The Ominous Presence of a Pickle

1: Pickle Juice

Mark walked along the path through the woods as usual. The stream bubbled nearby and the trees blew in the wind as some unusually large crows flew over head holding strange things in their claws that he couldn't quite see. He didn't really care and shrugged it off as nothing, he didn't much care about them since all the animals seemed larger than normal and acted strange anyway. As he opened the door to his house he heard a sound behind him. He turned around to see a cat staring at him. He shooed the cat away and walked inside his house, grumbling to himself about annoying cats. He stopped in the doorway when he saw a jar of pickles on the kitchen table. "Franklin better not have left those out" he muttered to himself as he screwed the lid back on and put the jar into the fridge. Franklin was the Chimpanzee that lived with Mark because he was very intelligent and Mark needed a roommate to help pay rent. Franklin worked as a plumber and Mark stocked shelves at the grocery store. Mark walked up the stairs to Franklin's room and knocked on the door. On the other side came a grumbling noise and stomping, followed by the door opening to reveal a chimpanzee holding a phone and angrily typing on it. He looked at Mark and stopped typing, putting his hand up to motion "what?". Mark answered "did you bring the pickles out the morning?" He shook his head and types again when his phone binged. "Having trouble getting to university?" Franklin nodded without looking up. Mark patted his shoulder, saying, "Good luck buddy" then walked downstairs and do some paperwork. After an hour Franklin walked out running his hand over his head and set the phone on the table, growling. "Not letting you apply?" He nodded and flopped onto the couch. Mark muttered to himself and went back to his work. Franklin stood up and walked to the fridge, opening it and pulling out the jar of pickles. Mark looked up and saw the lid was open. "What?" He said. Franklin shrugged and picked up the lid, screwing it back on. His phone buzzed and he grumbled as he answered it, making an effort to say "hello" but it sounded like "aroo?" Mark shook his head with a smile and continued his paperwork. Franklin grumbled more and slumped back to his room. Mark finished his paperwork and put away his things. He then started to clean the house, thinking about the jar of pickles. He tilted his head and stared at the fridge for a long time before drifting off to sleep at the table. He woke up to the Franklin standing over him, looking into his face. "Roo oway?" He asked. Mark nodded and scratched his head. "Thanks, you're getting better at your English. We'll practise more tomorrow." Franklin nodded and walked back to his room. Mark stood up and decided to head to bed as well. The sun had completely set while he was sleeping and the house was dark all except for a small lamp by the window. Mark walked to his room, suddenly feeling very tired. As he started falling asleep he saw a flashing image of a pickle lying on the floor, himself and Franklin tied up on an armchair, and a maniacal laugh in the backround. He blinked a few times, then fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

I'm the morning Mark awoke to the sound of angry chimp feet stomping around in the room next to his. He sighed and say up, rubbing his eyes and yawning. "Franklin!" He called to his chimp friend. "What are you doing?" Franklin walked in with a scowl. "He rwont rhisten." Franklin said angrily. Mark sighed and nodded. "That's the problem with being a chimp buddy. They don't want to listen to common sense." Franklin sighed and hung up the phone, not caring about the person on the other end. "Have some breakfast" Mark suggested to him and for our of bed. He walked down the stairs and into the kitchen to make some eggs. Franklin walked in, looking better than he had a few minutes ago. He sat at the table and poured some orange juice into his cup. Mark handed him a plate of eggs and checked the time. "Shoot, gotta get to work buddy, I'll be back later!" Franklin waved as he headed out the door. Mark walked, kicking a rock into the stream and whistling to himself. An oversized fish leaped out of the water, scaring Mark. He walked down the road to a large building with a parking lot out front. He walked inside and to the back where he got his work uniform and started stocking the new items on shelves. All he thought about all through work was Franklin's future, and the jar of pickles. He remembered the dream he had and couldn't shake the feeling that it meant something important. One of his co-workers, Rachel, the beady eyed woman who thought she owned the place, was watching him. She finally approached him with hands on hips. "Mark" she said in a stern voice. Almost like the way a mother talks to a child who is in big trouble. "I've been watching you all day and I think there's something wrong." Mark sighed and shook his head. "Nothings wrong except the occasional grocery store stalker." She laughed off the remark. "You are too funny," she turned serious again faster than Mark could blink. "But really, you keep putting bags of fish in the beef section." He turned and continued sorting cans. "Pretty sure that was you" he said, gesturing to the glasses she wasn't wearing. She scoffed, trying to hide the fact that she agreed with him. He shook his head, smiling, and walked off to continue his work. Rachel decided he wasn't going to listen to her at the moment and headed back to her work as well. Mark jumped when his phone rang. "Hello?" He asked into the receiver. Franklin grumbled into the other end quietly. Mark sighed, "I'm on my way." He hung up and motioned to his boss that he had to go. He nodded, understanding. Mark bolted out the door to his car and sped off to the zoo. This was the third time this month that Franklin had been mistaken for an escaped chimp from the zoo. When he arrived Franklin was in a cage in the front lobby. He paid for Franklin's release and they left together. "We need to get a way for people to know it's you. This is crazy." Franklin nodded and stared out the window. Mark sighed and dropped Franklin off at home then drove back to work. As he was driving he saw a jar on the sidewalk. It had what looked to be pickle juice but there were no pickles. Mark started breathing faster, trying to figure out what all this meant, and what was happening.