Adventure of Bob 1

The shop plunges into darkness. Sal lunges, tackling Bob and shoving him through the shop’s rear delivery hatch and into the rain-slicked alleyway. The heavy metal door slams shut, muffling the chaotic crackle of sparks inside. Bob hits the cold asphalt, the breath knocked out of his lungs, his flashlight rolling toward a pile of discarded shipping crates.

Bob scrambles to his feet, rain plastering his shirt to his belly as he stares at the locked metal door. He can hear Sal’s heavy boots pacing on the other side, and the unmistakable sound of a bolt sliding into place. The alley is dead silent save for the hum of a distant transformer and the steady rhythm of the storm hitting the corrugated steel siding.

A heavy, rusted padlock chain swings from the dark, seemingly snagged on a drainage pipe. Suddenly, a gloved hand reaches through a hole in the corrugated metal, clutching not a key, but a jagged, serrated butcher knife that slashes at the rain-slicked air.

(Icecream Dave)

The voice is smooth, contrasting sharply with the harsh, mechanical clicking coming from the alley entrance behind Bob. Two bright, high-beam headlights flare to life, blinding him. The unmistakable jingle of the ice cream truck begins to play, but it is slowed down, pitched into a dissonant, guttural growl that vibrates through the asphalt beneath Bob’s boots.

Bob doesn't flinch. He just sighs, turns his back on the flickering headlights and the rattling knife, and starts walking toward the street. The heavy rain mats his hair to his skull, but he keeps his pace steady.

(Icecream Dave)

The ice cream truck jolts forward, tires spinning on the slick pavement, but the engine stalls out with a pathetic, metallic whimper. Bob just keeps walking, whistling a tune that is distinctly off-key and entirely unbothered. He reaches the alley entrance, his heavy boots splashing through a deep puddle. He doesn't look back, even as the truck's headlights flicker and die, plunging the entire alley into a thick, suffocating darkness.