“The Bargain” • by Eric Fomley

The shuttle was far below market price. It felt too good to be true.

“And you’re sure there’s nothing wrong with it?” I asked.

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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