Night Shift

Today is November 1st, 1996. Eddie is halfway through his shift at the twenty-four-hour superstore. The generically dull clock ticks away on the wall though he stopped hearing it hours ago. The big hand goes up and the little hand goes right. It's three in the morning and there hasn't been a single customer since he started.

 

Tucked away in Pharmaceutical, he files orders for medicine restocks and customer prescriptions. The store is quite small and the only other staff member working on this shift is Adrian, who can be heard clanging a picking trolley around the aisles as he refills goods. He normally works the same shifts as Eddie, as they are the two oldest employees other than the manager, Jack.

 

The place is run by kids who are either on summer holiday or fresh out of education. The manager doesn't allow music for licensing reasons, but that doesn't stop Eddie from blasting punk through the speaker systems in the early hours. Adrian bops along, replacing confectionary after the manic onslaught of Hallows Eve.

 

The boys bolt up like a couple of meerkats, firing an ear at the laughing coming from outside the entrance. Cackling male chuckles and metallic clangs can be heard amongst trolleys being kicked on their side. Eddie exchanges shocked glances with Adrian, as the latter dashes to the speaker system at the main till. He kills the music and remains completely silent. Catching Eddie's eyes, he mouths the word 'Drunks' and retreats back to aisle three.

 

Partially cowering behind the wall of the booth, Eddie watches the entrance intently. The sound of hooliganism grows louder until shapes fade into view, and three masked men march into the store. Each one dons a different face, bearing crude autumnal festives. The leader of the pack who wears a hairy grey wolf mask glides across the air with his knife, traipsing a directional arrow on the floor that points to the exit. His wickedly long tongue dangles over canine-sharp teeth, and frenzied amber eyes bulge wildly from the latex.

To the left, walking closely with the Wolfman is a brute whose physique matches his character. The patchwork Frankenstein's Monster mask droops tiredly like putty, scruffy black hair sticks out between the protruding bolts and rivets. To the right, Satan himself dances wildly with a forest axe in hand. The pointed ears flop around on the devilish head, as an ebony fingernail of the gangly crimson glove brings a bump of cocaine under the mask.

 

"TRICK!" Wolfman shrieks, punching the confectionary stand and scattering chocolate bars across the floor. Frankenstein scoops one up and stuffs it in his pocket discreetly, looking around the first third of the store for any sign of life. Adrian reacts sharply to the crash, and sneaks towards the back of the store. He hugs the inside shelves of his aisle until he crawls back to the Pharmacy, throwing himself over to Eddie's spot. "Ade, what do we do?" Eddie whimpers. "Call the police."

 

The men pick things up and throw them around, laughing and mocking each other. Eddie reaches for the phone and carefully dials some numbers. The ringer whirs loudly in his ear, and he almost forgets that no one else can hear it.

 

"Emergency. Which service?" A man colourlessly mumbles through the speaker of the phone.

 

"Police. we need the police at the Good-Assist beside Oatfield Close. There's three men with masks and they're destroying the place."

"Are you in a safe area at this moment?"

 

"Yes, it's just me and my co-worker and we're hiding in the pharmaceutical section at the back of the store." Eddie stammers, holding the phone closer to his ear to dampen the shouts of the men.

 

"I can hear them through the phone," The responder assures.

 

"Stay on the line, and some officers will be with you shortly.

 

"They're coming over." Adrian utters, ducking back next to Eddie.

 

"The service in this place sucks." Satan shouts, strafing from aisle to aisle trying to find a victim.

 

"The little pigs are hiding from us, boys." Wolfman gurgles, cocking his head to the side, gazing deeply into the soul of the CCTV camera like a lion would to a grazing gazelle.

 

Adrian knocks his elbow into the shelf holding the strong antihistamine tablets and a couple boxes fall to the floor. Shit The fiends spin round, startled by the noise.

"I think it's medicine time, Frankie." Wolfman says to the beast of a man, who immediately starts powering towards pharmaceutical. Adrian stands from behind the counter, quivering as he holds his shaking hands up in the air.

"We've already called the police." Adrian stammers with confidence. "They'll be here soon so you'd better leave, now."

 

Frankenstein stops before him, ignoring his threat. He lunges forward, grabbing Adrian as he struggles. Eddie freezes, ignoring the questions of the officer on the phone. He squeezes the receiver tighter as he listens to the damage being done to Ade. The other men laugh as the boy is yanked over the counter to the hard floor. He hits his head, and the harsh sound makes everyone wince.

 

"Hello little piggy, do you have any other pig friends hiding back there?" Frankenstein bellows with a cavernous voice, leaning over the counter.

 

"No, it's just me." Adrian pleads. "Please, I only work part-time here. Take what you want but please don't hurt me."

 

"Silence, little pig" Wolfman snaps. "Anyone back there, Frank?"

 

"Yeah! There's ano-" Frankenstein recoils as Eddie cracks him in the chin with the receiver, the only part of his complexion that was visible under the mask. He vaults back over the counter and tries to flee. He gets as far as fruit and veg before Satan tackles him to the floor.

 

"Don't move or I'll chop ya. Don't move or I'll cut off your head!" The devil sings, using the axe as a microphone. He pulls Eddie up and gets him into a choke hold. Across the way, Frankenstein stands with Wolfman, who does the same with Adrian. He holds the knife to the co-worker’s jugular and laughs at him.

 

"Watch this! The Wolfman shrieks ecstatically. "Watch this!" He howls again and again as Eddie is forced to watch the blade begin to make its way across Adrian’s throat.

 

The Wolf suddenly stops, his body jerks around and falls to the floor as two long wires insert the scene from out of view. A yellow device appears in Eddie's peripheral vision, and he realises that it's a taser gun.

 "Don't move, any of you!" An officer holding the gun commands. "Hands up, now!"

Satan drops the axe and runs, only to be tackled by a pursuing officer. Frankenstein puts up a fight but is put down by taser volts. Wolfman lets an officer put cuffs on him as he is walked out of the store, looking back at a pale-faced Eddie.

 

“I’m going to eat you all.” He growls. “Just you wait and see.”

​

Kade Baker

13 March 2022