Anne

Might sound weird, but I like the graveyard shift. Or maybe it’s better to say, I can’t stand working in fast food under the light of the sun. One customer after another. Talking till my throat is hoarse. Shoulder to shoulder with a rotating cast of co-workers who don’t take the job seriously. On my feet all day, always a smile for the customer.

Screw that. I’ll take the cleaning, prep, and loneliness of the graveyard shift any chance I get. Especially for times like this. All the tables are wiped down. Floors clean enough to eat off of them. Trash tossed into the dumpster. Burritos rolled and ready for the morning crew. I was good with working with my hands, which meant I could do everything on the checklist fast, and that meant the rest of my shift was killing time and occasionally taking the drive-thru order of whatever drunk or high customer had a craving for a Big Mac.

The only other person in the building right now was Frank at the cooking station. Thirty years my senior with more gray than black in his beard, he didn’t talk much. He efficiently did the work, then popped in his headphones and listened to his phone. Podcasts, I’d found out the one time the headphone jack had come loose. Boring as hell history podcasts. He didn’t want anything to do with me, which explained why we got along so well.

So with all this lonely free time, I went to work writing. Tapping away at my phone, elbows resting on the counter. Reverse harem romance. Bikers, billionaires, Trainers, the basic stuff, but I like to think I put my own twist on things. I’d tell you about my current serial, but… well, what happened was far more interesting.

It started with the lights flickering on and off, and then the rain came. It skipped the drizzle and went straight to downpour, sheets of water slamming into the windows while peals of thunder rolled through. Odd, because I remembered looking up and seeing the full moon on my way inside the restaurant tonight. Had the clouds rolled in?

I walked over to the drive-thru window and looked out, then completely fell over when a flash of lightning hit not fifty feet away. “Gah!!!”

The thunder was booming in my ears as I rubbed at my eyes and picked myself up, and it was only when I could see again that I realized the power had gone out.

“Frank? You okay?” I took out my phone and flipped on its flashlight. “Also, think you could give me a ride home. I walked.”

Frank had his own phone out, light shining. “Sure.”

“Maybe we ought to wait a while though. Power might flip on any minute, and I don’t want to go outside in this.”

“Alright.”

“Did you hear anything about there being a storm warning for tonight? I swear it came out of nowhere.”

“No.” He was coming across as curt, but that’s just how he is. Nice guy, just doesn’t need to gab on.

“Well, hope it dies down soon. It’s gonna suck if I get home and there’s no power there. Trying to sleep during the day with no a/c is just a miserable—”

Knock, knock.

I jumped straight up like a cat being ambushed like a pickle, and Frank rushed towards me as we both turned towards the door. With things as quiet as they were, it was hard to miss the headlights of any cars coming into the parking lot, but whoever it was had snuck up on me. “Jesus Fuh!” Don’t use that language around customers, Anne. I answered on autopilot. “Drive-thru only.”

It didn’t occur to me until the words were out of my mouth that the guy might have been as caught unaware by the storm as I was.

The man stepped inside (did I forget to lock the door? Oops) and looked surprisingly dry considering the rain still battering against the windows. “Sorry, didn’t bring a car with me, and was just looking for a quiet place to sit down for a while.”

A stranger coming in what should be a locked door and waltzing in sure does sound like the start of a horror movie to me, but no. It was as much a horror movie as Twilight was. If this man wanted to toss me in his basement and chop me up, well… what a way to go, right?

The attractive older man had shaggy black hair that fell over his forehead, a scruffy beard that framed his face, and slight crow's feet around his eyes that made him look distinguished, even more so with the horn-rimmed glasses. He was wearing light chinos that hugged his muscular legs, a dark shirt that was unbuttoned just enough to show a hint of his chest hair, and a leather jacket that looked older than my grandpa but was tailored perfectly to his frame. He looked like he could have been a rock star or a movie star, and I couldn't help but stare at him.

Big, strong Daddy energy. Enough to even make the fanny pack he was wearing around his waist look sexy as hell. Well, almost.

“Oh… um… that’s cool! Sit anywhere you like.” Rules weren’t made for people as hot as him. “What can I get for you?”

“Thanks.” He took the booth next to the door, facing towards me. “And don’t worry about it. No car, but I did bring some help with me.”

He reached into his jacket and took out two red and white balls, tossed them into the air, and summoned two women out of thin air. One was dressed in a purple kimono that seemed to be missing its bottom half, replaced with some matching thigh-high stockings and wooden sandals, and the other was wearing the kind of maid uniform you only see in porn. Both had the kind of bodies you rarely ever saw in porn. Tall, slender and curvy, sculpted faces… fluffy ears and tails on the maid? Flickering lightning in the air around the kimono girl? These were…

Pocket monsters.

"Inari, a sandwich. Raikou, take care of the lights."

"Yes, Master." The maid bowed and walked towards the kitchen. Blue sparks followed after her, igniting into dimly roaring balls of flame that gave the kitchen a ghostly glow. As surreal as it was to watch a supermodel fox lady perform actual magic, I couldn’t take my eyes away from the other two.

"I am the goddess of lightning. You might have bested me before, but if you think I shall lower myself to menial tasks, then you risk awakening my storm and fury." She delivered the words coldly, and I heard the rumble of thunder, enough to make the windows shake.

“The lights, Raikou.” The man repeated. Stern this time. I had a feeling he wasn’t used to hearing no when he used that voice.

She folded her arms and pouted at him. Glared at him. Made a high-pitched shrill noise in the back of her throat. And then…

“Fine!” Her dark purple hair began to glow light purple, slightly lifting away as if being pulled up by a magnet. I could hear the crackle of electricity… and the lights came back on.

“Happy?”

“Feelin’ alright.” He cracked a smile, glanced over long enough to shoot me a heart-stopping wink, then firmed up his voice again. “Kneel.”

“On this filthy floor?!” The lights flickered on and off.

“I just mopped it clean an hour ago, ma’am.” I had no idea why I thought it’d be a good idea to butt into that battle of wills.

“Raikou.” The man repeated, and this time, he was using his scary voice. Scarier than the woman that could presumably fry me to a crisp in an instant who had also been glaring daggers at me for a few seconds. Scary enough that now it was her turn to look terrified. “Kneel.”

She didn’t argue. She walked in front of him, then went to her knees, staring at the floor.

“Say thank you to the young lady.” Things were now dialed back down to level two, but this Raikou was done testing his patience.

“Thank you.”

“Thank you for what?”

“Thank you for cleaning this den’s floor.”

“Now apologize.”

Another flicker of the lights, but she forced it out. “I am sorry for my… behavior unbecoming of a goddess.”

“Be specific.”

“I apologize for raising my voice. I apologize for attempting to strike you down with lightning.” Wait, what, when did she do that? “I apologize for the unnatural weather summoned by my… unstable emotions.”

Raikou looked up from the floor and at the man. “Was that to your satisfaction, Master?” There wasn’t any sarcasm or reverence in the way she said the M-word. It came out matter-of-fact and natural.

“Better than I expected. Good girl.”

“I have existed for thousands of years, I am not a…. Ahhhhh…” Protests melted away as he put his hand on top of her head and started rubbing. A smug, satisfied smile spread on her face… and the rain was starting to die down.

Raikou leaned forward, resting her head on his thigh. Quietly, speaking only to himself, I barely heard the man whisper. “Just two more to go.”

Before I could ask what he meant, he looked over towards me as he continued to run his fingers through her hair. “Sorry about that. She’s new.”

“Uhh…” I was still trying to figure out a way to beg him to let me have his babies without sounding like a weirdo. I wasn’t any closer when the foxgirl floated past me, gliding over the counter like she was flying somehow; on reflection, no, she was probably flying. As her big, fluffy tail went past, I caught a nice scent of strawberries.

“Master, your meal.”

She’d made him burgers and fries. The fries seemed standard, but even from my distance I could tell the burger was at another level, the toasted buns crunching as he took his first bite.

“Been doing it wrong this whole time.” Frank whispered as he came over to stand next to me and watch. “The way she worked the stove…”

It was surreal. These two magical women. One standing with infinite patience, hands folded against her apron. The other practically purred as she rested her head in his lap. Both completely dominated by this man through sheer charisma. Who in the world was…

“You… you’re Red Krimson!” It finally clicked for me. The last video of him was from ten years ago, and he wasn’t wearing glasses back then, but that voice. It’d been all smiles and jokes in the video, but how could I have forgotten that voice?

“Guilty.” He tossed a fry into his mouth. “No pictures, please. But want an autograph?”

He ended up signing on a napkin, tossing it into the air and sizzling it with a thin stream of flames that etched out his name.

After he left, the whole thing felt like a dream. Frank took me back to the kitchen, where there was another burger waiting. We cut it in half and shared it. For once, the man couldn’t shut up, talking about that maid and how she was a real artist and umami this, mouth feel that.

I had to admit, it was a good burger. Red Krimson was a lucky man.

Sorry, but that’s it. I mean, there’s more. I got married two years later, published four years after that, had the first of three kids with my second husband five years later, all kinds of things, but I’m sure you’re not interested in those things. You want to read about trainers and pocket monsters, right? I don’t blame you. They’re like hit men, assassins. Logically, you know they’re real, that they’ve been around forever, but they aren’t part of your everyday life. They belong in stories.

I didn’t end up talking about that night to many people. Other than Frank, they’d all think I was bullshitting them, and I wouldn’t blame them.

I framed that autograph though. And it’s been hanging on my wall ever since.