The Restaurant

The restaurant’s doorbell rang. He looked up, in came a ragged rat costume. The person inside breathed heavily. Antonio stiffened in his seat. He mustered up a smile but Rafael ignored him and rushed to the back room.

The jingle of keys piqued Antonio’s interest, Rafael went to the locked room. He heard Rafael curse before slamming shut the door. He assumed Rafael would change and not go there.

Nevertheless Antonio had no clue what was going on inside. Only that he wasn’t allowed in. The years he worked at the restaurant, Antonio thought Rafael would trust him more.

Time passed by uneventfully. Completely bored out of his mind, Antonio decided to clean up early. As he mopped the floor, he noticed the freezer leaking out a reddish liquid.  

He found the source of it— a warm container. Antonio inspected it closer. The inside seemed crudely clumped together unlike the ingredients he’d seen. He was about to open it when suddenly Rafael snatched the container from his hands.

“What was that for?” He demanded.

“I’ll handle the cleaning,” Rafael spoke stiffly.

Hesitantly Antonio handed him the mop. He returned to the cash register and turned on the radio.

“New per-- added…”

Antonio glanced back behind him. He saw Rafael go out the back with a large trash bag. He could’ve swore it moved.

“-- Juan -- missing-- last seen in Ilo Station.”

Looks like he needed to be careful on his way home.