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Speaker 1: I had always heard the rumors about the old building,

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the way people said it was cursed, haunted by the suicides,

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from years back when it was an office complex.

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Speaker 2: And it's twenty twenty four and.

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Speaker 1: I was working at McDonald's, not some horror movie set.

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Yet that night changed everything.

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Speaker 2: It was a.

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Speaker 1: Tuesday, dead slow as usual. I texted my boyfriend Ryan

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to come by. We were both making ends meet and

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on some nights i'd just stay back late and have

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our dinner date there in the McDonald's.

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Speaker 2: It was getting late and there was no sign of him.

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Speaker 1: I stood behind the counter, scrolling through my phone when

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I saw a shadow moving toward the door.

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Speaker 2: Finally Ryan.

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Speaker 1: I decided to mess with him and crouch behind the counter,

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ready to jump out and scare him. As soon as

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he walked in. The bell above the door chimed softly

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as it opened. I held my breath, but nothing, no footsteps,

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no sounds. I waited, hunting the seconds in my head. Five, ten, fifteen,

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Still nothing Ryan, I whispered, peeking over the counter. The

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dining area was empty. The door had closed, but no

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one had come in. My heart fluttered with the sudden unknees.

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I stood up slowly scanning the room. Maybe he was

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messing with me too and had to be it. I

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walked around the counter, checking the tables, even the bathroom door.

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Speaker 2: Ryan, Seriously, this isn't funny.

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Speaker 1: No answer, just the low hum of the machines and

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the weight of the empty restaurant pressing in on me.

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Then out of nowhere, there was a loud crash outside.

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My heart jumped, and I rushed out to see what

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had happened, fearing the.

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Speaker 2: Worst, what if Ryan was hurt?

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Speaker 1: The parking lot was empty that there was a trash

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can lying on its side, the metal bent like something

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had fallen on it from above. I stood frozen, staring

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at it. There was no one around, no cars, no wind,

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no reason for it to be knocked over like that.

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I hadn't even heard any footsteps. Just as I was

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about to head back inside, I heard someone call.

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Speaker 2: My name, Stacy.

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Speaker 1: I spun around to see Ryan sprinting towards me, out

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of breath and pale as a ghost. He grabbed my arms,

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his eyes wide with fear, and he looked around desperately.

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Speaker 2: Did you see that? See what? I saw?

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Speaker 1: Someone jump? Stacy from the roof right here? He pointed

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to the top of the building, his voice shaking. I

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followed his gaze to the roof, but there was no

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one there.

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Speaker 2: There's no one up there, Ryan, you're freaking me out.

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I'm serious.

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Speaker 1: Someone jumped from the roof. They should have fallen right here.

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The look in his eyes told me he wasn't joking.

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I glanced back at the trash can, the dent in

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the metal. I had heard the loud sound well, but

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I didn't want to believe it, nor tell about it

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to Ryan.

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Speaker 2: Come on, let's go inside, I said, pulling him toward

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the door. It's probably just.

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Speaker 1: Suddenly a figure moved in the window reflection behind us.

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Speaker 2: I froze. We spun around, but the parking lot was

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still empty. Nothing. I locked the door behind us in

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a hurry.

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Speaker 1: I tried telling myself it was just my imagination running wild.

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But then Ryan glanced toward the kitchen. Is Ramon still here?

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His voice was tight, like he was trying to stay calm.

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Speaker 2: No, he left an hour ago.

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Speaker 1: Why then, who else is doing the graveyard shift, Solomon?

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Speaker 2: No one, It's just me, I swear.

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Speaker 1: I just saw someone walk into the kitchen and I

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turned to look, my stomach dropping the door to the

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kitchen was swinging ever so slightly, like someone had just

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passed through.

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Speaker 2: Could be one of those kids they'd get high and

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steal burgers in the night.

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Speaker 1: But something didn't feel right. The air felt off, thick.

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I went inside the kitchen, but there was no one.

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Ryan followed, puzzled himself. That is when suddenly the fryer

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turned on by itself, the oil bubbling violently. I jumped back,

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my heart slamming in my chest. What the hell is happening?

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I didn't answer, too busy watching the fryer. As the

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heat climbed higher, smoke beginning to curl from the oil,

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and just then a loud bang echoed through the kitchen.

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The metal spatulas and pans started falling, crashing onto the floor. Stacy,

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we need to get out of here. Ryan was already

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backing away, his voice shaking. I ran to the fryer,

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trying to shut it off, but the buttons wouldn't work.

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As I pulled away, the lights flickered, My breath caught

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in my throat. In one of those flashes, I saw

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something someone standing in the doorway to the kitchen, a

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figure tall and shadowed, watching us.

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Speaker 2: The lights came back on he was gone. Ryan pulled

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me toward the door. Let's go. We sprinted outside.

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Speaker 1: My hands were shaking so badly I dropped the keys twice.

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Speaker 2: We got into Ryan's car and drove away.

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Speaker 1: That is when I glanced in the rearview mirror and

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saw a figure standing in the window of the McDonald's

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dark with glowing right eyes. It had been a brutal

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month ever since James lost his job.

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Speaker 2: We were barely holding it together.

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Speaker 1: His new gig at the garage didn't cover the bills,

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and my late shifts and McDonald's left me running on fumes.

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But none of that could have prepared me for that.

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It had just been a week since I started bringing

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my seven year old to work. Isabella didn't mind, though,

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she loved it, especially when he was there, Kevin, the

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guy who played Ronald McDonald. Every time he came in

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dressed in that ridiculous costume, Isabella's eyes would light up

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and she'd rush over to him. He'd let her sit

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on his lap, play games with her, and even give

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her a little happy meal toys in the Lost and

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Found box. But there was something about him that made

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my skin crawl. It wasn't just his costume, it was him.

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His crooked teeth and pale blue eyes never seemed to

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blink enough. None of his smiles reached his eyes. I

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told Isabella to stay away from him, but she was whipped.

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The night was no different. The dinner rush hit hard.

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I could barely hear myself think over the noise. Isabella,

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as always was with Kevin, it was entertaining the kids.

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He cracked some joke and the kids irrupted into giggles.

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Speaker 2: It had to be just a second.

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Speaker 1: I turned away, just long enough to hand over a tray,

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though when I looked back, Isabella was gone, and so

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was Kevin. Panic surged through me like ice water. I

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scanned the room frantically, looking for her in the crowd

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of customers.

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Speaker 2: Nothing. I saw him, heading out back.

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Speaker 1: One of my coworkers muttered. My heart slammed against my chest.

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As I shoved open the back door, the alley yawned

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before me, dim and cold.

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Speaker 2: Bella, I yelled, running like a woman gone mad. Silence.

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She wasn't in sight, Bella. I cried again.

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Speaker 1: Then I heard it, a quiet sobbing mingled with the

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soft cooing of another voice from behind the dumpster.

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Speaker 2: It's all right, dear, You're all right.

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Speaker 1: We don't have to tell Mommy, okay, she'd just worry unnecessarily, Kevin.

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I froze, My heart pounded against my ribs as I

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got closer. His words made my blood run cold, and

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all the fears I'd ever had about this man came

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to the surface. Isabella sniffle, But what about all.

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Speaker 2: The blood so all over my dress? Hommy's going to

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be mad.

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Speaker 1: I rushed toward the dumpster, my mind filled with images

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of the worst nightmares imaginable.

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Speaker 2: I rounded the corner and there they were.

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Speaker 1: Isabella sitting on Kevin's lap, her dress smeared with dark

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red stains. She was crying, and Kevin was holding her,

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his hands covered in blood. I saw red. I didn't

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even think. I grabbed a nearby rock and threw it

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at him. The force of my fear and anger drove

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me forward.

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Speaker 2: You sick monster, I.

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Speaker 1: Screamed, lunging at him, trying to pull Isabella away from him.

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Speaker 2: I knew it, you pedophile.

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Speaker 1: Kevin barely flinched as the rock hit him. His pale

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blue eyes looked up at me, wide and shocked, but

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still that same unnerving calm, Michelle, wait, he started, but

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I listening.

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Speaker 2: How could you to a seven year old? I screamed,

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my hands shaking get away from her.

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Speaker 1: At that moment, some of the employees came rushing out,

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drawn by the commotion. They froze, looking at the scene

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the blood. Isabella crying, Kevin sitting there with the strange,

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unreadable expression, slowly getting angry. Follow me, Kevin snarled as

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he dragged me behind the dumpster. There was something small

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and furry lying on the ground in a pool of.

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Speaker 2: Blood of raccoon. He attacked me. Mommy, Kevin, he she

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saved me.

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Speaker 1: I felt the world tilt beneath me, my breath caught

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in my throat as the reality of the situation hit

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me with a tidal wave of guilt.

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Speaker 2: Kevin had saved my daughter.

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Speaker 1: I stumbled back, my hands trembling, the rocks slipping from

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my grasp.

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Speaker 2: Mind reeled, trying to process what I had done, what

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I had thought, I didn't know. I stammered, my voice breaking,

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I thought.

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Speaker 1: Kevin's eyes softened and he gave me that same crooked smile,

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the one that I had always hated. But now it

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looks different, kinder, somehow, it's okay, Michelle, he said quietly.

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Speaker 2: I get it.

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Speaker 1: I know how I look. Hideous, people think things. I

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felt like a fool, an absolute fool. I had judged him,

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I had hated him because of the way he looked,

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because he made me feel uneasy, and in the end,

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he had been the one to protect my daughter when

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I wasn't paying attention. I'm sorry, I whispered, my voice,

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barely audible. Kevin just smiled again. No need to apologize.

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I judge me too if it were my kid. That night,

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as I held Isabella close, I realized how deceiving appearances

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could be. Sometimes the people who look the scariest can

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be the ones who save you, And sometimes the ugliest

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things are just the shadows of our own fear. Working

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the night shift at McDonald's always had an eerie quiet

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to it. There wasn't much action past midnight, just the

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occasional car pulling into the drive through and the lonely

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sounds of the highway a mile away. The McDonald's was

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at the edge of a small town, surrounded by a

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thick forest. We didn't belong there. It was like the

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forest wanted to swallow us up. I was the closer

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that night, cleaning tables while Louise handled the kitchen. Since

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it was a boring job, I had my earphones on

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listening to some Lincoln Park bangers while cleaning the tables,

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but soon I heard some disturbance from outside. I took

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on my earphones when I heard it, faint at first,

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like a soft shuffling just outside the window, like someone

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or something was moving outside. I turned toward the big

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window that faced the woods, but all I could see

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was the reflection of the empty dining area, and myself curious,

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I stepped outside the night, air biting at my skin,

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I stared into the thick trees. The forest was still,

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not even a breeze moving through the branches, no animals,

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no wind, just dead silence. But as I turned to

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go back inside, I had the daylight shaken out of me.

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I saw it, a dark figure perched on one of

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the branches of the.

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Speaker 2: Old oak tree. My breath hitched.

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Speaker 1: It was hunched over, completely, still watching me from its spot.

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Speaker 2: High in the tree. I could barely make it out,

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but it was there, unmoving.

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Speaker 1: I felt my chest tighten, and before I could think,

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I backed away toward the door. Then came a sudden,

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violent rustling from the tree, like something big was shifting.

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I stumbled backward, my heart pounding in my throat. I

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ran inside, slamming the door behind me, screaming, Luise, you

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gotta come out here, ma'am. Something is outside. Luise was

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scrubbing down the fryer, barely lifting his head. What no,

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just come, there's something strange in the tree, I swear.

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He rolled his eyes but followed me to the front.

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I pointed to the oak tree outside the window, but

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the figure was gone, nothing but empty branches, swaying ever

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so slightly. Dude, you're seeing things. It's probably an animal.

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It wasn't a damn animal. It was some other thing,

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like one of those skin walkers Jeremy used.

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Speaker 2: To talk about.

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Speaker 1: I said, my voice shaking, but I couldn't explain it,

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not really. He shrugged and went back to cleaning, leaving

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me staring at the tree.

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Speaker 2: The rest of the shift was tense for me.

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Speaker 1: Every creak, every little noise made me jump, but I

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tried to push it down, convincing myself that I was

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just tired. By the time we finished, I just wanted

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to get the hell out of there. Louise walked ahead,

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and I fumbled with my keys as we reached my car.

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Just as I slid into the driver's seat, Louise stopped

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dead in his tracks. Hold up, who's that? I froze,

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looking up. He was staring off into the forest, past

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the dim glow of the lights, toward the edge where

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the trees loomed. What do you mean there's no one there.

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He's right there, man, standing by the trees. He's waving.

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I felt a cold sweat break out on the back

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of my neck.

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Speaker 2: There was nobody there.

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Speaker 1: I strained my eyes, but all I saw were the trees,

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thick and unmoving in the darkness.

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Speaker 2: Louise, there's no one there. He just wait? Where did

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he go?

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Speaker 1: Before I could respond, the tree branches above the car

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began to shake violently, as if something huge was thrashing

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through them. My hands trembled as I gripped the steering wheel.

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What the hell is that? We need to go now?

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I started the car as Louise jumped in, but before

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I could shift into drive, something landed on the roof

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with a sickening thudd. The entire car rocked, the metal

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groaning under the weight of whatever had dropped on us.

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Louise screamed. My chest tightened. I couldn't move, couldn't breathe.

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What the hell was that? Louise was frozen, his eyes wide,

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his hands gripping the dashboard.

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Speaker 2: Just thrive, Thrive.

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Speaker 1: I slammed my foot on the gas tires, screeching as

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we tore out. We didn't speak the entire drive back,

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my hands shaking the whole time. The next morning, we

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went back to check the security footage, half expecting to

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see something, anything that would make sense of the night.

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We fast forward through the hours, but the cameras didn't

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show anything. No figures, no rustling trees, just empty footage.

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But as we walked back to the car, my stomach

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dropped the roof of the car.

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Speaker 2: There were claw.

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Speaker 1: Marks, deep jacket scratches etched across the roof, like something

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had tried to tear its way inside. I swallowed hard,

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and that's when I noticed something wedged into the window frame,

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a note, scrawled and smudged shaky letters.

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Speaker 2: We watching