Horror 100 Volume 1

Dust Decay

He aligned the electronic key with the door and thrust it in. It entered with a quiet beep, and a surge of electricity piped at its end. The key turned as the work began. Reid Enstrom stood in the darkened street, glancing about, and waited for the job to be completed. Just as the clockwise rotation was nearing its end, the mechanism stopped, followed by a glaring red light. Reid's heart raced as he realized the process had failed. He retrieved the key, and with one last peek around, he darted into the alley.

The newer cars had become harder to hack, creating further hardships on Reid's work. His code had failed him for the second time that evening, and as he neared the other side of the alleyway he heard the car's alarm blaring in the distance. Good thing I installed that thirty second fail safe, Reid thought to himself. Enough time to make a quick getaway.

As he casually walked the barren streets he kept his eyes open, searching for police vehicles. He would soon be far enough to not be a suspect, even if questioned. He knew he had to travel a long distance before trying his key on another car. If he tried two cars in proximity to another his chances of getting caught increased. His watched vibrated as the hour hand hit the 2.

Realizing he was running out of time Reid quickened his pace. After crossing two miles he crossed another alleyway and began searching for another opportunity. Reid hated having to steal cars, but ever since he refused the job from mayor Heardy, he had not been able to get work doing anything legal, as if black listed from the workforce. Heardy had asked him to do something unethical, coding chips with the ability to remotely take control of cars, and was furious when Reid declined. The mayor explained he would never work in the city again, and so far had been right.

After scouring the streets looking for an older model car, Reid encountered a perfect sample. It was ten years old, and he was certain his key would be able to unlock it. He strolled up to it, having checked for cops and pedestrians, and inserted his key. Electricity zapped again, starting the keys rotation. This time, however, when it beeped, the light turned green.

The car door clicked, opening with a groan. After his seat belt crossed his chest, and snapped itself into place, he took off towards the buyer. The city was darker than usual; the autumn sky swarmed with low hanging gray clouds that blocked out what little light the moon had to offer. His seat belt unlatched its self, after pulling into the buyer's garage and turning off the car.

As Reid got out of the car the buyer approached him. He wore flannel pajamas, and his hair was a mess. "What's this?" He asked Reid scowling.

"A car. What's it look like?"

The buyer shook his head, "No, it's too old. I told you I needed something recent to make any money out of it."

"I have to re code my key. It didn't work on the newer models. I'll have it fixed by tonight, but for now, the car is still nice."

"It was nice ten years ago." Said the buyer.

"It's all I have man. I'll have the new code by tomorrow night, and you will get your new car."

He sighed, "Fine, but this can't happen again. I don't know if I can even get rid of this thing. You better have that code fixed by tomorrow night."

Reid nodded, "I will. Thanks."

"I can't give you the full amount for this, but I can give you something." The buyer said as he typed on his PAL, an electronic device with an LCD screen used for most every day functions.

Reid raised his arm to view the screen on his own PAL, and navigated to his bank account, "That's it? Come on, that's less than half."

The buyer shrugged, "Do better tomorrow and I'll honor our agreement. You're lucky to get that. I'm going back home to bed. Be here tomorrow night with a new car."