It was a busy day for a Quike on the Couch fast food restaurant located at the intersection between Yonge, and Gerrard. Customers were coming in droves, to buy all manner of cold treats as a means to escape the infernal summer heat. Further helped (or worsened, depending on how you look at it), by the fact that this one restaurant was one of the few in the downtown Toronto area, that had a working ice cream machine that has yet to throw it's non-existent arms in the air and simply give up.

"Hello, may I take your order?" asked a woman with short wavy hair as red as raw bacon, wearing a vomit inducing yellow colored uniform that had a plastic name tag clipped onto the top left area of her chest, with the words "Name: Emily" printed on it in bold letters. She manned the cash register with a friendly smile and an inviting personality that beamed with the intensity of a light house powered by a nuclear reactor.

"Milkshake. Chocolate" said a customer, as the red haired woman nodded and said "one chocolate milkshake coming right up". She looked back, and was about to shout to her colleagues for one chocolate milkshake. Until she saw the busy sight of five people trying to prepare 10 orders. Two of whom, were currently fighting the ice cream machine trying to make a simple cup of frozen yogurt.

Emily let out an exhausted sigh, her smile slipping for a brief moment, replaced by a tired look that was the expression equivalent of the phrase "I've spent 15 years of my life working towards getting a degree on a major that can't get you a good job so you end up working at a fast food restaurant to make money with a degree hung up on your wall at home that's basically a paper weight at this point". All the while a feeling of hunger, one that had been repressed ever since she had begun her shift for the day, emerged from the depths of her stomach. Stronger than before, rippling through the muscle tissue, and skin, as a low growl.

She looked at her stomach with a frown, and then at the clock nearby before turning her attention at the chaotic sight unfolding in front of her. Which currently consisted of one of her colleagues, hurling packed burgers out the drive thru window like a baseball pitcher throwing several fast balls, on fire.

'Just a little bit more…' thought Emily, as she forced back the hunger that her stomach lowly bellowed. Silencing its quiet howl, as she took in a breath through her nostrils and brought back the smile from before. Along with the enthusiasm of a golden retriever who just saw his human in 6 years.

With some new found pep in her step, she walked into the back where all of the machines were. Getting to work on making a chocolate milk shake. She walked over to a large machine, pushed some buttons as she pulled up a cup.

"Help! Somebody help!" exclaimed an employee with spiky black hair, as he used a plastic tray that he somehow got his hands on, as a shield to protect himself from an onslaught of ice cream fired in frozen blobs from a nozzle that was currently being wrestled by a dark skinned man with black thinly shaved hair.

"Oh Christ" muttered Emily, as she stopped what she was doing and ran past the spiky haired lad.

"I can't stop it, Preston! It's too strong!" exclaimed the dark skinned employee, as he struggled with great difficulty to hold the nozzle in place.

As Emily rushed past Preston, he shouted "Emily, look out!" "I know" replied Emily, as she ran towards the controls of the machine, as the nozzle managed to throw the dark skinned employee onto the ground with enough flailing around.

"Well, I tried" he said, as he lay flat on the ground as Emily bobbed and weaved past the myriad of ice cream blobs that were sent flying in her general direction. Emily managed to reach the controls, and with the push of a button, she was able to deactivate the machine.

Preston peeked out from behind his plastic tray-turned shield, and breathed a sigh of relief at the deactivated ice cream machine.

"Thanks man, you're a life saver" said Preston, as the dark skinned man on the ground slowly rose onto his feet, his heart beat still at 170 bpm. "Yea, no kidding" he said, as Emily gave the two of them a mildly dumbfounded look. "I really shouldn't be surprised by this, and yet I am" said Emily, as she walked back towards the milkshake machine.

"Thanks, Emily" said both Preston, and the dark skinned employee as he rose onto his feet.

"You're welcome, as always" she said, as she glanced back with an empty smile, as her mind did it's best to prevent her stomach from bellowing like a sleeping dragon.

She reached the milkshake machine, and continued to push some buttons, while holding a plastic cup under the machines nozzle. Once again, that feeling of hunger from before reappeared. Emerging from the depths of her stomach, like a monstrous beast on the verge of being awakened. It rippled throughout her body, spreading across her nervous system and hitting her mind like a sledge hammer to the head. Her left eye twitched a little, as she lightly bit her tongue. Doing her best to hold the hunger down.

Making the milkshake felt like it took forever, as Emily mentally pushed down her incessant feeling of hunger as hard as she could. By the time the milkshake was made, she breathed a sigh of relief and quickly plopped a plastic cover on top of the cup and walked over to the cashier where the customer was.

"Here you go" she said hurriedly, as she hastily pulled out a still freshly wrapped plastic straw from underneath the counter and handed it, along with the milkshake, to the customer.

The man nodded, and walked away as another behind him stepped up to the cashier. She glanced at the clock once more, as her hunger got even harder to ignore than before.

'This is going to be a long day…' she mentally lamented, whilst looking out onto the sea of people that were pushing each other aside in attempts to try and get into/out of the restaurant.

'And it had to be a busy day too…' she thought, as she mentally cursed the powers at be for her current predicament.

Emily tore through her bag, like a starving wild dog looking for food. The level of desperation she had was at an all time high, and the hunger from before, that had been minor and easy to ignore. Had now become too loud, for her to repress. Like an operatic gremlin screaming in a high pitch tone, and blaring into a megaphone standing right next to her ear.

Her eyes were bordering on bloodshot, and as she frantically scoured her bag. 'Damn it, where is it? Where is it?!' she thought, as her hands dug through the bag with haste. She was a hairs breadth away from losing herself to the hunger that had started to take over most of her mind. Dread, pulsated throughout her body making the hairs on her skin stand on end as she thought 'I couldn't have forgotten it, oh god I hope not!'

Fortunately, her hands felt a rectangular object deep within the bag. Sending a massive sensation of relief all throughout her body, as she grabbed said object and yanked it out of the bag with the strength of gorilla who had been starving for a month.

'Oh thank god' thought Emily, as she ripped the lid off of the Tupperware container and took one of the two sandwiches out. Biting into it with the ferocity of a glutton that had been travelling in a desert for weeks without food and had just gotten their hands on an uneaten beef burrito with extra cheese.

She scarfed down the sandwich in the span of a couple of seconds, by the time she had shoved half of the second sandwich into her mouth. The familiar out-loud narration, of a colleague coming from behind her caught her eye (or ear).

"And here, seated on a foldable metal chair, hunched over with a sandwich shoved half way into her mouth is the elusive eerily human looking mammal named 'Emily'" said a woman who looked to be older than Emily, wearing the company uniform, with long raven colored hair and black eyes. Who had just entered the break room, the same way Emily had.

She turned around to face the raven haired woman, and said a muffled "god damn it, Samantha".

"Finish your food, dear. Don't want to choke to death on a sandwich, and have that be your cause of death" said Samantha, as Emily shoved the rest of her sandwich in her mouth, chewed it to bits, and swallowed it whole.

"Though, it'll give the coroner doing the autopsy a good laugh" said Samantha, as Emily smiled and said "I don't think so, I mean there are people who die from erotic asphyxiation".

"That's true, but not a lot of people die from choking now a days" said Samantha, as she walked over to a plastic table where a water dispenser was. "I, uh…don't think that's right" replied Emily, as Samantha pulled up a cup from a nearby stack and poured herself a cup of water from the water dispenser.

"Tomato, tomato" replied Samantha, as she took a sip from her cup and walked over to Emily, taking a seat beside her.

"Did you skimp out on food in the morning again?" asked Samantha, as Emily let out a defeated sigh and said "yea…"

She nodded her head sideways, and said "you can't keep ignoring your breakfast, it's the most important meal of the day for a reason". "I know, it's just…" said Emily, as she sighed, not really knowing how to put what she was thinking into words.

"…difficult" said Emily, as Samantha said "you know I could just make something for you". Emily looked at the older woman, and said "oh, no I could never ask for something like that". "Making a couple extra sandwiches, and the occasional pasta?" asked Samantha with a raised brow, as she took a sip from her cup. Emily nodded, and Samantha replied "it's no trouble, especially if it would help stop you from shoving food into your mouth like a ravenous blood hungry vacuum cleaner".

"It's really quite unbecoming" said Samantha, as Emily gave her a light smile.

"Thank you, really…" she said, as Samantha waved it off saying "like I said, it's no trouble". "So long as it's not a symptom of something else, right?" asked Samantha, as he cocked her head to the side and gave Emily as an inquisitive look.

Emily gave her a blank smile, and said "nope, just carelessness…with a little bit of ignorance sprinkled in".

Samantha nodded, as she finished her cup of water. "That's good to hear" she said, as the pungent smell of nicotine wafted into her nostrils. It was faint, but it was there. She traced the source of the smell, using her nose as her guide, and found that it came from Samantha.

"Samantha…" said Emily, as she got up from her seat and began walking towards the dust bin near one of the doors that lead directly outside. "Hmm?" she asked, as she glanced back at Emily. "I thought you quit smoking" said Emily confidently, as she looked at her with a look of slight surprise. 'How did you…' she thought, as she said "it's a work in progress". Crushing the cup she held in her hand, and throwing it into the dust bin.

"I just started trying to, but it's getting better. I promise" she said apologetically, as Emily replied "as long as you eventually stop doing it altogether". "I will" said Samantha, as Emily replied "for the kids".

Samantha nodded, with a stoic look on her face as she said "for the kids". She turned around, and started walking towards the door from which she came. "I'm going to head back out, everyone's flooded with work up to their neck" she said, as she reached the door and placed a hand on the door knob. "Join us, when you're done so we can all try and survive till the end of our shifts" said Samantha, as she looked back with a smile.

"Will do" replied Emily, as she gave Samantha a smile of her own. The older woman nodded, before leaving the room. Emily was now alone to her thoughts, and the empty Tupperware container that she held in her hands. Staring at the empty plastic receptacle she held in her hands, Emily let out a distressed sigh. Accompanied by her stomach's gluttonous growl, and the hunger that still remained. Barely dented by the fist sized ham and cheese sandwiches she had just devoured.

'Two of them were enough for me last time...guess I'm getting hungrier...' thought Emily, as a look of defeat mixed with worry flashed onto her face. Hanging her head down, she thought 'I don't know how much longer I can go on like this, and where's charl-'

Just then, her phone, located within one of her pants pockets vibrated. Pulling the phone out, and unlocking it. Her eyes were flashed with a hint of excitement, while relief briefly flushed through her body.

'Think of the devil, and though shall respond' thought Emily, as she quickly tapped through menus, to get to a text conversation she has with an old friends of hers named 'Charlotte'. The text she was looking at read "hey Em, I think I got something to help curb your hunger", and attached to it was an image that detailed the profile of a man who was in his early 30's, with a 5'o clock shadow, a lightly tanned skin complexion, and hazel colored eyes.

The next text sent right after read "his name is Logan Martinez, a scumbag who's currently walking free after all the evidence against him 'mysteriously' disappeared from the evidence locker. He was charged with multiple accounts of child abduction and assault, FYI. You can find him in his apartment at 77 Gerrard West, room 247. No window entry this time, but I'm sure you could manage. It's not your first time, after all. So hope this helps".

Emily sighed, thinking 'thanks for making my life easy, Charlotte'. She took a look at the image once more, thinking 'goes to show that criminals can come from all kinds of different places'.

'I don't really want to do this…' thought Emily, as she glared at the image of the criminal. Her stomach growling a low, yet audible roar. All the while the hunger pains that had begun to show themselves during the middle of her current shift, rippled throughout every muscle fiber of her being. Making her shrivel in response.

She sighed, and thought 'but I got no choice…and at the very least, it won't be someone who's innocent'.

Locking her phone, and pocketing it. She packed up her container, and shoved it into her bag and zipped it up. After which she got up, and with as much strength as she could muster. She pushed back the nearly unbearable pains caused by her still unsatiated hunger, took in a deep breath and exhaled. Putting on a smile, and generating an aura of friendliness. She headed out of the break room, to help out her colleagues and finish her shift.

The sun had long since set, now replaced by the white full moon that lumbered over head. Casting its glow onto the streets of downtown Toronto, the endless blanket of darkness undisturbed by the sleeping city.

The sound of movement in the thick of night, managed to wake up a man in his early 30's sleeping in his room on the second floor of his apartment. His hazel eyes groggily opened, as he slowly rose his head. Eyes a flutter, he scanned his surroundings thinking 'was…that a sound'.

Then there was a loud crash, followed by the sound of shards of glass clattering on the ground. Sounds which woke the man up, his eyes darted open as he sprawled onto his feet. He reached for the closest thing he could get his hands on to use as a weapon, which happened to be a crowbar that was lying around. With the make shift weapon in hand, he left his bedroom. Stepping into the living room, adjoined to the kitchen with a half wall as the only means of separation. He cautiously made his way towards the light switch, his eyes scanning his surroundings for anything that doesn't belong.

Once within reach, he flipped the switch, illuminating the entire room with a blue fluorescence that only radiated through some of the room. The edges still covered in darkness, and only the center of the room being strongly lit. The ceiling light flickered continuously, at random intervals.

'Stupid light' the man thought, as he scoured the room to see where the sound had come from. Going past a wooden desk, and torn up couch, he came across a window. The glass of which was shattered, and lying on the ground in jagged shards. He was fortunate in that the ceiling light just barely illuminated the window, and the floor in front. Otherwise, he might have had to get closer to take a look, getting his feet cut up in the process.

Seeing the broken window, a flash of panic coursed through his veins as he stepped back whilst pulling his phone out from one of his shorts pockets. Clutching the crowbar in one hand, his eyes glancing every which way for a potential home invader, and his other hand dialing a number into his phone. He was on red alert, for whatever it was that had just broken into his home. But despite it all, he didn't hear the figure that slowly moved from underneath his desk. The figure that slowly walked along the ground, on all fours as silently as the night.

'Come on, come on…' thought the man, as a shadowy figure rose behind him to match him in height. Taking on a now human form, as it got ready to strike. From the periphery of his vision, he caught glimpse of something just on the edge of his sight. Dropping the phone, he swung his crowbar at whatever it was, which he assumed was his home invader.

His attack, however, missed its mark as the figure evaded his blow and made its move. A sharp pain struck the man's neck, as he felt something pierce his throat. Blood flooding his lungs, and mouth. Drowning in the crimson fluid, as the ceiling light's radiance revealed the figure. Clad in a drab grey hoodie, and unsuspecting black cargo pants, was Emily. Her mouth agape, and out of which extended out a long muscular tendril with a calcified pointed end that resembled the needle of a syringe. The end of which was currently impaled into the man's throat.

He tried to grab at the tendril, but his body wouldn't respond. His muscles went limp, as he let go of his crowbar which fell to the ground with a metallic "thud". His body was paralyzed, as blood dripped down his body from his throat for a bit before stopping entirely. He was no longer drowning in his own blood, but he couldn't move. His eyes started to twitch, as Emily got closer. Moving him towards a nearby wall, and pinning him against it. She watched, as the life in his eyes slowly started to fade. As the small opening on the pointed end of the muscular tendril, pumped a mixture of anti-coagulants, muscle relaxants, and a cocktail mixture of neurotoxins into the man's blood stream. All of which acted fast, immobilizing him completely. The neurotoxins got to work, inducing paralysis and neurological damage. His heart beat started to slow, as his vision started to blur. The whole world, from his perspective started to fade away. His last moments of life, being filled with fear, and the sight of a woman from whose mouth a monstrous tentacle, fleshy and red, thick with muscle fibers, jutted out. Impaling him in the throat.

It wasn't long before his heart stopped, at which point there was a mixture of corrosive acid, and digestive enzymes that flooded the man's body. Injected through the muscular syringe. The acid in conjunction with the enzymes got to work digesting his insides, liquefying the muscles, epithelial tissue, and organs in half an hour's time. Throughout which stayed still, the dead man still pinned against the wall. Her eyes as empty, as her stomach. The dissolved innards of the criminal, was sucked out through the opening of the muscular tendril. Forcing up the contents, and swallowing them down into her mouth in large gulps. Each time, her taste buds were struck with an almost ecstatic sensation of flavor. Lashing out at her hunger, like a swordsman battling an unspeakable evil. With each gulp of liquefied cellular matter, the hunger that had once been so hard to repress, started to die down. Once all of the man's melted insides, were drunk. The muscular tendril ripped itself out of the man's throat, and reeled back into her mouth.

The man was now a dried husk, his skin like paper and his hair like wax. His eyes were still wide open, forever frozen in fear.

Emily breathed a visible sigh of relief, as she let go of the corpse. Catching the body from falling and dragging it into the bathroom and dumping it into the bath tub. After which she walked back into the living room, and to the desk that she used as a hiding place. From underneath she pulled out a duffel bag, and slung it over her shoulder. She left the living room, turning off the lights before doing so.

"Hey, did you catch the news this morning?" asked Preston, as he unwrapped a sandwich and took a bite out of it. "When have I ever known to 'catch the news'?" asked his dark skinned friend, who was sitting on a metal foldable chair, playing a game on his phone.

"Point taken" said Preston, his voice a bit muffled as he chewed on a bit of sandwich and swallowed it.

"So what happened on the news?" asked the dark skinned employee, as he continued to play on his phone.

"Well, Derrek, apparently that child kidnapper who got off scot free due to lack of evidence went missing last night" said Preston, as he took another bite out of his sandwich. Derrek briefly glanced at Preston, when he mentioned his name, and gave the man a confused look before turning his attention back to his phone.

"So he just vanished into thin air?" asked Derrek, as Preston nodded while swallowing a bit of sandwich. Derrek shrugged, and said "well judging by the fact that he was a child abductor, I'd say good riddance".

Preston finished the last of his sandwich, and crumpled up the aluminum wrapper. "I don't know man, I mean they didn't really have much evidence on him to begin with" said Preston, as he walked over to a trash can and tossed the crumpled up aluminum wrapper inside. Derrek only shrugged in response.

'If only you knew…' thought Emily, as she took a bite out of her sandwich while sitting on a metal foldable chair. The door leading outside of the restaurant from the break room, opened as Samantha walked in. Emily spotted her entering, and asked "hey Sam, out to get some fresh air?" Samantha walked over to Emily, saying "yup, and definitely not out smoking". Emily gave her judgmental look, and the older woman replied "I'm serious, you can check my bag or even my person". She extended out her hands, like someone about to be patted down by a security guard.

Emily lightly chuckled, and said "no, I believe you". Samantha's arms fell to her sides, as she pulled up a foldable metal next to Emily and took a seat. All the while Emily took a bite out of her sandwich. "So I hear that today is your last day working here…" said Samantha, as Emily swallowed a bit of sandwich and nodded. "Yup" said Emily, as she looked at Samantha while taking a bite out of her sandwich. "Moving onto bigger, and better things, eh?" asked Samantha, as Emily swallowed a bit of sandwich and said "more or less". Samantha nodded, and said "ah, well I wish you the best of luck". Emily smiled, and said "thanks, and you too on your quitting smoking endeavor". "I will, I promise. I mean, I've recently started seeing this group like you've suggested and it's been a big help so far. First time, I've headed out during my break JUST to get some fresh air' said Samantha, as Emily asked "and how was it?" The older woman looked at Emily, and said "feels refreshing".

Emily lightly chuckled, before taking a bite out of her sandwich. "Anyways, since this is your last day, and we're not that busy right now…" said Samantha, as she got up and walked over to the door that lead into the restaurants kitchen. When she reached the door, she turned around to look at Emily and said "…let's go get something to celebrate with". Emily raised a brow, and uttered a confused "huh?" Samantha gestured for her to follow, and left the break room. Emily sighed, and finished up her sandwich. Which didn't do much for her, since she wasn't at all hungry.

Walking into the kitchen, and following after Samantha. She found the older woman at the ice cream machine, holding an ice cream cone with a vanilla swirl. "Name your flavor, and let's celebrate your last day" said Samantha with a smile, as Emily said "uh…I don't think…"

"Nonsense, it's just two cones. No one would notice, and besides it's your last day working here. So enjoy it" said Samantha, as Emily shrugged and said "alright, if you say so. I'll have a chocolate swirl". "Wise choice" replied Samantha, as she pulled out a cone from a stack of cones held in a holder next to the ice cream machine. Held the empty cone under the nozzle, and pushed a button on the machine. A stream of chocolate of ice cream expelled out of the nozzle, and swirled into the cone, forming a twisted cone. Samantha offered the chocolate ice cream cone to Emily, which she happily accepted.

She took a lick of the chocolate swirl, and said "ah…nothing like an ice cream cone to cool off in the heat". Samantha nodded, and said "couldn't agree more". After that she quickly headed towards the break room, motioning Emily to follow saying "now let's head back before anyone takes notice".

'Of course' thought Emily, as she followed after Samantha into the break room. Samantha walked over to the door that lead outside, and said "heading out to enjoy some sunshine". "Try not to get a tan" replied Emily, as she sat down on a metal chair, and took a lick of her ice cream cone. "Can't make any promises" said Samantha, as she opened the door and left the break room.

Emily took a look around the break room, and found herself all alone. Preston, and Derrek were no where to be seen. 'All by myself…once again…' thought Emily, as she licked her ice cream cone.

'Like always' she thought, as she took a lick of her ice cream cone.

The End.