It was dark in there. I had no idea where I was. All I knew was that something terrible was happening. The man put me in a box and took me down to the subway but I had no idea why. After all, I’m just a toy lantern.

My days before the incident were great. I had an awesome owner. His name was Andy. She would play with me every day along with Buzz and Woody. We had a good life. But then, I was thrown out. Abandoned. For some reason I wasn’t good enough for some sort of movie that the other toys were going to be in.

I spent many years in the landfill but it was pretty relaxing. All I had to do was lay there. I didn’t get bored because I don’t have a brain. I didn’t get hungry or thirsty because I’m just a lantern. The landfill was pretty gross. There were just mounds of trash divided by roads weaving through the land. The smell was ok but not the best. It was...alright.

Every now and again people would come to the landfill and look for things. You watch them go through other piles but the one I was in was so big that nobody ever bothered. Except for today. These two men came over to me, picked me up, and put me in a bag. I was excited for a while but then I was scared. I didn’t know what was going to happen to me. Maybe it’s the movie people that are now going to make me jump around in a white room and land on a giant “P” that spells the word “Pixar”. However, that is highly unlikely. Instead, I was dumped out on a table. I heard people talking about a “prank on the police” and “fake bombs” but I didn’t know what any of that was.

At this point I am petrified. I have no idea where I was or what this “prank” is. After about a week of being moved around from table to box to car to table again, I was finally put into yet another box and was taken into a car. There was a small hole in the side of the box so I could see what was going on. I saw that we were going into the subway. I have never been into a subway before so this was all new to me. The strange smell, the echoing halls, the waves of people after they got off of the subway trains. It was all both exciting but nerve wracking as I had no idea why I was there.

I was placed down in the middle of the subway and left there. It was a good 45 minutes of sitting on the nasty floor with all the people walking, boarding trains, and getting off of trains until I heard someone yell “BOMB!” That is when the strange beeping from a speaker in the box with me started. I didn’t know what a bomb was so I wasn’t too worried. Then over the PA system in the subway was an official announcement.
“Ladies and gentleman, this is a code red. Please locate the nearest exit and swiftly evacuate the station. Do not board any trains. Do not stop. Please evacuate the station. This is not a drill. I repeat, this is not a drill.”

I heard people yelling, screaming, panicking but I don’t know why. All I could think of is that some sort of emergency was happening. I sat there for a few hours. I couldn’t see anything through the hole in the box. Then, I saw NYPD officers rush the station. They immediately ran to the box and opened it.

As I was lifted out of the box, I saw at least 40 officers all crowded around the box. It was a strange occurrence. They all looked confused, like they had never seen a toy lantern before. Then, I was put into a bag, taken away and filed in a cabinet. I haven’t been taken out since. Hopefully I’m not in here for good.