Post by Cassandra T. Cartwright on Apr 24, 2020 14:39:41 GMT -5
Somewhere, in the deepest, darkest pits of the gas station/convenience store known as Punkie’s, was a girl. She was short, hard dark hair, one black eye, and one was hazel. She was laying on her back, passed out, and was absolutely drenched. She started sat up and started coughing, water rushed out of her lungs, as she returned to conciousness.
“The fuck…” Cassandra stood up, and looked around. She knew she was in one of the rooms in the basement at Punkie’s, but she couldn’t remember why, or how she’d gotten there… Or why she coughing water out of her lungs. She slowly got to her feet, and looked around. It was dark, and there were so many boxes stacked up that she couldn’t really get her bearings. She had no idea which way went to the stairs, and which went deeper down.
“I hate this place.” She groaned, as she spat the last of the water out, and also realised her backpack wasn’t on her… However, her tape recorder was next to her. She sighed, and took it in her hand. She pushed play, to see if she had recorded anything on it. “Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.” The recording of her voice unnerved her slightly, especially since she couldn’t remember the context.
“Okay…” Cassandra started moving, navigating the forest of boxes, it felt like she was there for hours, but it was impossible to tell with no windows or clocks around.
Eventually, she came to a large open space, where… People were stacking boxes, only to have them be unstacked by others, and stacked again. It was unnerving how everyone there looked, their eyes were dull, and unfocused. They had Punkie’s nametags on, but she wasn’t sure she recognised them “Uh… You guys know how to get outta here?” She asked.
“What?” One of the workers answered in a slow, and unmotivated tone. “Oh. We’re getting out soon as we finish stacking the boxes.” He nodded. “Won’t be long now.” He seemed oblivious to the futility of the task, others seemed more aware of it, but they didn’t stop.
“Uh… How about you just tell me where to go?” Cassandra suggested, feeling a sudden and powerful rush of pity. The feeling was so strong, she almost volunteered to help out, but she caught herself before that. Something about staying there filled her with a sense of quiet dread. There was something in the futility, and lack of progress that scared her into wanting to get away from there as quickly as possible.
“Alright, just go past that stack of boxes over there, and then turn left when you get to the break room.” The man explained, pointing to a stack of boxes which was about to be dismantled, before getting back to work.
“Alright?” Cassandra walked away, leaving the crew to their work. She wasn’t sure what to make of that whole exchange, but she knew she didn’t want to stay any longer. The fact that there was a break room in Punkie’s was news to her, but she figured that there had to be more to this basement than just boxes.
The break room, turned out to be a… Break room. Small kitchen area, and tables and chairs where people sat eating, and just talking. While the last area had been a mystery, this one was even more puzzling. The first thing that confused her was that she hadn’t known there were so many people working at Punkie’s, and added to that, she hadn’t known that there was a break-room.
The girl sat down at one of the chairs, and looked around. It was actually a pleasant little space, there was an apple at her table, shiny and red. It took her a while, but eventually began to calm down, and regain her bearings and focus. The break room was warm, and the atmosphere was friendly and relaxed, like a cafeteria on the last day of school.
Cassandra smiled at a few people who walked past her, and then she took the apple on her table in hand. The girl stared at it for a moment, before taking a big bite. It was sweet, fresh and juicy. She chewed on it briefly, thinking about her predicament. It didn’t seem so bad anymore, she could just wait out her shift here, and relax for a time. In fact, if she could find the break room again some day, then she could hang out here for a while each night.
“Hey, you’re the girl who works the late shift aren’t you?” A middle-aged man with a balding head came up to her, smiling as he asked his question.
“The one and only…” Cassandra replied, covering her mouth as she chewed on the apple.
“Hehe, I used to work it too.” He nodded. “They called me Graveyard Jim, because of how long I worked it. Used to hate the crap out of it, but then I discovered the break room, and it wasn’t so bad anymore.”
“Oh yeah?” Cassandra frowned for a moment, and then chewed a bit slower.
“Yeah, those were the days. Back then, Punkie’s clerks used to have shotguns as part of their work equipment.” Jim chuckled. “But, the laws change, and now you guys have nothing but your smarts.” He nodded his head, and looked at the girl. “Punkie’s can be a very cushy gig if you know the tricks.”
“I guess it could be…” The girl suddenly spat the apple out, covering the table in chunks of fruit as she did. “Wait, no… I mean, it could, but, no.” Cassandra shook her head. “No, I don’t… I mean, I have to get out of here.” She decided, getting to her feet. “I think I spent enough time here, I need to go.”
Graveyard Jim frowned, and then nodded, before pointing towards a door in the kitchen area of the break room. He said nothing, but only nodded as Cassandra started walking away. The girl ignored the employees in the room, as she pushed open the door and found herself in an expansive section of basement, filled with towering stacks of boxes and shelves.
“Great.” Cassandra tried to go back into the break room, but found the door was locked. After knocking for a few moments, she gave up and moved forward.
Screams could be heard, as well as sounds of breaking glass, and boxes. Once upon a time she would have run away, but this time Cassandra moved ahead, walking towards the sounds of conflict. She came up to what could only be described as a warzone, more employees, this time all fighting. The fighting was brutal, some were fist fighting, others had improvised weapons such as chair legs, and broken crates, but they were all fighting. As Cassandra approached, she felt a heavy blunt object strike the side of her face, which sent her to the ground, and made her pass out briefly.
When she finally came to, Cassandra was being dragged along the ground, and her vision was blurry. She tried to sit up, and found her head was hurting so much, that she almost threw up. There was a woman who had her by the ankles, and was pulling her along slowly, and away from the fight.
“Damn, you picked a bad time to come in.” The woman had a nametag on, which said her name was Heart. Cassandra could barely read it, and after that, a headache came on from the side of her head.
“I was trying to get out.” Cassandra replied, as she was pulled behind a large crate. “Someone jumped me.” She added, leaning against the crate.
“Yeah, that happens a lot around here.” Heart said, taking a seat beside Cassandra, and presenting her a few leaves. “Mint, chew on that, should help get you back in focus.” She said, peeking over the crate briefly.
“What the fuck is this place?” Cassandra asked, chewing on the mint leaves. “And why the fuck is world war three going on?”
“You know, I can’t really remember, but… At the end of the day, there’s a bunch of psychos who want to get up to the top, and we can’t let them.” Heart said, looking to Cassandra. “You’re the girl who works the night shift, Teresa right?”
“I go by Cassandra now.” Cassandra clarified, but she nodded just the same.
“I worked the day shift myself, but that was a long time ago.” Heart said. “Name’s April, but I started going by Heart after they transferred me here.” She explained. “Glad you’re here though, we could really use the help keeping the weirdos from going up there. We could be sued if they make it.”
“I don’t…”
“Look, I know you want to head up there again, but we really do important work down here, and we could use your help.” Heart said, frowning a bit. “Just at least until corporate sends some people here to take care of things, but it’s taking a while because of the road situation.”
“I really don’t think-”
“Look, I don’t have to tell you how ridiculous this job is sometimes, but the people of this island need us. This place, it has a part to play, and you can’t ever lose sight of that..”
“I think…” Cassandra frowned, and got to her feet. “I think, I don’t really care anymore.” The girl shook her head. “I kinda used to think that, but… I don’t really care anymore.” She looked towards a door in the distance, beyond all the fighting, and all the carnage. “I’ve had enough. I let myself believe that this was important, but, it’s not. I don’t need this, any of this.” The girl spat out the mint, which had mixed with the blood in her mouth from being struck.
The fighting raged on, but the people engaged in the combat seemed to avoid Cassandra, leaving her free to slowly walk through the hellzone. A cold look on her face, which was enhanced by the bruise beginning to form on her cheek and eye. Perhaps they avoided her out of pity, out of respect? Maybe even fear… Cassandra didn’t care enough to interpret.
Eventually, Cassandra reached the door, and pushed it open, leaving her in… Punkie’s proper. She had just come from the odd door behind the counter, that she’d never seen open. It closed as she stepped through, and refused to open when she tried pulling it open again. Cassandra looked at the counter, which she’d spent minding throughout the Summer, on it, was a letter and a half empty bottle of pills, and an energy drink.
“Oh, right.” It all came back to her, in a quick flash that felt like a reversed sneeze. The memories slammed into place in her mind, reshaping her perception of the last few hours? That was her letter of resignation, and tonight she'd taken half a bottle of pills to... Celebrate?
The sun was beginning to rise in the distance, and Sunny was just arriving for her shift. Cassandra took her pills, and drink, leaving the letter on the counter.
“Hey! Cassandra! How’d the last shift go?!” Sunny asked, looking at Cassandra with her usual cheerful smile present.
“It was… Well, it was Punkie’s.”
“Always is, right?” Sunny laughed, and handed her former co-worker a bracelet. “Just a little something to remember your time here, or maybe just little ol’ me.”
Cassandra took the bracelet, it was dark leather on the on the inside, and pale white on the outside. Sunny on the bright side, Cassandra on the other with the ‘C’ shaped like a crescent moon. SUMMER NEVER ENDS! Was written on both sides, likely a reference to the Summer Cassandra had spent there.
“Thanks Sunny, take care, okay?” Cassandra gave her a hug, and then slowly let go and pulled back. “And, you better not be working there in a few years, okay?”
“I will, and I have a feeling I won’t be here long.” Sunny gave a quick nod, before heading in to start her shift.
Cassandra looked at the rising sun in the distance, and the stars which were fading out. For a moment, she felt sad, but couldn’t understand why. A deep feeling of regret, for not regretting? It was hard to explain, even to herself.
“Hey, aren’t you the girl who works at Punkie’s, Teresa?” A man likely walking towards the gas station, asked her, pausing to look over the small girl.
”Not anymore…”
And with that, Cassandra moved on.
“The fuck…” Cassandra stood up, and looked around. She knew she was in one of the rooms in the basement at Punkie’s, but she couldn’t remember why, or how she’d gotten there… Or why she coughing water out of her lungs. She slowly got to her feet, and looked around. It was dark, and there were so many boxes stacked up that she couldn’t really get her bearings. She had no idea which way went to the stairs, and which went deeper down.
“I hate this place.” She groaned, as she spat the last of the water out, and also realised her backpack wasn’t on her… However, her tape recorder was next to her. She sighed, and took it in her hand. She pushed play, to see if she had recorded anything on it. “Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.” The recording of her voice unnerved her slightly, especially since she couldn’t remember the context.
“Okay…” Cassandra started moving, navigating the forest of boxes, it felt like she was there for hours, but it was impossible to tell with no windows or clocks around.
Eventually, she came to a large open space, where… People were stacking boxes, only to have them be unstacked by others, and stacked again. It was unnerving how everyone there looked, their eyes were dull, and unfocused. They had Punkie’s nametags on, but she wasn’t sure she recognised them “Uh… You guys know how to get outta here?” She asked.
“What?” One of the workers answered in a slow, and unmotivated tone. “Oh. We’re getting out soon as we finish stacking the boxes.” He nodded. “Won’t be long now.” He seemed oblivious to the futility of the task, others seemed more aware of it, but they didn’t stop.
“Uh… How about you just tell me where to go?” Cassandra suggested, feeling a sudden and powerful rush of pity. The feeling was so strong, she almost volunteered to help out, but she caught herself before that. Something about staying there filled her with a sense of quiet dread. There was something in the futility, and lack of progress that scared her into wanting to get away from there as quickly as possible.
“Alright, just go past that stack of boxes over there, and then turn left when you get to the break room.” The man explained, pointing to a stack of boxes which was about to be dismantled, before getting back to work.
“Alright?” Cassandra walked away, leaving the crew to their work. She wasn’t sure what to make of that whole exchange, but she knew she didn’t want to stay any longer. The fact that there was a break room in Punkie’s was news to her, but she figured that there had to be more to this basement than just boxes.
The break room, turned out to be a… Break room. Small kitchen area, and tables and chairs where people sat eating, and just talking. While the last area had been a mystery, this one was even more puzzling. The first thing that confused her was that she hadn’t known there were so many people working at Punkie’s, and added to that, she hadn’t known that there was a break-room.
The girl sat down at one of the chairs, and looked around. It was actually a pleasant little space, there was an apple at her table, shiny and red. It took her a while, but eventually began to calm down, and regain her bearings and focus. The break room was warm, and the atmosphere was friendly and relaxed, like a cafeteria on the last day of school.
Cassandra smiled at a few people who walked past her, and then she took the apple on her table in hand. The girl stared at it for a moment, before taking a big bite. It was sweet, fresh and juicy. She chewed on it briefly, thinking about her predicament. It didn’t seem so bad anymore, she could just wait out her shift here, and relax for a time. In fact, if she could find the break room again some day, then she could hang out here for a while each night.
“Hey, you’re the girl who works the late shift aren’t you?” A middle-aged man with a balding head came up to her, smiling as he asked his question.
“The one and only…” Cassandra replied, covering her mouth as she chewed on the apple.
“Hehe, I used to work it too.” He nodded. “They called me Graveyard Jim, because of how long I worked it. Used to hate the crap out of it, but then I discovered the break room, and it wasn’t so bad anymore.”
“Oh yeah?” Cassandra frowned for a moment, and then chewed a bit slower.
“Yeah, those were the days. Back then, Punkie’s clerks used to have shotguns as part of their work equipment.” Jim chuckled. “But, the laws change, and now you guys have nothing but your smarts.” He nodded his head, and looked at the girl. “Punkie’s can be a very cushy gig if you know the tricks.”
“I guess it could be…” The girl suddenly spat the apple out, covering the table in chunks of fruit as she did. “Wait, no… I mean, it could, but, no.” Cassandra shook her head. “No, I don’t… I mean, I have to get out of here.” She decided, getting to her feet. “I think I spent enough time here, I need to go.”
Graveyard Jim frowned, and then nodded, before pointing towards a door in the kitchen area of the break room. He said nothing, but only nodded as Cassandra started walking away. The girl ignored the employees in the room, as she pushed open the door and found herself in an expansive section of basement, filled with towering stacks of boxes and shelves.
“Great.” Cassandra tried to go back into the break room, but found the door was locked. After knocking for a few moments, she gave up and moved forward.
Screams could be heard, as well as sounds of breaking glass, and boxes. Once upon a time she would have run away, but this time Cassandra moved ahead, walking towards the sounds of conflict. She came up to what could only be described as a warzone, more employees, this time all fighting. The fighting was brutal, some were fist fighting, others had improvised weapons such as chair legs, and broken crates, but they were all fighting. As Cassandra approached, she felt a heavy blunt object strike the side of her face, which sent her to the ground, and made her pass out briefly.
When she finally came to, Cassandra was being dragged along the ground, and her vision was blurry. She tried to sit up, and found her head was hurting so much, that she almost threw up. There was a woman who had her by the ankles, and was pulling her along slowly, and away from the fight.
“Damn, you picked a bad time to come in.” The woman had a nametag on, which said her name was Heart. Cassandra could barely read it, and after that, a headache came on from the side of her head.
“I was trying to get out.” Cassandra replied, as she was pulled behind a large crate. “Someone jumped me.” She added, leaning against the crate.
“Yeah, that happens a lot around here.” Heart said, taking a seat beside Cassandra, and presenting her a few leaves. “Mint, chew on that, should help get you back in focus.” She said, peeking over the crate briefly.
“What the fuck is this place?” Cassandra asked, chewing on the mint leaves. “And why the fuck is world war three going on?”
“You know, I can’t really remember, but… At the end of the day, there’s a bunch of psychos who want to get up to the top, and we can’t let them.” Heart said, looking to Cassandra. “You’re the girl who works the night shift, Teresa right?”
“I go by Cassandra now.” Cassandra clarified, but she nodded just the same.
“I worked the day shift myself, but that was a long time ago.” Heart said. “Name’s April, but I started going by Heart after they transferred me here.” She explained. “Glad you’re here though, we could really use the help keeping the weirdos from going up there. We could be sued if they make it.”
“I don’t…”
“Look, I know you want to head up there again, but we really do important work down here, and we could use your help.” Heart said, frowning a bit. “Just at least until corporate sends some people here to take care of things, but it’s taking a while because of the road situation.”
“I really don’t think-”
“Look, I don’t have to tell you how ridiculous this job is sometimes, but the people of this island need us. This place, it has a part to play, and you can’t ever lose sight of that..”
“I think…” Cassandra frowned, and got to her feet. “I think, I don’t really care anymore.” The girl shook her head. “I kinda used to think that, but… I don’t really care anymore.” She looked towards a door in the distance, beyond all the fighting, and all the carnage. “I’ve had enough. I let myself believe that this was important, but, it’s not. I don’t need this, any of this.” The girl spat out the mint, which had mixed with the blood in her mouth from being struck.
The fighting raged on, but the people engaged in the combat seemed to avoid Cassandra, leaving her free to slowly walk through the hellzone. A cold look on her face, which was enhanced by the bruise beginning to form on her cheek and eye. Perhaps they avoided her out of pity, out of respect? Maybe even fear… Cassandra didn’t care enough to interpret.
Eventually, Cassandra reached the door, and pushed it open, leaving her in… Punkie’s proper. She had just come from the odd door behind the counter, that she’d never seen open. It closed as she stepped through, and refused to open when she tried pulling it open again. Cassandra looked at the counter, which she’d spent minding throughout the Summer, on it, was a letter and a half empty bottle of pills, and an energy drink.
“Oh, right.” It all came back to her, in a quick flash that felt like a reversed sneeze. The memories slammed into place in her mind, reshaping her perception of the last few hours? That was her letter of resignation, and tonight she'd taken half a bottle of pills to... Celebrate?
The sun was beginning to rise in the distance, and Sunny was just arriving for her shift. Cassandra took her pills, and drink, leaving the letter on the counter.
“Hey! Cassandra! How’d the last shift go?!” Sunny asked, looking at Cassandra with her usual cheerful smile present.
“It was… Well, it was Punkie’s.”
“Always is, right?” Sunny laughed, and handed her former co-worker a bracelet. “Just a little something to remember your time here, or maybe just little ol’ me.”
Cassandra took the bracelet, it was dark leather on the on the inside, and pale white on the outside. Sunny on the bright side, Cassandra on the other with the ‘C’ shaped like a crescent moon. SUMMER NEVER ENDS! Was written on both sides, likely a reference to the Summer Cassandra had spent there.
“Thanks Sunny, take care, okay?” Cassandra gave her a hug, and then slowly let go and pulled back. “And, you better not be working there in a few years, okay?”
“I will, and I have a feeling I won’t be here long.” Sunny gave a quick nod, before heading in to start her shift.
Cassandra looked at the rising sun in the distance, and the stars which were fading out. For a moment, she felt sad, but couldn’t understand why. A deep feeling of regret, for not regretting? It was hard to explain, even to herself.
“Hey, aren’t you the girl who works at Punkie’s, Teresa?” A man likely walking towards the gas station, asked her, pausing to look over the small girl.
”Not anymore…”
And with that, Cassandra moved on.
