“Hey what the hell?” A voice yells in my face. 

Ugh. Spit. Burgers. Fries. Salt. Sweat. 

I hate this job.

“I’m sorry, what can I help you with?” I flatly ask, as I pull my hair behind my ears to futilely keep it away from the demanding maw in front of me.

How can lips look moist and chapped at the same time, I wonder? They’re flapping in front of me again. Shit.

“I was asking why this has cheese on it, asshole!” the mouth exclaimed.

I look down at the jumble of processed mulch on a bun. Seven hundred calories. $3.99. My stomach groans.

Ah. This again?

Looking over my right shoulder, I point at the board behind me.

“What number did you order?”

“The number FOUR!”

We need a new plague. 

You’re damn right, I respond.

“You mean.. The double cheeseburger meal…?” 

What? Why am I even surprised?

“How the hell was I supposed to know?!” she spits. “I’M LACTOSE INTOLURNT.”

Her eyes go wide as I giggle at her mispronunciation. Taking one step back, she slaps the food on the counter and it explodes in every direction, including all over my clothes. 

“WHAT THE FU-” 

Stolen novel; please report.

“I’m so sorry, ma’am! Did we get your order wrong? Let me help you over here.”

Julian. What a tool. He gestures her to the side and starts writing down her order as she continues to point in my direction. I lose interest as I hear the words “SERVICE” and “HER FIRED” as I walk around the counter to start cleaning up the meat confetti.

I’ve been working at this job after school to pay for my own things. I moved to this town to live on my own. It was a bit harder than I expected, but the freedom is liberating. I don’t plan on working here forever. I’ll find something better once I graduate. I keep telling myself that anyways. The hours are good for now, while I’m in school anyways.

I toss the last of the burger contents in the trash and dust my hands. Another job well done. No thanks needed, I think and smirk to myself.

“You could be pretty, if you didn’t look like a boy,” the lady says, looking me dead in the eyes, as she walks by with her ‘fixed’ order.

My stomach growls and it starts rising to my throat. The world tilts about forty-five degrees. 

NO! NOT HERE!

The reasonable part of me scrambles to hold on.

“Penny?” a voice says to my side. My composure softens a bit. “You alright?”

Long, messy hair that covers his eyes. Short. We’re the same age though. 

The world turns less red. He’s a good kid.

“Yeah…” I say after a moment. “Yeah, I’m good Ronnie.”

Ronnie looks at me with his arms crossed. His head leans to the right side for a second.

“If you say so. You have to be more patient with people, Penny. You can’t just…”

I walk away and get head towards the back with an audible “HEY!” behind me.

“Back to work, Ronnie!” I hear Julian yell from the kitchen.

“Seriously…?” Ronnie says, exasperated, as I stifle a grin.

The last two hours go by easily enough. I tend to take orders. The smell of the food gets to me. Keeping the line moving is my specialty.

I finish stocking the shelves. Thirty types of sauces. Pick your poison.

Planting my visor on the rack, I grab my jacket and keys.

“I’m done, Julian. See you tomorrow.”

He looks up from scrubbing the burger grill and waves, almost cartoonishly.

Ech.

I spot Ronnie sweeping the floor. He looks up to wave before I head out the door. Finally, some fresh air. I pull out my cigarettes and proceed to light one as I turn the corner around the back of the building. The glow from the lighter always brings me peace.

A clubby hand meets my chest with a very unsatisfying SQUISH. I drop my cigarette and step back in shock.

There’s burger all over my shirt.

I look up and see a chapped, moist smile. 

“Bitch,” the mouth forms as I stand there, wide-eyed, my hands out to my side in disbelief. My heart drumming in my ears. Faster. FASTER.

She walks to her car. Click-click-click, her heels shout in triumph.

Wait. No, wait. Not now. This cannot happen here!

The world jolts 90 degrees forward. I’m on my hands and knees, my body shuddering.

Her car engine turns. My blood burns. The car lights turn on. My clothes begin to tear. It’s backing away. My teeth grit together. She’s driving away. My eyes snap forward. 

A slender, monstrous shape bursts into the side of the vehicle. Glass and metal fly everywhere as the car skids to a stop, leaving tire marks behind. 

No time is wasted. Tearing and ripping, the monstrous mass opens the vehicle completely on the side. The chapped lips try to scream, only to be met by a massive claw.

“WHAT ARE YOU?” she muffles loudly, under the rough palm.

Yellow glowing eyes lean in and meet her gaze. The world is quiet for just a moment. 

“A plague.”