2019-10-19 - Bears!

The bears. The fucking bears.

Alison wasn't sure what it was about the bears at the Grizzly Den Diner, but ever since she started working there, she found them unsettling at times. They're easy to ignore if she's busy working, but during those slow night hours when the place is empty, it seems like they're staring at you. Watching. Waiting. Plotting? The eyes don't move, but they sure seem to when the light hits them from the right angles.

She's been sick for a while now, but her paycheck is waiting for her, and it wasn't going to deliver itself. A waitress relies on tips, and she hasn't exactly been able to work lately what with the needing to stay within arm's reach of a toilet at all times, so the base pay will have to be enough for now. This flu sucks! She's never had one as bad as this before. Dragging herself out of bed with a groan, she grabs the closest clothes from a pile on the ground that aren't entirely unacceptable to be seen in public in, and just.. sits for a while. Moving right now isn't a good idea, but she's going to do it anyways. Or try to.

Alison gets up, takes a moment to get her bearings, and then walks, slowly, to her car. Plops down in the seat, leans back in it with another groan. Are we sure about this? Yes. We're going. She twists the key, the engine in her little crossover comes to life, and a moment later, music from her phone starts playing. It's..

Well, it SHOULD be that song, anyways. But it's all wrong, pitch shifting up and down, speeding up and down. Alison's brow furrows and mashes the next track button on her stereo. It's the same way. She lets loose another groan and turns it off. She'll entertain herself on the short drive with her thoughts instead. Her mind wanders, soon thinking of Cameron and Madison.

They've been so nice over the past few days, dropping by to help take care of her a little bit -- not CONSTANTLY, mind you, but certainly enough to be a great help. They hadn't been by in a few hours though, and didn't seem to be around when she crawled out of bed. Nobody was, it seemed, and the trailer park was unusually quiet for midday. The roads are seemingly empty as well, save for parked cars, and the lights all seem to be green for her. Nice! Should be able to get home pretty quickly then. And then she's thinking of the bears. The fucking bears..

A few minutes later, she's at the diner. The door opens, and, expecting to hear the usual loud music and telltale noises, it's just silent. Okay, that's just weird. It's only a bit after noon, isn't it? She looks at her phone for the time, and it.. doesn't work right? Well, whatever. She puts the phone away and wanders around towards the back room. "Hello? Is anyone here..? Gina?" Alison doesn't really expect the owner to be around, but it's worth a shot at this point. There's nobody in the kitchen either. Weeeeeeeird. Doesn't stop her from heading back, peeking into the empty office room, and finding her paycheck just sitting on the desk. Yoink. A coughing fit later, and she's turning back around, heading back towards the front, when she hears.. roaring? Alison pushes through the door to the diner's front room and finds it.. filled with bears.

There are bears sitting at the stools in front of the counter. There's a bear standing behind the counter. There's more bears at the booths. And they're all staring at her with those black beady eyes. And more than a few of them are growling. Her fight or flight response kicks in, which, frankly, given her tiny frame at 5'2", is a flight response. She books it towards the door, a scream coming from her lips, but isn't quite fast enough in her flu ridden state. One of the grizzlies rears up on its legs and takes a swipe at her as she's ALMOST at the door, and it gets her right in the shoulder, those claws ripping through her jacket and shirt underneath it.

That bear got her pretty good, but she manages to stumble through the door. The bears thankfully don't follow her out. Her shoulder's an avalanche of pain, though, and she's in no state to be running anywhere. The redhead makes her way, slowly to her car, occasionally looking back around her to make sure that they aren't right behind her, which they aren't. She gets back in the driver's seat, and sits there, shutting and locking the door, gasping and panting for breath. Alison looks around from side to side. Nobody's around. No bears, no people. Nothing. She just.. sits there, then. Just to catch her breath. The bears are gone, right? Her eyes close, she groans, and then suddenly she's back in her bed, opening her eyes. Her sheets covered in blood, mostly centered around her shoulder.

Alison screams.