Harrigan's Price and Other Stories by Christian Bauer

Author:Christian Bauer [Bauer, Christian]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Mystery, Intrigue, Horror
Publisher: Misti Media, LLC
Published: 2024-05-31T00:00:00+00:00

MeggaPizza

The doorbell rang.

For a moment, Cliff imagined a friendly brunette outside his door, full of energy and personality, with a glittering smile. Anything was possible.

He opened the door.

A young man with a Black Death Jam T-shirt and MeggaPizza baseball cap held three large pizza boxes.

“I didn’t order anything,” said Cliff.

The boxes were balanced on one arm, the teenager studied the ticket stuck to the top.

“You Cliff Brown? One sausage, one pepperoni, one pineapple. Debit card, it says.”

“I don’t have a debit card.”

The young man read off a cell phone number.

“That’s my phone, but I didn’t order anything,” said Cliff.

“They’re paid for.”

What the hell, spend the money while he had it. Cliff dug into his pocket and offered a five-dollar tip.

He shut the door and stacked the boxes on the kitchen counter. The aromas of pizza sauce, sausage, and spices filled the room.

Cliff shrugged and opened one. Pineapple baked into the sauce and cheese formed the word ANSWER.

He squeezed his eyes shut and looked again. ANSWER.

He flipped open the next box. The sausage formed four letters. D-O-N-T.

Curiosity’s momentum made him rip open the next box without thinking.

The pepperoni read PHONE.

He took a step back and stared.

It couldn’t be a genuine message—there were better ways to communicate. You could maybe believe words on a birthday, farewell, and anniversary cake. On free pizzas? No.

It was free pizza. Maybe an omen of good things to come. He pulled out a slice and bit off the tip. He savored the tomato sauce, the cheese, and the hint of spice.

Good, but still a little too hot.

His cell phone buzzed. Cliff twisted the phone around with his free hand and read the caller ID. MeggaPizza. Calling to get their pizzas back? To charge him when he didn’t order? He took the call. “Hello?”

A deafening sucking sound roared in his ear.

The three-word warning flashed through his mind too late. A vacuum pulled him headfirst. He felt himself shred into atomic particles and rode the cell phone microwaves on a stomach-churning roller coaster.

His eyes popped open.

He stood in a small, windowless, one-room apartment. Too much stuffed into the space—a bed, a nightstand with a photograph, a wall-sized TV. The smallest bathroom in the world and a rack of blue and yellow restaurant uniforms.

Still dizzy, he collapsed on the bed. The photograph was in his line of sight.

A woman. Dark hair, eyes that glimmered with intelligence, energy, personality, and a lot of other good things he couldn’t name. She wore a blue and yellow fast-food uniform.

“Cliff Brown! Time to wake up!”

Cliff jumped up and spun in the direction of the sound. The TV showed a female cheerleader in a MeggaPizza sweater bouncing with manic enthusiasm. She backflipped out of the picture, and the company logo filled the screen.

Cliff remembered the phone call. He fumbled in his pocket for his phone and pressed re-dial.

One ring. He was certain he’d hear the sucking sound again, feel himself shredded, and end up where he started.

“MeggaPizza.” The voice came from outside the door.

He dialed 911.

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