Home: A Short Story (Sample)

Notice: This is a legal sample of my published work on Amazon (per the terms). If this sample peaks your interest, feel free to purchase the full version there (or at the below link). Please ignore the below formatting errors. Thank you for reading!
https://www.amazon.com/Dakota-Matos/e/B07VZYRJ16/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1

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Sarah punched Josh’s shoulder in a playful manner.
    “You can’t put that much on the pizza, idiot.” She snatched the plastic container of parmesan cheese from her boyfriend’s hands. “Only a pinch, or two; you don’t want a heart attack so early.”
    “Whatever, jeez.” Josh shook his head and sighed. “Where’s Matt? He was supposed to get the movie thirty minutes ago.”
    Sarah closed the pizza box and walked to the refrigerator. Opening it, she was immediately greeted by the strong scent of chocolate cake; two slices possessed walnuts, and four slices were covered in cherry syrup. Fighting the temptation, she reached past the sugary delights and gripped a bottle of water; the blue wrapper crinkled in her hands. “Oh, Matt had to get more toilet paper.”
    Julie walked into the kitchen. “Remember? Your greedy ass used it all.”
    “Fuck off.” Josh flinched as the bottle of soda vibrated from a previous dropping. “It’s not like everyone’s panic-buying. That would be dumb.” The blue cup nearly tipped as dark liquid landed in the vast opening. “Also, aren’t you the one who ate all the Halloween candy? Your high-ass was so hungry.”
    “What movie is Matt getting, again?” asked Sarah.
    “It’s something about people eating each other,” said Julie.
    “Zombies?” asked Josh. “I don’t know; don’t really care.”
    Julie walked over to the living area’s couch; the motion-censored light desaturated the darkness. She turned on the television. “It’s his week to pick it, anyway. None of you fools liked my choice last week.”
    “It was a documentary on child abuse,” said Sarah, breaking off a slice of the greasy pizza. “Why the hell did you pick that for a movie night?”
    “People need to be aware.” Julie lifted her stocking-covered legs and placed them on the coffee table.
    “What was with the shit about the military, though?” asked Sarah. “That can’t be true.”
    “Break it up, girls,” said Josh, “unless you want me to get the pillows and you two can rough it up yourselves.”
    “You wish,” said Sarah.
    The three settled onto the couch to watch a movie about a magic ring when the front door of the loft swung open. Matt, drenched, stumbled in, kicking a bag of toilet paper across the floor.
    Josh laughed. “Oh, is it raining?”
    “Shut up.” Matt closed the door and took off his jacket. He walked over to the living area and tossed a DVD on the table. He shook his hands and walked over to the kitchen.
    “Oh, I heard this is good,” said Julie. She held up the case; Forests was the title. Sarah leaned over. “Isn’t that the one about killers in the woods, or something?”
    “Yep. I’ve been wanting to see it.” She looked behind her. “Thanks, babe.”
    “Yeah, yeah,” said Matt. He finished pouring his drink and walked over to the chair next to the coffee table. “Something felt weird at the store.”
    “What do you mean?” asked Josh.
    “I don’t know; everything just felt…off.” Matt took a bite of his plain cheese. “A lot of people were pretty impatient and rushed to check out. Many were buying so much food, toilet paper—which the one I bought was the last there, by the way.”
    “People freak out all the time,” said Josh. “I wouldn’t worry.”
    “Yep.” Sarah walked over to the DVD player and readied the system. “Screw everyone right now.”
    “Let’s just WATCH THE MOVIE, and relax,” said Julie. “Jesus.”
    The movie ended a few hours later. Sarah and Josh were asleep on the couch, and Julie was in the bathroom. Matt unlocked his phone and opened a news page. An article had been recently published, with a picture of many military personnel; all of whom stood in front of a hospital’s entrance. The End is Near was the title. Matt lowered his phone as Julie walked out of the bathroom, her pink bathrobe glowing. She walked over to kiss Matt, then walked to their bedroom. The concerned boyfriend rose the phone and increased the brightness; a short video displayed in the middle of the page. He plugged in his headphones.

As stated: End of sample. Thank you for considering my work!