 I lit my cigarette, my eyes focused on the dark road in front of me. It was one in the morning, and I was really tired. I'd been driving for hours and was in the middle of nowhere. There had been a motel about 20 miles back, but I'd driven on by, hell bent, I'm keeping going. My stomach growled menacingly. I glanced in my rear view, trying to recall how long it had been since I'd eaten last dinner last night. I decided to pull in at the next fast food place that I saw. A break would do me good, and if I still felt this tired by the time that I'd eaten, then perhaps a quick nap in the car before continuing on wouldn't be such a bad call either. I blew smoke out of the window, trying to ignore the hunger pangs in my stomach. I was always being reminded to eat. I turned the music up louder. I wasn't going to think about that. It was about 20 minutes before the golden arches came into view. Thank God I muttered as I pulled off of the highway. I threw my cigarette butt out of the window, and used my car into the McDonald's parking lot. The place was brightly lit, and was as inviting as any McDonald's could be, though I couldn't see anyone inside. There were no cars in the drive-through, or even in the parking lot for that matter. Not that I had really been expecting anyone. The highway itself had been pretty much deserted for miles. It struck me as a little odd that there were no cars at all in the parking lot, though. Turning my music right down, I crawled toward the menu board. I felt like ordering the whole damn thing. The speaker next to the board crackled to life, and a man's voice came through. Welcome to McDonald's. May I take your order? I gave a small sigh of relief. There was someone here. Uh, hi. Could you give me a minute, please? Certainly, sir. Just let me know when you're ready. Thank you. My eyes scanned the board, trying to be quick, though God knows there wasn't a rush on his end. I was his sole customer, and probably had been for quite some time, if the roads were anything to go by. All the same, I hated it when people had to wait on me. The speaker was still on, and I could tell that he was waiting on my order. I hurriedly decided between a couple of options, and then spoke out toward the speaker rapidly. Uh, right. I'll take a double quarter pounder combo, and, uh, no, wait. A quarter pounder deluxe combo, actually. Quarter pounder deluxe? Yes, please. And for the drink I'll have. I'm sorry, sir. Could you hold on for just a moment, please? Uh, yeah, sure. Thank you. I'll be right with you shortly. No problem. The speaker shut off, and I gazed up at the board, double-checking my decision. Once I was absolutely sure of what I wanted, I finally looked away and gazed ahead at the empty drive-through. I rolled my head a little, trying to relieve some of the tension in my neck. The bright restaurant windows flooded the drive-through road with light. My heavy eyes focused on the golden pool closest to me, and I started to zone out. God, what I would have given for a nice full stomach in a comfortable bed right now. Suddenly my eyes snapped up. The light in the first window had gone out, and the first half of the drive-through had been plunged into darkness. I instinctively turned to face the speaker, waiting for it to crackle on again. Nothing. The lights in the second window suddenly shut out, plunging the remainder of road into darkness. I sat up straight. I tried to relax. Sure, it felt a little eerie, but it was only a drive-through for God's sake. The speaker crackled again once more, and I jumped. My apologies, sir. May I resume taking your order? Uh, yeah, yeah. So it was a quarter-pounder deluxe combo. Large fries, please. Large fries? All right. And for your drink? I'll just take a chocolate milkshake. Chocolate shake? Sure. Anything else? Uh, I was contemplating nuggets, and the speaker suddenly shut off. I grit my teeth, trying not to let my hunger and tiredness get the better of me. What was it going to take just for one thing to go right today without any hassle? I sat for a couple of minutes, waiting for him to return. Nothing. Screw this. I muttered, ready to drive off. Before I could do so, however, the speaker once again crackled back to life. My apologies for that, sir. Slight glitch in the system. It's fine. So that's a quarter-pounder deluxe combo with large fries and a chocolate shake. Will that be all for you today? Yes. Thank you. All right. If you could just make your way to the first window, please. Sure. The speaker cut out, and I crawled forward into the dark. I was vexed. I just wanted to get the hell out of there. Everything was a damn roadblock today. I rolled up to the first window and looked in. The place was in darkness. A man's form appeared, and he slid the window open. I couldn't really see him that well, but I could tell from his voice that he was the same man that had taken my order. I felt instantly on edge as he greeted me in the dark and took my card. Was this some kind of joke? He handed it back. Thank you, sir. Window number two. Uh, thanks. Before I could drive forward, the lights in window two suddenly flooded back on. Card between my teeth. I eased forward gently toward the window and came to a halt. My blood froze. The same man stood there, clutching my bag of food. On any other occasion, this would have been a complete normality, except that he was absolutely covered in blood. His face, his hands, his clothing, even his hair and lips. My eyes fell to the bag that he held. The entire bottom was soaked. I felt sick. Here you go, sir. He smiled, holding the bag out to me. Enjoy your meal. Shock and terror had risen up like bile from my stomach. My face was on fire. I could feel my quickened pulse pounding fiercely. I knew that I should speed away. I knew that. But instead, I found myself slowly reaching out and taking the bag from his bloody hand. I stared at him in horror and he smiled. After a moment, he slowly slid the window shut. My hand was still gripping the sopping bag, now dripping onto my legs. He stood there silently, staring at me from behind the glass. Out of nowhere, my senses kicked in and I sped off, flooring it right over a grassy mound. I didn't care. I was desperate to get to the highway. As I sped along, I fought back the urge to be sick. Throwing my window open, I threw the dripping bag out of the car with all my might. I never knew what the contents of that bag had been, and I didn't want to know.