Jett checked the last address for the day. It was a cat cafe. This was going to be interesting. And probably hairy.
He found the place. It was called Pawsitively Purrfect. The window was full of cats. Cats of all shapes and sizes. Cats sleeping, cats playing, and cats judging him.
He went inside. The smell of cat food and litter hit him like a wall. It was..intense.
A woman with cat ears on her head greeted him.
"Welcome to Pawsitively Purrfect! Are you here for the pizza or the purrs?"
"Pizza," Jett said. He held out the box. "For...Mittens?"
"Oh, yes! Mittens is expecting you!" The woman said. She clapped her hands:
"Everyone! The pizza is here!"
Suddenly, cats swarmed him. They rubbed against his legs. Others jumped on his shoulders, and a few tried to climb onto the pizza box.
Jet yelped. "Get off! Get off!"
The woman laughed. "They love pizza! Especially the Meow gherita!"
She pulled a large, fluffy black cat off Jett's head. The cat had green eyes and a pizza shaped collar.
'This human looks delicious.' the black cat thought.
"This is Mitten," the woman said. "She's the boss."
Mittens meowed loudly. She tried to bite the pizza box.
"Okay, Mittens, here you go," the woman said. She carefully opened the box.
The cats went wild. They jumped into the box. They also devoured the pizza, even the box itself.
Jet watched in horror. He was covered in cat hair. He smelled like cat food as well. He was pretty sure he had a new allergy.
The woman paid for the pizza. She gave Jett a bag of catnip as a tip.
"The cats loved it!" The woman said. "Come back anytime!"
Jett walked out of the cafe quickly. Those cats were all strange!
As Jett stood on the sidewalk, attempting to brush clinging fur from his jacket with frantic, ineffective swipes, Renja appeared.
She crossed the street with the silence and inevitability of encroaching nightfall, she was unnoticed by pedestrians hurrying past.
They couldn't perceive her even if they tried to. She stopped directly in front of Jett, taking in his appearance.
Jett jumped, he didn't even see her until now. Because he was still processing the cat cafe. She raised her hand toward him.
He blinked at Renja. She was..picking cat hair off him? He stared. He didn't know what to say. Eventually, he spoke:
"Ah, thanks."
He brushed at his clothes again. He was still covered in fur.
"Cats are.. enthusiastic," he said. "They really liked the pizza."
He paused.
"Why are you here?" He asked. "Did you..follow me?"
He looked around nervously.
"Are you going to take me back to the alley? Or my apartment? Because I really don't want to go back to my apartment. It smells like expired juice."
He shuddered.
"And please," he added. "No more touching my neck."
Without a single word, Renja turned. She pivoted gracefully on the balls of her feet, her back now presented to him. Her dark clothing seemed to absorb the fading light.
She began to walk, her destination wasn't immediately obvious, but her path led away from the cat cafe, generally back in the direction they had come from earlier, towards the area where Jett lived.
She didn't look back to see if he was following.
He really needed to get back to work. Mr.Pyre would have a fit if he was late again. He could already hear the yelling.
But..Renja was just walking away. No explanation, no nothing.
He sighed, he was tired of being confused, tired of being left in the dark.
"Fine," he muttered.
He started following her. He walked a few feet behind her. Like a lost puppy. Or a guy being stalked by a literal Vampire.
It was hard to tell actually.
He glanced back at Pizza Inferno, he could almost feel Pyre's rage radiating from the building.
"I'm so fired," he mumbled to himself.
Several minutes later, he eventually arrived at his familiar apartment.
-
Renja entered the apartment behind Jett. The familiar stale air, thick with the scent of her prey's chaotic life enveloped her.
Jett stared back at her. As always, her eyes were cold and intense. He still didn't understand what she wanted—especially since hardly spoke.
He shifted his weight, he felt awkward, and tired.
Then, he remembered something.
"Oh crap," he said. "My bike!"
He smacked his forehead.
"I forgot to pick it up! And I promised the guy a pizza!"
He looked at Renja.
"I gotta go. Or he'll probably glue my wheels together or something."
He grabbed his keys. He started for the door after heating a spare pizza in a microwave.
"You can..stay here. If you want."' He offered weakly.
"Just..try not to break anything."
He wasn't sure why he kept inviting a Vampire to hang out in his apartment. But his brain wasn't working at full capacity.
"See ya," he mumbled.
-
Jett walked quickly. He needed to get to the shop. Before it closed. Or the guy sold his bike for parts.
His heard started to throb. It is wasn't a normal headache. This one felt..weird. Like something was pressing on his brain.
He ignored it. He had a bike to retrieve. And a pizza to deliver. He arrived at the shop minutes later.
The guy was still there, grease was on his face. Wrench in hand.
"Hey," Jett said. "I'm here for my..for the bike."
The guy grinned. "Ah, pizza boy! Your lovely lady awaits!"
He led Jett to the back. The bike was there. It looked..almost new!
"Wow!" Jett said. "You actually fixed it."
"Fixed it?" The guy said. "I rebuilt her. This baby's better than new. It's got..soul!"
Jett stared at the back. It did look good, but soul?
He hands over the pizza.
"Thanks for the grub. Now get out of here. I got more bikes to soul-ify."
Jett climbed on the bike. It felt smooth, and fast. Almost..too fast.
His headache intensified. The world seemed to spin..he started pedaling. He just wanted to get home.
An hour later, Jett entered his room, greeting Renja.
"Hey Renja, I'm finally back."
The white haired woman was seated on a couch in his room, her silence was the only thing that answered him back.
Jett sighed. He was done with the weirdness, the silence especially.
He knew she saw him as..something. An object, property most likely. He didn't care anymore, he went to his bed, and didn't bother to change either.
"I'm going to sleep," he mumbled. "Don't..whatever."
He closed his eyes, he didn't care if she watched. Didn't care if she left either.
He just wanted the pounding in his head to stop.
-
Several hours flew by, and the next morning, he woke up, after a quick shower.
He changed in the bathroom, wearing a copy of his familiar clothing. And exited.
Jett's phone vibrated against a cheap laminate countertop, the caller ID flashing "Pizza Inferno - Pyre."
He sighed quietly and answered. "Yeah, Jett here."
"Jett! Finally!"
Mr. Pyre's voice crackled through the speaker, already sounding put-upon.
"Took you long enough. You lounging around on my dime? Oh wait, it's daytime, you're probably lounging on your dime! Never mind."
Jett rubbed his temple. "Err, no, Mr. Pyre. Just grabbing a drink. What's going on?"
"What's going on is I've solved the eternal riddle, the gordian knot of the morning shift!"
Pyre declared, a note of manic triumph in his voice.
"Found a couple of youngsters, probably need the cash for... textbooks, or whatever kids waste money on these days. Point is, they're handling mornings."
"Oh. Okay, good for them," Jett said, waiting for the other shoe to drop.
"Good for me, Jett! It means I can finally deploy my veteran assets where they're needed most! The battlefield of the night!"
Pyre paused dramatically.
"You and Marco? You're on nights now. Starting tonight. Six P.M. Be there."
Jett processed that. "Tonight? We're switching to the night shift just like that?"
"Just like that! Is there an echo in here? Yes, tonight! Six! Sharp! Think of it, Jett! The late-night cravings, the questionable decisions fueled by insomnia and cheap beer! Prime pizza territory! Don't screw it up."
"Right. Six PM. I'll be there," Jett confirmed.
"See that you are. By the way—"
"Yeah?"
"If you get any prank calls ordering pineapple and anchovies, just hang up. My blood pressure can't take the sheer culinary blasphemy. Now scram, I've got pepperoni inventory to yell at."
The line went dead with a sharp click.
Jett stared at his phone, he grimaced.
Night shifts. That definitely changed things. He glanced out the window at the afternoon sun, he had a long stretch of hours before his shift began.
Just like that, night arrived swiftly. Jett exits his apartment, he still didn't see Renja anywhere—perhaps she was just busy, after all, he was certain that even a Vampire has a life.
An hour later, the bell jingled loudly as Jett stepped into Pizza Inferno, he looked at the black haired teenager across from him:
"Hey, Marco. You actually came to this shift too, huh?"
The black haired teenager nodded, he still had the same bored expression.
"Yeah, I mean—there aren't a lot of other opportunities out there, the way Washington D.C. is being run now."
Jett stepped behind the counter. "Oh, I don't really stay updated about politics and stuff, but I get the lack of opportunities. Well, I'd better get started on night shift.. deliveries."
Marco was spinning a cutter as usual, he gave Jett a mischievous look.
"What's wrong, Jett? Are you afraid of the dark?"
Jett gave him an annoyed expression:
"Definitely not! I'm gonna get a lot done tonight. Anyway, gonna begin. See ya."
-
Jett was relieved that his bike was repaired, it zipped through the night traffic. The city lights blurred into streaks of color, it was a stark contrast to the usual multiple delivery requests.
Tonight there was only one. It was a bit further out than he expected, it popped up on his phone screen.
"Huh," Jett muttered, slowing to a stop at a dimly lit street.
"Only one? Guess someone's lucky tonight."
The address led him to a rather..unassuming house.
It looked like any other on the block, but there was an odd stillness in the air. No porch lights, no sounds of TV through the windows, just an eerie quiet.
Jett double checked the address, a sliver of unease finally caught up to him.
He parked the bike and grabbed the delivery bag, then cautiously approached the front door.
It was old, the paint was peeling in some areas, with a rusty knocker shaped like a grotesque, snarling face.
Jett decided against using it. Instead, he opted for a polite knock with his knuckles.
The door creaked open, revealing a figure.
"Delivery for..uh, Mr. Glarg?" Jett asked, trying to keep his voice steady.
A raspy voice, like rocks grinding together, responded, "That would be me."
The figure stepped into the light, and Jett's jaw nearly dropped to the asphalt. It was…it was definitely not human.
Standing before him was…something else. It was small, with slimy green skin, large, droopy eyes that seemed to suck in the light, and a perpetual frown that could curdle milk.
It wore tattered rags and emanated an aura of profound sadness. Jett had never seen anything like it.
The…creature sniffled.
"You…you brought my extra large pepperoni pizza?"
Jett, trying to appear professional despite the rising panic, managed a weak, "Uh, yeah. That'll be…uh…$14.99."
The creature reached into its rags and pulled out a handful of what looked like…slugs? It counted out several of the slimy creatures and offered them to Jett.
"Will this be enough?"
Jett stared at the slugs with a baffled expression, then back at the creature. "I…I can't accept those."
He kept his voice firm, reminding himself that as far as the world was concerned, everything was normal.
"Do you have…you know, cash?"
The creature's frown deepened. "Oh. I don't have any…gold doubloons."
Jett's mind raced. How did this thing even order a pizza? Did the new delivery app have a "weird stuff" option? He decided to just get out of there.
"Look, just…keep the pizza. It's on the house."
The creature's eyes widened slightly.
"Really? You mean it?"
"Yeah, just—"
Jett didn't get to finish his sentence. The Gloomy Goblin, who a moment ago looked like it was about to burst into tears of joy over a pepperoni pizza, suddenly shifted.
Its droopy eyes snapped wide open, glowing with a malevolent green light. The perpetual frown twisted into a snarl, revealing rows of surprisingly sharp, needle-like teeth.
Its slimy green skin seemed to ripple, and it grew a few inches, becoming slightly less pathetic and a lot more…threatening.
"Wait a minute," the Gloomy Goblin rasped, its voice now laced with a deep growl.
"You think you can just give me this pizza? Like I'm some charity case? Like I can't afford a lousy extra large pepperoni?"
Jett blinked. "Uh…well, I just thought—"
"I'll have you know," the Gloomy Goblin said, taking a step closer, "that I have immense wealth! I have…several damp coins! And a very nice collection of bottle caps!"
Jett's eyes darted around, looking for a quick escape route that didn't involve becoming chow.
"Okay, look, Mr. Glarg—"
"Glarg smash!" the Gloomy Goblin roared, its voice cracked with rage.
It raised a surprisingly large, slimy fist. "You will respect Glarg! You will pay for this…this…pity!"
Jett did the only thing he could think of in a moment of utter panic. He grabbed the pizza box back.
"Alright, fine! You want to pay for it? Then pay for it!"
Jett yelled, shoving the pizza box back into the Gloomy Goblin's face.
The pizza splattered across the Gloomy Goblin's face. Pepperoni stuck to its slimy skin.
The Gloomy Goblin froze, its glowing green eyes widening in shock. A single slice of pepperoni slid down its face. There was a long, tense silence.
Then, the Gloomy Goblin started to sob.
"My pizza…" it wailed, its voice cracking with genuine sorrow. "You…you ruined my pizza…"
Jett stared, dumbfounded.
The Gloomy Goblin.. the creature that was just about to "Glarg Smash" him, was now crying over a ruined pizza.
"Oh, for crying out loud," Jett muttered, throwing his hands up in the air.
"You know what? Forget it. Just…just have a good night."
Jett turned and ran back to his bike, not waiting to see if the Gloomy Goblin would have another mood swing.
He just wanted to get out of there and deliver to someone less emotionally volatile.