I’m not sure where to put this, I didn’t imagine I could ever find myself in this situation or that this would be my reality. I also don’t know what to do, where to go from here. Skip town? My mom is missing, and I know they took her. I killed her. It’s my fault, and I want to bring them down. But they own fucking everything, they’re fucking everywhere, I don’t even know what THAT THING WAS.
I (17M) come from a semi small town, a population of about 5,000. There’s only three restaurants in town, and I managed to get one at MegaBurger. It’s really big in my town, and it ended up buying out the two other restaurants in town as well as a few other shops. I haven’t seen any outside of our town so I’m assuming it’s just a Cacheview thing. My mom had been nagging me for weeks to get a job, and I should have fought her on this. I’m starting my senior year and have a car my parents bought me with the condition that I am in charge of gas. I knew a few friends that worked there and they managed to hook me up. My manager seemed super normal. She gave me the tour and helped train me, a super friendly older lady. She reminds me of your typical redneck mom with 14 kids.
Everything seemed normal when I started. It was cool to see how a restaurant I grew up with operated, how clean everything was. The only thing that I guess seemed strange was the locked door to the cellar. It wasn’t strange when I first saw it, they said there were some issues with the pipes downstairs and they hadn’t had time to renovate it. It was just easier to lock it up. Bottom line, don’t go downstairs. Seemed simple enough, nothing unusual.
My first week of work was easy, I messed around with coworkers and got used to my job. I take orders up at the front counter and get to see a lot of people I know.
Then came my first opening shift. It was semi-slow, and the owner of the restaurant was in her office filing some paperwork. Becky fucking Wallace. She took a moment to say hello to me, and I remember thinking how cool she was. How she was nice and seemed to fucking care! She asked what grade I was in, what colleges I was looking at! My planned major! How are my parents? She went to high school with my fucking mom!
Maybe an hour after she left, I was in the back grabbing straws and napkins when I heard pounding. Desperate and hard, loud as can be, coming from the basement door. I immediately thought it must’ve been a coworker who got locked in, and went to open the door. But there was no one there. Just a low crunching, like something was slowly crumpling in the pipes. I couldn’t see anything at the bottom of the wooden staircase, so I decided to call down for the person. A low and deep moan called back, as if the entire building shifted. I braved myself and walked down the stairs. My flashlight didn’t find much, just some old mouse skeletons and raccoons.
I wish I didn’t find it however, I wish I just let the person bang on the door.
At the end of the room, sitting on its throne of bones was a giant brown blob with pulsing tentacles. Its breathing was heavy, almost painful. I didn’t move from its spot, almost not noticing me or caring that I was there. It didn’t have eyes, just smooth skin that seemed to sweat sewage. How I hadn’t smelled it before was incredible, it reeked of death. I guess that’s when it all hit me, and I felt myself trying to will my legs to carry me upstairs. I couldn’t move however, even as its tentacle slowly slanked towards me, moving the dust on the floor. It probably would’ve pulled me away, but my manager yanked me. She dragged my body up the stairs, cursing me out. Telling me she should just let it have me, be less trouble. Once outside, I could feel my limbs again, how heavy my knees were. How close I was to freeing someone.
She called Becky, mumbling on the phone while I sat in her office. There’s only two managers at our store, and it is only now that I am figuring out why. Becky showed up not long after, not seeming to pay attention to me. She didn’t take anytime to explain what that thing was, where it came from, why it’s FUCKING HERE!
“You or them?” is all she said, looking down at a piece of paper.
“Who?” was met with nothing. I sat there stunned, silent. I wanted to just run, this had to be a nightmare. How had no one noticed? How had I not noticed? I guess that didn’t matter at this moment. Me or them.
What would you FUCKING CHOOSE? Yourself? Die? No one would. So I said them. I saved myself and now I regret it everyday. Now she’s gone and I’m here, looking at her photos. Watching my dad just keep going, living his life. The old spelling tests still up on the fridge, she put them there.
Becky came back at some point holding a burger, no wrapper and fresh. She let her finger run along the patty, examining it. “Want a bite? You should get the first taste of your creation.” She had a wild look to her, unhinged and untamed. But she was still herself. Composed, neat hair, and a perfectly ironed pink blouse. I felt sick. They were in that burger, that’s what that thing is for. I wasn’t sure what to do for the rest of the shift, there weren’t any spoken words. Just an understanding. I killed someone. I pointed the gavel and commended someone to death. I never saw who, I sat in the office while they did it. I don’t know how they grab the people, why their family doesn’t ask what happened. I handed out orders, the image of the thing creeping in whenever someone would grab their bag. Who is the person in the burger? Should I tell them?
There was no threat, no if you tell a soul, just an understanding.
Then I went home, and I wish I didn’t. I grew sick at the sight of the MegaBurger bag. Its haunting yellow smile glowing on the brown material. My dad had a handful of fries stuffed in his mouth. He made a comment on the burger, how it was especially good today.
I vomited right there.
And I didn’t see my mom the rest of the night.