《U-Mart》


 1.

    Alexander and I were in the middle of an aisle quietly working on Product Presentation and Display when the woman rushed close to us.


    ¡°Are you boys all right? Are you safe?¡± the woman asked. Her eyes were wide and she seemed a bit harried, like she was in a rush.


    ¡°Of course, ma¡¯am. Is there an item I can help you locate today?¡± Alexander replied. His U-Mart Customer Recitations were always on point. Clear and concise, just as we had been taught.


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to feed me your lines. I know who you boys are and where you¡¯re from. Come with me. I¡¯ll get you out of here safely,¡± the woman dismissed Alexander with almost a sneer.


    It was my turn now. I hoped I didn¡¯t stumble over any of my Recitations. This woman looked like she would be the type to pounce all over something like that. ¡°Ma¡¯am, as a graduate of the U-Mart Children First Program, I can assure that we have received education, health-care and discipline that are all in compliance with our state¡¯s laws regarding such matters.¡±


    The woman breathed deep through her teeth and glared at me. ¡°Bullshit. The way they have you kids programmed like robots is disgusting. Come with me. My husband and I will adopt you. You¡¯ll be free,¡± The woman gestured towards the end of the aisle. A well-dressed man stood sentry, assumedly keeping an eye out for our store¡¯s U-Mart Security and Incident Team.


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid that¡¯s not something that we can do, ma¡¯am. We¡¯re members of the U-Mart family. Thank you all the same though, and, please, enjoy your shopping experience today,¡± Alexander said with a bright smile. He was always so perfect in these types of situations.


    The woman¡¯s eyes got wider and her mouth dropped open. ¡°No way. You¡¯re coming with me,¡± the woman whispered and grabbed Alexander by the wrist.


    I groaned to myself and slumped a little. Why didn¡¯t these two go after one of the Cart Kids out in the parking lot? They get snatched in droves and nobody cares. Alexander and I would be stuck after our shift now, filling out reports about what exactly transpired with the woman and what steps we took to keep it from escalating to this point.


    Alexander smiled still and grabbed the woman¡¯s wrist with his other hand. ¡°Tobias, her other appendage. Please,¡± he said.


    I took my cue and grabbed the woman¡¯s other arm with both hands. She shot us both a terrified look and called out to her husband. ¡°Craig! Help! They¡¯ve got me!¡±


    The husband looked over his shoulder and turned towards us. He was starting to break into a run when three of U-Mart¡¯s Security and Incident Team Members rounded the corner and tackled him. They had his arms behind his back and his face pressed to the floor in less than a second. A fourth member walked around after them and approached us.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.


    ¡°Ma¡¯am, I¡¯m afraid you and your companion are going to have to come with us today,¡± a man¡¯s voice said from behind the U-Mart Brand Face Shield.


    The woman dropped to her knees and started to cry. ¡°What are you going to do to us? We¡¯ll leave right now, I swear. Don¡¯t hurt us!¡±


    ¡°Again, ma¡¯am, I¡¯m afraid you and your companion are going to have to come with us today,¡± The U-Mart Security and Incident Team member repeated.


    Alexander and I let go of the woman¡¯s wrists and let her be dragged away from her husband. Alexander shrugged as we turned back to our Product Presentation and Display duties.


    The woman screamed as she was escorted towards the back of the store. Promises at first, but as her voice grew faint and she got farther away, the promises stopped and pure panic set in.


    ¡°I know what you¡¯re thinking, but nobody wants a Cart Kid,¡± Alexander said out of the corner of his mouth to me.


    ¡°Why not? They¡¯re easy to take home. You just pull up to one, grab them and throw them in your car,¡± I replied.


    Alexander sighed. ¡°Because they¡¯re dirty, that¡¯s why. And dumb. Nobody wants to take a kid that¡¯s dirty and dumb,¡± he said.


    ¡°I guess we¡¯re pretty lucky,¡± I said.


    ¡°No, just born correctly. It¡¯s like Mr. Parnassus said in his 1985 autobiography A Man Built By His Nation: Superior breeding knows no rules, it is simply a game of chance. One with an exceptional fortune to be won,¡± Alexander said.


    ¡°Do you believe it?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yes, absolutely,¡± Alexander answered.


    ¡°Then why did our parents abandon us then? On U-Mart property of all places?¡± I pressed.


    ¡°Because why wouldn¡¯t they? Have you not paid attention in U-Mart Origins and History class? Our parents knew about the Children First Program. It¡¯s consistently been rated as one of the best child placement and adoption services since it started almost thirty years ago. They knew we were going to get a superior education, healthcare, guaranteed employment and the best savings possible on all Quality Assured U-Mart products. It just makes sense to leave your kids here,¡± Alexander explained.


    I still wasn¡¯t sure. ¡°Gregory told me that he had seen my file and that my mom left me in a trash basket in the women¡¯s restroom,¡± I said.


    Gregory was another member of the Children First Program. He was loud and brash and, I felt, came on a little too strong with shoppers sometimes. He liked to declare that he was the only person with the skills for future management, but that didn¡¯t really bother me. Everybody in the Children First Program had been earmarked for management positions at one of the four thousand two hundred and twenty-three U-Mart stores around the country. What bothered me about Gregory was that he bragged about Mr. Bentworth supposedly giving him permission to look through our personal files. Now he claimed that he was the only one truly born on U-Mart premises, by U-Mart employees carefully selected by U-Mart Superior Management for the sole purpose of breeding the perfect Children First Program pupil.


    Alexander shook his head. ¡°Don¡¯t listen to him,¡± he said. ¡°Gregory doesn¡¯t know anything. Mr. Bentworth would never let him look at anything. It¡¯s against U-Mart Children First Protocol. Plus, I heard that Gregory was actually found in Frozen Foods and Dairy. His mom had left him sitting on a shelf in the cooler next to the U-Mart Brand Cottage Cheese. He had been in there for almost an hour and was practically frozen when they found him and that¡¯s why he acts the way he does.¡±

 2.

    Nobody was really sure when the stain was first noticed.


    ¡°I guess I¡¯ve been walking by it every day and just haven¡¯t seen it there,¡± the Stock and Inventory Specialist told his supervisor.


    ¡°And you¡¯re saying you think it¡¯s getting bigger?¡± the supervisor asked.


    The Stock and Inventory Specialist rubbed the back of his neck and shuffled his feet. ¡°I know it sounds crazy, but when it first caught my eye last week, maybe Thursday or Friday, it was no bigger than just your usual stain on the floor. Now it¡¯s probably double that,¡± he said.


    The supervisor leaned back in his chair and put his hands behind his head. ¡°What does it look like?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Sort of a light black, maybe dark purple. Looks like somebody dropped some grape jelly on the floor,¡± the Stock and Inventory Specialist said.


    ¡°Have you tried to clean it up at all?¡± the supervisor asked.


    ¡°That¡¯s the thing, sir. Ronnie, one of the other guys working down in the warehouse, he got a paper towel and tried to wipe it up. Whatever it is went through and burnt up his fingers really bad,¡± the Stock and Inventory Specialist explained.


    The supervisor nodded. Now that he thought about it, an all-department email had come through earlier that day. It was from the General Employment Safety Department warning all management to be on the lookout for some possible foreign infestation in the store.


    ¡°Do not interact with the substance until a corporate response team has been allowed ample time extract a sample and thoroughly analyze it,¡± the email had warned.


    Later on, another email had arrived in the supervisor¡¯s inbox. It was an Accident/Fatality report from the Health and Workplace Safety Standards Department. The email didn¡¯t list Ronnie by name, instead it made reference to a Stock and Inventory Specialist being run to the emergency room for an injury to their hand which, apparently, had somehow progressively gotten worse after arriving at the hospital.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    ¡°The employee has lost complete use of their hand and there is fear that the entire arm may need to be amputated,¡± the email read.


    ¡°Well, let me ask corporate what they think we should do with this stain,¡± the supervisor said. ¡°When I hear back, I¡¯ll come down to the warehouse and make sure we get it cleaned up properly.¡±


    The Stock and Inventory Specialist let out a sigh of relief and smiled. ¡°That whole thing with Ronnie got bad really quick and I wasn¡¯t sure what how we were going to handle that mess on the floor. I¡¯m glad I decided to come talk to you. Thank you so much,¡± he said.


    The supervisor got up and walked the Stock and Inventory Specialist to the door. ¡°Not a problem at all,¡± he said. ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m here for. Stop by anytime.¡±


    After his visitor had left, the supervisor picked up his phone, dialed a long sequence of numbers and waited for his prompt.


    ¡°Timothy Raines. Store one thousand, eight hundred and thirty-one. Level C, tier two, supply division,¡± he said when asked for name, location and clearance. There was always a wait whenever he called corporate so he leaned back in his chair and stared out the window until a series of beeps started on the other end.


    ¡°How can we help you today, Level C, tier two, supply division supervisor Raines?¡± a clipped, nasal voice said. The supervisor tried to determine if he was talking to a male or a female but didn¡¯t have any luck guessing a gender. That was one of the things when you called corporate, you were never sure who you were talking to, let alone if they were human or not.


    ¡°It¡¯s in reference to the emails that were sent out earlier by Health and Workplace. An S and I Specialist just came to my office and let me know there¡¯s some sort of mysterious blob on our warehouse floor. It¡¯s the one that hurt that guy¡¯s hand pretty bad when he tried to clean it up,¡± the supervisor said.


    A whirring noise started on the line and picked up intensity for a few seconds before stopping completely. ¡°Yes, we are aware of the situation and are monitoring it closely,¡± the voice said.


    ¡°I appreciate that,¡± the supervisor said, careful not to sound ungrateful. He had heard stories about what had happened to other supervisors when they accidently offended someone at the corporate headquarters. ¡°The reason I¡¯m calling is to notify you guys the S and I gave me the blob¡¯s location.¡±


    A couple of computerized bells chimed in different tones. ¡°Do you have the exact coordinates?¡± the voice asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t. Not at the moment. I¡¯m going to go down in a little bit and check it out. I¡¯ll get the coordinates then. The other thing I wanted to ask is what I should do till you guys send someone out to clean it up?¡± the supervisor asked.


    A hum sounded through the earpiece. ¡°Section off the area for the time being,¡± the voice said, barely audible over the continuing hum. ¡°Keep all employees a minimum distance of ten feet from the substance, regardless of workflow interruption. If there are any developments between now and when our team arrives, please contact us immediately,¡± the voice said and abruptly ended the call.

 3.

    ¡°Thank you for your purchase, Gladys. We hope you had a pleasurable experience with us today at U-Mart,¡± the self-checkout kiosk said.


    ¡°How do you know my name?¡± Gladys asked, confused how it could have possibly known who she was. She had made sure she paid with cash since going to a family reunion earlier in the summer.


    ¡°Aunt Gladys, never, and I mean never, pay with your card at U-Mart. They take your information and use it in all kinds of horrible ways. I¡¯ve seen all kinds of stories online about it. They¡¯ve done some really nasty stuff to people,¡± Gladys¡¯ niece, Joann, had told her with a shiver. Ever since then, Gladys kept her credit card locked in her glove compartment when she went inside U-Mart.


    Unnerved, Gladys quickly picked up her shopping bags and made for the exit. She could hear other shoppers being greeted at other self-checkout kiosks.


    ¡°Good afternoon, Ron, please scan the barcode on the items below.¡±


    ¡°If you have any questions, Tracy, don¡¯t hesitate to press the ¡°Help¡± button on the keypad.¡±


    ¡°Excellent savings today, Samantha. Utilizing those U-Mart Weekly Savings Flyer coupons saved you fourteen dollars and fifty-three cents. We congratulate you!¡±


    Gladys stopped for a moment and looked in horror. There were thirty kiosks, all occupied with customers, and all were chatting away merrily with the checkout screen in front of them.


    The sun was blinding when Gladys stepped out in the parking lot. She shielded her eyes and tried to remember what section she had parked in.


    ¡°It¡¯s some sort of hologram setup they have,¡± Joann had also told her. ¡°Pay attention sometime, it can be raining cats and dogs when driving down the highway, but when you pull into the parking lot, it¡¯s always clear skies and sunshine. It puts you in a good mood to spend money.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s either 2-G-1 or 2-G-2,¡± Gladys whispered to herself and stared out at the great expanse of the lot.


    ¡°Have trouble finding your vehicle today, ma¡¯am?¡± a voice startled Gladys.


    She turned and saw a man standing behind her, smiling.


    ¡°I just don¡¯t remember what subsection I parked in, no big deal,¡± she said and started to step away.


    ¡°Not a problem at all, if you know your make and model, I can look it up for you,¡± the man called out cheerfully. Gladys stopped and looked at him again. He had a long ponytail and his clothes looked ill-fitting and filthy. Still, he had to serve in some sort of official capacity, he was wearing an official U-Mart Parking Area Assistant vest after all.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t want to bother you,¡± Gladys said.


    The man waved a small handheld device. ¡°No bother at all, I¡¯ll just run it through my lookup here and give you an idea of where you need to go,¡± the man replied.


    Gladys took a deep breath and tried to will herself into trusting the man. He was still smiling, but there was something about him that made her uncomfortable.


    ¡°No, thank you,¡± she said and darted off with her bags as quickly as she could.


    Gladys walked down a row of parked cars and looked around.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure it was 2-G,¡± she muttered to herself. She had been walking for twenty minutes and the sun beating down overhead was starting to wear on her and doubt about her memory was starting to creep in.


    If only U-Mart had a place for customers to sit and take a rest. These parking lots are huge and people might need a break before they get to their automobiles. Maybe that¡¯s something they would like to hear about in an email about, she thought.


    ¡°Never give them your email address,¡± Joann had said. ¡°I¡¯ve heard stories from people that I know personally that have signed up for U-Mart¡¯s daily newsletter. At first, it¡¯s all great deals but after a while it turns into like hypnosis or something. They keep repeating the same words and phrases and before you know it, you¡¯re volunteering your bank account numbers and offering to try to talk your neighbors into joining.¡±


    Gladys sat down in the shade of a van and rummaged through her purse until she found her cell phone. She thought that maybe she could call U-Mart¡¯s Guest Care Line and they could send someone out to help her, but the phone didn¡¯t have any service and the battery had been drained down to almost nothing.


    ¡°This thing was plugged in all night,¡± she whispered. ¡°How is it almost dead?¡±


    Throwing her phone back in her purse, she leaned back against the van and closed her eyes. Within seconds, she slumped over, sound asleep.


    ¡°Looks like we got a Rip Van Winkle here!¡± a voice boomed Gladys out of her slumber. Bolting upright and blinking, she tried to make out the figure in front of her. It was a man, but not the one from before, this was somebody else. With the sun directly behind him, she couldn¡¯t quite make out his features, other than that he was exceptionally tall. So tall, in fact, if she didn¡¯t know better, she could have sworn he towered over the van she was lying next to.


    Gladys tried to scramble to her feet but found her strength was zapped. She was tired and quickly realizing very sunburnt.


    ¡°How long have I been here,¡± she asked. Her tongue felt swollen and her throat was dry.


    ¡°Long enough to get yourself quite the tan, I¡¯d say,¡± the man replied, his voice jovial.


    Gladys squinted up at him. She still couldn¡¯t see his mouth, or his nose, or his eyes. His profile seemed to vacuum up all the light from around him.


    ¡°I thought it was all a hologram out here. How did I get burnt if the sun isn¡¯t real,¡± she asked and tried to lift herself up again, but a feeling of nausea rose in her chest and she fell back to the ground.


    The man gently placed a hand under Gladys¡¯ arm and carefully helped her up. ¡°Holograms can still get you pretty good, especially when they¡¯re a U-Mart Brand Parking Lot and Facility General and Pleasant Hologram,¡± the man said.


    ¡°May I just stand here for a minute and get my wits? I¡¯m awfully tired,¡± Gladys said and leaned back against the van again.


    The man let out a chuckle, low and like a growl. ¡°Oh Gladys,¡± he said. ¡°You can stand there for as long as you like. You¡¯re not in any rush to get where you¡¯re going.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, what was that?¡± Gladys asked.


    ¡°You¡¯re here now. Under the sun with me,¡± the man said and leaned his face close to Gladys.


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand,¡± Gladys said, fear lurching into her stomach.


    The man wrapped his arms around Gladys and pulled her towards him. The air squeezed out of her lungs and she let out a gasp.


    ¡°Look at me, Gladys,¡± the man said.


    Gladys looked up at his face and tried, with all her might, to scream.