Short Story Sundays

Story 1 (Scott)

After a long and hard day at work, Quinn leans back in his living room chair with a sigh. The cushion seemed to embrace him in a big, warm, comfortable hug. Work had been stressful for him lately. He had an incredibly important research project that needed to be finished by the coming week. It had tired him out enough that during his lunch break he simply had his apple and slept.

He had almost no energy left sitting on his couch. His lack of food and sleep didn't help to motivate him during his job and life outside of work. He slowly turns to his parrot, Apollo, who was in the living room. His apartment wasn't that big, only containing a couple of rooms. His bedroom, the kitchen, and small but sufficient living room was all his shelter contained. And he was fine with that. Quinn could almost afford to purchase a townhouse due to his indispensable work at his job. It looked like life was taking a turn for the better, besides the self-induced food and sleep deprivation.

"How's it going, Apollo?" Apollo repeats to himself over and over again. He was a nice bird; he never pecked or anything like that. On the few occasions when he flew out of his cage, he simply rested on the kitchen table. Quinn smiles at his bird.

The man grabs the TV remote from his right armrest and clicks the power button. The screen quickly turns on and shows a crime show, where police were trying to figure out the case of a mysterious killer. Turns out that this killer left various messages before he struck. One example was writing on the ceiling above a victim's bed, so when they woke up they would immediately see it. Another example was leaving one letter on most of the cards in a deck. When a victim opened the cards to play he could easily see the message after spreading the cards out.

Quinn didn't have much of an interest for crime shows. Suddenly, he noticed he was fairly hungry. His stomach growled for about thirty seconds straight before he decided to go make himself a meal. Tonight he was thinking... Pizza. He stands up and heads for the phone, which is mounted on one of the walls of his kitchen. After he picks up the phone, he takes a magnet off of his fridge that has a number to his favorite pizza place. As he dials the number, he can hear bits and pieces of the crime television show back in the living room.

"The killer, Adam Davidson, was then caught. But not before leaving another message, which we'll show in just a bit..."

Someone answers the phone.

"Joe and Jeremy's Pizzeria, how may I help you?" The order only takes a couple minutes to place before Quinn hangs up. The pizza should be delivered in about twenty minutes. The man walks back into his living room, where Apollo seems to be strangely talking up a storm.

"You'll be next... I'll strike soon... You'll be next... I'll strike soon..." Apollo repeated to himself over and over again. Quinn stares down at the bird. He glanced over to the television nervously, and it showed some commercial for shampoo.

"What..." He stumbles on his words. "What do you mean?"

"What do you mean... What do you mean..." The previous message that Apollo had been holding had disappeared. Quinn quickly scans the entire living room and continues to investigate the kitchen, as well. He tries to think of why Apollo would be saying such things.

The killer they were talking on TV about gave a message before he struck... Was this mine? If Adam Davidson had left me a message via Apollo.. That'd mean that he's near.

Quinn runs to his room, which was an attachment of the kitchen and the foyer. The bedroom was particularly cluttered, but he could easily find his old wooden baseball bat under his bed. He kept it there just in case... Just in case any bad incidents took place and he needed it.

Quinn's paranoia settled in, and he starts an investigation of the entire apartment, looking in every nook and cranny where someone could be hiding. He approaches his living room for the third time, looking at his singular chair. He notices the television is still on. Quinn reaches for his remote and presses the off button, only to get back on his guard seconds after.

His parrot starts barking - or chirping, rather - another sentence.

"Soon... Soon... Soon..." Apollo repeats over and over again like last time.

"Soon?" Quinn says in horror. Just then, the doorbell rings. He yelps and nearly drops he bat, almost having a heart attack. He slowly walks out of the living room, embracing his baseball bat in two hands. He approaches his front door and peers out the peephole. A sigh of relief falls upon Quinn.

He opens the door, revealing a pizza delivery man. They have a conversation while Quinn signs the receipt and accepts the pizza, still a bit shaken up. He almost forgets about the message that Apollo had been broadcasting as he takes two slices of pizza, plops them onto a plate, and plops himself onto his chair. He, again, turns on the TV. The crime show is still on.

"He has been in prison now for six months." The television says to Quinn.

"He has been in prison now for six months..." Apollo starts to repeat. "He has been in prison now for six months... He has been in prison now for six months..."

And the dots start connecting for Quinn.