Working the night shift was supposed to be easy. Not a lot of business, just a lot of time to chill out and get paid for it.
Of course, I was the delivery driver at this pizza place. And with fewer and fewer people coming in for the night, I pretty much got time to myself to explore. There were some rooms here I wasn't exactly allowed to explore. Some of them, my co-workers joked, were said to house the bodies of customers who fought with the workers. Of course, I didn't believe any of that.
I was approaching one of the doors, to just take a quick peak inside, when I heard a beep from the screen in the kitchen. Another order had come in.
With few people in the building, one of them being a manager who never leaves her office, it was up to me to throw together the pizza.
Now don't get me wrong, I've thrown together a pizza a time or two before. Tonight was no different. And to be honest with you, it's fun in a way. The dough is like a kid. It needs to be guided to grow to its fullest potential. I know, weird analogy right? My brain goes to weird places sometimes. Places I can't even quite explain.
Once the pizza was done I threw it in the oven and waited for it to cook, pressing a button on the order screen to keep the delivery order updated.
Eventually the pizza finished cooking. I grabbed one of the pre-folded boxes we had in the back and tossed the pizza inside. I stuffed the box in my thermal delivery bag and called out to my manager that I was leaving. She shot me a thumbs up, never looking up from her phone. She's a joy to work with, isn't she?
I hopped in the car and off I went, onto the endless road of the night. I kept glancing over to my GPS, which I'd programmed earlier to have the customer's address within. It seemed to be near the edge of town. Kind of out in the middle of nowhere. Most people would be bothered by this, even refuse to deliver out there. But not me, I get paid by the hour.
As I reached the edge of town, the bright and active city was fading into the backroads with abandoned buildings and vegetation as far as the eye could see. I checked my GPS. I was nearly there.
I continued down the road, turning the radio on for the car. As I did, the music blasted through the speakers, making me jump a bit. I could even feel the wheel teetering around. But eventually I got it all under control and fixed the volume.
My eyes returned to the road just in time to see someone walk out in front of me. I didn't have time to stop as I slammed on the brakes as hard as I could. The car felt like it was about to flip, but it was too close to the guy, too close. The car bumped him hard, knocking him to the ground with a hard thump. I stopped the car and ran out. There was the guy's body, laying there on the ground. He wasn't moving, a pool of dark liquid was growing beneath him.
I couldn't believe what I had just done. I cried out for help but we were out in the middle of nowhere. Not a person for quite a while.
Where did he even come from?
I looked around for an answer but saw nothing but vegetation. Not a single building or vehicle in sight.
Then, my phone began to ring. It was my boss.
"What happened?" she asked in a monotone voice. "The tracker said you stopped."
"I-" I stammered, trying to come up with something. What could I say, that I just ran over a person? I'd lose my job. I'd go to jail. I'd owe the pizza place so much money from the car insurance and damages and everything. I was freaking out. I panicked. "Nothing, sorry, there was a deer in the middle of the road. I stopped to let it pass."
"Well aren't you a sweetheart," she remarked sarcastically. "But you need to hurry up, the pizza is gonna be late."
"Yeah..." I said. I didn't know what else to tell her. I was still freaking out.
She hung up the phone, leaving me stranded with a situation that I really didn't want to be in. I had to the do the only thing I could.
Mustering up all my strength, I dragged the man behind the car, popped the trunk, and nudged him inside. It took longer than I'd thought, but I finally got him in there.
Then, I started the car, making sure the trunk was locked tight, and I sped off to make my delivery for the night...
Of course, I was the delivery driver at this pizza place. And with fewer and fewer people coming in for the night, I pretty much got time to myself to explore. There were some rooms here I wasn't exactly allowed to explore. Some of them, my co-workers joked, were said to house the bodies of customers who fought with the workers. Of course, I didn't believe any of that.
I was approaching one of the doors, to just take a quick peak inside, when I heard a beep from the screen in the kitchen. Another order had come in.
With few people in the building, one of them being a manager who never leaves her office, it was up to me to throw together the pizza.
Now don't get me wrong, I've thrown together a pizza a time or two before. Tonight was no different. And to be honest with you, it's fun in a way. The dough is like a kid. It needs to be guided to grow to its fullest potential. I know, weird analogy right? My brain goes to weird places sometimes. Places I can't even quite explain.
Once the pizza was done I threw it in the oven and waited for it to cook, pressing a button on the order screen to keep the delivery order updated.
Eventually the pizza finished cooking. I grabbed one of the pre-folded boxes we had in the back and tossed the pizza inside. I stuffed the box in my thermal delivery bag and called out to my manager that I was leaving. She shot me a thumbs up, never looking up from her phone. She's a joy to work with, isn't she?
I hopped in the car and off I went, onto the endless road of the night. I kept glancing over to my GPS, which I'd programmed earlier to have the customer's address within. It seemed to be near the edge of town. Kind of out in the middle of nowhere. Most people would be bothered by this, even refuse to deliver out there. But not me, I get paid by the hour.
As I reached the edge of town, the bright and active city was fading into the backroads with abandoned buildings and vegetation as far as the eye could see. I checked my GPS. I was nearly there.
I continued down the road, turning the radio on for the car. As I did, the music blasted through the speakers, making me jump a bit. I could even feel the wheel teetering around. But eventually I got it all under control and fixed the volume.
My eyes returned to the road just in time to see someone walk out in front of me. I didn't have time to stop as I slammed on the brakes as hard as I could. The car felt like it was about to flip, but it was too close to the guy, too close. The car bumped him hard, knocking him to the ground with a hard thump. I stopped the car and ran out. There was the guy's body, laying there on the ground. He wasn't moving, a pool of dark liquid was growing beneath him.
I couldn't believe what I had just done. I cried out for help but we were out in the middle of nowhere. Not a person for quite a while.
Where did he even come from?
I looked around for an answer but saw nothing but vegetation. Not a single building or vehicle in sight.
Then, my phone began to ring. It was my boss.
"What happened?" she asked in a monotone voice. "The tracker said you stopped."
"I-" I stammered, trying to come up with something. What could I say, that I just ran over a person? I'd lose my job. I'd go to jail. I'd owe the pizza place so much money from the car insurance and damages and everything. I was freaking out. I panicked. "Nothing, sorry, there was a deer in the middle of the road. I stopped to let it pass."
"Well aren't you a sweetheart," she remarked sarcastically. "But you need to hurry up, the pizza is gonna be late."
"Yeah..." I said. I didn't know what else to tell her. I was still freaking out.
She hung up the phone, leaving me stranded with a situation that I really didn't want to be in. I had to the do the only thing I could.
Mustering up all my strength, I dragged the man behind the car, popped the trunk, and nudged him inside. It took longer than I'd thought, but I finally got him in there.
Then, I started the car, making sure the trunk was locked tight, and I sped off to make my delivery for the night...
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