The Pub

The Pub

A Halloween Story

 Alejandro Yushkevich

The night was still young, and many customers clamored around the building. This building was a pub, right next to a country club in LA, California. The clamors washed away, and the customers vanished at closing time. It  was my turn to do my work. The pub manager took his coat from a hanger and threw it on his shoulder. He lit a cigar and chomped on it, shaking his keys. He said to me, “Alright kid, see ya tomorrow.” I nodded. He took off in his car. I then began to mop. I was the cleaner there. Usually, I’d finish in a snap and be gone. However, tonight the happy hour was rough, leaving four oil stains, a huge mess containing spilt alcohol and shards of glass, and multiple other sorts of horrible things. I sighed, and began to start my work. 

The oil was hard to remove, taking ten minutes per stain. I began my other work and finished in around an hour. Finally, as I set down the mop and bucket to its place, I noticed something. Another stain and more broken glass. This mess was different, it was more of a print than a stain. Glass formed into a symbol surrounded the floor. I got the broom and swished it into the trash. It appeared again. Another time. The clock then struck twelve. For the last time, I tried to put it away. The force was so strong the wooden broom snapped, leaving  a wood chunk on the floor. 

I sat down to think, sweating with fear. I watched the clock closely. It was almost one in the morning; I had to get home. I quickly took my stuff and opened the door. It had led to another room that was identical, with the same symbol on the floor. I opened the next door, leading  to the same thing again. Palms sweating, I took out the crowbar out of the counter. I held it fiercely, ready for battle. I began to think a demon possessed me, leading me to my death. “Show yourself, beast!” I yelled. A roar was heard. Chunks of glass turned into a figure of malice. It looked at me in the eyes and simply asked, “What do you think comes after death?” Loud screams were heard by every soul in the neighborhood. The monster went back into the glass stain.   

The next day, the manager of the pub came to one more stain on the floor.