A pay phone lost in time rings once
The pay phone. Talk about retro bling. This one is barely there. Max stops and examines the relic from the past. He checks the coin return bin. Nothing. Next he pushes a couple of the ancient buttons on the dial pad. One of them sticks in the depressed position. Max smiles a little at that. The button is depressed.
He pokes at the handset. It’s hanging on the side of the ancient machine. The cord still has a strand or two attached. Otherwise it is hanging by a thread. The smile creeps back. The phone is depressed. And hanging by a thread. Max is beginning to feel a kinship with the ancient relic. The pay phone model is the older type. It has multiple coin slots at the top. Probably from the days when it was only a dime to make a phone call.
Absently, Max checks his pocket for some change. Then he catches himself. This phone is over forty years old. Therefore its days of service have long since passed. He looks at the top of the panel the phone is mounted in. There are no connecting wires of any kind. This phone is cut off. Now his mind seizes on the theme. The phone is depressed, hanging by a thread and it’s cut off from reality. Max almost laughs out loud. Then the phone rings. Max freezes, and feels the blood drain to his feet.
A pay phone, lost in time, rings once
Bruce isn’t happy tonight because he is walking again. For the third time this week. His car is back at the shop. He will have to walk back in the morning. His stride is quick because he really wants to get home and eat supper. The night air is crisp and cool. It feels like fall is arriving early this year. The road is quiet as he walks. There’s no point in thinking he can hitch a ride. No one is out this late on a Monday night.
If they were, they wouldn’t stop anyway. Hitchhikers made people nervous. With this in mind, he wonders what happened to his mom and dad. He tried to call the house three times before he left the shop. Yet they didn’t answer the phone. However, he told Mr. Ellis otherwise. The last thing he wanted was a ride from his boss, Mr. Ellis. Even though it was a long walk it was better than the thought of a ride with Mr. Ellis.
Therefore, Bruce walks faster, as he thinks about his boss Mr. Ellis. The man was more than quirky. He was always watching Bruce. Furthermore he had a very foul odor about him. It was impossible for Bruce to be near the man for more than a few minutes, without feeling nauseous. He needed his job though.
Lost in Time
It is 1976. The bicentennial year. Everyone has been waiting to celebrate. After such a tumultuous year they needed something to celebrate. It is late evening as Bruce walks toward his home. It’s the first of September and the winds are already carrying the scent of autumn.
This quiet observation reminds Bruce that his older brother Scott will be returning home soon. Everyone is excited, especially Scott, who survived a war. Maybe that’s where his folks are tonight, he thinks. And he sidesteps a large hole in the pavement. He is so lost in his thoughts he doesn’t hear the car. It comes roaring up behind him. He senses something at the last second, and turns in time to miss being grazed by the rocketing vehicle.
Bruce doesn’t wait for a second pass. He takes off running as fast as he can. Seconds later the car has turned and is coming back his way. Therefore he races to the right, moving away from the road. Half way down the block he finds a pay phone booth. Once he makes it, he dials 0 for the operator. He needs the cops, fast. The phone booth brightens, and Bruce hears the ringing of the phone in his ear, as the revving vehicle approaches. He is almost out of time.
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