The Courier Files
Episode 2: Vanishing Drop-Off
Ren’s van rumbled over the cracked edge of East Vernon Avenue, the last leg of a short morning run. The package was light — barely heavier than a paperback — and the label was clean, new, and ordinary.
No wax seals. No gold thread. Just a street address and the name M. Alvarez in neat block letters.
The GPS chirped its final turn, and Ren pulled to the curb. The address on the package matched the one on the weathered green street sign.
Except… there was no building.
In front of him lay an empty lot, ringed by a rusted chain-link fence. The ground inside was cracked and littered with weeds pushing through. A single shopping cart sat tipped on its side in the dirt.
Ren double-checked the manifest. Same address. Same ZIP code.
A tap on the window made him jump. A middle-aged woman in a denim apron stood there, holding a bag of groceries. Ren rolled the window down.
“You lost?” she asked, peering into the cab.
“Looking for 4312 Vernon,” Ren said, holding up the package. “M. Alvarez?”
The woman’s expression shifted. “You’re about ten years too late. Building burned down in 2015. Nothing’s been here since.”
Ren glanced back at the lot. “You knew them?”
Her gaze flicked to the package, then back to him. “I knew of him.” She stepped back. “If you’re smart, you’ll toss that in a dumpster.”
Before Ren could ask more, she walked away, groceries cradled tight.
He sat there for a moment, thinking. Then he climbed out, package in hand, and approached the fence.
The padlock was rusted but the gate was ajar. He stepped inside, boots crunching on gravel. A cool breeze cut across the lot, carrying the faint smell of smoke — fresh smoke.
Something moved at the far end, near the shadow of the leaning shopping cart. A blur — quick, low, deliberate.
Ren froze.
When he blinked, the package was no longer in his hand.
He looked down at his empty fingers, then up at the gate. The chain-link fence was swinging gently, as if someone had just passed through.
The lot was still. But the faint smell of smoke was stronger now.
While Ren’s fictional deliveries sometimes vanish into thin air, our real ones arrive exactly where they’re supposed to — guaranteed.
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