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1

SirPiecemaker t1_j41j3g0 wrote

"That'll be 9 dollars, sir," I said as I handed the man before me the pizza.

"Oh, uh," he said, tapping his pockets, "just put it on the table here. Forgot my wallet in the living room."

I smiled politely and stepped into the cramped foyer. Putting the pizza on the nearby table, I looked around casually. Nothing of interest, really. Coats, muddy shoes, things I've seen hundreds of times during my time as a pizza delivery boy. With my hands in my pockets, I slowly took a few steps towards the living room to meet the man halfway-

-and tripped. A rug on the floor the corner of which was flipped, creating enough of an obstacle.

It was as if time slowed around me until I finally managed to find stable footing at the last possible moment. Then, a sickening feeling came over me like someone threw my head into a dryer and set it to max. I grabbed my brow with a pained expression just as the man turned the corner, cash in hand.

"Whoa, you alright?" he said as he saw my state.

"Ye- yeah, just... sudden vertigo," I said and looked at him. My eyes went wide - something about him was unsettling. I looked down; the carpet was gone. It was never there. "It happens sometimes," I added nervously.

"Well, here, there's 10, keep the change."

"Than- thanks," I said and hurriedly left the apartment. Walking as fast as I could, I took deep breaths and tried to piece together what just happened.

Apart from the fact that I died.

Funny thing about this city; you don't die from accidents. Or, rather, you do but just before you bite it, your consciousness gets transferred into an alternate world where the circumstances were just different enough for you to survive, like a car going one mile slower making a hit into a narrow miss. No idea why it's only us from this city - an experiment gone wrong. More wrong for me. See, when you transport, you don't know you died. You think you had a close call. But I remember. My deaths, the details, all of it. Just takes a second for me to piece it all together.

And, for the first time, I realize that the definition of "dying from an accident" may be broader than I realized. Explains why the man unsettled me.

When I tripped, I didn't die from the fall.

I died because I fell head-first into the living room and saw the bodies.

49

IcedStarlight t1_j43jjjs wrote

Ben followed the blue line on the app and sighed when it stopped at the rundown apartment complex. He was sure the place had been condemned years ago. His eyes gazed over the graffiti covered walls, broken windows and aged holiday decorations that clung to the first floor sliding door. A dim light flickered from a second floor window; a tiny child's face peeked out from tattered sheer curtains. Ben half smiled, he was just about to drive off assuming the order was a prank. The shop had been getting more of them lately. Dan, the owner blamed the new pizza shop that opened just blocks away but Ben wasn't so sure. Ben grabbed the pizza and headed into the dark rundown complex. The same girl that peaked out the window waited on the balcony and silently usher him towards the stairs with a flashlight. She stared down at him from the top landing, pointing her flashlight at him.

'Hi. Is this your pizza?' he asked while making his way up the first steps. His body jolted and his head spun, like waking abruptly from a dream and he watched the pizza fly into the air as he tumbled backwards.

'Sir, sir?? Are you okay?' The woman's hand reached out and gently squeezed his forearm.

Ben stood in the same spot, eyes wide. He looked around the stairwell, freshly painted and a well lit. He signed heavily.

The girl shouted down from the top, 'Should I go call for help mama?' Ben shook his head, 'I'm alright, thanks.' he said quickly trading the pizza for the cash.

He hurried towards his car admiring the manicured courtyard along the way. He shook his head, 'Damn, not again.'

He went straight home, ran up the two flights of stairs, skipping every other step. He flung open the door to his apartment, shouting, 'Jenny!?' searching the rooms he found them empty. Not a trace of her.

Ben fell to his knees sobbing, 'No, damn it! Not again.'

6