“I hate tomatos.” I whispered to myself as I overheard a conversation between two passengers arguing about whether a tomato was a vegetable or a fruit. I was relieved when they got off at the stop before mine, as I thought I’d go mad listening to their conversation anymore than I already had.
The bus slowly arrived at its final, screeching to a hault. I was so tired of the constant stopping every few minutes to pick up or drop off a couple of people. It had taken an hour, yet I was finally here, at my new place of employment.
As annoying as the ride was, I knew I’d have to get used to it. Once I’m able to save up enough for a car, my daily commute time would be cut in half, which was incentive enough for me to start saving towards one.
The bus wheels squealed against the asphalt road as it drove off, leaving me alone, in front of the large building. It gave me an uncomfortable feeling, but I needed the job, so with a deep breath, I approached the glass front door. It swung open to reveal a beautiful marble interior, with a gorgeous woman running the front desk.
“…Hello…” I meekly mumbled, finding her quite intimidating.
She looked back at me, her cold expression not changing.
When she spoke, I had to resist the urge to cringe. Her voice sounded like nails on a chalkboard. I was sure if one had to listen to her all day, their ears would begin to bleed.
“Hello. You must be the new worker.”
She handed me a keycard and returned to typing on her computer while I stared at her for a moment. Waiting for her to tell me where to go was pointless, as she was completely ignoring me now. Her movements felt almost robotic and the feeling of dread I initially felt had returned in a woosh.
My brain was screaming at me to turn around, but my feet wouldn’t listen, as they started to walk down the hallway, towards the elevator.
The doors slammed shut once I had gotten inside, trapping me in this tight, metal enclosure. All the buttons were removed, except for one, which led to the basement of the building. Feeling claustrophobic, I clicked the button, just wishing to get out.
It slowly began to go down, before suddenly free falling, just catching itself before it hit the bottom. The doors slowly squeaked open, inviting me into a pitch black room. I knew I shouldn’t enter, but against my better judgement, I did.
I felt around the wall, looking for some sort of light switch. The relief I felt when I finally felt one was replaced with pure horror as the room lit up.
Tomatos. This was a tomato factory. I ran back over to the elevator, but the door was closed. It was gone and there was no up button to leave. All I could do is scream, as I was forced to help make the tomatos.