This year I am working on a story called Bob vs. The Alien Slug Monsters. Instead of an outline I have a basic list of plot points I want to cover between meeting Bob and sending him off to fight the king of the slugs. There is more of a cast of characters than an actual outline, so we will see how the story develops. And with that intro we continue with Bob Versus the Alien Slug Monsters…
Day 64: The sight was one Bob found creepy and he slipped through the dining room quickly, heading for the kitchen.
The sight was one Bob found creepy and he slipped through the dining room quickly, heading for the kitchen. He tried to shake the image of people being taken while they ate dinner. Once in the kitchen it too looked as though people had been taken mid task. The equipment was turned off as though the last meal had gone out but clean up had yet to begin. In the corner of the kitchen, Bob could see some to the cleaning items brought out.
On the floor by the deep fryer there was a bucket full of oil and the fryer was empty. Given the deep color of the oil it looked as though it was being exchanged for fresh. ‘They didn’t get beyond draining it though,’ Bob thought. The cooktop still had remnants of food on it and when he looked in the sink he saw piles of pans. There was some sort of mechanical dish washer for the plates the patrons used and he could see one load of dishes had come through sparkling clean and ready to be redeployed. Another plastic rack of dirty plates was waiting to go through.
Not sure how to operate anything and wanting to avoid making noise, Bob skirted the bucket of oil as well as the dishwasher. He saw open containers of food at the various chef’s stations. A few had plastic wrap over them as though they were being put away, others were left open and exposed. Meat looked grayish and some of the vegetables looked like they were starting to turn. The chilling element for the foods was still working, but with the tops exposed Bob figured the food had oxidized.
He saw a few small salt containers and it reminded him of his reason for coming in. ‘At least none of the stoves are on so the building won’t be burning down,’ he thought.
Bob let his steps take him towards the food storage area. He ignored the fridge and freezer and went for the dry goods storage. Sure enough, he found a large box of salt. It was half empty but he found a second un opened box as well. Bob took both boxes out to the prep area, found a knife and opened the unopened box. He wedged them both into his bag, and braced himself for the sight of the abandoned dining room.
It was just as unnerving as before, but he slipped through and after looking out into the parking lot and seeing no one, Bob left the security of the building. As before he made his way down each row of sleeping people coating each with salt. The half empty box got him through two thirds of the parking lot and he finished the rest with the start of the new box. When he reached the planned partition between this and the next parking lot, Bob discarded the empty salt box in the bushes. He hated the thought of littering, but he didn’t see a trash can near by and the empty box thumped against the full one with a hollow sound when he walked. While he was certain the sound wasn’t all that loud, it sounded like a drum beat to him and he was eager to silence it.
Like the cheese and bread he took from the previous restaurant to silence his rumbling stomach he considered it a necessary evil. Like he planned to leave extra cash on a later visit to the restaurant he also told himself he could pick up the trash later. ‘If I make it through this.’
While he was thus far doing well with his salt protection plan, he knew his luck couldn’t hold.
Ten til Midnight 