The Employee

"Can you turn the music up?" Ben whines. He is always complaining about everything.

"Yup!" Mum replies, popping the "p".

I turn the volume up on my phone, as the sound from the car radio is seeping through my supposedly noise canceling headphones. My gaze returns to the wilderness outside the car. I notice a clearing coming up, which turns out to be a gas station. Finally, a break from this desolate forest. My family and I are going to visit some friends who live in Canada. The trip from Stratford, Connecticut to Mabou, Nova Scotia is a long and boring one, fourteen hours to be exact!

I feel the car come to a stop and hear muffled voices

"Earth to Alex!" I hear my dad say, I look up and quickly turn my music off.

"Sorry I was listening to music."

"Teenagers these days." my dad sighs and he shakes his head.

"She was probably listening to Taylor Swift," Ben taunts, "her music is tra-"

"Hey no fighting!" My dad yells. I send Ben a glare, open up my car door and get out. A gale of wind blows my door shut, I don't remember it being windy. I glance up at the gas station, "Final Destination Stop and Go" is the name. It's very worn down and barren.

"Okay," Mum says, taking control of the situation, "Each of you can get one snack and a drink, and also use the bathroom."

"Yes ma'am" I respond and make my way to the door. I follow my brother through the door, but he suddenly stops.

"What's wrong?" I question.

"Nothing," he declares in a confused tone. "I just feel like I've been here before."

"Probably just deja vu," I suggest.

"Yeah," he replies numbly. I watch as he picks up a toy knight from the ground and sets it back on a shelf. He disappears to where I assume is the snacks and I head towards the bathroom. On my way I spot a worker who is busy with their head in their phone. I finally find the bathroom and head inside.

After I'm done using the bathroom I go to open the door but it is locked. I try to open it, but it won't budge.

"Mum! Dad! Ben!" I scream, trying to gain someone's attention, but no one responds.

"Help! I'm stuck," there is still no response. Suddenly the lights turn off and everything goes black.

I'm back in the car again. No no no no no no. This cannot be happening.

"Can you turn the music up?" Ben whines.

"Yup!" Mum replies, popping the "p" like she always does. She is watching something on her phone. I can recognize its bedazzled case from anywhere. I look out the window and see the clearing and that gas station. I pull off my headphones and pause my music. "You're the Inspiration" by Chicago is playing on the radio and my dad is singing along. This must be a dream, I think to myself, Or I'm just the star of my own "Groundhog Day".

I'm starting to think it's the latter. I've tried countless times to escape "Final Destination Stop and Go", but the lights always go out and I end up back in the car. Some nuances in the wall colors and small differences occur, like my brother playing with the toy or the employee moving closer to the bathroom, but this time was very different.

I get out of the car and run through the door of the gas station, pushing right past my brother. I charge into the bathroom, I'm not sure why, it just feels right. I flip on the dim lights, and turn around to shut the door. I lean against it and let myself sink to the floor.

"Why can't I escape this wretched place." I mumble to myself, letting tears fall from my eyes.

"You just need to wake up."

My head bolts up and I am face to face with the employee. I feel my chest get heavy and my breathing starts to quicken. The employee doesn't even look like a human and its big, beady eyes look like they have been through years of torment. I go to scream, but its hand covers my mouth and everything goes black, again.

The cycle repeats for a while; car, brother, bathroom, monster, black. I need to wake up. I need to wake up. I need to wake up. I am not sure what that means, but I know I need to somehow.

I wake up in the car again, but this time instead of running to the bathroom, I run straight to the employee. The employee seems to be watching something on its phone. As I get closer I see that it is watching a documentary on the medieval age and the "Code of Chivalry", or something like that, that knights had to follow.

"Tell me how to wake up," I demand. The employee slowly raises its head and its dark eyes make contact with mine. "I'm not scared of you."

"Very well then," it replies. Its deep, shaky voice sends a shiver down my spine. Before I can do anything the lights turn off.

"No!" I yell into the darkness, barely being able to make out the figure that sits in front of me. Everything goes black.

I try to open my eyes, but bright lights force me to keep them shut. I hear muffled voices and footsteps getting closer. I am not in my car. When my eyes finally adjust, I look around and infer that I am in a hospital room. I see someone who appears to be a doctor and try to get their attention. I go to open my mouth, but I can't speak. My heart rate must be rising because I can hear the heart monitor beeping louder.

"Oh look who's awake," the doctor says with a melancholy tone and makes his way over to me, "don't try to speak, you have been through a lot." I look back down at my hands and see they are covered in bandages.

"Where's my mum and dad?" I manage to croak out, "And Ben, where is he?"

"Oh sweety," the winsome doctor says, "there was an accident at the gas station your family stopped at and your family unfortunately didn't make it."

No response.

"You are very lucky to be alive," he continues, "the fire department theorized that you survived because you were in the bathroom, away from the explosion." I look up at him and stare blankly, straight into his ocean blue eyes. I know this makes him uncomfortable because he shifts his weight from one food to the other and goes back to fidgeting with some medicine stuff. I hear the door creak and someone walks into the room.

"Alex, meet my intern!" The doctor seems very enthusiastic about this. I turn my head to face the visitor and immediately regret it. I can recognize those dark, beady eyes anywhere. It's the employee.