FoA S3 Chapter 12

That is an alligator. It’s not as big as the one in that movie you saw, but it’s more than big enough to turn your blood into iced tea.

“Fuck me,” you mutter, terrified from head to toe.

The gator makes a sort of quiet snorting noise. Its eyes look dead, but this thing is very much alive. One of its stubby little legs moves as it steps toward you. Vicky and Joey cringe.

Vicky’s the only one of you that has any sense. She pats your thigh, indicating with her eyes.

There’s a door not far away. You see an “Employees Only” sign on it. It’s probably supposed to be shut, but right now it’s open. It’s about fifteen feet away. That’s how far the gator is from you. It can’t possibly go fast with those tiny legs, right? Joey doesn’t give you a chance to think about it. She bolts. You and Vicky scramble after her, spilling through the door, which you close with a slam. Vicky fumbles with the lock and snaps it.

There’s another growl from the other side. The gator is right there!

“Oh my god. He’s hungry,” Joey says, babbling in panic. “We’re so fucked.”

Can an alligator break down a door? You don’t know. You’re in a stairway that goes to the basement and a light is on already. You make your way down to find a spacious, but low-ceilinged, unfinished space. You get it: this is storage for the restaurant, the basement for the building, and more importantly, this is how the owner or whoever accesses the alligator pen if he ever has to get in there. You can see the pen from up in the restaurant, but you have to come down here if you want to feed them or something. There’s probably another way out. You just have to find it. Or wait until that gator loses interest.

You dropped the phone when you rang. You don’t see another one down here. Shit. That asshole alligator. The floor is damp, cool, and gritty. You hate it. You hate everything about this place.

A crunching noise makes all three of you turn.

A shape emerges from the shadows: another alligator. This one is twice as big as the one upstairs, and he has something in his mouth.

“Is that an arm?” Joey asks in a shockingly normal voice.

The huge jaws crunch into the arm. Joey and Vicky shriek and lunge in the opposite direction, going the only place they can: the alligator pen. You’re closer to a tall, metal shelf. You climb up as they yank the door shut and it locks between them and the huge gator.

You… are not quite as safe as they are.