself what "the catch" about this city could possibly be. The catch back in the Stone Age was that everything that saw me wanted me dead, and the catch back home was... well, my life. But everything about this place seemed perfect; everyone was happy, and the city was beautiful.

I continued to walk, and with each step, I grew more amazed with the area. I looked up at the fireworks for a while and paid close attention to every single one that went by - first a red one, then a red one, then a red one. "These people seem to really like red," I thought to myself.

I decided to pay more attention to my surroundings. A man was selling red-colored treats, and passing down the street, I saw floats completely draped in red with civilians on them, also wearing red clothes. It was at this moment that I started to get kind of suspicious. Everybody knows that if you see significant amounts of red somewhere, you probably should start asking questions.

I stopped a man walking by and asked him why everything was red. He laughed at me and said, "Don't you know what day it is? It's the New Year!" Still confused, I asked again, "Yeah, but what does the red even mean?" The man laughed at me again. "Wow, you must be new. Don't worry, every building should change any second now; they'll tell you all you need to know."

Just at that moment, every building changed. The Jumbotrons switched to a new screen, showing a video of a man. He had a white goatee, bald hair, no upper lip hair, and an all-red metal suit with spikes all over. Honestly, before this guy even opened his mouth, I knew he was bad news.

The man on the Jumbotron spoke, "Happy New Year!" The crowd replied, "Happy New Year!" The man continued, "Today marks the third annual New Year of New Boston. As you know, New Year festivities begin once the clock hits 4:00 am. The Festival of the Red continues until 8 am. When the Festival of the Red is over, the true purpose of the New Year will begin: we will invade what remains of the world. When this is completed, we will have control over every portion of the earth, marking a new era for New Boston!!"

The crowd went wild, and there it was: "the catch."