The Night Shift's Terror: Work

Table of Contents

The Night Shift's Terror: Work

It was just another late-night shift at Everwood Supermart, or so Mark thought. The flickering fluorescent lights buzzed above him as he stacked boxes in aisle seven. Midnight shifts were always eerie, but tonight felt... different.

"You hear that?" Lisa, his coworker, whispered.

Mark paused, listening. The store was supposed to be empty except for the two of them and their manager, Dave. But a faint rustling sound came from the back storage room.

"Probably a rat," Mark shrugged.

Lisa frowned. "That was too loud for a rat."

Just then, the overhead speakers crackled, followed by static. Mark exchanged a glance with Lisa. The intercom system had been broken for weeks.

"Dave? Is that you messing around?" Mark called out.

Silence.

A sudden clang echoed from the storage area. Lisa grabbed Mark’s arm. "We should check it out together."

They walked cautiously toward the storage room, the automatic doors sliding open with a mechanical hiss. Inside, the air felt colder. A row of metal shelves cast long shadows under the dim emergency lights.

"Hello?" Lisa called out.

Something shifted in the darkness.

Mark reached for the light switch, but the moment he flipped it, the bulb shattered above them, plunging the room into near darkness.

"Screw this," Mark muttered. "Dave, if you’re in here, this isn’t funny."

Another noise. A soft whisper.

Lisa clutched his sleeve. "Did you hear that?"

Mark nodded. The whisper wasn’t in English. It was something guttural, ancient.

Suddenly, footsteps pounded toward them. A dark figure lunged from the corner. Lisa screamed as they stumbled backward.

Then—nothing.

The room was empty.

Mark’s heart pounded. "We need to get Dave and leave. Now."

As they ran back to the main floor, they saw Dave standing by the register, staring blankly at the security monitors.

"Dave!" Lisa shouted.

He didn’t react.

Mark stepped closer. "Dave? What’s wrong?"

Dave slowly turned his head. His eyes were wide, pupils dilated. "It’s watching us."

Lisa shivered. "What’s watching us?"

Dave pointed at the security screen. The camera feed showed aisle seven, where Mark had been earlier. But there was something else—something standing in the middle of the aisle.

A tall, shadowy figure.

It had no face. Just darkness.

Then, the cameras went black.

The store lights flickered violently, casting erratic shadows across the walls.

"We need to leave," Lisa said, grabbing Mark’s wrist.

Dave shook his head. "It won’t let us."

Mark turned toward the front entrance. His stomach dropped.

The automatic doors were gone.

Where the glass exit should have been was now just a solid wall.

Lisa gasped. "What the hell is going on?"

The intercom crackled again, a distorted voice whispering, "You shouldn't be here..."

Aisle by aisle, the store plunged into darkness, the shadows moving closer.

Mark grabbed Lisa’s hand. "We have to fight back."

Dave, still dazed, whispered, "You can’t fight the void."

Then, the shadow figure stepped out of the darkness.

And everything went black.

Mark woke up gasping. The cold tile floor of the break room pressed against his back. Lisa lay nearby, unconscious but breathing. Dave was gone.

"Lisa! Wake up!" Mark shook her shoulder.

She groaned, eyes fluttering open. "What happened?"

"I don’t know, but we have to get out of here."

They stumbled out of the break room, but the store had changed. The aisles stretched endlessly, looping in impossible ways. The ceiling seemed higher, the shelves taller.

Lisa grabbed his arm. "Mark... this isn’t real. The store is messing with us."

They heard a familiar voice—Dave’s voice—calling from one of the aisles.

"Help me... please."

Lisa hesitated. "That doesn’t sound like him."

Mark bit his lip. "But what if it is?"

They moved cautiously toward the voice. Turning a corner, they found Dave standing stiffly, his face pale and expressionless.

"Dave?" Mark asked.

Dave’s mouth moved, but his voice came from the intercom above. "Join us. The night never ends."

Lisa screamed as Dave’s body disintegrated into a swirling black mist. The mist lunged toward them.

Mark grabbed Lisa’s hand and ran. The aisles twisted and shifted, trapping them in an endless maze.

"There has to be a way out!" Lisa panted.

Then, Mark saw it—an emergency exit sign flickering at the end of an aisle.

They sprinted toward it, the shadows clawing at their heels. Mark slammed into the door, pushing it open.

Cold air hit his face.

They tumbled outside into the empty parking lot.

When they turned back, Everwood Supermart was gone.

Just an empty field.

Lisa gasped. "Did that just... happen?"

Mark swallowed. "I don’t know. But I’m never working another night shift again."

Their phones buzzed at the same time.

A message from an unknown number.

"See you next shift."

To be continued...