The Backroom and Other Short Horror Stories

Come and Get It!

We parked our spaceship next to an abandoned Fosters Freeze. Three circle tables sat outside, the small building next to them. Windows were on each side, one of them having a giant hole. The building was mainly white, but the edges were done in dark blue. There was an awning on the other side of the building, also painted dark blue. The sign saying, "Fosters Freeze Food and Fountain" was still lit up, though damp and dirty. Inside the building was darkness, tables and abandoned furniture lining up. Nevertheless, Jack found it necessary to use a run-down bathroom instead of going outside.

"I'll be right back out," he said to me, picking the lock on the door and running inside. He was too polite. I had no idea what he was doing being a space pirate when he couldn't even piss on a flower. But, he did have strong arms and loyalty passing a dog's, so I kept him around.

I lit a cigarette and leaned on the side of the building. The openness and clear skies reminded me how lonely a space pirate can be. Currently, I was on concrete, two asphalt roads surrounding me. But in the distance, hills and palm trees loomed over me like monsters waiting to strike. The sky had no visible stars or planets, but instead was blue with a tint of orange. The sun was coming up; we've been traveling all night. My empty pockets reminded me we were not fortunate. I sighed, squeezing my cigarette too hard it burst, and I had to light a new one.

Minutes later, Jack came barging out, exclaiming, "Dave, you have to see this!"

"What," I barked. "Find a tub of ice cream?"

"No, no. There's something weird inside. Almost soiled myself looking at it. Come come, so it doesn't run off." I blew out my cigarette and stuffed it back inside the box. I figured Jack was going to waste my time with more nonsense. 

But what Jack found really was weird. In the corner of the building cowered a creature, hissing and spitting up a storm. It had black, spiky fur and four bright yellow eyes. The head had two ears, one close to its left eye, the other almost touching its neck. It's tail had one single spike on its tail. On it's four shaved feet were strange markings that looked like a swirl. I had never seen the markings before, so I couldn't tell what they meant. Overall, the creature didn't rise past my knees, making it possible to pick it up. But I wouldn't touch that thing with a six foot pole.

"I think it's afraid," whispered Jack.

"You think?" I shook my head. "Well, whatever that thing is, it don't like us none. And I don't want to stick around to find out what those symbols mean. Come on, Jack, let's get out of here."

"But I feel bad for it."

"We ain't gonna run a pound. And that thing looks like a mutated cat. You know things cost less when they're messed with. A real cat would fancy us enough to buy a better ship. A nice, handsome black cat. Not no abomination like that one." The creature loudly hissed at me as I turned my back. Jack followed.

Jack took out his GPS device and typed something on it. "We're on planet Earth, but we seem to be the only ones here. There used to be a trillion people living here, but my system says there's less than 100,000. Where did everyone go?"

"Must've been all this technology. People had the technology to get out of here and explore new places, so people did. And that lead to inhabiting new planets. People don't care about Earth anymore, Jack. They've done screwed it up far past recovery. Look at the sky." We looked up. "Thousands of years ago, we'd be able to count at least a million stars in the sky. Now how many do you see? None. Not even the moon is visible. I'm telling you, Jack, humans done screwed up their birthplace."

"But... aren't we humans?"

I lit my cigarette again. "I don't like to be called one. I'd rather not be associated with a species that couldn't even take care of their own planet. Come, let's see if we can find anything while we're here." I climbed into our spaceship, inhaling my cigarette. Jack slowly followed and sat next to me, still typing on his GPS. I pressed a button, which scanned my finger, and we lifted off after a sputtering start.