Speaker 1: I had always heard the rumors about the old building,
the way people said it was cursed, haunted by the suicides,
from years back when it was an office complex.
Speaker 2: And it's twenty twenty four and.
Speaker 1: I was working at McDonald's, not some horror movie set.
Yet that night changed everything.
Speaker 2: It was a.
Speaker 1: Tuesday, dead slow as usual. I texted my boyfriend Ryan
to come by. We were both making ends meet and
on some nights i'd just stay back late and have
our dinner date there in the McDonald's.
Speaker 2: It was getting late and there was no sign of him.
Speaker 1: I stood behind the counter, scrolling through my phone when
I saw a shadow moving toward the door.
Speaker 2: Finally Ryan.
Speaker 1: I decided to mess with him and crouch behind the counter,
ready to jump out and scare him. As soon as
he walked in. The bell above the door chimed softly
as it opened. I held my breath, but nothing, no footsteps,
no sounds. I waited, hunting the seconds in my head. Five, ten, fifteen,
Still nothing Ryan, I whispered, peeking over the counter. The
dining area was empty. The door had closed, but no
one had come in. My heart fluttered with the sudden unknees.
I stood up slowly scanning the room. Maybe he was
messing with me too and had to be it. I
walked around the counter, checking the tables, even the bathroom door.
Speaker 2: Ryan, Seriously, this isn't funny.
Speaker 1: No answer, just the low hum of the machines and
the weight of the empty restaurant pressing in on me.
Then out of nowhere, there was a loud crash outside.
My heart jumped, and I rushed out to see what
had happened, fearing the.
Speaker 2: Worst, what if Ryan was hurt?
Speaker 1: The parking lot was empty that there was a trash
can lying on its side, the metal bent like something
had fallen on it from above. I stood frozen, staring
at it. There was no one around, no cars, no wind,
no reason for it to be knocked over like that.
I hadn't even heard any footsteps. Just as I was
about to head back inside, I heard someone call.
Speaker 2: My name, Stacy.
Speaker 1: I spun around to see Ryan sprinting towards me, out
of breath and pale as a ghost. He grabbed my arms,
his eyes wide with fear, and he looked around desperately.
Speaker 2: Did you see that? See what? I saw?
Speaker 1: Someone jump? Stacy from the roof right here? He pointed
to the top of the building, his voice shaking. I
followed his gaze to the roof, but there was no
one there.
Speaker 2: There's no one up there, Ryan, you're freaking me out.
I'm serious.
Speaker 1: Someone jumped from the roof. They should have fallen right here.
The look in his eyes told me he wasn't joking.
I glanced back at the trash can, the dent in
the metal. I had heard the loud sound well, but
I didn't want to believe it, nor tell about it
to Ryan.
Speaker 2: Come on, let's go inside, I said, pulling him toward
the door. It's probably just.
Speaker 1: Suddenly a figure moved in the window reflection behind us.
Speaker 2: I froze. We spun around, but the parking lot was
still empty. Nothing. I locked the door behind us in
a hurry.
Speaker 1: I tried telling myself it was just my imagination running wild.
But then Ryan glanced toward the kitchen. Is Ramon still here?
His voice was tight, like he was trying to stay calm.
Speaker 2: No, he left an hour ago.
Speaker 1: Why then, who else is doing the graveyard shift, Solomon?
Speaker 2: No one, It's just me, I swear.
Speaker 1: I just saw someone walk into the kitchen and I
turned to look, my stomach dropping the door to the
kitchen was swinging ever so slightly, like someone had just
passed through.
Speaker 2: Could be one of those kids they'd get high and
steal burgers in the night.
Speaker 1: But something didn't feel right. The air felt off, thick.
I went inside the kitchen, but there was no one.
Ryan followed, puzzled himself. That is when suddenly the fryer
turned on by itself, the oil bubbling violently. I jumped back,
my heart slamming in my chest. What the hell is happening?
I didn't answer, too busy watching the fryer. As the
heat climbed higher, smoke beginning to curl from the oil,
and just then a loud bang echoed through the kitchen.
The metal spatulas and pans started falling, crashing onto the floor. Stacy,
we need to get out of here. Ryan was already
backing away, his voice shaking. I ran to the fryer,
trying to shut it off, but the buttons wouldn't work.
As I pulled away, the lights flickered, My breath caught
in my throat. In one of those flashes, I saw
something someone standing in the doorway to the kitchen, a
figure tall and shadowed, watching us.
Speaker 2: The lights came back on he was gone. Ryan pulled
me toward the door. Let's go. We sprinted outside.
Speaker 1: My hands were shaking so badly I dropped the keys twice.
Speaker 2: We got into Ryan's car and drove away.
Speaker 1: That is when I glanced in the rearview mirror and
saw a figure standing in the window of the McDonald's
dark with glowing right eyes. It had been a brutal
month ever since James lost his job.
Speaker 2: We were barely holding it together.
Speaker 1: His new gig at the garage didn't cover the bills,
and my late shifts and McDonald's left me running on fumes.
But none of that could have prepared me for that.
It had just been a week since I started bringing
my seven year old to work. Isabella didn't mind, though,
she loved it, especially when he was there, Kevin, the
guy who played Ronald McDonald. Every time he came in
dressed in that ridiculous costume, Isabella's eyes would light up
and she'd rush over to him. He'd let her sit
on his lap, play games with her, and even give
her a little happy meal toys in the Lost and
Found box. But there was something about him that made
my skin crawl. It wasn't just his costume, it was him.
His crooked teeth and pale blue eyes never seemed to
blink enough. None of his smiles reached his eyes. I
told Isabella to stay away from him, but she was whipped.
The night was no different. The dinner rush hit hard.
I could barely hear myself think over the noise. Isabella,
as always was with Kevin, it was entertaining the kids.
He cracked some joke and the kids irrupted into giggles.
Speaker 2: It had to be just a second.
Speaker 1: I turned away, just long enough to hand over a tray,
though when I looked back, Isabella was gone, and so
was Kevin. Panic surged through me like ice water. I
scanned the room frantically, looking for her in the crowd
of customers.
Speaker 2: Nothing. I saw him, heading out back.
Speaker 1: One of my coworkers muttered. My heart slammed against my chest.
As I shoved open the back door, the alley yawned
before me, dim and cold.
Speaker 2: Bella, I yelled, running like a woman gone mad. Silence.
She wasn't in sight, Bella. I cried again.
Speaker 1: Then I heard it, a quiet sobbing mingled with the
soft cooing of another voice from behind the dumpster.
Speaker 2: It's all right, dear, You're all right.
Speaker 1: We don't have to tell Mommy, okay, she'd just worry unnecessarily, Kevin.
I froze, My heart pounded against my ribs as I
got closer. His words made my blood run cold, and
all the fears I'd ever had about this man came
to the surface. Isabella sniffle, But what about all.
Speaker 2: The blood so all over my dress? Hommy's going to
be mad.
Speaker 1: I rushed toward the dumpster, my mind filled with images
of the worst nightmares imaginable.
Speaker 2: I rounded the corner and there they were.
Speaker 1: Isabella sitting on Kevin's lap, her dress smeared with dark
red stains. She was crying, and Kevin was holding her,
his hands covered in blood. I saw red. I didn't
even think. I grabbed a nearby rock and threw it
at him. The force of my fear and anger drove
me forward.
Speaker 2: You sick monster, I.
Speaker 1: Screamed, lunging at him, trying to pull Isabella away from him.
Speaker 2: I knew it, you pedophile.
Speaker 1: Kevin barely flinched as the rock hit him. His pale
blue eyes looked up at me, wide and shocked, but
still that same unnerving calm, Michelle, wait, he started, but
I listening.
Speaker 2: How could you to a seven year old? I screamed,
my hands shaking get away from her.
Speaker 1: At that moment, some of the employees came rushing out,
drawn by the commotion. They froze, looking at the scene
the blood. Isabella crying, Kevin sitting there with the strange,
unreadable expression, slowly getting angry. Follow me, Kevin snarled as
he dragged me behind the dumpster. There was something small
and furry lying on the ground in a pool of.
Speaker 2: Blood of raccoon. He attacked me. Mommy, Kevin, he she
saved me.
Speaker 1: I felt the world tilt beneath me, my breath caught
in my throat as the reality of the situation hit
me with a tidal wave of guilt.
Speaker 2: Kevin had saved my daughter.
Speaker 1: I stumbled back, my hands trembling, the rocks slipping from
my grasp.
Speaker 2: Mind reeled, trying to process what I had done, what
I had thought, I didn't know. I stammered, my voice breaking,
I thought.
Speaker 1: Kevin's eyes softened and he gave me that same crooked smile,
the one that I had always hated. But now it
looks different, kinder, somehow, it's okay, Michelle, he said quietly.
Speaker 2: I get it.
Speaker 1: I know how I look. Hideous, people think things. I
felt like a fool, an absolute fool. I had judged him,
I had hated him because of the way he looked,
because he made me feel uneasy, and in the end,
he had been the one to protect my daughter when
I wasn't paying attention. I'm sorry, I whispered, my voice,
barely audible. Kevin just smiled again. No need to apologize.
I judge me too if it were my kid. That night,
as I held Isabella close, I realized how deceiving appearances
could be. Sometimes the people who look the scariest can
be the ones who save you, And sometimes the ugliest
things are just the shadows of our own fear. Working
the night shift at McDonald's always had an eerie quiet
to it. There wasn't much action past midnight, just the
occasional car pulling into the drive through and the lonely
sounds of the highway a mile away. The McDonald's was
at the edge of a small town, surrounded by a
thick forest. We didn't belong there. It was like the
forest wanted to swallow us up. I was the closer
that night, cleaning tables while Louise handled the kitchen. Since
it was a boring job, I had my earphones on
listening to some Lincoln Park bangers while cleaning the tables,
but soon I heard some disturbance from outside. I took
on my earphones when I heard it, faint at first,
like a soft shuffling just outside the window, like someone
or something was moving outside. I turned toward the big
window that faced the woods, but all I could see
was the reflection of the empty dining area, and myself curious,
I stepped outside the night, air biting at my skin,
I stared into the thick trees. The forest was still,
not even a breeze moving through the branches, no animals,
no wind, just dead silence. But as I turned to
go back inside, I had the daylight shaken out of me.
I saw it, a dark figure perched on one of
the branches of the.
Speaker 2: Old oak tree. My breath hitched.
Speaker 1: It was hunched over, completely, still watching me from its spot.
Speaker 2: High in the tree. I could barely make it out,
but it was there, unmoving.
Speaker 1: I felt my chest tighten, and before I could think,
I backed away toward the door. Then came a sudden,
violent rustling from the tree, like something big was shifting.
I stumbled backward, my heart pounding in my throat. I
ran inside, slamming the door behind me, screaming, Luise, you
gotta come out here, ma'am. Something is outside. Luise was
scrubbing down the fryer, barely lifting his head. What no,
just come, there's something strange in the tree, I swear.
He rolled his eyes but followed me to the front.
I pointed to the oak tree outside the window, but
the figure was gone, nothing but empty branches, swaying ever
so slightly. Dude, you're seeing things. It's probably an animal.
It wasn't a damn animal. It was some other thing,
like one of those skin walkers Jeremy used.
Speaker 2: To talk about.
Speaker 1: I said, my voice shaking, but I couldn't explain it,
not really. He shrugged and went back to cleaning, leaving
me staring at the tree.
Speaker 2: The rest of the shift was tense for me.
Speaker 1: Every creak, every little noise made me jump, but I
tried to push it down, convincing myself that I was
just tired. By the time we finished, I just wanted
to get the hell out of there. Louise walked ahead,
and I fumbled with my keys as we reached my car.
Just as I slid into the driver's seat, Louise stopped
dead in his tracks. Hold up, who's that? I froze,
looking up. He was staring off into the forest, past
the dim glow of the lights, toward the edge where
the trees loomed. What do you mean there's no one there.
He's right there, man, standing by the trees. He's waving.
I felt a cold sweat break out on the back
of my neck.
Speaker 2: There was nobody there.
Speaker 1: I strained my eyes, but all I saw were the trees,
thick and unmoving in the darkness.
Speaker 2: Louise, there's no one there. He just wait? Where did
he go?
Speaker 1: Before I could respond, the tree branches above the car
began to shake violently, as if something huge was thrashing
through them. My hands trembled as I gripped the steering wheel.
What the hell is that? We need to go now?
I started the car as Louise jumped in, but before
I could shift into drive, something landed on the roof
with a sickening thudd. The entire car rocked, the metal
groaning under the weight of whatever had dropped on us.
Louise screamed. My chest tightened. I couldn't move, couldn't breathe.
What the hell was that? Louise was frozen, his eyes wide,
his hands gripping the dashboard.
Speaker 2: Just thrive, Thrive.
Speaker 1: I slammed my foot on the gas tires, screeching as
we tore out. We didn't speak the entire drive back,
my hands shaking the whole time. The next morning, we
went back to check the security footage, half expecting to
see something, anything that would make sense of the night.
We fast forward through the hours, but the cameras didn't
show anything. No figures, no rustling trees, just empty footage.
But as we walked back to the car, my stomach
dropped the roof of the car.
Speaker 2: There were claw.
Speaker 1: Marks, deep jacket scratches etched across the roof, like something
had tried to tear its way inside. I swallowed hard,
and that's when I noticed something wedged into the window frame,
a note, scrawled and smudged shaky letters.
Speaker 2: We watching