*Beep* *beep* I open the oven and the smell of pizza fills the air. Vegetable pizza, the smell brings back hateful memories of all the times my mom forced me to eat it. She left me alone in the desolate basement until I ate every repulsive slice. I felt alone, powerless, angery, and hurt. The taste of the foul veggies ruining the pizza fills my mouth. I grab the pizza and get ready to deliver.

As I walk up to the door, the offensive smell of the awful pizza fills my lungs. Anger fills me as I ring the doorbell. A woman opens the door to pay for the pizza. I see a child behind her. He looks in horror as I tell him it is a vegetable pizza. The mother cackles as he cries.  “Time to eat your veggies’”, she slowly opened the box, her white teeth glistening in a rictus grin! She closes the door as I stand in horror. I can hear the child crying as I leave. Someone must end this repugnant sin.I created my pizza place to make the world a better place. I am not going to let this nightmare pizza ruin it. 

Thoughts of vegetable pizza haunt me every time I try to close my eyes. All the times people ruined my pizza. Finally, a request for meat lovers pizza sparks an idea. Excitement takes hold of me. My idea will change the world and pizza permanently.

Everything is ready. I can’t keep the smirk off my face. I sit in anticipation waiting for the loathsome call for vegetable pizza. As I get ready to make the next pizza, I see it. A request for a vegetable pizza lights up my screen. Anger and excitement fill my veins.

I walk with confidence, knowing my dreams are coming true. I smile as I ring the doorbell. A woman opens the door. Her small frame, dark brown hair, and sweatpants tell me everything I need to know. As she hands me the money, I tell her she won a free pizza anytime she wants. She just has to stop by my pizza place and show me the receipt. I grin as she thanks me and closes the door. 

It hit me like a slap when I got in my car. Memories of finding a piece of my mom’s long brown hair on the toxic pizza fill my head. How can someone so small be so evil. Glowering, I start the car, reminding myself that evil comes in many shapes and sizes.

Five vegetable pizzas were ordered. I made sure to give them all the offer of a free pizza if they come to my store. What they don’t know is that nothing in life is free. I hear a knock on my door. I wait for my pizza to finish baking. I see her, the brown haired girl.I ask if she wants her free pizza and a tour of my pizza place. I could see a flicker of confusion. She smiles nervously and agrees. 

I make a show of making her repulsive pizza. While it bakes, I show her the rooms where the pizza is made, cooked, boxed, stored, and sent. When I take her to the last room, I show her where I make the meat for the pizzas. Smiling, I grabbed some meat that was hanging up and showed her how I put it in the grinder. I tell her to come try it. Adrenaline flows through me. All the times my mom hurt me. I am meant to do this- to end this unly sin. I show her how to turn it on. Thoughts of her body being chopped up and turned into meat fill me with delight. I can see that it makes her nervous. I watch her lean a little too close, and shove her in. I can hear her body be shredded. I gleefully separate her hair from the meat. Mixing the meat, and what was left of her to make my new meat.

My pizza place is becoming popular. Everyone loves my new meat. I enjoy watching customers eat it, licking their fat fingers. The disappearances of 20 people are all over the news. They talk about them as they enjoy my wonderful meat. I laugh when the police discuss them while eating the evidence. Ironic isn’t it.

Watching their bones burn makes me feel powerful. The feeling of being able to do something and make a change fills me. I crave it. Repeating the process slowly getting rid of the vegetable pizza lovers, and making the world a better place. 

While making another meat pizza I get a feeling crawling up my spine. I look up to figure out what it is and notice a group of teens coming into my store. One stands out among the rest. His beautiful smile glistens in the light. I stand there with my mouth hanging open trying to take him in. He has curly red hair, eyes blue as water, and his muscles are lean and tan. Soon the group was at the counter and ordering their pizzas. The boy was last. He was taller than I had expected, and his voice was nice and deep. I could feel a blush on my face as I tried to focus on his order. Then he ordered a vegetable pizza. All the little thoughts in my head died. Once again vegetable pizza ruined everything. I long to destroy this wretched creation. 

I left the free pizza card in his pizza box when I delivered it. I couldn’t even look him in the eyes. The anger and memories of all the times vegetable pizza ruined everything, makes me sick. I can barely keep myself steady. I drive with my music up loud trying to drown out my thoughts of the stranger. 

I know he’s there before he even comes in. Time seems to slow as he walks up to me. His goofy smile makes me melt. I smile back and ask if he is here for his free pizza and tour. I watch as he blushes and nodes his head. I can barely focus as I take him through my pizza place. I’ve done this tour hundreds of times, but this isn’t the same. I watch him smile like a little kid on christmas as I show him all the rooms. Finally we get to the last room. I show him the meat grinder and how it works. While I’m demonstrating I see him smile. I pause, he laughs. I blush as I get ready to start the meat grinder. I’m about to put some meat in when he says you know my sister ordered a pizza from here. Surprised, I tell him I’m glad she likes it. He laughed again, she used to like it, before she turned up missing.” I feel my heart pumping in my chest. I’m sorry she is gone, my mouth feels like sandpaper. “It’s ok i notice all the missing people ate at your restaurant.” I could feel my blood racing as he finished that sentence. I feel him walk closer to me. “So I push this button right?” He is so close I could feel his breath as he talked. Yes, I responded, I was going to show you how it worked. I watch as he turns it on. He smiles to himself, I see him pick a hair up off the floor. Every instinct tells me to run. He turns to me, “Your pizza is good, but it could use a little more meat.” His voice sends shivers down my spine. Before I could even think I felt his rough hands on me. “Your turn.” I felt my feet lift the ground as he lifted me into the air. I tried to break his grip, his smile burned me. He laughed as I tried to fight him. A searing pain filled my body as he put me in the meat grinder. Like a thousand teeth tearing at my body. The last thing I heard was the sounds of his deranged laughter. 

A few weeks later and the number of missing people kept growing. No one knows what happened to them, but the pizza place still has good business. The new owner is well liked by everyone. It’s said that he’s the only one that knows the secret ingredient to the meat. Everyone says “His pizza is good enough to die for”, at least everyone who isn’t missing.