Alright, so I’m posting this here for some feedback and better exposure. I’m hoping you enjoy it. It’s just something I came up and wrote back in April when I kept reading that there aren’t many stories out there with female protagonists. I’m hoping to finish it before the end of this year. It’s actually part of a larger multimedia project which will include original music and hopefully storyboards. Though I may be reaching a bit too far.
DISCLAIMER: This story is rated PG-13 for some language and brief moments of violence. Hope I didn’t break any rules.
Target: Anna McCormick
or
(Do You Want Fries With That?)
“How long have they been sitting there?” Anna asked.
“I dunno. At least forty five minutes,” David replied.
“And they haven’t ordered something or anything like that?”
“Nuh. They keep eyeballing the counter and then quickly look away as if they think someone notices them watching,” David said as he wiped his nose with the sleeve of his uniform shirt.
Like most fast food restaurants Reginald’s was no stranger to weirdos, but the four weirdos sitting in the corner of the dining room took the cake. They looked like people who somehow got lost on the way to a sci-fi convention. They were clothed in quasi-futuristic garb that seemed to be a cross between modern day fashion and what some lazy fashion student thought clothes were going to look like a few decades from now. They were also wearing accessories that clashed with whatever they were wearing. One of them was wearing a pair of goggles that seemed like they’d be almost impossible to see out of. They all whispered amongst themselves and looked around the room cautiously as if anyone could possibly be interested in whatever geeky conversation they were no doubt having.
“Well, are you going to do something about it?” David inquired.
“Me!? I just got here. You’ve been here all day. Why didn’t you do anything about it?!”
“Well, that one guy looks pretty big and mean and…”
Anna let out an exasperated sigh. “And what David? He’s going to punch you in the face if you ask him to order something? He’s going to say something to puncture your shrunken ego?”
David smiled that sheepish smile that Anna hated and said, “Well, I don’t–”
“Never mind. While you stand here waiting to grow a pair, I’ll go handle this.” Anna stormed off in a huff from behind the counter and towards the weirdos.
“Thanks!” shouted David.
Anna was half-tempted to flash him the bird for his empty expression of gratitude. But that wouldn’t be in good form. She was on the clock.
As she approached the table of weirdos they decided to bring their conversation to a halt. Trying to keep their words away from prying ears. They had all turned to look at her at the same time and they all smiled. Anna couldn’t help but to feel creeped out. There was something off about the way they smiled. Maybe it was because the smiles seemed so artificial. Or the way their teeth looked just a bit too perfect.
The weirdo group consisted of three men and one young woman. The one who appeared to be the ringleader was a muscular man with a face full of stubble. He looked like the lead in an action movie. The rest of them looked like they’d only ever watched action movies. The other two men looked like scrawny nerds that even her cowardly coworker David could take in a fight. And the girl looked like one of those people who got roped into dressing up by her boyfriend possibly after losing some sort of bet. Anna wondered which one was the boyfriend.
Anna put on her company-required smile and said in a false cheery voice, “We thank you for choosing Reginald’s for your dining needs. However, we don’t allow loitering and require all customers to make a purchase of a beverage at least.”
One of the scrawny nerds piped up and said, “Well then, I’ll have a—”
“Not a waitress!” Anna snapped. She turned and walked back up to the counter.
“Well?” David asked.
“Well what?”
“Are they going to order something? Did you figure out what’s the deal with the costumes?”
“Does it look like I was over there long enough to get their life story?” Anna asked rhetorically.
“You were gone long enough to miss Kelly’s argument with Mr. Picky,” David replied.
Mr. Picky was the nickname of an awfully belligerent drive-thru customer who never seemed satisfied with the service at Reginald’s. He’d often getting into arguments with employees over contradictory orders and imagined hostility on the part of the employees. He’d often storm into the actual restaurant after getting his meal claiming they screwed up his order and making a scene. He’d then walk away with a full refund and a free meal. It had long been suspected that Mr. Picky was possibly a corporate customer who abused his role to get free food.
“Oh well. If they order, they order. I don’t really care anymore. It’s not like we’re packing them in today,” Anna said.
“Shh! Here they come,” David said. He went over to his register waiting to receive the customers.
They went to Anna’s instead.
“Welcome to Reginald’s, how may I help you?” Anna said in a bored tone. She was tired of the fake cheery thing. She had already exceeded her usual limit for the day.
Action Man glanced up at the menu and turned to his companions and they started to hold deliberations on what to get. Once they had come to a consensus Action Man turned back around and said, “Alright. One chicken sandwich, two double cheeseburgers, a Reggie Burger and four large chocolate shakes.”
Anna quickly punched in the order and rang up their total. “That’ll be nineteen dollars and seventy-five cents.”
The group exchanged bewildered glances. “Nineteen what?” Action Man asked.
“Dollars.”
“Oh. I see. Well, where we come from the monetary system has been dead for years,” Action Man attempted to explain.
“Cuuute. But here in the real world, you have to pay for food.” Anna was starting to lose patience.
The young woman with the goggles who looked the most out of place of all of them seemed to be staring quite a bit at Anna. As if she was taking a mental photo.
“It’s her,” the young woman said. “It’s definitely her.”
“Who’s her?” Anna asked. “I’m her? Her who?”
“Indeed,” said Action Man. He pulled a chrome plated sphere off a clip on his pants and started to run his fingers around it in a deliberate pattern. There was a blinding flash of light that forced Anna to cover her eyes. When the flash disappeared she noticed that all four in the group were wielding nasty-looking futuristic pistols all trained on her.
“Those aren’t real right?” she asked hesitantly.
She heard the whirring pulse of a charging pistol. Action Man pointed his gun in the air and fired. A gaping flaming hole appeared in the ceiling above.
Anna tried to compose herself. She was able to manage a frightened grin. “Yeah, forget the money! Do you want fries with that?” Anna was trembling as if she were standing at the epicenter of a a major quake.
“You know I could go for some fries,” one of the scrawny nerds said.
“Yeah, me too,” said the young woman.
“Especially Reginald fries. The way they season them is just soooo good,” said the other scrawny nerd.
“Fries do sound good,” Action Man added in agreement. “But we’re not here to EAT! We’re here for her! Anna McCormick we are here to—”
Action Man was interrupted by the sound of an incoming customer. It was Mr. Picky and he was ready for a fresh tirade.
“I SAID NO PICKLES!”
The weirdos turned towards him simultaneously. They now had their guns trained on him.
Mr. Picky slowly assessed the situation. He saw the scared young girl behind the register. The frightened kid trying to hide behind the milkshake machine and the cowering cook line. He also noticed the gaping hole in the ceiling. He had chosen the wrong time to be a dick.
“Ho! Crap! Screw this! I’ll come back later!” And with that he ran out of the restaurant as fast as he could.
The group of weirdos turned back around only to notice that Anna had disappeared from sight. David, who was cowering behind the shake machine was pointing at the floor behind the counter. He wanted to stay on the good side of the group. Action Man leaned over the counter and saw Anna trying to stay low to the ground. He reached down and grabbed her by the collar of her shirt and pulled her up to eye level.
“Did you really think you could get away from us by hiding behind the counter?” Action Man asked incredulously.
“Would you believe that I was looking for a dropped contact lens?”
“No! Anna McCormick never needed corrective lenses!” the young woman shouted.
David couldn’t take it anymore. Seeing his coworker dangle helplessly from the arm of dangerous behemoth was too much to bear. It was time to speak up. It was time to do something.
“So you’re only looking for Anna McCormick, right? Not David Taylor or Kelly Danson or really anyone else here in the restaurant?” he inquired.
Action Man turned to look at David and said, “Correct.”
David let out a sigh of relief. “Then it looks like I’m outta here. Anna, it’s been really nice knowing you. I hope this works out for you in the end. In fact I think we all agree on that.”
The rest of the staff clamored in agreement and began to make their way out of the restaurant as quickly as possible.
“Wait! What!?” Anna shouted in disbelief. “You’re just going to leave me here?! Well, to hell with you too!”
Her mind was clouded with rage and fear. ‘How could they do that to me?’ She thought to herself. ‘And why the hell hasn’t anyone called the authorities?’
“Please! I don’t know what you want but I don’t want to die!” Anna pleaded.
Suddenly the goggled woman’s head exploded splattering everyone within reach. Her headless corpse dropped to the ground.
The group looked around as Anna screamed as loud as she could. This was turning out to be a pretty horrible day.
“And you’re not going to die today!” shouted a voice.
All eyes fixed on the newcomer to the room. A handsome young man dressed in a rather official looking uniform. He too possessed what looked to be a futuristic pistol.
“Oh, God! How’d they find us? How’d they figure it out?!” asked one of the scrawny ones frantically.
“Never mind that. Just know that we’ve found you. We know what you’re up to and we’re here to put a stop to it. In a few moments backup will be here to take what’s left of you in,” said the young man. “Now let go of the girl!”
Action Man released his grip on Anna’s shirt letting her fall to the ground. “No way I’m letting you take me in!”
“Then it looks like we’re going to do this the hard way!”
Anna began to wonder whether she actually woke up that morning. She had to be dreaming. How else could one explain how her life was turning into some kind of sci-fi action movie? She gasped when she saw the milkshake machine explode into a thousand pieces. As she stayed crouched behind the counter she could hear the whir of the charging pistols, the shattering of glass and the crackling of breaking plastic. The restaurant was coming down all around her. She then heard a sick squelching sound. Similar to the sound she heard when that poor girl’s head exploded.
“So do you two think you have a chance of taking me down?” she heard the handsome man say.
Anna heard the pattering of footsteps running off. The next thing she knew she saw an arm reaching over the counter. She tried to avoid it.
“Come on, now. It’s me. The guy who saved your life.”
She reluctantly grabbed the arm and it pulled her back up to a standing position. She looked around at her surroundings. Nothing in the restaurant seemed to be intact. She glimpsed Action Man on the floor with a hole in his torso. She began to hyperventilate. This was all too much.
“Come on. We’ve got to get going. They may come back with reinforcements,” said the young man.
“Bu-bu-bu-bu,” Anna stammered. “But what about backup?”
“There is no backup. I was bluffing. I’m all there is.”
“Wait! Why should I believe you. How do I know you’re not some rival person who’s out to kill me?” she asked.
“Well, considering I just saved your life and could kill you right now where you stand I suggest you don’t think too hard about it and trust me,” he replied.
It made sense to Anna. Sure it was a stupid kind of sense that only happens when you can’t think straight, but it was sense nonetheless and Anna was in desperate need of any available.
“Okay. Um, lead the way,” Anna said.
To Be Continued…
Thanks for reading. Any comments will be greatly appreciated.