Dottie

Jeff: scary movie. Not A scary movie. Just Scary Movie. If you're lucky, Scream. Jeff is fucking obsessed with this shitty humor and doesn't give anyone else a choice. He laughs at all the dumb jokes and if you don't he pushes you off the couch.

Nina: loves comedy horrors too, but offers you a selection. Her favorite is The Babysitter, and she shakes you whenever something really funny/scary happens. If you chose the movie, she'll usually gush over how attractive the killer is, and then apologize 1000 times because she didn't mean to make you jealous. (You never were).

Jane: loves real horror. Demons, witches, and especially that psychology shit. She hates slasher horror considering she lives with a ton of slasher losers, but has a soft spot for Halloween (the one with Mike Meyers). Her favorite is the original Frankenstein movie. Usually someone else chooses the movie though, so she points out the shitty special effects and plot holes.

EJ: he loves phsycological horror, and stuff that he can relate to. His favorite is without a doubt silence of the lambs. Whenever you two watch it together his eyes fixate on the screen and he seemingly zones out of anything else. Hell obsess over a good movie for like a solid week, rewatching it and scribbling notes about it in his notebook.

Toby: is kind of a scaredy cat so he likes slasher horror that's got shitty special effects. Friday the 13th is his favorite, even the first movie with Pamela. He relates to Jason a lot (being a disabled kid) and sometimes cries after the movie because he misses his mom. He'll apologize to you a ton, but it's ok because you're here for him.

Ben: only likes the Five Nights at Freddy's movie adaptations. He says you have a choice but if it's any other movie hell sulk on the far end of the couch. When FNAF is on, hell say obscure references and pause the movie every few minutes to explain "THE LORE"!!!!

Tim: obviously loves found footage horror. He likes getting some snacks and a big blanket, so he'll wrap his arm around you and make sure you're not too scared. It's a bit silly, duh, but hey I mean at least he tries new movies unlike the others. He says Blair witch project really inspires him, but the best one is Quarantine- even though it's kind of a zombie movie.

BONUS!!!!:

Smiledog: could not care less what movie is on. He is a dawg and whatever you watch hell lay next to you and make sure you get the sweetest of nightmares <3

Jeff: he is a selfish little prick. He might honestly be a stray cat... He was kinda malnourished when you found him but thankfully has put on a bit of (much needed) weight after realizing he could take food from you. He loves any kind of junk food and can't stand vegetables (sometimes throwing them at you). He'd never tell you how grateful he is for you.

Nina: would probably cry the first time you brought her a home cooked meal. She's usually all pepped up, but a reminder of home can shatter the whole facade. She loves sharing gas station sushi and whatever trendy food Is popular, but it's the home cooked casserole that captures her heart.

Jane: is super thankful and will give you the biggest kiss. Of course, she'd never want you to feel like she did in her waitress days, so she'll sit you down with a glass of stolen wine so you two can enjoy some sweet cherry pie.

EJ: Is generally quiet. He's hesitant- scared to prove what he's become. So hesitant that the first few times he'll only eat if you're not in the room. After a while he finally opens up and will eat in the corner of the room. Imagine a dog chewing on your shoe with that guilty look. He likes raw meat, but forces himself to eat it cooked in front of you.

Ben: kind of plays with his food. He loves anything you make of course, but his go-to will be a creation that he calls "everything pizza" which is actually a frozen pizza covered in pizza bagels, tater tots, and hot dog slices. Whenever you make something he will cover it in cheese and anything else he can get his hands on. Well at least he offers to share?

Toby: always feels like he owes you back. Breakfast left on your desk. Frozen waffles heated up just for you. A nice big hug. One time he tried giving you a dollar. He never feels deserving of it but is super grateful and tries his best to not make a mess since his mouth is fucked up. Genuinely couldn't be happier and loves breakfast foods (even for dinner).

Tim: after living on gas station Jerkey and peanuts for years, a good meal will bring this man to tears. He loves anything, especially hearty foods. Burgers, milkshakes, pies (especially key lime), tacos, teriyaki, literally anything. He will break down sobbing in your arms. He's had a tough couple of years so taking the time to give him something he loves means more than anything to him.

Jeff: doesn't know what a period is. Anytime you or one of the others tries to explain it, the pure look of stupidity on his face makes you rage quit the explanation. Jeff is a certified moron.

Ben: utterly confused but tries to be helpful? Acts like it's a medical emergency every time. Do you need food? Water? Medicine? Drugs? Money? WHAT IS WRONG???

EJ: can smell it (like that one meme). Usually ignores it, but after you start dating he buys you pads and chocolates, and keeps them in his and your bags, never saying a word about it.

Nina: (the best option) gives you all sorts of candies and shares whatever products she has on herself. You get packets of hot cocoa and your favorite movie night, plus lots and lots of kisses.

Jane: gives you Tylenol and a big forehead kiss. Shares her products if you ask. Calls you her little vampire and reminds you to drink water.

Jeff: still a total asshole, the only difference is that he's YOUR asshole. Nobody can bully you except him now. He's still super immature and will make lewd gestures at you in public, but at least he showers sometimes (rarely lol)- which is a win.

EJ: doesn't want you around when he's "like that". He's very polite to you when he's actually aware- and he treats you super well. He's hesitant, and camera shy, but when he gets the chance he's totally romantic and chivalrous.

Nina: 100% on board with everything you do or say. You're not just her partner- you are her everything. Everything you are is perfect perfection. She takes you on every date imaginable, from a candle lit dinner, to wrecking an old movie theater. She's a complete bundle of energy and your biggest supporter, but she's always tryna accessorize you.

Jane: she's really reserved in public (in a cool way ofc) but in private she's extremely romantic. Candle lit dinners, poetry, and the most gentle love you can imagine. She's basically the romantic vampire stereotype. If anyone tries to hurt you their life is fucking over.

Tim: he ADORES you. He's a really gruff guy typically, but he's very proud to show you off. He'll carry you around and play tacky songs for you on his ukulele. He loves taking you to little old fashioned diners and giving you his shirt to wear to bed. He's horrified that you'll see what happens if he doesn't take his pills and tries to bury masky away. He really needs someone who understands mental illness and accepts masky.

I crumpled instantly- curled up into a ball.

This horrible distorted sound rings through my ears and causes my limbs to lash and twitch uncontrollably. I've never felt this kind of pain before. The fridge body flashed through my head- memories that aren't mine- pictures of pine trees and my mother. Torment that goes on forever. I wasn't in my own body, but I understood the message.

When I finally came to my senses again, Jane was holding me up. I was puking out onto the snow. The snow? It was not snowing at home. I stabilize myself onto my feet.

“Why are we in the snow, where am I? What the fuck was that???”

Jane hands me a napkin and steps back. She's in winter clothes now. How much time has passed? What the fuck?

“It's ok now hon- we're out on a little expedition. Remember the tunnel? The tree thing? I'm sure Nina showed you. We're out in Alaska now. We need to collect some tapes and you'll be ok.”

Jane and Tim kept a brisk pace ahead through the tall snowy forest. Tim was essentially in the same clothes as before, but Jane had on a long black trench coat with a fluffy trim. I keeled over again and leaned on a pine.

“We got some pills in you, so the side effects of the Operator shouldn't be terribly bad. As far as first tasks go, a fetch quest is the most forgiving, and Echo makes it easy for us.”

“Pills?” I sounded a lot more like a pussy than I intended. I hate pills. I don't know why.

“Don't fight the pills, they help handle the symptoms. You don't want to end up like Jeff or Toby.”

I wanted to ask more questions but my head hurt really bad and I kept tripping on my own feet.

“Where's Nina?”

“Oh she's back at the hotel. She's waiting for another murder mission. She's really sweet but I don't think she'll ever understand life.” Jane responded. Her Cali accent started to bleed through.

There's a long pause before I speak again.

“Where are we going?”

“We're going to collect some tapes for the archive. We have connections with someone called Echo who does most of the work here, but we still have to hike up for it.”

“Archive?”

“Theres a lot of people and things connected to supernatural activity in the world. The operator likes keeping track of everything and controlling what actually gets out. Sometimes we have to go and get tapes or CDs. Ben and Smiley check the internet, and Jeff and Nina go and kill people that cause problems. The best job is just filing all our data.” Tim stops and lights another cigarette.

“What about EJ?”

“There's a lot more people than just the ones we mentioned. It's really rare that we're all at the hotel together. We all technically do whatever the operator asks, we just prefer certain ones. EJ is fucked up so he's better at killing and eating people” Jane responds for Tim.

I pause. Watching up ahead as I see the tall metal structure. It's a radio tower so tall that it blends into the dark sky above us. I feel extremely uneasy-I wonder if the snow will make it fall.

“Fuck do we have to go up there?” Tim scoffs from the side of his mouth.

“Hellooooooo” A mechanical voice answers from the impossibly dark terrain.

Jane and Tim stop, and I bump directly into the fancy fleece coat before correcting my posture half assedly.

Echo steps out from behind a tree with a giddy expression on her face- it's kind of like Nina's but more predatory and observant, like a carnivorous rodent.

She's got scruffy hair, a striped sweater that's clearly too thin for the weather, and a big duffel bag with her. The most striking part of her appearance is embedded directly into her throat, where the mechanical whirr originates from: an audio player.

“You've got mail” the tape scratches- she bares her teeth. Creepy.

“Hey Echo, mind if we take the tapes and run? We’re in a bit of a hurry today.” Tim takes a big huff of the cigarette.

Echo backs away and puts the bag behind her, pointing to her neck machine and then outstretching her hand. Tim then turns to face Jane.

“Yeah, yeah.” Jane reaches into her pocket and pulls out a singular tape, it's simply labelled ‘retail’.

Echo hastily grabs it and replaces her old tape.

“Hello– one more please— can I please have –this— how much??-” It was Jane’s voice, but it was scratchy like a recording. Finally pleased with the transaction, Echo tossed the bag towards our feet and then backed away to watch us leave. Tim immediately hoists the bag over his shoulders, and Jane blows a kiss as we turn around.

By the tunnel, I've basically pulled my hat over my entire face to escape the cold, and I'm wishing that I was flirtatious enough to share a thicker jacket with one of my “guides”.

We decide that I should get home ASAP and Jane agrees to take the new tapes back to the mansion so that Tim can walk me back to my house. My legs hurt a lot and the woods are especially creepy this time of night, but he seems to know his way around with just his little yellow flashlight, and it’s no longer snowy here.

Finally, the orange lights of my home glow ominously through the pine trees.

Tim slowly follows beside me, up towards my porch. The sky is entirely dark with clouds and I wonder what the time could possibly be. Probably well after midnight.

Tim pats my shoulder-

“Hey, I have an idea to get you out of trouble with your dad. Where's your toolbox?”

“It's over on the back porch”

Tim gestures for me to get it quietly, and then upon receiving it gets some of the excess grease on his hands and shirt.

“I like the flannel, why are you getting it dirty?”

“I'm making it look believable- where's your pepper spray”

“I don't have pepper spray”

“You didn't take pepper spray to a house full of dangerous strangers???”

“I didn't know they were dangerous and I don't own any- I have bear spray though”

“We're not bears but I guess it'll work”

“You're a bear” I giggle under my breath. The can is lodged in the wooden chair by the front porch, so I shove it awkwardly in my back pocket before letting myself into the house with the gentle creak of a door.

“Alison! Where the hell were you?” My dad immediately stands up from the couch. His face is worn with worry and he nearly falls on his crutch.

“I'm sorry dad- I”

“Alice this place is dangerous-” he paused, noticing Tim next to me with a flash of fear- then anger. “Who are you?” He hissed.

“Hello sir, I’m uh, Tim. I'm really sorry, my car’s battery shut down and this was the closest place I could find so I was borrowing jumper cables- it took a while for another car to get here though, I'm really sorry.” His demeanor had entirely shifted into something a lot more awkward.

“What are you even doing this far out in the woods for??” I had never seen my dad so livid before.

“I'm a film student- I came from rosswood and I wanted to shoot some pine trees”

My father's face darkened.

“Leave.”

I wanted to ask if Tim could stay- I mean, the clock on the wall indicated that it was two in the morning- as Tim was shuffling out the door I whispered to my dad, that it might be safer to let the stranger stay over. Even though I knew Tim was probably more of a threat than anything outside.

“Hey Tim, if you need somewhere to stay till the morning our couch is free”

He hesitated, and reluctantly eyed out couch. “Are you- I mean I don't want to bother”

“Give us a moment” my father huffed as he took me into his bedroom. His face looked so entirely sullen. The door slammed- shutting Tim into the living room.

“Alice, you could've been killed- I have no way of knowing- that’s a stranger!” he nearly yelled.

“Dad you're gonna have to let me talk to people, I know it's not the best situation but I don't know what the hell I'm doing when I talk to people- I don't want to be a hermit forever, I want to at least try and make friends."

“Is this not enough for you??? Do you already want to leave?” He gestures to the house. I know Tim’s hearing this through the thin wood walls.

“Dad, I'll be 18 in a month. I love you but I've been alone long enough.” I plead

He stays quiet for a long time, before turning out the door with a last mutter that I can't catch.

I'm feeling uneasy again but I get Tim some extra blankets and tea. Tim’s super grateful, asking me if I'm ok, and giving so many thanks for the sofa bed.

Apparently he hates the hotel and usually sleeps in his car. I thank him for the lie and he wishes me good dreams.

I give him some privacy and escape to my room, but I keep waking up.

I notice my dad is awake through the lack of snoring sounds.

I watch the living room through the crack in my door.

Tim has his belongings laid out on the coffee table and is already passed out. I feel awkward watching but at the same time I'm so intrigued. Is the little camcorder on? Who are these people I've met? Is it good that I met them?

I stay awake in bed.

It was a very sharp knife- and Very polished.

I could see the reflection of my eye in it, even though it was still mostly dark.

The threat?

Surprisingly not Jeff actually.

She was absolutely gorgeous- big fluffy hair with pink stripey streaks. Head to toe was stripes and fishnets, pink, purple, red. Everything that anyone wanted to be if they liked MCR. She also had a big smile shaped scratch in her face, but unlike Jeff, hers was healing.

“Teach me how to cook.” she demanded

“What?”

“Yesterday Jeff came home and I've never seen him like that before- he said you cooked for him.”

I kept staring at her, my eyes focused on the knife. I held my breath. What the fuck???

“HE CAME HOME AND HE ACTUALLY SLEPT! I mean- I've known Jeff for YEARS and I've never seen him try to sleep on his own? Usually he passes out from exhaustion! He kept blabbering about you putting bandaids on smile dog like an idiot-” She started waving the knife around as she talked. She giggled every now and then despite her concerned look. After she unpins me I climbed as far back as my bed would let me.

“Who are you???”

“Oh I'm Nina- I'm Jeff's, well his situmacationship. You have no idea how much I try to take care of that guy- really, he doesn't even shower unless EJ helps me.”

“Who's EJ?”

“Oh he's just one of our friends”

“There's more of you???”

“Oh there's so many of us!” she giggles.

I sit, shocked for a moment. What does that mean. Did Jeff lie? Who are these other people?

“I'll take you there if you want” Nina offers. “If you teach me that is”. Teach her to cook… well that's interesting. She didn't even let me get out of pijamas before I was dragged to the kitchen.

“Ok so what do you want to know how to make?”

“What did you make for Jeff?”

“I honestly just threw together some leftovers.”

Nina looks around the kitchen in disbelief. She looks out of place in the quaint little kitchen.

“Can you teach me anything please? Like pasta or jello?”

“Jello?”

“You get my point.” She giggled again. I decided to show her pasta. I got out dry noodles and cut onions and leftover zucchini, added some sauce and ground beef. She was much more precise with the knife and even though she tried taking the noodles out of boiling water with her hands, she was a quick after quickly trying the pasta, we decided to box it up in one of my numerous tupperwares.

Nina led me outside skipping.

“So where is it? The place where you all live?” I asked.

“Oh oh let me show you!” Nina grabbed me by the hand and began running. She weaved between trees for at least a mile. The clouds started rumbling overhead and a thick coat of fog started to wrap around us. Finally, we found a tunnel. It was massive and looked like some kind of waterway. It had a bright light on the other side and it hurt my head. I'd never seen that tunnel before, even though I've walked all over this woodland. She pulled me through, her footsteps and numerous accessory attachments loudly echo through the tunnel, until I feel the drops of rain on my head on the other side.

Immediately I'm thrown to the ground. The shrubs are spikey and cut into my neck, the dude on top of me wears a blue mask, and he was strangling the air from me, I kicked and squirmed and threw my hands out in front of me- Nina kicked the blue guy square in the head like a soccer ball and he grabbed his face in pain.

“EJ I TOLD YOU TO GET OFF!” Nina stomped like this was a normal frustrating occurance.

EJ scampers off into the bushes like a fucking animal.

Ok I guess.

Nina helps me up from the ground, where I nearly trip on my boots.

“Ok so this place is an old hotel- that's where we live. A lot of us are out on expaditions right now but Jeff is here and that's what's important.” It was clear what she's referring to. In front of us is a huge roadside motel that's missing a road. The windows have burn marks, and the place looks worn down as shit. Big red letters spell [La Bella Muerte] overhead.

One side has a ton of satellite disks and antennas, and the other has a dilapidated wooden shed.

“That one's my room” She points to one of the many windows. I pause.

“You guys live here? Are there any… you know… adults?”

“Most of us are older. I'm 19 now, Jeff is 21, EJ is 24 I think. There's a few of us who've been here since we were younger, but we take care of ourselves.” She stares at the Tupperware in her hands for a long time before making way to the entrance.

She lets us in without a key and the hotel hits me with the smell of nostalgia and rot.

That damp wood smell that I remember from when dad and I stayed in motels across the states. He used to be a warden, but he got injured, and then mom started yelling, and eventually I saw the life drain from his eyes and we started the moves.

A week per town for three months. Musty hotels with secrets under those carpet floors. Residents consisting of truckers and people you hope stay strangers. Then he got a job in Washington- it was really rough on dad- he was never meant for a big town. He's a lot less social than me.

That's when he got approved for Firewatch- of course he'd take the job. It's hard to get approved, since there's only a few hundred left in the country.

It was our gift from God. The one that confirmed our right to keep living.

There's no one at the reception desk, but there's a small lounge with a corkboard wall. Hundreds of creepy notes are attached. The sofas all look incredibly vintage and there's a pile of plastic bags on one of the coffee tables.

“What In the hell do you think you're doing Nina?” A voice rings out.

It's this boy- a really short blonde one, and he's got on what looks like a Link Halloween costume. He's sitting upside down in one of the chairs and playing an old console game. He appears to be glowing.

“You know this isn't your sorority” Nina doesn't speak, but reacts swiftly, throwing a knife to land barely an inch away from his face. The boy rolled his eyes and continued playing his game. I can't even process what happened when Nina takes my hand again.

She weaves through the chairs and into another lounge room, this time equipped with a pool table and a very vandalized looking dart board with photos of clearly disliked people and a lot more knives sticking out.

Before we can get to the staircase, I spot two people on plush chairs. Nina stops in front of them.

To say that these two were Divine was an understatement.

The lady has thick black hair and accessories galore, she's dressed entirely in black with lace, chains, and barbed wire- topped with a very pretty painted white face. Her eyes are deep black and pay no attention to me, but rather to the queen of spades in her hand.

The guy? He looks huge and bulky in that lumberjack sort of way- big leather boots, and a yellow corduroy jacket over plaid. I've never even seen someone pull off sideburns until this. A cigarette hangs loosely from his mouth and his eyes drift from his cards to the table, studying the situation carefully.

Nina pesters the girl.

“Jane, Jane, Jane, this girl I found taught me to cook”

“Did she teach you a recipe or the entirety of cooking?” Says Jane, unfazed by our presence. Nina stares at the box in her hands, then at me. It's an uncomfortably long time before Nina turns and marches up the stairs. Despite my intrigue, I leave the two gorgeous people behind. I remind myself that I have a habit of falling for the first people I see.

After the staircase is a long hallway, but our destination is the first room, which Nina barges into without knocking.

“Jeffery, we have brought you spaghetti!”

“Who's we? Your cooking is shit” Jeff doesn't look up. He's reading a porno on his bed. What's with all the pornos like seriously??? Get a hobby.

His room is disgusting. The walls are beat up and have paper ripped off in certain places, his bed isn't made, he's laundry on the floor, and cups of instant ramen literally everywhere.

“Me and- what's her name…Alice!” I kind of ignore the conversation, and try to study the writing scratched into the wall instead. His handwriting sucks. While I'm in my thoughts, it seems Jeff has taken the noodles and shut us out of his room- I don't know what we were expecting.

Nina motions for me to follow her down the hallway, where a sticker-ified door marks her room. The inside is filled with posters, plushies, and anything fashion related I can think of. Her room is far nicer than Jeff's, be it cluttered- but she's got a vanity and a cheetah print rug, and adorable invader Zim plushies. We sit on her floor and she paints my nails while we blast paramour- which is apparently her favorite band.

“So paramour is my favorite but what's yours?”

“Uh, I like My Chem I guess”

“OMG SHUT UP I LOVE MY CHEM- WAIT WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE SONG- and you CAN’T say you can't decide”

I think for a long moment, before picking Cemetery Drive, which sends her into another fit of joy. Her laughter is contagious and she ends up giving me a lot of fashion advice, including some nice hair clips that she says she doesn't need anymore.

It's the most happy I've felt in a long time- when I think of it, I realize I can't actually remember when I was this happy before. I can't help but wonder when this feeling will be taken from me again, and when I'll be alone again. When will I be empty like I always am?

Nina gives me a copy of Fangoria to take home, which she says I'll enjoy since I like horror movies so much, and then takes me downstairs again to resume her training.

Her cooking training.

The training for her to learn cooking.

This time she says she wants to make dinner for everyone- which is a lot of fucking people.

She says that if she wants to let me go, then I have to prove useful, and most of these guys haven't eaten real food in a hot minute. I know I'm needing to get back home soon, but I'm sure I can finish up quickly.

The Bella Muerte kitchen is not as bad as I feared. Not great, but it's got a working stove and doesn't have bloodstains like the rest of the house. The problem is when I open the fridge.

“What the fuck!!??” I fall backwards, and I scream again.

“What's wrong???” Nina rushes to help me up.

“There's a fucking- a fucking body-”

Nina pauses and loses her concern.

“Oh yeah EJ puts them there, they're really gross if they get warm”

I stare in horror. The pale, naked body. Its legs and arms are missing. The white bone sticks out where the shoulders would have been. Its hair is cut off. His head lolls to the side, and a plastic bag is tightly wrapped around the body, suffocating it like a vacuum seal, letting blood pool in the folds and crevices of the bag. I've seen hunters before, skinning deer, but I don't think anything could ever prepare me for it.

For him.

It's slumped at the lowest level of the fridge, where little plastic produce boxes usually go. The wire racks an obstacle that the body has to bend to allow. If they get warm? Ej? What the fuck.

“You actually kill people?”

“Not usually. Our normal missions are pretty boring and stuff but sometimes if people mess with the archive we gotta do it- oh, fuck” Nina turns to the doorway, to meet the dude from before with the plaid and coorderoy. He's focused on me. His eye contact feels targeted.

“I’m sorry, but you're going to be stuck with us now.”

“What???” I ask, getting up from the floor.

“The Operator doesn't like people knowing about the Archive, or really any of this place. If you're here, you have to prove useful, or you're never going home.”

I took a few moments to assess what was said. Then slowly I walk up to the fridge and assess ingredients. Barely anything.

I hear my heart in my chest, and Nina's bored look makes me feel nauseous. The guy in the doorway genuinely looks apologetic which makes me feel a little better.

“Come on, I'll take you to the store” he sighs.

Nina and I follow the guy, who introduces himself as Tim. He's relatively quiet, but lights a cigarette again the moment we're outside, occasionally watching the smoke drift upwards. We pass through the tunnel again, but this time the path looks different, and we're in a new town that I don't recognize. Nina is wearing a cloth face mask, and pulls her hoodie over her hair. Even though she still acts giddy, I see an anxiousness in the way her eyes dart back and forth.

We find ourselves by an old brick supermarket. The building itself is well upkept but it’s so small it might compare to my house. The doors chime open and the grandma looking cashier smiles warmly at us.

“So what are we cooking?” Nina whispers under her hood once we enter the produce aisle.

“I don't know,” I hissed back. I didn't mean to sound aggressive, but I believe I have the right to be.

“Do you know how to make chilli?”

“Of course I know how to make chilli- I'm a proper American”

“Then let's make chilli”

“We don't have time for chilli, it's getting dark- I should make something nice and fancy”

“what about spaghetti”

“We had that for lunch???”

“Oh what about tacos!? GIR likes tacos” Nina hits a silly pose.

“Ok we can make tacos.”

I pick out some small corn tortillas, lettuce, radishes, meat, cheese, tomatoes, spices, refried beans, an avocado, and because this store is blessed; pickled onions. I bring up the items to register before patting my back pocket and realizing:

I have no money.

I have never had money.

The only money I've ever had is what my dad's given me.

My dad didn't give me money today, because I wasn't supposed to go to the store.

Nina shrugs and stares back at me. I begin hearing my heartbeat again and I consider grabbing everything and running, so that I don't end up like the fridge body. Tim taps my shoulder from behind and puts a 50 on the counter, with a dissatisfied expression on his face.

We carry back the grocery bags through the woods, it's starting to get dark already and I can feel the dread all over. My mind pans back to the fridge body. I wonder what his name was. Will I be missed when I'm stuffed in a fridge? Will I even be tasty?

Tim sighs. He ended up carrying Nina's bag since she's skipping off again, her hoodie down now.

“I'm sorry she roped you into this, and I wish I could help you, but I can't fund this place’s food budget. I already have a lot of trouble keeping a job so if I want any money I can't give it away.”

I nod my head apologetically, but my mind is still focused on the fridge body.

“You're probably going to come back here. If you get the chance, don't. But for now just stick with me and Jane, ok? The others can be unpredictable- even Nina.”

He's got a surprisingly soft voice despite being so gruff looking. He's also not as tall as I thought, only being an inch or so taller. He makes up for it by being built larger, but his normalcy comforts me anyways.

When we get back to the hotel, I cook up the meal quickly. Nina says she wants to help but ends up getting distracted anyways. The guy who ends up helping for a little bit is unsurprisingly Tim, and he scares off the blue guy from earlier, who I now know is the owner of the fridge-body.

I finish up the plates before coming into the lounge. Nina calls down a few more people, and there's even more scary faces that show up. I (now entirely regretting coming here) find a corner of the room where I can people-watch, and let Nina take the credit for the tacos. I hope they're ok. .. ..Most of the oddly dressed people have shuffled out of the room- undeniably happy- but leaving a large amount of dirty dishes.

Jeff and the Legend of Zelda kid are trying to steal leftovers- the Jane lady is talking to Tim, and Nina is nowhere to be seen.

The sun has already set by now, and the fluorescent lights above flicker hazardously, before engulfing the place in complete darkness.

[You will not insult my hospitality- you're making a fool of yourself]