4 minute read
The Coffee Monster
SHORT STORIES
THE COFFEE MONSTER
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by Danielle Urban
Image by Anastasia Kazakova on Freepik
It was work day as usual on the USS Mars Navy ship. The navy supplies us the heaviest yet darkest coffee muck to drink. It’s blacker than black and the bitter taste makes you want to spit it all out. But when it’s cold out, and you need the caffeine, it’s all we got.
Some can’t handle it all all. Wusses. But for sailors like myself, we can drink it.
So, it was strange when one moment a fellow sailor was sipping his coffee and just as I turned around he was nowhere to be seen. Only a huge spot of what looked to be and smelled like the coffee I was drinking.
Strange.
“Hey, Stuart it’s time for us to..” Patrick looked down at me wiping the coffee up.
“I don’t know. He was right here. The next second I turned around and he was gone only this mess was left.” “That’s strange...”
“What is?” I asked.
Patrick started stepping out backwards and then ran off to who knows where.
I stood back up, tossed the dirty paper towel into the garbage pin and was about to leave.
The coffee machine was turned off. I could have sworn it was. I walked over to turn it off, but it wouldn’t budge. I weighed about 160 and was 6 foot 2. I worked out everyday and did many laps in the pool to stay fit. Turning the coffee switch should have been easy. But it was proving harder than one could imagine.
Shit. Why is this damn thing stuck?
Ping! Shit! Major shit. I just broke off the switch and now a huge mass of coffee came pouring out
of the machine. But instead of being the causal liquid...it was coming out like a glob. It was exactly like the spot on the floor. Next thing I see, was the coffee glob reaching upward forming into a human body shape.
Coming to life, the glob like coffee monster came walking up to me. Growing larger until it towered above my six foot frame. I stood still. Frozen on the spot just from what I was witnessing. Never in my 10-years as a US Naval Officer have I ever witnessed something like this...
The coffee killing monster.
Red came up into the mess room. Right before him, he saw a huge black human like glob structure towering over his six foot friend’s body. It was about to...eat his friend. Not on his watch!
Running with a broom nearby, Red charged into the black glob only to disappear. The monster before Will grew larger. Running out of of the mess room, his shuts the door only to see the glob after him.
This time, it was larger yet. Men all around were shouting, Will kept on running.
“What to do? What to do?”
Will turns the corner and the coffee glob follows after him. Eating fellow sailors as he runs, the monster continues after Will.
“Damn it! Does this thing ever stop?”
Just as Will ran down two steps at a time, the monster catches him...and Will falls.
“I guess we better make some more coffee then.”
Will shot up on the lunge and screamed, “No! No coffee! Don’t turn it on!” Without further words, Will got up and tossed the coffee maker on the floor where it crashed into many pieces. His fellow mates just stood in shock, silently watching their long time friend.
“The monster will not attack us ever again!” Will informed them. After straightening his uniform, he headed out of the mess room.
“No more coffee for that guy!”
“Must have hit his head too hard.”
Laughing the guys left the mess room leaving the other coffee machine flashing on...
Beep...
Beep...
Beep...
ABOUT DANIELLE
Danielle Urban lives in North Central Arkansas with her family. She started by blogging about her favorite books, short stories, and writing prompts. Soon her blog became something more than just that. Writers needed more than just reviews. That's how Urban Lit Magazine came to be. It features reviews, interviews, news of new literary agents and more. Her goal was to help readers connect with writers from all over the world.
Danielle has worked as an article writer, editor, journalist, and interned as a senior publisher for romance novels. In addition to that, she started the journalism club at ASUMH and it's very first digital and print publications. From there, she continued her studies in Arkansas and graduated with an M.A. in English. Today, Danielle continues to inspire writers and encourage readers to try something new. When she's not subbing at school, she is busy writing.
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