The Missing Address (Flash Fiction)
"The story I'm about to relate will sound quacky, but please bear with me! I don't have much time."
Author’s Note: This story is inspired by a
‘writing prompt’ found in their post linked below:To be more specific, it’s this one:
The story I’m about to relate will sound quacky, but please bear with me! I don’t have much time. All this happened about a month ago…
Just another delivery, or so I thought. The address given to me was 1211 Stargazer Street. According to the GPS, the trip should take about eleven minutes, at most. Even better was the tip: $100, no cap.
I eagerly accepted the offer and first went to the nearest Walmart. My customer had asked for six bottles of cranberry juice. It was a hefty order.
In the store, everything was just fine at first. I was able to acquire five of the six bottles I needed when I realized that the store had no more. Sweat ran down my neck. My big pay day looked to be going down the drain. But just as I was about to call my customer to tell him the bad news, I saw a shopper nearby. He was carrying a bottle of cranberry juice. Just what I needed!
What followed was an argument. I approached him nicely. I explained to him my predicament, how everything was riding on this delivery for me. But that man didn’t care. And before I knew it, I threw a punch. My fist was bloodied but I hurriedly wiped it clean.
I knew I had little time, so I rushed off to the checkout lane and paid off the order. The cashier, perhaps realizing that something was off, asked me what was going on, but I replied with a simper. She did not inquire any further and I was able to pay for the juice.
With the bottles of cranberry in hand, I rushed off to my car, my heart beating frantically as I did so. I had to be gone before they realized what just happened.
Thankfully, I was able to make it to my car with little incident. It was all smooth sailing from there to my ultimate destination, or so I thought.
I could feel that something was off when my GPS took me to a strange geological depression. But I ignored my gut. Upon this vale was my big pay day.
Closely, I paid attention to the house numbers. 1200 Stargazer Street… 1204… 1208… 1212… Wait a minute! I just skipped past my address. Then, I realized that the house numbers skipped by four. I walked across the street, hoping to see 1211 but instead I saw 1210.
My stomach was churning, I felt myself about to gag. Was all this for nothing? But I was not ready to give up just yet, I called my customer’s number. Thankfully, it did not take long before he responded.
Over the phone, I explained to him my issue with finding his address. My customer had a winsome voice, I couldn’t help but be at ease despite my predicament. He told me to look for a kiosk between 1212 and 1208.
It did not take long for me to find it. The kiosk looked more like a dilapidated lemonade stand; it looked out of place. A surprise that I initially failed to spot it, but I didn’t think much of it. His next instruction was to flip the whole thing over. A little strange, but I did as was told.
And lo, I saw a set of stairways leading down underground. Once again, my stomach churned. I felt something was off, but I wanted my money. Carrying my bottles of juice, I walked down the steps. And soon, I saw a door and the number 1211 etched right on it. Finally!
Unfortunately, the customer insisted for me to hand him his order. Fair enough, he was giving me a lot of money. Thus, I knocked on his door. Now, what I witnessed soon after was so horrifying I can’t put it into words. And believe me, I wish I can.
One thing was certain about the creature I encountered: it saw me as its prey. I would have been dead right then and there, but I was saved by a fling. Before that creature could wrap its tendrils around me, it was struck by the bottles of cranberry juice that I threw.
I didn’t look back and ran as quick as I could. I lost my big pay, but that was the least of my concerns.
Once I reached the surface, I was surprised to see bright lights of red and blue. It did not take long for me to realize that they were police lights. I was relieved; help had finally arrived! I saw two police officers and ran towards them. But to my surprise they pointed their guns at me. I held up my hands, flabbergasted.
One of the officers reminded me of past events with his gruff voice: “Sir, you are under arrest on the charges of assault and battery.”
“Wait, you don’t understand!” I said, approaching him. This was a mistake. Before I knew it, I was pinned to the ground.
And that’s how I ended up here, in prison. I tried to tell the police about the horrors I encountered, but they wouldn’t believe me. They just dismissed my story as the deranged rantings of a homeless man. But I know what I saw. More importantly, it wants to get rid of me. I just know it! I can feel its presence at times. The churning of my stomach, it was the very same feeling I had.
And as of late, it just won’t go away.
Word Count: 918
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Wow, nice one for getting all those random words into a coherent story. Especially loved leading with "quacky!" Great read!
I love all your buttons! Sitting neatly in a row, like little blue duckies.
I liked the story too. Nice and spooky.