Chapter 10: Shift Changes
Ram and Rudy work the afternoon shift as the store settles into routine operations. Joseph reports another new hire named Teresa starting Monday. At 9:17 p.m., LD's voice delivers another cryptic message about "phase gate dormant" and directs them to check bin 3, where they find a black binder.
The Quiet Before the Afternoon
By 3:50 p.m., the hum of the cooler compressors filled the quiet. Ram walked in through the back, rubbing sleep from his face. He’d slept hard after a restless morning, dreams colliding with static-laced voices and freezer frost. The sky outside was still bright, but inside, it always felt like 2 a.m.—cool, dim, and slightly off-center.
Rudy was already there, stacking expired magazines in a black crate marked “Return to Distributor.” He looked up and offered a short nod.
“You get here early?” Ram asked, tossing his keys on the counter.
“Fifteen minutes. Habit. Figured I’d get a jump on the rotation.”
Ram appreciated that. A week ago, this guy had just been another customer. Now he was showing initiative. Maybe LD had known what he was doing. Or maybe the store was choosing its own crew now.
“You eat yet?” Ram asked.
Rudy shrugged. “You call off-brand beef jerky and half a cup of stale coffee breakfast?”
Ram smirked. “Survival Stop special.”
The Freezer Still Waits
Ram glanced at the back cooler door. It looked like it always did—plain steel, scuffed near the bottom where dollies scraped. But it felt different now. Like it was watching them. He’d been avoiding it since that night with the frost, the voice, the impossible wind.
“Think he’s gonna speak to us again?” Rudy asked, nodding toward the cooler.
“Don’t say it like that,” Ram replied, frowning.
Rudy held up his hands. “Just saying. I still don’t get how LD’s voice came through that. You think he’s… inside?”
Ram didn’t answer. He didn’t know what he believed anymore. LD had gone from a glitchy voice to a force of direction. Supplies showed up when needed. Instructions came at odd hours, wrapped in half-coherent static. And now Rudy was here—scheduled, shifted, seemingly expected.
“I just do what he says,” Ram said, finally. “And hope the lights stay on.”
Joseph’s Arrival
At 6:30 p.m., Joseph swung by to hand off the last of the swing shift logs.
“You two good?” he asked, dropping a clipboard on the counter.
“Mostly quiet. Some guy tried to sell us bootleg cologne from his trunk,” Rudy replied.
“Classic,” Joseph said. “Memo’s guy brought tamales again. I put the cash in the drop.”
Ram looked at him. “You still hearing anything strange?”
Joseph tapped his temple. “Only the usual voices. But I sleep with headphones now.”
“Smart,” Rudy muttered. “I started keeping a notebook. The freezer dreams… I swear they’re saying something.”
Joseph raised an eyebrow but didn’t argue. “LD says we’ll get new hire files by morning. Someone named Teresa is supposed to report to Willie on Monday.”
“Another one?” Ram asked.
“We’re gonna need full shifts if this keeps up,” Joseph said. “Store’s not closing. And LD’s acting like business as usual is back.”
They stood for a moment, all three silent, listening to the subtle hum of lights and compressor coils.
The Night Creeps In
Joseph left, and by 7:00 p.m., Rudy and Ram had settled into a rhythm—one running register, the other checking inventory for gaps. The new backroom bins had pre-printed labels now. “Daily Pull,” “Breakroom Ration,” “High Loss—Monitor.” Someone had clearly added them. But no one remembered doing it.
At 9:17 p.m., the garbled voice returned. Just one line:
“Phase gate dormant. All pending entries paused. Monitor for anomalies. Check bin 3.”
Rudy turned to Ram. “What’s bin 3?”
Ram opened the bin. Inside was a black binder. On the cover, stamped in gold:
Employee Incident Reports — Level A Only
He didn’t open it. Not yet.
“LD’s watching,” Rudy said.
Ram nodded slowly. “And he wants us ready.”
