Just the Ticket (short story)
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Just the Ticket was the third story in the anthology The Panda Book of Horror. It was written by Phil Craggs.
Summary
Panda is alone in the dark in a warehouse, when strip-light falls from the ceiling, and he hears a familiar voice uttering an all-too-familiar phrase. He hides, turning off his torch In the process.
He and Iris Wildthyme had arrived in this warehouse not long before, and Iris had left the Celestial Omnibus by herself, leaving Panda to read his newspaper. He noticed a figure towards the bus, but when he got a closer look it was just one of Iris' coats. Still, he was unnerved, so he leaves the bus to look for Iris. Outside, there are dozens of similar buses to the Omnibus, and suddenly the ticket machines in all of the other buses start printing, and Panda almost drowns in a sea of tickets.
Characters
References
- Panda reads The Times, which contains a crossword, and Panda tried to get a column in the newspaper.
- The conductor is a ghost.
Notes
- It's implied that the Celestial Omnibus is sentient.
Continuity
- Iris recalls that the PussyWorlders found the burnt out remnants of the Celestial Omnibus in a car park on Hyspero. (PROSE: Future Legend)
