Work Text:
Travis sighed, bored and watching the app on his phone. His other part-time job wasn't giving him any hours lately, and he needed to make the rent one way or another. So he fell back easily enough to his old delivery work, like for door-bash.
Or at least he tried. He was no longer a preferred delivery person, and in the last two hours, he had made $3.14. Outside of it being pi, it had been a very disappointing day. It left him lots of time to listen to the album he was currently working on while he texted and caught up with old friends, who seemed to all be doing better in life than he was in one way or another. But some of his buddies also had good advice and recommended he try a different app for delivery work.
So tired of sitting in a 20-year-old Bronco he inherited from his cousin and regretting his life choices, he looked up new popular delivery apps.
Magiford-Go caught his eye, the little icon was a small dragon and a weird pink furless cat. It was weird, and a little bit different. But at least it wasn't something odd like door-gash or grub-dub or something else.
The description was rather basic: Delivery of items or food throughout the greater Magiford region. Great compensation compared to rivals. No dragons allowed.
Well. That was good, they had a sense of humor. It might even be fake, but at least it was funny.
He downloaded it and opened it, prepared to create a profile. The account creation was strangely painless. Outside of a few basics like his name, it was just a bunch of weird questions. Notable were:
Would he drink tea chosen by a cat: (yes)
Does he eat garlic every day: (no)
Opinions on squeaky toys: (it depends on the squeaky toy)
And then he was in.
Just as he was thinking it was all a scam, albeit funny, he received a notification.
Delivery request: Magiford Supernatural Apartment Complex
The address was unfamiliar to Travis. In fact, most of the map was unfamiliar despite the GPS saying it was about 20 minutes away. But Travis also knew he had a terrible sense of direction. In fact, he often got so lost he needed to call someone else to help him. His poor sense-of-direction made doing work like delivery a real struggle. It normally worked out great in the end, like reuniting old friends, finding a lost dog, and once stopping an illegal taco fighting ring (don't ask).
He looked at the request. It looked like a simple grocery store pick-up, the order would already be ready. Simple enough, though the instructions seemed a little intense. Well, very intense. Do not tamper. Do not touch. Do not remove any items. Do not disclose. But the thing that stood out the most was:
If anyone suspects you are picking up groceries for me or if you think the groceries have been tampered with, notify me through the app and await further instructions. If you believe anyone is following you, continue driving past the apartment twice to notify me.
Was this guy paranoid or something?
But the fare was north of $20, and it looked like a pretty easy delivery. It was strange, but when he thought about how quickly rent was due and about the 3 whole dollars and 14 cents he had made after two hours, he decided to accept the request.
Travis' latest and last song finished playing and the quiet filled the cab, and he still felt dissatisfied with it, though he didn't know what the music was missing. He needed to make money to keep the dream alive.
What was the worst that could happen?
___________________________
Travis had picked up the groceries from a small supermarket that had a wonderful family vibe, and he enjoyed this part of town. He spotted several cool destinations like this cafe called the Queen's Court Cafe and a book store that seemed to also sell sandwiches called Cat Tails. Seemed like there were some good bowling alleys too, which he remembered fondly. He saw all these locations because...he got lost, even following the GPS. It wasn't his fault. It really wasn't. He just was never in the correct lane at the correct time to make the turns he needed, and the GPS then took long enough to reroute him that he missed key intersections and had to go the long around.
At least the app seemed to understand his dilemma and wasn't chiming at him for taking forever.
Travis remembered, albeit belatedly, to make sure no one was following him. Um...seemed like no one was following him. He wasn't good at that kind of stuff. Also, it seemed like it must be some kind of festival or early Halloween. It was a weird part of town, but nice. It had the feeling of being old, but in ways Travis couldn't put his finger on.
"Oh wow! There are two big horses with horns strapped on them to make them look like unicorns." At the stop sign he turned his head to watch the horses trot past. They didn't even have riders, they must be super well trained. Driving past them Travis noticed they had carrots in their mouth like dogs carrying a bone. "That's pretty cute."
After many battles and wrong turns, at last the GPS told him he had arrived at the location. He hadn't realized it was an upscale kind of place. He parked easily enough and jumped out, grabbing the groceries as he spied the building. In his experience, most apartment complexes had faux finishes; fake bricks, discount 'Tuscany' style arches that looked more like papier-mâché, or 'stone' sidings that looked more like foam than any natural material ever did.
This building was the real deal. Everything was real. The brickwork looked solid, just the tiniest touch time-worn. The building itself was clearly lovingly designed too, not some cheap copy and paste of modern design. It was a beautiful structure, four or five stories high. It was made of clean red bricks with awnings and wide windows. Honestly, all the nearby buildings looked to be in great condition.
He closed the back door of the Bronco and started toward the place. His fear that this was a scam was greatly diminished. Besides, why would an app featuring a hairless cat and a little dragon ever lie?
"Oooohhhh, I can take it! I can take it!" A barreling voice came from nowhere but was getting closer.
Travis, not being prone to flights of fancy, juggled the boxes and bags until he could see a very small child. She looked like a child little person, and was incredibly short. She was wearing a gingham dress with an apron, like she was on that one tv show based on that book series 'Little house in the pasture' or something.
"Hello." Travis said, wondering if this was the person who ordered everything and doubted it. This was clearly a child. "I'm Travis."
"I'm Billie! My parents said I am forbidden from drinking coffee until I'm grown up!" she did a little turn in place, dancing to a music only she heard. "Do you know them? My parents?"
Well, her parents were probably wise to deny her coffee. She clearly had enough energy as it was and probably didn't need the caffeine boost. Travis was reminded of his childhood friend who was a little person, and wondered why it seemed like the greatest bundles of energy always came in small packages.
"I don't think so. Where are your parents?"
She giggled happily. "They are working. My aunt Felilica is watching me. She's a potter. She said that I was too loud for the kiln. Is that how kilns work? I didn't think so. Do you think that is how kilns work?" Billie was really tiny, but Travis wasn't sure how old she was and didn't think it polite to ask her age.
"All I know is that a potter makes pots. I have no experience beyond that." The boxes were starting to feel a little bit heavy, so Travis started walking, shifting his hold.
The small child chased after him. "So what's in the box? Is it clay? Is it for me? What do you do? I can take the boxes. Is that orange juice? Hey, do you like coffee?"
"I'm a delivery guy. I love coffee. I think I better keep the box. I'm not at liberty to say more than that. It's a delivery person code of conduct." He wasn't actually sure, he may have not read all the terms of service and just hit "Agree to All". But saying less was probably wise.
They arrived at the door, and Billie bounded and opened it for him.
Travis entered after his unexpected companion. They entered into a fancy foyer.
There was a lone guy knitting a scarf furiously, two guys playing chess (though one guy was actively chomping on the captured pieces like he had no intention of ever using them again), a cautious-looking lady muttering to herself like she was preparing for a job interview "Mrs. Hazel..., no, that's too stiff....", and a very tired looking person sitting behind a fancy ornate desk.
Travis looked for a list of who lived where, but while everything looked fancy, it didn't look 100% finished.
"May I help you?" asked the tired looking lady. She stood as he drew closer to the desk, and revealed that she was tallish, maybe 5'9". Really pretty, like a model. "I'm Mackenzie, the landlady."
"Um...Travis. Delivery guy. I'm looking for the elevator..."
"He likes coffee!" Interrupted Billie.
"Good to know. We don't get many deliveries here. Not many of us trust delivery guys, after that incident at the Cloisters...But honestly, most delivery guys refuse this location. This is a new thing we are doing here, and I think most humans are afraid that it's some kind of trap." And she swept her arm around like it was clear why.
He looked at everyone in the foyer/lounge again, and realized it was more than just people co-existing. There was a nervousness in the air. It reminded him of fans of different sports teams all trying to get along or something, decades of inherited rivalries but really invested in making it happen. Strange. Very strange.
The Landlady coughed, like she had said too much. "Forget I said anything. Which floor are you delivering to?"
"Um...the app said it's for apartment 2A. It also left instructions in case I was being followed," he said, and laughed a little.
"Where you followed?" Asked the self-proclaimed landlady.
His laugh fell hollowly on the foyer. Maybe the idea of someone stalking someone else wasn't too far-fetched. Maybe this was a super exclusive rich-person apartment. But if you were super rich, would you use an app called Magiford Go? If you were super rich, you would have people to do that stuff for you.
"I don't think I was followed." Should he have done a better job looking behind him? "Where is there an elevator?"
"A troll broke it!" The small small child spoke.
He nodded seriously. Kids were so magical, they didn't understand how reality worked. He kept his face composed as he answered "Is that so?", it cost nothing to play along.
"That was a one time incident. We are very safe and modernized here." Mackenzie sighed, looking very tired again. "With all the wards and everything, there has been some difficulty in finding someone who can repair it. It might need to be replaced entirely. The stairs are over there. Billie, I think your aunt is looking for you."
"Oh no. Bye, Mr. Travis." And the small small child darted off, her gingham dress a swirl of movement.
"Mr. Travis." he repeated to himself. He had never been called Mr. Travis before. Mistake Travis, yes, but never 'Mister'. It felt nice.
"The stairs are over there." The landlady said again.
"Great..." did he need to sign in or something? Welp, everyone seemed to return to their interests, so he just went on with his plans. As he traversed to the stairs he saw some interesting things. Was that a ballpit? And a fireman's pole?
He found the stairs with no problems. Stairs. Why was it always stairs? The elevator always seemed to be broken no matter where Travis went. Especially with all these groceries; his arms were getting tired. He had spied a vending machine earlier, maybe he could get some kind of energy drink.
He arrived at 2A door. He checked if there were other instructions for the order, like 'leave at door', or 'doorbell broken, knock'. There were no specific instructions what to do with the groceries when he got there. It just said to circle the building twice if he knew he was followed.
"But I wasn't followed." he said to no one.
He froze when there came a presence behind him..
Danger.
Very real and present danger.
"You were, in fact, followed." Said the voice from behind him.
"I see." said Travis. Fear and flight both lost to freeze. Freeze, not frozen, just keep very still and think.
What had he done the last time he was in so much danger? This was a different kind of danger than he was used to. He had been in near-misses, like almost car accidents. He had been in danger when he was working with his other part-time job at the detective agency when he forgot to pick up the detectives dry-cleaning. He had been in danger when he almost electrocuted himself setting up a gig and the big amp blew up.
But those were mundane kind of dangers.
This was a fierce kind. More brutal, animalistic, wild.
Travis remembered vividly the time he and his family went camping, about 4 hours north of here. He had been young, and he had gotten lost in the woods in the growing darkness. A nervous feeling had crept over him just as the shadows had crept over the valley.
And with soundless snap of a branch, small Travis had known then and there he wasn't alone, nor was he in the presence of something...tame. In fact, young though he was, he knew that he was in mortal danger.
Thankfully, after several tense moments, a big fluffy dog had come over and escorted him back to the campground. No one in his family had even realized he was gone... so at that moment, small Travis had decided not to tell anyone because he didn't want to get in trouble.
Now, considering the situation in the hallway, he thought back and pretended he was a detective...
Slightly paranoid order.
Very specific instructions.
A possible lookout using the curiosity of the small child...
"Should you have any issue with the order, please follow the conflict-resolution guidelines outlined in the app." Travis said, keeping his eyes forward at the door bearing A2. "But since you were probably following me all along, you know I followed all your instructions." He bluffed.
The tension in the air grew tighter and tighter.
Then broke with a snort.
"I suppose you are who you claim you are...some random delivery person. No one has ever taken my orders before, so I was surprised. And suspicious." He moved, just slightly, so Travis and he could converse more naturally, but where he could completely get the drop on Travis should that situation arise. The man behind him had reddish-blond hair and a beard. "Yet I don't believe any random delivery person could have so expertly driven through Magiford that you nearly lost me...Are you someone brave or someone stupid? Someone innocent enough to take such a ridiculous request or someone brave enough to try and steal secrets?"
He had dangerous eyes, blue. And he was clearly...
A fellow musician. Probably on a deadline, honestly. Mr. 2A was clearly some kind of musician, or maybe a producer. It would explain how angry and grouchy he was. Reddish-blond dude must have had 'made it' to afford living here. Seriously, the dude had that edgy vibe. Travis decided to try to look this guy up later and see what kind of music he played. He had the whole snarky persona going. He looked like a drummer, Travis thought.
"Me? Just a little part-time work while I'm working on some projects." Travis said. "But I don't want any trouble. I'm not ready to release what I have yet." Travis had 5 new songs, but he wanted to write 7 more before he released them. He may have lost his bandmates this last year to things like 'real jobs', but Travis never lost hope that his sound would take off. His new album would show the world the color and scent of music.
The man nodded. "You have some decent instincts. Keep your nose away from where it doesn't belong, rookie. Set the box down by the door."
"I got it..."
"I'm not letting another person in this field see me open my door. You want your privacy..." And those eyes took a terrifying cast. "...and I will have mine. Don't overstay your welcome. Get..." And all the sensation of the person in front of him became so intense Travis felt his blood go cold. "Out." concluded Mr. 2A, very softly. It was a command.
Travis all but dropped the groceries, though he didn't and managed to stumble back a bit. He smiled slightly, though it felt shaky, and he heard himself say "Please leave me a good rating on the app, I appreciate your business."
Travis left, though he felt so distracted he wasn't sure he was going the right direction. This was too much. Maybe the app wasn't fake, but just catered to the crazy people
"My my," said a very sweet voice. "That was very noisy. He must like you."
Travis turned to see someone with long long black hair, that reached all the way to her ankles. But since she was on the short side, the length of the hair might not be the achievement it seemed? He had never grown his hair out too much, so he didn't know if that was impressive or not having it that long. She had very pale skin, and weird red contact lens.
"Um...I don't think he liked me." Travis said, feeling his throat relax and his voice coming back.
She smiled. She was very pretty too, but in a different way from the model like Landlady.
"Noise is a beautiful thing, Mr. Deliveryman. It is so easily lost, and never found again."
"How did you know I was a delivery guy?"
She waved her fingers mysteriously, then gave a smile. "Billie told me. Billie has told everyone."
"I've only been here 10 minutes, at most."
"She...is a precious child. Let me walk with you. I'm bringing these baked goods downstairs for the front desk. Would you like one?"
Travis knew better than accept food from strangers.
"I'm Travis. What's your name?"
"I am Melisse."
There, now they weren't strangers. She pulled back the towel, and Travis grabbed a chocolate chip cookie from the top.
The first bite was warm, and perfect. Sweet, but a pinch of salt had drawn focus to the rich vanilla extract, which paired perfectly to the chocolate.
The last of the panic started to leave as Travis and Melisse descended down the stairs. He heard the playful banter of the chess players. He heard a conversation from someone, "Billie, you can't run in the hallways banging on every door and yelling that the new Delivery Guy likes coffee."
"Yes I can." Said Billie. "I already did."
The adult, probably Billie's aunt, sighed. "But you shouldn't..."
There was a clatter, and the chess game dissolved into wrestling match. "Stop it, Bobby!"
Weird details of the room and people clicked into place, and feeling like the the Private Detectives he worked for... he started to piece it together.
Leaning against a side table was a sword. A pale man with dark hair hid in the shadows like Dracula. A few people had put makeup on their faces, it looked like glowing tattoos as they gestured and preformed magic tricks with static electricity or something... maybe magnets?
Travis froze, as he and Melisse reached the stair landing.
"I get it." he said.
Melisse paused. "It is beautiful noise, isn't it?"
"Everyone here is..."
Melisse said "Building a community..." The same time Travis said. "Live Action Role Playing. This is a larping apartment. So cool."
Melisse paused. "Lar-ping?" like she wasn't familiar with the term.
Of course not. Because she was in character. No wonder things had felt so tense coming in, he had walked into a scene!
"I mean. It's wonderful seeing a community come together." Travis had always wanted to try Larping. He had been so focused on his music dream, that he hadn't done a lot of things he wanted to do.
"I do hope you will take another delivery here sometime. We struggle so much with each other, I fear we do not do enough outreach. Ultimately, if we all get along with each other, but humans such as yourself still fear us, we may all fall into great silence of isolation."
She was including him in her larp? Wow?! Travis felt...warm inside. And not just from the cookie. Sure, some things were weird, but watching the chess match turned wrestling match spill over into the ballpit to the cheers of several onlookers, and then watching a lady with an Egyptian tan walk past (where those fake tips to her ears, like an elf in a movie?), then watching Billie run past them all, her lovely gingham dress an ocean of movement, Travis knew what Melisse meant.
"I think I will come back again. Maybe I can pick up an order for you?"
"Not much need for myself. The vending machine is fully stocked, you see."
Melisse hummed a little as they descended the last of the stairs, and Travis wondered what her singing voice was like. Maybe she might like to listen to Travis' project...They came down into the common room on the ground floor together. Billie swarmed for the basket of cookies, and Travis nodded to all the larpers as he left. What a strange experience.
How did they get it to float? Dedication: that's what his bandmates didn't understand... Dedication even though there was no one to watch outside of fellow community members enjoying it. It was inspiring.
As Travis got into his old Bronco, his phone made another little notification chime.
Mr. 2A had just left a very positive review. Well...it was a little snarky and maybe meanspirited, but he did leave 4 stars. And a tip. A sizable tip.
"Community is very important." he said. "And my rent is due soon so I probably would take any job."
Minus 1 star, as he took longer than he should to arrive. +4 stars, as he followed all instructions.
Travis smiled. Mr. 2A was clearing pretending to be antisocial, but Travis could just feel it, the guy needed a friend. And who better than a fellow musician?
His phone chimed, and he noticed he had another order.
Pick up at the Queen's Court, to leave it in some desolate place.
He laughed, because of the funny instructions: It was for 'tea/coffee mix'. At 99% coffee and .1% mix of tea, he wondered who would bother with a silly deception like that. "If anyone asks you, you picked up tea."
He accepted the job. This was way more fun than picking up private detectives' dry cleaning. Also, he had a feeling that the world was opening up. Besides, what is the worst that could happen? Because it wasn't like magic and those supernatural parody things were real.