“Fresh hotdogs, fresh hotdogs. Come and get your fresh hotdogs.” The man’s voice faded as he continued down the street. Every Friday, the same man would gather up crowds of people from our village and take them down to his stand. It was one of our small towns’ few prized possessions. It made up for all of the negative attention we have been receiving.
Ever since the summer, many people have gone missing. It’s odd though, we live in the kind of town where everybody knows everyone. Our town is so small, in fact, we know where everyone works, lives, and sometimes even what book they’re reading.
My point is, if there was a serial killer running loose in the streets, don’t you think one of us would’ve picked up on it by now? It’s an eerie feeling, knowing there is a killer hiding somewhere in this fishing town. It could be quite possible that they come on and off the island by boat. However they do it, I know very well that I should never roam the streets alone.
Midnight mass. God, I hated it. Having to gouge your eyes out just to stay awake. The light from the candles left my tired lids squinting. I wanted so badly to lay in the warmth of my bed, to have my blankets wrap so tightly around me that the only movement I could do was shut my eyes.
Instead, I’m in a church. With the entire town. Singing songs. Quite possibly with a murderer. How my body yearned for my bed. Maybe, if I were to just slip by, no one would know I was even gone. Sliding past my father, my body stood straight up while my mind was still half asleep. Facing the door, I acted as if I had dropped something. Crawling, I reached the two gigantic double doors and opened one just enough for me to get through.
As soon as my body was met with the icy fall weather, instant regret started to turn my lips blue. Leaves crunched under my feet as I trekked down the long road. It wasn’t until I was almost there where an unfamiliar noise stopped me in my tracks. The sound grew louder even as I took steps back. My back finally met with a wall. I turned to face the road again to try and get back home as quickly as possible. Before I could even react someone came from behind me and placed a hand on my shoulder. Spinning around, I met eyes with a familiar face.
The hotdog vendor.
He asked me what I was doing outside of mass. Replying back with the same question, he explained he had been getting ready to serve next week’s hotdogs by trying out his brand new meat grinder, which explains the noise. The man offered to let me try it out. I politely declined, gave him a small wave, and continued on the road back home.
My mom shook me awake in a panic. Apparently another kid had gone missing, and since I left mass without telling anyone, she had believed it was me. I slowly chewed my cereal as she paced the kitchen, lecturing me about walking alone at night. To be fair, it was one of the more stupid ideas I had come up with in my lifetime. My mind stopped wondering when I finally understood the severity of the situation. This isn’t some big town with a huge population, there’s maybe two hundred people maximum. So then that puts the question into my head, when will it be me?
My body shuddered with the thought. I was not only scared for me, but for my friends and family.
“Fresh hotdogs, fresh hotdogs. Come and get your fresh hotdogs.” Before I knew it, it was already Friday. Rolling off the couch, I follow the man to his stand. There was a long line, but the vendor seemed so excited about the meat grinder so I knew the hotdogs would be even better this time. It seemed like an eternity, but the wait was so worth it. There was something about it this time that seemed different. It wasn’t much of a taste more than it was a smell. I glanced over to see the man grinning.
and then it clicked.