Episode Details

Let's get spooky!Story Number OneAfter HoursWritten by Patrick RainIt was bordering midnight when my eyes started to droop. The worst part about the night shift in any job, is that the poor soul who is assigned to it has to endure hours of boredom and sleep deprivation. I rested my arm on the cold marble counter top and tugged at my phone from my black jeans front pocket. I wore tight skinny jeans as it was more fit for my body's physique, so naturally trying to get something out of any pocket requires actual effort. I pulled out my phone with so much force that in an instant it popped out and flew directly out of my hand.It toppled to the hard-paneled floor and cracked. I sighed and picked it up off the ground. Just as I thought, it had cracked from the top right of the screen straight down the middle. I swore a string of curses under my breath and set it on the counter top. It was one of three instances in which I actually was given the night shift at the local bar I generally worked at for a bit above minimum wage. I was twenty-three years of age and had just gotten out of college.Like anything in the real world, you need money to stay alive. So I worked a selection of day and night jobs to keep myself occupied while also gaining in profit. This job was one of three, though the others hold little importance to my recent discovery. I yawned and rested my head into my hand and started to doze. Just then I heard the door to the establishment open. A cold breeze filled the air and I was immediately jolted awake. The person came over to the bar and took a seat at the farthest end of the long row of stools. It was a man relatively in his early twenties, same as me, and was visibly troubled.He wore a long-sleeve black shirt with a light neon yellow construction vest over it and deep blue jeans. His hair was a mess, his shirt had dirt all over the front of it and he was scruffy and unshaven. He had light blonde hair that was shaven and spiked up with gel along with light blue eyes. He wore a small name tag at shoulder level that looked worn down and covered in dirt. It was scratched out and messed up but I could make out the first letter of what seemed like a name. The letter was "J." He looked tired, shady, and very down in spirits, but again I worked at a bar and was used to people like this one."Hey f-fella, hit m-me with a B-Boilermaker.... Yeah thanks...."His voice trailed off in a grumbled mess of whispers that I couldn't make out. I gave him a sturdy nod in before he rested his head on the counter. I took my phone into my front pocket and prepared his beverage. For anyone who doesn't know a Boilermaker is a "depth charge" drink. It's normally used for drinking games and for anyone who is intentionally trying to get drunk. Trust me, I myself have had my fair share of party groups in and out of this bar. Hell I had to clean up a guy's vomit one night due to a lowly group of nine adults around thirty years of age coming in after a rave took place down the street.I finished preparing the man's drink and placed it down on the counter in front of me. I looked around but the man was nowhere in sight, I heard nothing and noticed that nothing was out of place. The only thing that managed to be different was there had been no man where there was before. I looked around confused with the drink resting on the counter in front of me. I shrugged and grasped the drink in my hand preparing to drain it into the sink. When I turned my back I heard a loud sneeze. I whipped around and there he was. The man sat at the counter again, only he was closer this time. He looked at me and with a sudden realization his drink was prepared and looked at me with a questionable expression on his face. I was startled and confused. The man that had appeared right in front of me wasn't there not even two seconds ago.I blinked a few times and