Grease hardens in the oddest shapes, if you look at it close enough sometimes it will almost seem like they are spelling out something. Of course that is just stupid, food doesn't do anything but sit there. It doesn't move, it doesn't breath, it certainly doesn't spell or read. I guess working the night shift for so long can make you think things, see things, even occasionally hear things. That is probably the way I would have started this story a month ago, but no not now, not after everything that I had seen. Perhaps I should introduce myself, my name is Adam and I have been working at speedy burger for nearly six months. The day I was hired I would have never have imagined working at a Burger joint would be so weird, and actually, at first it wasn't. The first few weeks were fun, I was getting used to the routine, so I guess I wasn't noticing like how people who worked night shift didn't last to long, or how every morning old man Harris would wash up meat juice off of the floor. Then of course, my time had came. I was flipping fryers in the back, pouring salt on them, and spacing out, you know a day of hard work. Then, Danni, my manager came up to me she looked tired, sweat was dripping from her yellow hat.

"Umm Adam, listen I hate to ask you something, but James from the late shift, he quit and I need you to take his shift tomorrow night. Can you do it." I should have said no. I should have quit. I should have lied and told her I had plans, but like an idiot I simply smiled and said yes.

My first night working the late shift was dull. I was exhausted from being up nearly all day and now instead of sleeping I had to work. I walked into the speedy burger around ten PM, we were the only place opened after midnight in the small town of Incaden. The population was just over 5,000 so I guess this wasn't much of a surprise. I had lived there my whole life, and for almost two decades The Speedy Burger had been the prime place of employment for all teenagers of the surrounding small towns, simply because anyone from Incaden would be to embarrassed to work there. The girls who worked with me that first night were sweet, there were three of us all together. Sandry was a nice girl, of thin build and bleached blonde hair, but her dark eyebrows showed what a lier she would be. I had never taken a likening to people who dyed their hair, it was a sign of dishonesty and malcontent. Then there was Hannah, she was a larger girl with naturally black hair and dark brown eyes, she was cheerfully and sweet, basically everything Sandry was not. I got along with Hannah very well. We would often play pranks on Sandry, talk about books we had read, and traded life stories, that's why I was so depressed the first night I arrived to work, nearly a month after my transfer, and found her gone. Sandry, as usually seemed unenthused about anything that didn't concern her, so I sat there all night cursing Hannah for leaving me here alone. That was probably the first time I realized what was going on.

I noticed the first puzzle piece in the back freezer, I was bringing a bag of frozen fries to the front to be boiled for our non assistant customer when I heard something farther back, near the back door. This time I let it pass, this time I just went to the front of the restaurant and convinced myself I was hearing things. I mean back beyond the freezer was a labyrinth of storage shelves and a staircase that lead to the basement. The next day passed just as uneventful as the last, Hannah had failed to show up again. This time I was a little more peeved, because it seems that Satan answered my prayers. That day Sandry bored my brains out with her mindless talk of local celebrities and stupid shows, I began to miss Hannah. I could only take so much chatter from Sandry and soon excused myself. There wasn't much to do at one in the morning, in a dead restaurant than wander around. I explored every area of the dinning room, freezer, drive through booths, and grill area. Soon the only place that needed exploring was the back. A small voice in the back of my head was screaming for me to stop as I approached the darkened doorway.

The light switch was to the left just inside the arch, I flipped it on. Electricity hummed loudly as it surged through the room, the bright light it produced glistening off the metal racks stacked high with cardboard boxes. I walked slowly down the first small isle that held most of the things we would need immediately; Straws, cups, napkins those types of things. My hand ran across the rough card board until It ran out. Here I could walk forward, the back wall was with-in eye sight, but the sides were not. I decided to turn left and walked even slower browsing what were on the shelves, here the dates were older, from last year at least. I took another right, the room I found was not square, for now I couldn't see the back room. My hand churned up dust that had been settled on these shelves long before my time here, and soon I began to cough. The coughs burned my through and made my eyes water, when I had retired from my attack I sit there on the floor, slumped against the rack, cursing myself for being so weak. That's when I heard it, a squeaking, a rumbling, and then a rack tumbling to the ground. I jolted up, freaked out by the loud noise it made in this serene place. My eyes searched the isle I was in for any clue as to what had happened, I found nothing. I jogged to the end of the isle and saw the fallen rack, it was three down from me and to my left. I walked down there to examine what had happened, there was a warm greasy substance laying around the rack, the straws and the cans from inside it's boxes leaking around my feet. The stenches was unbearable. I turned around and looked behind me, I had this odd feeling that I was being watched, that there was something in here that was alive.


The room was once again silent, the air had settled back to its thick, eerie state and the warm grease around my feet was now beginning to cool off. I stepped away from the rack, every step I took stuck to the floor and made a sucking noise as I raised my foot. From here I could see the stairs that led into the basement, perhaps if I had stopped here and went back to the front I would have been safe. Perhaps if I would have ran and never looked back things would be all right, but no instead I simply walked down the cold, metal stairs. It was a long way down, and there was no light until the bottom. Most of the time I was hanging on the railing so hard, afraid I would fall, that my hands would go numb, but somehow I made it down alive. Looking back, it would have probably been better if I had fallen to my death on those stairs. The basement wasn't that big, but it was poorly lit. The light streamed from one naked light bulb in the middle of the room. It castes shadows every which way, throwing lies against the walls, as if it were a politician. I walked forward only a bit, my shoes breaking the silence with there horrible sucking noise. Then I saw it, my doom, the first domino in the end of life as I knew it. From the shadows I heard heavy breathing, then I saw the shape, I could hardly believe my eyes. Before me stood, what appeared to be, a giant hamburger, made with two buns, lettuce,Tomato, and a meat patties. I tried to swallow but it was caught in my through, needless to say I couldn't scream. The patties walked, or to be more accurate glided to a stop right inferno of me. There I stood, trembling, not able to move, and not being so sure that I wanted to at the same time.

"What are you doing here boy?" A voice from somewhere deep inside the lunch asked, his voice was deep and menacing, promising death. I could hardly speak, I felt the warmth of my urine run down my own leg. "hmm. . " The voice demanded, a bit louder than before.

"I. . I work here." I stammered out, a dumb answer I realize this, but it was the only thing I could say.

"Yes, well. . "He said, pondering, He was going to eat me, I knew it, he was going to do to me what I had done to so many of his kin the past nineteen years. "you may want to get out of here, before it becomes to late!" That sounded like a threat, I was both petrified and outraged, so like a baby I cried out in fear.

"Please Mr.. Burger, don't hurt me, I'm sorry I ate your family, I'm sorry that I work for someone who cooks them. Let me go please, just don't eat me!" Tears streaked down my face, the Burger glided to my left and then to my right. He was studying me I knew this, It was only a matter of time before he ate me whole. I could hear the soft breathing of the hamburger and began to pray, I was not religious at all, but hey I had to make amends to the man upstairs before I saw him right? Then, I'm not sure now if my ears were betraying me, but I swear I heard laughing, Soft laughing. It stopped almost as soon as it started.

"Hurt you? You have nothing to fear from me. In fact, my name is Edward, but most call me Eddie. Eddie Van Hamburger. Pleasure to meat you." His deep voice was still gruff, but I noted a slight hint of friendship. I was confused beyond belief, but I'm sure if he had hands, Edward, Eddie, Would have been offering them to me.

"My name is Adam." I said in a weak voice, my knees about to give out in fear. "And, pleased to meet you?" I said, not sure if this was a trap.

"Now, you must leave here, before you can't anymore." He said urgently, once again gruff and angry. I was perplexed and hesitated my exit.

"I thought you weren't going to eat me. . .You are going to eat me!" I stepped back from him, running into the stairs, the burger glided closer.

"No not myself, actually I'm a vegetarian." I stopped, a vegetarian?

"Your. . . a vegetarian? But your made of meat!" I accused, trying to catch him in a lie.

"And so are you." He said accusing right back.

"well. . .What does being a vegetarian have to do with me!" I demanded, my voice shrill with terror, he was just playing with his food.

"Simple," He said, and I heard a chuckle. "I don't eat meat, any meat. I think it is wrong to kill a human just for food or fun, I am a musician, and a strong activist for animal rights." Now the burger floated away from me, slowly. "I don't wear leather shoes, I'm a poet and my passion is love, freedom and peace" He mused, almost to himself. I began to laugh, this was surreal. I'm in the basement, talking to a giant burger, who is a musician, a poet, and a vegetarian!? My laugher seemed to make him chuckle as well. Then I heard something thump upstairs, and groaned, figured sandry would follow me here. The burger rushed the stairs, almost crushing me. "You need to leave!" He ordered roughly.

"What? Because of Sandry? She won't hurt you she dumb, but can be sweet." I said jogging up the stairs to get her. I broke into the bright light of the main room searching franticly for Sandry, she was no where to be seen. I walked around for a moment, staying close to the stairs. "Sandry" I screamed into the large room. Then I saw something to move behind me.

"What are you doing here boy?" I spun around, my heart Racing, but it was only old man Harris. Old man Harris was the maintenance guy at our Speedy Burger, he was always lurking around, none ever knew when he was here or when he was off duty, honestly I don't think anyone ever cared. I began to giggle to myself.

"Nothing, just looking around." I said off handedly, there was no way I was telling him about Eddie.

"Looking around in the basement?" He said edging to the staircase, I began to panic, but he had already began to go down the metal deathtrap. I wasn't sure what to do, so I followed. I heard him scream when he reached the bottom and I sighed. I took the last few stairs slowly, when I reached the bottom of them I nearly screamed in shock, old man Harris, who always seemed so weak, was now in the posture of a twenty something man. His chest was stuck out and his eyes had a dark glisten of evil. Eddie seemed to be cowering in the corner.

"wh. . . what?" I stammered and didn't understand anything at all. The world was changing beyond my eyes, turning and shifting like a kaleidoscope.

"I told you" Eddie whispered frightened, "I told you to go". I shook my head

"I don't understand. . ." I uttered, trying to figure things out, but it was nearly three am, and I was dead tired, My blood rushing through my ears.

"Simple boy, I am your fear" old man Harris uttered, all thought I think it is now appropriate to call him Mr.. Harris.

"You. . . You created him then?" I questioned perplexed.

"No you fool!! I am the one who has been taking the children!" He screamed, obviously peeved that I was so dull. His breath was breathing heavy and he was now pacing, "You think this burger could possess the intellect to kill a human and devourer their flesh!?" His voice was low, and soft, but the sting was deadly. My eyes widened in fear, I suddenly realized my fate.

"Your. .Going to eat me, aren't you?" I asked weakly, feeling nauseous.

"Of course, but first I need to transform." He said ripping off his old military jacket and dropping his pants, before my eyes the figure of the old man changed into that of a wretched up demon, the panic was caught in my through. I wasn't sure what to do, so I did what came naturally, picking up the closes thing to me, which was an old metal pipe I bashed the demon's head in. I watched with a bit of a smile as the red blood spilled out of the creature, swirling into a pool, now Eddie was beside me.

"So he's gone?" He asked obviously frightened, "he really is done?" I nodded and smiled.

"Yes, he is gone. Tell me, if you knew all about him, why wouldn't you tell us?" I asked mezmerized by the blood.

"Well, would you have believed me? A giant hamburger." He demanded a bit angry.

"No." I said simply and chuckled. We were both silent for a long time, then I heard the burger sigh.

"So. . . What do we do now?" He asked, fear creeping into his voice.

"Get rid of this, and then go back to work." I said shrugging. So that is what I have been doing for the last twenty years of my life, watching. Watching for another Old Man Harris, occasionally I will visit Eddie and he will play me a tune, tell me a story. But mostly I work, making the burgers, flipping the fries, cleaning the dinning room. I know some of the kids laugh at me, make fun of me when they see how old I am, but I just let it go, how are they to know that if it wasn't for me, most of them wouldn't still be here?