The shuttle was far below market price. It felt too good to be true.
The used starship salesman grinned. “I’m telling you, this beauty runs like new!”
I chewed my bottom lip.
“Look,” he continued, placing his hand on his chest, “I’ll give you my personal 30-day guarantee.”
“Okay,” I smiled. “I’ll take it.”
¤
The shuttle climbed the atmosphere without issue. I felt like I’d gotten the steal of a lifetime.
A holo of the onboard AI appeared on the Nav console. Her smile was a little too wide.
“Hello! I’m very excited to spend my life with you!”
My heart sank as a multi-year journey through the stars automatically charted.
I was locked out.
__________________________
Eric Fomley’s stories have been published at Clarkesworld, Daily Science Fiction, and Galaxy’s Edge Magazine. More of his stories can be found on his website ericfomley.com.
You’ll also find a bunch of Eric’s stories here on Stupefying Stories, at this link. Personally, I’d start with “End Program.”
This time The Pete Wood Challenge
was to write a flash fiction story of up to 125 words in length using
the prompt, “reservation.” To see the previous winners of previous
challenges, click this link.
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