The Graveyard Shift

It was Joshua's first Graveyard shift at his local gas station. For some reason people who worked this shift never stayed more than a week. No one would explain why, or even return to get there check. Joshua being new, decided it was a great opportunity to get established with the company, so when the manager offered to give him the shift he jumped at the chance.

His coworkers tried to warn him that strange things happen around the gas station late at night, and some even said that you'll start seeing things as the hours passed. One even reported a coworker ending up in a mental hospital after only his 3rd day, but Joshua refused to listen.

The night had arrived, and Joshua's manager looked at him as pleased as could be. “I know you're new, but I think I think this will be a good fit for you. If you have any emergencies contact the station, okay?”

Joshua nodded, as his manager left for the night.

For hours Joshua walked around the gas station aimlessly, looking for things to do until 3:33am hit when he heard a loud smack against the window. He turned his head in a panic only to see that nothing was there. As he rushed outside to see if he could see anything the breakers flipped and the whole building went dark leaving him feeling nothing but utter blackness.

He felt a steel nail graze against the back of his neck, as a demonic voice said, “first shift, kid?”

Joshua stood dead in his tracks unable to speak as he felt the cold nail press harder into the back of his neck.

As Joshua winced in pain, the demonic voice continued speaking in the dark, “I can already tell, you're going to be fun to break.”

“Who are you? What…do you want?” Asked a concerned Joshua.

“Oh no one important. At least not anymore, consider me a gatekeeper of all things dark.”

“Well, what do you want?” Joshua questioned.

“Simply to see how many nails you can collect before leaving. Get to six I'll leave on day seven. Consider this you're first. Oh! And if you speak of me you lose.”

“What do I lose?” Asked Joshua to clarify.

“Your life.” Said the demon.

Like clockwork the lights came back on leaving Joshua alone outside of the gas station. He immediately went to feel the back of his neck only to feel a warm substance on his finger tips. He went on to look at it and saw it was blood. He looked behind him, and saw a sharp coffin nail laying on the ground.

Joshua walked back inside in terror as he frantically washed the blood from the back of his neck. As he walked back to the cash register he leaned against the wall and examined the coffin nail in disbelief of what happened until morning. Ultimately, he knew the smart thing to do was to leave, but smart was never his strong suit. Instead Joshua chose to take the demons challenge seeing as this was the only job he could get in months.

By the time morning had finally come the Manager walked through the door,

“So how'd the night go?” He asked

All Joshua could do was nod as he gripped the back of his neck to not show the scar.

The Manager looked perplexed, but figured Joshua was just tired, “Get some rest, kid. You have another shift tonight.”

Joshua nodded, and drove home with the nail in his pocket.

10pm came all to quick for Joshua, and before he knew it he was in uniform starting his 2nd graveyard shift. Much like the last, it was slow with only the occasional person coming in for odds and ends. It wasn't until he was mopping the floors at 3:33am did something strange happened. The breakers tripped again only for a moment, though. Joshua gave a huge sigh of relief until he looked at the floor he had been mopping. To his sheer demise blood was gracefully mopped every where leaving everything he mopped with a crimson trail. He immediately ran to the bathroom to wash his hands and face of the scene that was transpiring. He let the water go scolding hot as he pumped as much soap as his hands could handle.

While he frantically washed his hands the demons voice came back, “Better find that nail before things get worse, newbie.”

Joshua then looked in the mirror, and saw his hands and face were rinsed in blood as well. He looked down and saw the faucet pouring blood. Joshua screamed and ran out of the bathroom and rushed to the mop bucket he dumped it all over the floor in a panicked search for the nail. Luckily it was hiding in a pile of red suds.

Joshua then grabbed the nail in excitement, only to see that all of the blood he once saw wasn't there anymore. Instead, the entire floor of the gas station was wrecked with mop water. By this time it was to late. The sun was starting to rise, and his manager was coming in through the door any minute. But, to Joshua, he had the second nail which ment the battle was still on.

He spent the last 10 minutes of his shift cleaning up as much of the mop water as he could when his manager came and opened the door.

He saw that Joshua looked as if he had nothing left in him thats when he said, “Guess the mop got the best of you last night? Don't worry I'll clean it up. Just come back tonight ready to work.”

Joshua nodded, and walked to his car with the second nail in his pocket along with the first.

The third night came around, and Joshua's was ready for anything. He came prepared with with a flashlight, a large energy drink to stay alert, and the two nails. This time Joshua wanted to get a step ahead of the demon. His plan was to get to the nail before anything happened to him.

Unlike the nights before he waited until 3:30am then immediately started looking through every nook and cranny for a coffin nail, but as 3:33am hit the power went out again only this time Joshua immediately flashed his flashlight on. Only to reveal the entire gas station was filled with shadow entities watching him still as ever. He froze dead in his tracks as he scanned his flashlight around. Until he saw a slight shimmer come off of the neck of one of them. It was the third nail, but just as he noticed it all of the shadow entities gave a wide grin exposing sharp piranha like teeth as they all chuckled in unison walking closer and closer to him.

Joshua truly didn't know what to do, but in a feat of either brilliance or stupidity he turned off the flashlight and rushed directly at the entity with nail around its neck.

The generator came back on, and he had nail three in his hand, but at the expense of a gash in his head from hitting the counter.

“Oh I knew you'd be fun.” Chuckled the demon as Joshua laid there until morning.

The sun rose once again, and his manager saw the gash in Joshua's head as he was tending to his own wound. His manager looked on in disbelief, but seeing as everything was done, and Joshua gave him a thumbs up, he cleared him to leave for the day until the evening.

Joshua was half way there. Three nails down, and three to go. In his eyes this was more than keeping his job. He felt a maniacal rush surviving night, after night. Almost like he could live from the adrenaline alone, but night four proved to be his biggest challenge yet.

Like the other nights 3:33am rolled around, and this time Joshua waited by the breaker to flip it back on to see if that would change the game. Like clockwork he watched the breaker flip, and the lights go out. He immediately swung the breaker back on and that was when something wrapped their arm around his neck choking him immensely. He looked down and saw pure red skin.

“No cheating, kid!” Yelled the demonic voice.

Thats when the breaker exploded leaving him in blinding white light as they flew across the room. Dazed and confused he looked around and saw everything was sheer white. The gas station was no more and there was nothing beyond what the eye could see as if matted onto a sheet of white paper.

The demonic voice rung out again only louder than ever. “This is what happens, when you don’t play fair, newbie. You get time out!”

Joshua walked endlessly for what felt like years in this blank white space looking for the forth nail in a maniacal fury.

“Finding its my only way out.” He said to himself repeatedly as pulled at his hair, and bit his nails.

All while Joshua thought this was happening, he was actually in the gas station as it burned down. Eventually the fire department, and E.M.S. caught wind of the situation. And rushed to the rescue. They found Joshua in a midst of flames and debris unconscious. He was airlifted to the nearest hospital to which he laid unconscious for another two weeks.

When he finally awoke in the hospital bed he was alone. No friends. No family. No coworkers. But, for him it was peace. In his humble mind he has survived and won the fight. Until he heard a ping on the cold linoleum floor of the hospital. He reached down and picked up another coffin nail.

The demonic voice came back and said, “Nail four is a freebie, kid. But, the game continues.”