Thunder boomed in the night, rumbling overhead as the storm grew into an angry beast. Slowly stepping away from the door, a bright light filled the pizzeria for a brief second as lightning flashed, followed by another loud wave of thunder. The lights within the dining area flickered and spazzed as the circus-themed music, which usually only played during work hours, suddenly shot to life. An eerie clown laugh echoed through the speakers and I began to get really freaked out.“What the hell?!” My hands clasped over my ears, trying to block the sounds.
Now this is more to my liking.
“Shut up,” I breathed. “Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!” I didn’t want to hear him anymore.
The kitchen doors suddenly burst open as someone rushed into the dining area and I fell back, frightened. “Zeth!” I shouted at the demon for help, but quickly realized it was William. My hands fell as I exhaled, beyond relieved.
“Sorry kid.” The older man walked over to me, helping me back on my feet. “Didn’t mean to startle you.”
We both looked around, baffled by the bizarre electrical issues. “Does this always happen when it storms?” I shouted above the music to him.
William shook his head. “Nah. This is completely out of the ordinary. Must be that old wiring that’s been here since they opened awhile back. I told Tawny it should be replaced, but she never listens!” Lightning struck again, almost immediately followed by more thunder. We both reacted, and within seconds, the electricity completely shut off, leaving us in the dark.
“Damnit,” he huffed. William reached down to his belt and pulled out a flashlight. All I could hear was Zeth’s faint laughter rolling around in my head.
William walked over to the front counter and flipped the switches, but nothing happened. “Looks like the power’s out.” He aimed the beam of his light up at the cameras, their red lights now dead. “Cameras seem to be out too.”
I rushed over and picked up the receiver of the phone near the register. “Phone’s out too.” I slammed it down and looked at the security guard. “I thought Tawny said these phones wouldn’t get cut if we lost power.” It was more of an annoying fact than a question.
William sighed. “The one in my office won’t but the rest will. Copper cording.” He aimed his flashlight across the dining room, as if looking at something.
“What is it?” I asked, nervous.
He shook his head and sighed. “Nothing. I thought I saw a rat, but it must be the storm playing tricks on me.” Before I could say anything, a loud bang came from deep within the kitchen, causing us both to spin around with a loud gasp.
He aimed the flashlight towards the kitchen doors and slowly pushed them open as I clung to his back, following him. The doors squeaked faintly, and just as we stepped into the dark kitchen, another bang shot through, causing me to yelp. William raised the light and eased up.
“It’s just the back door. The wind must’ve shot it open.”
I stepped around him to see the back door being pushed open by the wind and slamming shut. “Oh yeah.” I nervously laughed. “My bad.”
Zeth tried to speak to me, his voice fumbling around in my head, but I ignored him, too focused on what was happening.
William groaned, setting his freehand onto his hip. “You handle the door and sit tight. I’m going to call Tawny and let her know what’s going on and see if I can get the power back on.” The old man began to walk away, but I reached out and grabbed his arm.
“Wait.” He stopped and looked at me. “I–I—” He raised a brow, waiting for me to find my words. “Do you have an extra flashlight I could use?”
William sighed and offered his own light to me. “Here. I don’t have another on me, but take this.” My fingers curled around it as I clutched it close and aimed it up at him. “Ahh! Don’t point that thing at my face!”
“Sorry!” I lowered the beam.
“Hell,” he grumbled, rubbing his eyes. “Just—stay put. I’ll be back in a bit.” He walked off, groaning and talking to himself, leaving me all alone.
I stood there, clinging to the flashlight as the storm raged on outside. “Well, this isn’t ideal.”
Crissa!
“Jesus fuck!” I nearly dropped the flashlight as Zeth’s voice ripped through my brain. “What the hell, Zeth?!”
You ignorant fool! I have been speaking to you this whole time, and you ignored me entirely!
My eyes rolled as I hurried to lock the back door. “Don’t be so damn dramatic.” I checked the door, ensuring it was secured. “The power went out and I just—” I stopped dead in my tracks, noticing something on the tiled floor. “Hang on.” I aimed my light down as a chill traveled up my spine. “Are those…footprints? But…how?” Zeth continued to ramble and yell, but I was too focused, sizing my foot up next to the muddy print. “These…aren’t mine. What the?—”
A nearby sound startled me. I whipped around, aiming the flashlight around to find the same clown bobblehead from the register now on the kitchen counter. Its little head bobbed and bounced around and I felt uneasy. “How did you get here?” I asked, inching closer.
Turn off your light.
“No,” I breathed. The sound of scuttled footsteps echoing in the kitchen made me spin around. “William? Is that you?” Silence returned and I felt sick to my stomach. “Hello?”
