Hatchetfield and Friends

6 - Infected

Emma didn't know why all of a sudden she found strange little tunes stuck in her head. She didn't know why she wanted to start dancing in the middle of making a caramel frappe, or why she knew all the words to a song she'd never heard before.

There was something strange about Hatchetfield today, but she couldn't place her finger on it. So she went about making orders, wondering when her favorite customer, Paul, would come in. Emma had started analyzing Paul after he came in so many times. He looked like he worked in an office job, somewhere quiet, somewhere he could keep in control. He seemed smart. Yet very, very anxious.

Emma looked up as the bell of the little shop jingled and smiled when she saw Paul.

"Hey," she started.

"Emma! Come with me, please! We have to get somewhere safe," Paul blurts.

"What are you talking about?" She asks, confused.

"There's something...sinister, infecting Hatchetfield. We have to get out!" He exclaims.

Paul rushes over to Emma and pulls her away from the counter. He puts his hands on her shoulders and takes a deep breath.

"I know this may sound crazy, and not very scary, but I think the world is becoming...a musical."

"Uhm-"

"Don't say anything! Let it sink in. Now, are you frightened?"

"Yeah, I think I am starting to get a little frightened."

"Emma!" Nora and Zoey, Emma's co-workers, cooed.

"Oh thank god," Emma sighs. "Sorry gotta go do this dumbass tip song bye!"

Emma sung the song she'd been stuck learning all morning and found herself...enjoying it. She couldn't stop smiling as she danced around the cafe. Apparently Nora and Zory had added some choreography, but Emma just followed right along, almost as if she had practiced it, too. She was almost sad when it ended, but when it did, she felt anger and annoyance bubble up inside her.

"Seruously you guys, a another a section?" Emma exclaimed. "Were you going to tell me about that or? When I got this job, I signed up to make cold, shitty pastries and coffee, not a damn musical. Sure, I was in Brigadoon in high school, and I fucking killed it, but I didn't fucking sign up for this. I quit."

"You can't quit, Emma," they said in unison.

"Yeah, I sure as hell can."

"The song was is so simple, we'll teach it to you."

"What?"

"Emma, we have to go!" Paul shouted, but he sounded far away.

Emma found herself drawn to her coworkers, feeling a song rise in her throat. She opened her mouth to sing, but Paul ran over and grabbed her hand. He pulled her out of the shop, and as Emma looked back, she saw the customers of the store choking and falling to the ground.

"Oh my god, what the fuck?" Emma cried.

"We have to go somewhere safe," Paul ordered.

They run through shrubs, which were terribly placed, and through an alleyway. They plop down next to some trashcans behind a small building, only to have the fucking peanut butter scared out of them.

One of Paul's friends pops out from behind a trashcan.

"Bill! You scared the shit out of us!" Paul exclaimed.

"How the hell am I supposed to pop out of a trash can and not scare the shit out of you?" He replies.

"I don't know give us a warning next time?" Paul suggests.