Location: Smile Mart, District 9 Branch (The Lowtown)
Time: 3:17 AM
The automatic door to the Smile Mart didn't ding. It screamed.
"GYYY-URRR-KHHH."
It sounded less like a door opening and more like a cyborg dying in agony. Behind the counter, Dante didn't even flinch. He just adjusted his noise-canceling headphones, turning the volume up on a depressing post-punk playlist to drown out the sound of the universe.
He looked down at his chest. The neon pink and lime green vest of the Smile Mart uniform clashed violently with his black hoodie, making him look like a goth watermelon.
"Welcome to Smile Mart," Dante mumbled, staring dead-eyed at the display of 'Choco-Bricks' next to the register. "We are currently out of ice. And hope."
"Meat..."
Dante sighed. He paused his music. He looked up.
Standing in the entrance wasn't a customer. It was a salaryman who had clearly had a rough night. His skin was the color of wet concrete, his jaw was unhinged like a python, and he was drooling a black, tar-like sludge onto the freshly mopped linoleum.
A Ghoul. Class-C.
"I crave..." the Ghoul hissed, his voice sounding like gravel in a blender. "Flesh..."
Dante looked at the black sludge hitting the floor. Then he looked at the mop bucket in the corner. Then back at the sludge.
"Sir," Dante said, his voice flat. "You're dripping. That's a slip hazard. If you slip and sue us, it comes out of my paycheck."
The Ghoul blinked. The red lights in its eyes flickered in confusion. "I... I will feast on your marrow!"
"Do you have a Smile Mart Rewards Card?" Dante asked, hand hovering over the scanner. "Members get 10% off marrow on Tuesdays."
The Ghoul roared. It was a loud, wet sound that sprayed saliva all over the plexiglass sneeze guard. He lunged over the counter, claws extending, aiming for Dante's throat.
Dante didn't move. He didn't draw a weapon. He just leaned into the microphone of the store intercom.
"Clean up on Aisle 1. Bring the heavy trash bags."
CRASH.
The ceiling tiles above the hot dog roller exploded downward. A blur of platinum blonde pigtails and denim shorts dropped from the ventilation shaft, landing in a perfect crouch on top of the spinning sausages.
"DINNER TIME!"
It was GiGi. She had a half-eaten corn dog in her mouth and a manic grin on her face.
Before the Ghoul could rip Dante's throat out, GiGi flicked her wrists. Crimson liquid sprayed from her fingertips, hardening instantly into razor-thin wires. She yanked her hands back like she was starting a lawnmower.
SNIP.
The Ghoul's arms fell off. They landed on the counter with a wet thud next to the chewing gum display.
"Oh, nice!" GiGi chewed her corn dog, muffled. "Clean cut! I'm getting better!"
The Ghoul stared at its stumps, confused. "My... my arms..."
"You have the right to remain silent!" a voice squeaked from the back of the store.
Benji was army-crawling out of the toilet paper aisle. He was wearing his yellow raincoat and oversized orange tactical sunglasses, holding his rugged laptop up like a shield.
"Benji," Dante said, watching his coworker shimmy across the floor. "Why are you on the ground?"
"Tactical positioning, Crow!" Benji yelled, his voice cracking. "I'm hacking the security cameras so Tanaka doesn't see us! Also, my legs gave out!"
"My name isn't Crow," Dante said.
"It can't rain all the time!" Benji screamed back, diving behind a stack of diapers.
The armless Ghoul, realizing this convenience store was a house of horrors, turned to run. But GiGi was already bored. She hopped off the hot dog roller, did a little spin, and kicked the Ghoul in the chest with both boots. He flew backward, crashing through the display of 'Spicy Noodle Cups.' Styrofoam and dried noodles exploded everywhere.
"GiGi!" Dante yelled, finally showing emotion. "The inventory!"
"Put it on my tab!" she laughed. She started vibrating, doing a jerky, off-beat dance over the groaning vampire. "It's coming up, it's coming up, it's coming up..."
Dante rubbed his temples. The silver piercings on his face—the bridge, the lip, the industrial bars in his ears—were starting to heat up. That meant he was absorbing kinetic energy. Or maybe just a headache.
His pocket buzzed. He pulled out his phone. A notification from the group chat: "SQUAD 4 (DO NOT REPLY)."
It was a photo from Sora. A blurry selfie of their mentor holding a peace sign in front of a ramen shop.
Caption: "They ran out of pork so I got extra egg. Keeping you in my prayers! :3"
Dante stared at the phone. Then at the armless Ghoul bleeding on the noodles. Then at GiGi doing the Gorillaz dance. Then at Benji, who was hyperventilating behind the diapers.
"I hate this job," Dante whispered.
Suddenly, the glass front of the store shattered.
SMASH.
Three more Ghouls burst in from the rain. They were bigger. Meaner. And the lead one stepped directly on a stack of limited-edition anime magazines that Dante had spent two hours organizing.
Something inside Dante snapped. It wasn't the vampire hunger. It wasn't the warrior spirit. It was the rage of a minimum-wage worker pushed too far.
He reached under the counter and grabbed his black umbrella. He clicked the button. The canopy opened with a thwump, revealing a tiny Hello Kitty keychain dangling from the handle.
"Benji," Dante said, his voice dropping an octave. "Lock the doors."
"W-why?" Benji squeaked from the diaper fort.
Dante stepped over the counter, his piercings glowing white-hot in the gloom.
"Because they stepped on the merchandise," Dante said. "And nobody leaves until that comes outta my pay."