A pallet cleanser I wrote that I wasn't going to post but remembered that there was a "humor" category. Fair warning, it gets weird. I challenged myself to keep the main character fluid for any reader. I hope you enjoy,
This is What You Want
The evening blows in through the open window. Since your arm is hanging out, your hand feels the balmy air a second before your face does. The first warm night of the year felt like a good night for a drive and you could not resist rolling down the glass. The radio plays some song, you know it but you are not really hearing it. Your mind is already imagining what could be lurking in the dark shadows. Your imagination gets carried away and suddenly, you get an idea.
You steer your vehicle into the pitted asphalt parking lot with one flickering street light. Your car is the only one in this dark place and you feel alone in the world. But you know that is not true. That is precisely why you picked this place. You know better than to be here, the crawling on your skin is proof enough. The reputation of this parking lot is infamous in your town and yet, here you are.
You know why you are here. The daily grind started to eat at you. Chipping at you like a bird that will not stop pecking. It hits you again and again, peck, peck, peck, peck, peck, peck, peck, peck, PECK, PECK, PECK, PECK AND YOU HAVE HAD ENOUGH! The toll of living a normal life with no breaks at all is devouring you. You want to feel something, unnatural. Something that will change you forever.
You do have a practical reason for being here. No one can say for sure you knew better. You could scramble a defense if things got bad. When things get bad. Your heartbeat begins to rise when your right hand shifts the vehicle into park. You want to do this but still hesitate for a moment. All the porn you've watched and the stories you read, show and talk about this thing. All the time. You know better than to expect the same thing to happen to you.
You could pull away now, having come even this close has been enough to excite you. That alone would fuel you for a while, sure but then what? That pecking bird again? Fuck that. You wanted something to shake your world up and this was your chance. Before you can think about it anymore, your left hand pops the door handle.
Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.
The chiming stops when you close the car door. Without it, the parking lot is far too silent. You left your headlights on, aimed in the direction you are headed. The one street light is a dim joke. You may be brave but no one is that brave.
As you walk away from the safety of your vehicle, the temperature lowers and a chilly wind blows over your exposed skin. You have lowered your guard on this warm day. Wearing clothing better suited for a summer night. It may not be your last regret of the evening. If you are lucky.
You finally step up to the sketchy a.t.m. and reach for your wallet. After pulling your trusty debit card from the right place, you look over the scanner. Those videos about fake card readers have made you more cautious of where you stick your plastic. The twisted fantasy in your head is well, twisted but fraud was not sexy. Ever. You think it is fine this time so you shove your card right into the slot.
"Ahhhh."
You spin around! Your heart is a jackhammer in your chest! The moan you heard was so close, you would have sworn someone was standing right behind you.
"H-hello?"
Your voice fades away and the only sound you hear is the faint idling of your vehicle. Until the a.t.m. speaks up behind you.
"Please enter your passcode, now." A mechanical voice demands of you.
You wonder when these things started to issue voice prompts without asking first. Feeling a little annoyed by the machine's abrupt message, you begin to enter your code. As you press the first metallic key, you hear the moan again. This time, you do not think it came from behind you.
You stare at the a.t.m. and can almost feel the security camera peering at you. You need to hear it again, it could not have possibly come from the machine.