Midnight Diner

A couple walked down the street, hand in hand, heading towards a diner.

“I heard this place sells the best burger in town, and it’s open until 2 am,” said Jack as he opened the diner door. The bell jingled, announcing their arrival.

“Welcome to Your Meat!” says the waitress from the counter. “Please, feel free to sit wherever you like”.

Cindy chose a seat in the corner, next to a large window. She glanced at the nearly empty diner and asked, “Is this place always this empty?”

“Well, it’s already 1 am, and we don’t usually have customers at this hour,” the waitress replied indifferently. She handed the menu to the couple and left them alone.

After five minutes of checking the menu, the waitress returned to their table with a small notepad and a pen. “Are you ready to order?” she asked.

Jack closed the menu and placed their order. “We’d like your special burger and two cokes, one diet and one regular. Could you cook the meat medium rare?” he asked.

“Sure, we can do that,” the waitress wrote down the order on her pad.

Cindy raised her hand. “Could you prepare one of the fries for takeaway? I don’t think I can finish everything tonight.”

The waitress smiled. “Of course!” She added the request to her note. After jotting down their order, she took the menu and left the table. Not long after, she returned with their drinks and meals.

Cindy took the first bite of her burger and stopped chewing, her eyes grew wide. “This burger is delicious!” she took another bite and filled her up until her mouth was full.

“Slow down! You’ll choke yourself if you eat like that,” Jack warned, but Cindy kept stuffing herself with the burger. Jack shook his head and took a bite of his burger. He was surprised, his face was filled with disbelief.

“Ha, ha, hahaha!” Jack laughed. “This is what I call a burger!” he shouted. Cindy lifted her head, nodded, and smiled with her mouth full of food. They stuff themselves with their burger. All the juices dripping from their mouths and their fingers. They ate as if they’d been starved for three days.

Meanwhile, the cook and the waitress watched them from behind the counter, smiling, satisfied with the couple’s reaction.

The couple finished their meal, sucking all the juices that were left on their finger and plates. “Ah! This is the best burger I’ve ever had,” Jack exclaimed, placing his plate on the table.

Cindy nodded in agreement while wiping her fingers. “Mmhhmm, I feel like I want a second burger,” she said, glancing at her stomach, “but I don’t think my stomach can handle it”.

“Yeah, me neither,” said Jack. He wiped his hands with a napkin, then went to the counter. He pulled out his wallet and asked for the check from the waitress. After paying, he complimented the waitress on the delicious meal and praised the cook’s skills.

“I don’t think it’s the cook; he’s vegan,” the waitress said. “I think it’s the meat,” she added.

Jack frowned. “The meat?” he asked, intrigued.

“Yes, we use a special type of meat,” the waitress replied, nodding knowingly.

“What type of meat?” Jack asked cautiously.

The waitress shrugged. “That, I cannot tell you,” she said, leaning close to Jack’s ear and whispering, “It’s the diner’s secret.”

A chill ran down Jack’s spine. He felt excited and uneasy towards the waitress. After settling the payment, he returned to his table to collect his belongings and took Cindy out of the place.

The next day, Jack returned to the diner alone and ordered the same thing: one special burger and a Diet Coke. He became a regular customer, visiting at night and for lunch. Sometimes, he brought his friends along.

One night, he entered the diner at 1:45 am. The waitress was cleaning the tables, and the cook checked the time. “Hi, guys!” Jack greeted the waitress and the cook.

The waitress turned around, surprised. “Oh, hi, Jack! The usual?” she asked.

“Can I order two this time?” he asked, adding, “I’m starving today.” Jack walked to a table in the middle, facing the counter, and took a seat.

The waitress and the cook exchanged glances before replying, “Sure, we can prepare two special burgers for you.” The waitress added the order to her computer.

After 10 minutes, the meals were ready. The waitress brought them to his table, and Jack devoured them quickly.

*Blurp*

“Sorry, the meal was amazing, as always!” Jack said, standing and walking to the counter to pay. The waitress stood there, smiling. Without looking, she pressed the enter key to print the ticket

Suddenly, Jack’s vision blurred. Everything he saw appeared doubled or tripled. He tried to rub his eyes, but it only made things worse. Then he saw the cook’s shadow coming out from the kitchen.

“Everything alright, Jack?” the waitress asked.

“Uh… I… I don’t know,” Jack stammered. He rubbed his eyes multiple times and tried to look around. Then, someone hit him from behind, and suddenly, everything went pitch black.

Jack woke up in a bright room, feeling intense pain in his stomach. He couldn’t feel his arms and legs. He tried to move them, but he couldn’t.

Suddenly, he heard a woman’s voice. “I think he’s waking up,” she said. Jack turned, surprised to see the waitress and the cook in the same room with him.

“What… what’s going on here?” Jack asked, his voice shaky.

The waitress walked towards Jack, studying him carefully, then turned to the cook. “Should I feed him the fats now?” she asked. The cook nodded.

Jack got confused, “what… fats?” he asked. But the waitress didn’t answer. She turned away, leaving him alone on the table.

Not long after, she returned, pushing a large machine into the room. The cook followed, carrying a huge box. He placed the box on the table in the corner beside the meat grinder.

The waitress set up the machine next to him. He tried to glance behind the waitress’s shoulder and saw the cook, wearing an apron and rubber gloves, holding a large chunk of meat. The meat looked like an arm, and he fed it into the meat grinder. Jack’s eyes widened in disbelief. Reflexively, he checked both arms, only to realize that both were missing.

“AAARRGGGGHHHH!!!!” Jacks screamed loudly

At the same time, the waitress begins to insert a big tube into his mouth. She pushed it deep down into his throat and then pressed the button on the machine. Fat started flowing down his throat, filling his stomach.

Jack’s eyes filled with tears. He tried to scream, but his voice was blocked by the tube. The waitress looked at him, smiling.

“Since you’re already here, let me tell you the secret,” said the waitress. “The meat is more delicious when the animal is scared, so please, scream as loud as you can.”

***

Credit:

1. This article originally published at medium.com
2. Photo by Luke Barky from Pexels