I'm in college so it should be kinda easy and I've never played an actual campaign so I'd rather do it in person. Is there an easy way to find a group that isn't asking random people if they have a DND group I can join?
I'm making a Cleric character whose whole thing is that he's a really good chef and all his spells are reskinned as different foods. He's gonna be more of a support type and probably have some fire spells, what subclass would be best for this?
Ever since I was a kid I had always wanted to be a professional chef. I would spend days at a time perfecting recipes and getting measurements just right. I burned my hands and cut my self by accident more times than I’d like to admit. I burnt food and undercooked meat. But, it was all worth it to get into the Culinary Institute of America. My time there wasn’t too interesting and not really worth talking about. I passed with flying colors and while not top of my class by a mile, I was still a standout cook. At the graduation I was approached with a job offer by a man with a Southern accent. It was as a private chef at some fancy rich guy’s mansion. The pay was immense, more than the vast majority of people would ever make. I didn’t really debate the offer, who knows if I’d ever get a similar job opportunity. I’d never been outside of New York so I was nervous. I said my final goodbyes to my parents and hopped on a the way flight to Louisiana.
I got off the plane a few hours later and took an Uber to the closest town to the mansion. It was a small town on the edge of a swamp surrounded by trees, mud, and the sound of cicadas. It was a pretty normal looking town. Cobblestone streets, small mom and pop stores, and oddly no major chain restaurants or stores. The people looked friendly, although wary of strangers. There were almost no cars in the town, which was pretty weird to someone from New York. I smelt something, something delicious and smoked. I walked around letting my nose guide me to that heavenly scent before stopping in front of a small building with smoke billowing out from behind, happy looking people inside and out, and a sign on the window that said ‘Melody’s Smoke House’. I walked in and was greeted by a large woman, at least six feet tall and probably strong enough to tear me in half. She was probably Melody
“What can I get for you honey?”
I took a look at the menu. “I’ll get the pulled pork and baked beans please.”
She nodded and disappeared into the backroom before coming back with a cardboard box filled with pulled pork and baked beans, the kind that has bacon bits in it. It was delicious, probably the best I’ve had. I finished up and explored the town a bit. I had an hour to spare before the meeting time on the letter. The more I looked around, the stranger the town got. I started noticing there were less people than a town of this size should reasonably have. Wandering down the town square I took notice of a board covered in posters. Missing persons posters, at least thirty. I was taken aback by how thirty entire humans could go missing. Eaten maybe? By alligators and stuff? Maybe one or two but not thirty. It gave me an uneasy feeling that I wouldn’t shake for a while.
I tried thinking about it but the more I thought about why so many of the people were missing in such a small town, the more my mind wandered to the how I was probably gonna go missing if I was late to the interview so I grabbed my suitcase and jogged over to the mansion. After about 20 minutes I could see the mansion through the arm like branches of the trees that surrounded it. The Cypress trees forming a wall around the mansion were probably older than any building with in one hundred miles of here. I walked down the path to the towering front gate as it transitioned from damp mud to expensive looking stone. The gate opened on its own, obviously they were expecting me, so I walked in through the massive gold and silver painted metal bars and curves that made up the fence surrounding the compound. The front lawn was immaculate, a large marble fountain in the middle with the path forming a circle around it and leading up to the main building, a large Victorian Mansion that looked relatively young in contrast to the town and the surrounding swamps and marshes. It was a weird choice to build it here of all places. To the side was a smaller building, about the size of a normal suburban home. I didn’t notice through my gawking that the large front door had opened, and I tripped on the stairs leading up to them. Before I could even brace myself to hit the stone porch, I had been caught. I looked up to see my firm gripped savor. He was beautiful. Dirty blond hair, green eyes, and a face that looked softer than fresh bread. I quickly stood up and avoided eye contact.
“You must be Jess. The Head Chef has been impatiently awaiting your arrival”
“Oh, sorry”
“Apologize to him, not me. My name is Alex by the way,” he said before turning around.
He started leading me through the lobby of the mansion, the door closing behind us. As we walked I saw extravagant decorations lining every inch of the interior. The lobby was filled with the faint sound of music escaping from somewhere deeper inside. It sounded kinda like jazz with a lighting seasoning of Southern folk music. The hall was lined with paintings and vases that were probably worth more than the plane that took me here, rugs that were so soft I could feel them through my shoes. It didn’t take long to reach the kitchen. It was a large space tightly packed with prep tables, ovens, stoves, sinks, and other large kitchen appliances. In the very back was a large freezer door that looked like it could fit a small car. While I was taking in the sights, a short burly man with a white toque and a thin mustache approached me, seemingly upset.
“Alex you can leave now.” Alex nodded curtly and swiftly left. “You are Jess?” he demanded with a strong Cajun accent that was dripping with impatience.
“Yes, I a-”
“Risotto”
“What?”
“Mushroom risotto, make it. Now,” he demanded, practically yelling the last part.
I didn’t feel like getting in trouble on my first day so I stumbled around a bit looking for mushroom, rice, garlic, wine, and the other things I would need. It wasn’t that hard of a dish to make and after nearly an hour of cooking I presented the finished dish to the Head Chef. He took a bite and seemed pleased enough. He even took a second bite.
“My apologies for yelling at you monsieur Jess. Your tardiness is an annoyance but you’ve made up for it. Now clean up your shit and meet me outside the kitchen.”
Before I could get a word in he was gone. I took a sigh of relief and cleaned up my cookware, placing the leftover risotto in a container for later. I wasn’t gonna let food go to waste if I could help it. I met the Head Chef outside and he handed me a very neatly folded uniform.
“You are expected to wear this at all times during the day” he said while flipping through a small note book. “You’re room number and working hours are on this paper. Alex, will you show our new employ to his room?”
Alex gestured for me to follow and led me back through the lobby and around the side of the building to the house in the side yard. He opened the door and pointed upstairs.
“The bedrooms are all upstairs.” He looked at the paper I was holding. “Looks like your sharing a room with me. There’s a small staff kitchen down that hallway and in there is the lounge area. Any questions?”
“Nope. Actually, where’s the bathroom?”
“Upstairs at the end of the hall to the right and the left. There's two. Also, don’t go in the left one until five or April will kick your ass.”
“Thanks for the warning”
He left the house swiftly and I headed upstairs. The second floor was basically just a row of doors with name plates next to them. Each nameplate was shaped like a cartoonish bone and made from brass with black cursive forming the names and a silver trim around the edge. There were about twenty-five doors, all of them basic and wooden with minimal designs. I found the room I was assigned to. The nameplate was marked with ‘Alex’ printed in pitch black cursive on the brass back plate and the number 11 on the door itself. I opened the door to see two beds on opposite sides of the room, a tv in the middle with a controller of some kind, I don’t know I don’t really play video games, and a bookshelf with a small handful of books on it. I set my stuff down on the bed whose sheets were still made and pulled out some of my things to set up. The handful of books I had brought, my laptop and phone charger, and my Offspring album.
After closed the door and changing into my uniform I checked myself out in the mirror. The outfit was nothing special, a plain white short sleeve chef’s coat with black dress pants. There was an odd symbol on the right breast. It was a shield with tiny drawings on it, one of them kinda looked like a campfire. Probably the family crest or some kind of branding. I made sure everything fit right before putting my phone on the charger and heading back down stairs. From the lounge I heard a girl’s voice getting frustrated at something, but I paid it no mind and walked out and over to the mansion. While I was heading back to the kitchen, I noticed some strange paintings. They showed weird stuff, but the strangest was the one that showed a human head on a platter in the middle of a forest, surrounded by the same Cypress trees that encompassed the mansion grounds and made up the surrounding forests and swamps. I tried not to think about it, rich people are always into some weird shit, right? The head chef cleared his throat, scaring the piss out of me.
“Jess, I see you’ve got your uniform on. Good, now follow me to the kitchen so I can give you an assignment.”
I followed him to the kitchen, which was a bit busier than it was earlier. There were three other chefs working on different things, all of which smelled heavenly. A lanky man with jet black hair bumped into me and ran past, yelling “Move it, I’ve got someone in the stove,” in a thick French accent.
“Did he just say he’s got someone on the stove?,” I said with some shake to my voice.
“No, no. English isn’t his first language and he’s been stressed lately,” he said reassuringly.
I was still a little shook but it did sound like he meant to say ‘something’ instead. He led me to a prep counter next to one of the fridges.
“Since you are new here, you will be on appetizers and breakfast duty. Any questions?.” he asked while handing me a schedule.
“Wait, so I'm only working during breakfast and dinner?,” I asked, a little surprised.
“Yes, only breakfast and dinner. You’ll be free in between unless requested. We only have six chefs after all.”
Six chefs to feed one family? That seemed a bit excessive but I guess rich people are usually a bit excessive. All I cared about was that here was less work for me. It was past the morning so I decided to head back over to the staff house to try and relax until dinner. My uniform included a wrist mounted pager, kind of like a smart watch without any of the smart watch, that I assumed was for if I needed to be contacted for work stuff, so if I was needed I’d know.
When I got to the house it was empty except for a large girl who looked like she could give most bodybuilders a run for their money, and on her chest was a name tag that said ‘April’. So that's who Alex warned me about. I could see why. I walked over to greet her.
“Hey, I’m Jess,” I reached my hand out to shake hers
“You must be the new kid,” She said pausing her show.
“Yep, just got hired today”
“By the uniform, you must be a chef,” she said, sounding a little impressed. “They don’t hire just anyone for this place.”
“Really? Well, that’s kinda reassuring”
“Reassuring of what?”
“That my tuition was worth it,” I said with a small laugh
She laughed as she stood up and slapped my back. “I already like you Jess.” She grabbed two beers from the fridge and shook them in front of me. “You old enough?”
“Yeah, but I don’t drink”
She opened both and sat down “Sucks to suck”
I sat down next to her and watched whatever was playing. After a few hours my pager beeped and displayed a message that just said ‘Kitchen’. I said my farewells to April and headed over to the kitchen. On my way there I passed by the dining hall for the first time. Somehow I had missed it, a massive space with a ceiling at least 12 feet high and a table stretching across the entire room, covered in fancy decorations, dining mats, and furnished with chairs that each had their own symbol. The five on the furthest end were the most extravagant and had the same symbol that was on my shirt, and the shirts of all the staff members. There were three servants setting up the table for those five seats, and one of them was Alex. I fought the urge to go chat with him, knowing it could get us in trouble, and went into the kitchen. Inside the kitchen was just me, the head chef whose name I had learned was Leopold, and a blond haired girl who was preparing some meat to be cooked.
“Ah, new boy. We need three appetizers. None have been requested so you are free to make whatever you wish, so long as it meets the standards of this kitchen,” he said while guiding me to the same prep station from yesterday, which now had a name plate that had my name written on it. It was identical to the ones in the staff house. I asked the blond-haired girl, whose name was Jullie, what she was making.
“What’s it to you,” she said in a thick Boston accent
I was a little taken aback by her hostility “I, was just wondering so my appetizers could match the main dish”
“Stroganoff”
“Uh, thanks,” I said before heading back to my station.
What goes well with stroganoff? Salad is good, but a bit too basic. I could probably do some stuffed portobello mushroom, but it might conflict with the mushroom in the stroganoff. I decided on grilled asparagus, stuffed cherry tomatoes, and spinach puffs. Once they were all finished I loaded them on a platter and placed them on the serving table next to the door. A few minutes later Jullie placed her stroganoff next to it and they were both carried off by some servers. About an hour later I got news that the family enjoyed my appetizers, which was good because if they didn’t I’d probably be out of a job. I cleaned up the dishes from dinner and walked sleepily back to the house. I got back and it was almost midnight so I ate a brief dinner before walking upstairs and laying down in my bed. It was surprisingly soft for a bed meant for a worker. Alex opened the door half an hour later and looked at me with a tired look in his eyes.
“How was your first day?”
“It was pretty good. Got some praise from the family for my cooking”
“From who,” he said as he laid down on his own bed
“Uh, I think the family. The Wisebys, right?”
“They don’t hand out compliments easily, you must be one hell of a chef. Maybe you could cook me something some time?”
“I’d love to,” I yawned and put down my book. “I didn’t know it was such an accomplishment for them to like your food”
“Are you kidding me? Jullie had to work here for almost 3 months before she was acknowledged by the family, That’s probably why she seemed so pissed,” he says, unable to hold in his laughter.”
A faint ‘screw you’ is heard through the wall, which only makes him laugh harder. I laugh with him before taking off my glasses, laying them on the nightstand and drifting off to a dreamless sleep.
I woke up to my alarm at around 4 to get ready for my first full day on staff. Alex was still asleep so I silently grabbed my clothes and went to go take a shower. When I got out I was greeted by an upset looking April.
“Didn’t Alex tell you not to take a shower before me?”
“Sorry, I forgot. I’m not used to getting up this early”
“Well don’t do it again, ok? I gotta get to work earlier than anyone else”
She went in and locked the door and I left to go make myself breakfast. The fridge didn’t have much fancy stuff in it, no surprise there, so I grabbed some eggs, bread, cheese, and mayo. The eggs cracked easily on the cast iron pan as I split them open with one hand as I had a hundred times before. I moved them around so they wouldn’t burn and put a slice of cheese on top. When they finished I slid them on to the toasted bread with a small spread of mayo and a dash of hot sauce before closing it. Could be better, but it was food at least. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Alex walking down while talking to someone I didn’t know
“Morning Jess. Ooh, that smells good. Can you make me one?”
“Make it yourself,” I said barely even conscious.
“Ok then,” he said clearly caught off guard by my rudeness.
He put on a pot of coffee and when it was done offered me a cup.
“Oh, no thanks. I don’t drink coffee.”
He shrugged and poured himself and April a cup. I sat down in the lounge to watch tv before my shift started, almost falling asleep once or twice. An hour later I started heading to the mansion, having to turn back for my jacket since it was cold as hell outside. When I got there it was empty except for me and April.
“What are you doing here? I thought only chefs got keys to the kitchen,” I asked her as she started preparing some eggs
“I AM a chef dumbass,” She said annoyedly. “What are YOU doing here?”
“I’m on the breakfast shift.”
She sighed. “Just, don’t get in my way”
I prepped some eggs, potatoes, sauces, and seasoning mixtures.
“Hey where do they keep the meat?”
“You gotta ask either Leopold or Henry. They’re the only ones permitted to hand it out for some fucking reason. Probably some weird money saving tactic,” she said with annoyance spilling from her voice.
I checked my pager for a way to contact Leopold. I found nothing because I’m a dumbass that doesn’t know how pagers work. Eventually he came through the door with a list.
“These are your orders for breakfast”
I approached him. “Hey, where do you keep the meat?”
“You are not allowed to know such information,” he snapped. before trying to calm himself down. “The meat you need will be provided.”
I was caught off guard by his sudden outburst but I assumed he was just under a lot of stress. I checked the list, which had 5 dishes on it.
“I’ll take three of them since you're new here,” April said over my shoulder. “Which ones do you want?
“I’ll take the croquets with meat and the omelet,” I said after a little hesitation.
I went to the pantry and grabbed some mushrooms and peppers for the omelet and a few potatoes for the croquets. The exact amount of meat I needed was on the prep table when I got back to my station. It took about half an hour for me to finish both meals and when I was done I placed them on the serving table next to April’s and Leopold carried out the food himself.
“Once you’re done cleaning dishes, don’t leave. We still gotta make breakfast for the rest of the workers,” April said
“We do?”
“Yep. One of the perks for the employees is free breakfast, except for the people who make it of course.”
After another hour and a half of cooking I was finally free. I didn’t know what to do so I wandered around the mansion. Most of the rooms were locked for some reason. I knew some of them would be locked but not almost all of them. Except this one. It was a large door, almost as tall as the front door but not nearly as grand. It was plain, simple, and when compared to the rest of the house, boring. I pushed it open to reveal a library almost as big as the staff housing. It was two stories tall and probably had more books in one place than I knew was possible. I flipped through some of them in various sections. Fahrenheit 451, Lord of the Flies, Stolen Tongues, and The Great Gatsby to name a few. Someone with enough free time could sit here for hours reading, so I grabbed a book and did exactly that. I read for about 4 hours before my pager went off, calling me to the lobby. When I got there most of the staff was present with the head butler standing on the top of the stairs. I assumed there was some kind of event happening when the butler cleared his throat, silencing the room
“As most of you know by now the Wisebys enjoy a vacation around this time of the year. That time has come once again. Cleaners will still be expected at least one hour of work per day but nothing more. That is all.”
After a little bit of delay there was a cheer among the staff and Alex highfived me. Apparently they had left this morning. No fanfare, no announcement until now, they just up and left. Now that I think about it I don’t even know what they look like. They don’t have any pictures up and I’ve never peeked into the dining hall to see them.
“Hey Jess, what are you gonna do with your time off,” Alex asked
“I guess read?”
“Well we’re gonna have a barbeque tonight to celebrate, wanna come?”
“I’d love to,” I said a little too excitedly.
“Hell yeah,” He laughed.
Over the course of the day I thought of some foods that could go well in a barbeque. Well not exactly a barbeque, more of a seafood boil. I grabbed my jacket and some bags before heading down to the town with April and Jullie to pick up the ingredients. While in town though, something just felt wrong. Not like an ‘I’m about to be murdered’ or ‘I’m being watched’ kinda feeling but a feeling that something wrong, something against the very laws of nature. I noticed that there were more missing person posters than last time, and one of them was the lady from Melody’s Barbeque. I pointed it out to the other two but they shrugged it off as a animal attack. That calmed my nerves a little but not by much. We picked up some shrimp, corn, sausage, and crab for a seafood boil along side some ingredients for coleslaw, macaroni salad, and potato salad. April got the sauce ingredients since she was the most experienced with making barbeque.
We got back a few hours later and all 6 chefs, including Leopold to my surprise, got to work prepping, seasoning, and marinating the various meats. When the food was done I helped bring it outside to the courtyard in the back. The scene was the liveliest it could be. There were lights set up around the fences, the pool was filled with people, and there was a giant bonfire in the center. People were drinking, dancing to the music, and making out in the corner. There was a loud cheer when the food came out and people waited impatiently for it to be laid out. A line of starving people formed around the yard, and as I was walking to the back Alex grabbed my arm and pulled me in to the line
“Saved you a spot,” He winked
“Oh, that’s not necessary but thanks,” I said with a blush forming
We stood in line for a bit until we were upfront. I grabbed a crab leg and plopped it on his plate
“I was on crab duty, wanna try it?”
“Smells amazing”
We sat down with full plates and empty bellies. I bit down into the crab, my first time eating crab. I don’t mean to sound egotistical but it was delicious. The shrimp was equally as good and the butter covered corn wrapped everything up in a nice yellow bow. I went back for seconds and Alex went for thirds. He offered me a beer
“No thanks, I don’t drink beer,” I said, shaking my head.
“More for me,” He said with his mouth full of coleslaw.
The party lasted all night with people slowly going back to the house, some in pairs, while others passed out in the courtyard and had to be dragged inside so they didn’t freeze. Me and Alex headed back inside at around one in the morning.
I woke up in the morning after, feeling a bit sick from how much I ate. My head was swirling as I climbed out of Alex’s bed and went to make breakfast. I was happy to see some leftover crab and corn so I heated it up and sat down to eat. There were some other people in the kitchen but none I recognized, all of which were hungover and none were talking. I still had to make the breakfast buffet and I was the only chef that wasn’t hung over so I was alone in the kitchen. Eggs, fruits, oatmeal, potatoes, bacon, waffles, coffee, and plenty of orange juice. I didn’t notice when he did but Leopold had been helping prepare the food for an unknown time.
“How long have you been here?”
“Just got here a few minutes ago,” he replied as he chopped up some watermelon.
I silently thanked him for the extra help and we set out the buffet for everyone else. They ate silently but looked like they enjoyed it. I went to the library to read for as long as I could. I had chosen Blood Meridian, one of my favorites. I got through about three and a half chapters before I was interrupted by Alex
“So this is where you ran off to,” he said while looking around at the massive room. “I didn’t take you for someone who enjoyed classic literature”
“Well it’s technically not classic-”
“Nerd,” he interrupted, drawing the word out.
I rolled my eyes and kept reading. He sat in the chair next to me with a book of his own.
“Whatcha reading?”
“Hamlet”
“I hate that book”
“So do I,” he said hurriedly as he stood up and replaced it with Animal Farm
“Good choice,” I said with a smile, peeking over my book.
“I know,” I said as he plopped back down on the chair across from me.
We both sat there reading for a while. I don’t remember when he did but eventually I looked up to see that he had fallen asleep. I smiled and kept reading. After a while I got up to make myself some lunch. I girl I’d never seen was in the kitchen. She looked to be around my age and was beautiful. Curly brown hair, hazel eyes, and a freckled face.
“Who are you,” She asked dismissively
“I’m Jess, the new chef here. You?”
“Jane Wiseby”
“Like, the Wiseby?”
“Yes, the Wiseby,” she said, her patience starting to run thin. “I’m hungry, make me something”
Without a second thought I got to work cooking up some perogies, mashing the potatoes and filling the small dough disks with them before boiling them. They were served with sour cream and dill. She couldn’t look more disinterested as she grabbed one, dipped it, and took a bite. Her face lit up almost instantly
“So you’re the one who made those krokets last week,” she said with food in her mouth.
“Yeah”
“Hmm, cute and you know how to cook”
“What?”
She put down the pierogi and took a step closer “Maybe we could get to know each other Jess”
“Oh, that’s fine thanks. You’re, not exactly my type”
“I am now”
“I, gotta go,” I said nervously
“No you don’t,” She took a step closer which prompted me to flee.
I left the encounter behind me and ate in the library. Alex helped me clean when I dropped some food on the floor.
“Told you that you’d make a mess,” he said annoyed while spraying a strong smelling cleaner into the carpet. “If Wiseby saw this he’s have both our asses”
“Speaking of which I saw one of them in the kitchen”
“I thought they were on vacation,” Alex said skeptically.
A wave of realization washed over me. He was right, they were supposed to be on vacation. But if that was true then why was Jane still here? Did she get left behind? Alex snapped me out of my thoughts.
“You gonna help me clean this or not?”
It took a while but the carpet was back to normal if you ignored the smell of chemicals. I tossed my plate and got back to reading. Alex went back to the house but I didn’t register what he had said until a few minutes later. I chose to stay and read for a while longer before turning in.
Over the course of the rest of the week things went on about the same. Reading in the library, eating leftovers until they ran out, and maybe some flirting with Alex. All good things must come to an end though, and that happened when the Wisebys returned. A few days had passed since the incident with Jane Wiseby and I thought it was all behind me. After a long shift in the kitchen making a dinner to celebrate their return I plopped down in my bed and noticed Alex wasn’t there. I shrugged it off assuming he had a late shift, but when I woke up he still wasn’t there. Weird, I usually woke up before he did. With mounting worry I went downstairs and continued with my usual duties. When I finished I went to read in the library like usual but again Alex wasn’t there, but even more weird was that all his stuff was missing. Like someone had grabbed it and left in a hurry. I should have grabbed his phone number. I decided to ask Leopold if he’d seen Alex.
“It’s not really your business but he was fired,” he said dismissively. “Why?”
“Wait, what? Why was he fired,” I said confused. Had he gotten into trouble because of me?
“He was caught stealing the property of Madam Jane,” He said pointedly
“Is there a record of his phone number? He left without saying goodbye,” I asked hopefully
“No. We do not keep those kinds of records, especially when someone is fired.”
I left the kitchen sad and disappointed. Alex wouldn’t steal, he didn’t have it in him. He also wasn’t the type to just up and leave without any explanation. Everything about it seemed off but it had to be true. Him and his stuff were gone and it was the only explanation I could think of. I was sad but I couldn’t let some fling get in the way of my work. There was a party planned for today so all chefs were on duty.
The party was as extravagant as you’d expect one like it to be. Expensive wines, charcuterie boards with meat and cheese that probably cost more than I’d make in a month, one of those ice swan things, and that same music from when I first got here. It had actually played a lot, usually around dinner time. Different song but the same melody. This time it was more soft, almost like it was leading up to something but never quite getting there. I was entrusted to cook three main courses. Steak au Poivre, pasta with a pesto and meat sauce, and liver with garlic sauce. The meat for the meals was provided in the exact proportions requested, just like always. First was the liver. The liver itself looked off. It was too small to belong to a cow and too big to be from a bird. I figured it was a pig’s and moved on. After that came the pasta, which was easy enough, the meat was pretenderized and cut into perfect sized pieces. Finally, the Steak au Poivre. The cut of meat provided was almost perfect. The marbling, the size, the shape. The perfect meat for Steak au Poivre. I cooked it rare and made a tangy and creamy sauce with shallots. Soon enough the meat was sent out to be devoured by the ravenous guests at the dinner party. I shared a bottle of red wine with Jullie to celebrate. An hour later Leopold came in.
“They’ve requested seconds for the Pasta, Jess,” he said briefly before closing the door and leaving.
I signed before heading over to work prepping to make more pasta. I still had some sauce and pasta left over but I didn’t have any meat.
“Hey, do you have any spare meat,” I asked Jullie
“Nope, but the freezer usually has some,” she said pointing to the large freezer in the corner.
I walked over and tried the door. Locked. I thought for a bit and went to go get Leopold, but I noticed that he had left his keys on the counter next to the door. So, I grabbed the keys and walked over to the freezer looming on the other side of the room. I slipped the key into the padlock and twisted it, the lock opening with a click and I put the keys on the table behind me. I grabbed the handle and pushed down on it to open the door.
It swung open slowly and I almost collapsed from the horrible sight that my eyes had cursed me with. The freezer had a human body hanging from a meat hook embedded in the ceiling. Not just any body. Alex’s body. He hung lifelessly with several cuts and injuries. His throat had a massive cut running though the middle that was covered in dried blood, his left leg was gone entirely, and there was a large chunk of meat missing from his chest the same size as the Steak au Poivre I had made. He wasn’t the only one there. Dozens of bits and pieces from who knows how many people were placed carefully and practically along the freezer shelves like cuts of meat prepared in a butcher shop. I stumbled closer to Alex, my vision blurred from the tears in my eyes and I throw up. I didn’t know what to do or think. I barely managed to stumble out of the freezer as I entered a daze, steadying myself on the table that Leopold's keys laid on. Jullie rushed over to see what was wrong. She looked into the freezer, and when she did she screamed a horrible, blood curdling scream.
The music in the dining hall stopped and the sound of chairs scraping on wood were followed by heavy footsteps. The door slammed open and there stood Harry Wiseby and Leopold. As they were asking what was wrong they saw the open freezer. A disappointed expression formed on Wiseby’s face as he grabbed a cleaver and slowly approached us. He spoke for a bit with Jullie. She could barely get a word out, none of which I heard. After a bit Wiseby sighed and in one swift motion he swung the cleaver and it landed with a wet thunk into her neck. That snapped me out of my daze. I looked down at Jullie as her throat ran with blood like a faucet until the life left her eyes and the bleeding stopped. I didn’t want to but I looked up terrified at Wiseby.
“Now we come to the issue of you.”
His voice was deep and smooth. Strangely it didn’t sound the slightest bit Southern. I didn’t know how to describe it. His breath was vile. It stunk like rotting meat covered in layers of mint and lime to try and hide the dark secret.
“I could kill you. It would be easy, quick, and I’ll be done with this unfortunate situation. But I’ll make a deal with you. I’m sure you’ve seen my daughter Jane, cause she’s certainly seen you. She is quite enamored with you and it’s hard to find someone who’s ok with our secret.”
“What the hell makes you think I’m ok with this shit?”
He continued on as if I hadn’t spoken at all, but there was definitely a hint of warning in his voice.
“I’ll make a deal for your life. If you decline, well you saw what happened to Jullie, and we wouldn’t want that, talent like yours is rare. Jane says she’s never had a better steak in her life Now, I’ll give you a bit to make your decision on the deal before you’re in that freezer next to Alex.”
He took the cleaver with him and two men in hazmat gear came in to take away the body. When they left they locked the door from the outside. There wasn’t any other way in or out, I’d know if there was. I ended up taking the deal. I didn’t want to die, I was selfish. I convinced myself that Alex would want me to live on. I didn’t like the deal and I wish I could kill Wiseby for what he did to Alex, but I didn’t want to end up in that freezer next to him like Jullie did. I mourned Alex as much as was allowed, as one week later I was getting married. She was the vengeful and jealous type that didn’t want me talking about who the meat used to be.
I'm in college so it's not like I'm isolated or anything and I'm bi so it opens up more choices, but I'm horribly antisocial so it's hard to talk to people I don't know. Also I don't drink or like going to parties so that makes it even harder. Any tips?