Independence Day

Independence Day

The Brown package

It's 1:25 pm lunch time; The new cook just sliced his finger open on the meat slicer this is day 10 of my continuous shift it began when our manager quit as a result I was placed in charge its now the 4th of July. I unlocked my car door through the windows that faced the employee parking lot so I could get him into the car and off to the ER. I grabbed the small bottle of cologne I keep in my desk and sprayed a lofting sprits that damn near hit me in the eyes. I feel as if I'm going on a date. I haven't left the kitchen in what feels like months. Inside of the car I noticed the bleeding began to stop a little, he seems to have some knowledge of first aid. Upon dropping him off at the Emergency entrance I wished him good luck all the while neglecting to tell the poor guy that a mandatory drug screen was awaiting him. Lets just say he wasn't worried about the gash in his finger as much as you would think. I remember when something similar happened to me. I was here at this same entrance 4 days after the 4th with alcohol poisoning a year ago. After that night I went sober. I got back to the kitchen and everyone had resumed their positions and was hauling ass to get done on time. I went back to my office and placed my things the the locked drawer only to come back into the kitchen to see what looked like a USPS package sitting on the aluminum prep table. It had no postage on it and a handwritten name addressed to me. Immediately I asked around to see who dropped this off. Jackie the other cook said front desk came and put it here. It must not be a threat to our safety then right? If reception let it in through. I asked more and more people to see if they had any clue, maybe this was a prank, or even someone in the building. Hell I just took over the supervisor role and now the new guys in the damn hospital there's this damn brown paper box with no postage or return address siting in the middle of the kitchen and nobody seems to give a damn. Its business as usual. I couldn't stand around any longer I had to finish prep and find the paperwork for the drug screen as well get in touch with HR yet. I stood in the chefs area hastily and haphazardly working on prep with Jackie and the PM cook both who were eager to get the hell out of here and or expedite the night. My curiosity is becoming dangerous, my concertation is anything but sharp and the damn slicer is decommissioned for the time being, what the hell is this box? I feel the tension rising in my heart and I'm having flashbacks to that night in the ER and a tinge in my left arm where the IV was. its almost time for the AM staff to leave, thank God there is a gap before the high schoolers to come in and work my patience is thin, this box is haunting me and now I have to be here all night. "I'm out of here everyone have a good one!" Jackie said. As she passed the box something inside vibrated it sounded like a cell phone. I've never seen Jackie run so fast in my life, hell I've never seen her run at all. It was at this moment I reassured everyone that the package was harmless and took it into my office. I shut and locked the door then placed the package on my desk. I took a long and then terse look at the handwriting, in a panic I cut it open. Inside here was nothing but a pre-paid cellphone. It wasn't even a smartphone. I was surprised to see a flip phone in there the novelty of that took me off guard. It was just in there all loose with no packaging around it. I took a deep breath and carefully opened the phone. It read. "One unread message". Before I read it I checked to see if there was anything in the contacts, or even a set up voicemail all nothing. After delaying the inevitable I read the message. The message read on a single line.

" I remember"